CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
\nEcstatic Love
\nBy the process of executing regulated devotional service, one is actually elevated to the transcendental stage, beyond the material modes of nature. At that time one\u2019s heart becomes illuminated like the sun. The sun is far above the planetary systems, and there is no possibility of its being covered by any kind of cloud; similarly, when a devotee is purified like the sun, from his pure heart there is a diffusion of ecstatic love which is more glorious than the sunshine. Only at that time is the attachment to K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a perfect. Spontaneously, the devotee becomes eager to serve the Lord in his ecstatic love. At this stage the devotee is on the platform of uttama-adhik\u0101r\u012b, perfect devotion. Such a devotee has no agitation from material affections and is interested only in the service of R\u0101dh\u0101 and K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.
\nTo clarify, in the previous chapters the symptoms of devotional service were explained along with instructions as to how we may execute devotional service with our present senses and gradually rise to the platform of ecstasy in spontaneous love. And the two kinds of devotional service \u2013 namely, devotional service through regulative principles and through spontaneous love \u2013 were discussed. Within the stage of the regulative principles of devotional service there are two divisions \u2013 namely, executive and effective. This effective portion of devotional service is called bh\u0101va, or ecstasy. In this connection, there is a statement in the tantras that ecstasy is the first symptom of pure love for the Personality of Godhead, and in that stage one is sometimes found shedding tears or shivering. Not always are these symptoms manifest, but occasionally. When King Ambar\u012b\u1e63a was put into difficulty by Durv\u0101s\u0101, he began to think of the lotus feet of the Lord, and thus there were some changes in his body, and tears were falling from his eyes. These symptoms are activities of ecstasy. They are visible in the shivering of the body and the shedding of tears. After the outward appearance of these ecstatic symptoms, they stay within the mind, and continuation of the ecstasy is called sam\u0101dhi. This stage of appreciation becomes the cause of future exchanges of loving affairs with K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.
\nElevation to this stage of ecstasy can be possible in two ways. One way is by constant association with pure devotees. The other way is by the special mercy of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a or by the mercy of a pure devotee of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. Elevation to the ecstatic stage of life is generally attained through association with pure devotees, while elevation to that stage by the special mercy of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a or His devotee is very rare. The purport is that one should execute devotional service rigidly in the association of devotees so that there will be certainty in raising oneself to that ecstatic position. In special cases, of course, there is special favor from K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, and although we should always expect that, we should not sit idly and simply wait for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s special mercy; the regular duties must be performed. It is just as when sometimes it is found that a person who never attended school or college may be recognized as a great scholar, or an honorary degree from great universities may be offered to him. But this does not mean that one should avoid school and expect to automatically receive an honorary degree from some university. Similarly, one should devoutly execute the regulative principles of devotional service and at the same time hope for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s favor or for His devotee\u2019s favor.
\nAn example of rising to the stage of ecstatic love by executing the regulative principles of devotional service is given in the life story of N\u0101rada, which is described to Vy\u0101sadeva in \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam. N\u0101rada tells there of his previous life and how he developed to the stage of ecstatic love. He was engaged in the service of great devotees and used to hear their talks and songs. Because he had the opportunity to hear these pastimes and songs of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a from the mouths of pure devotees, he became very attracted within his heart. Because he had become so eager to hear these topics, he gradually developed within himself an ecstatic love for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. This ecstatic love is prior to the pure love of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, because in the next verse N\u0101rada confirms that by the gradual process of hearing from the great sages he developed love of Godhead. In that connection, N\u0101rada continues to say in the First Canto, fifth chapter, verse 28 of the Bh\u0101gavatam, \u201cFirst I passed my days in the association of the great sages during the rainy autumn season. Every morning and evening I heard them while they were singing and chanting the Hare K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a mantra, and thus my heart gradually became purified. As soon as I heard them with great attention, the influence of the modes of material ignorance and passion disappeared, and I became firmly fixed in devotional service to the Lord.\u201d
\nThese are practical examples of how one can develop to the stage of ecstatic love simply by the association of pure devotees. It is essential, therefore, that one constantly associate with pure devotees who are engaged morning and evening in chanting the Hare K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a mantra. In this way one will get the chance to purify his heart and develop this ecstatic pure love for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.
\nThis statement is also confirmed in the Third Canto, twenty-fifth chapter, verse 25 of \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam, where Lord Kapila says, \u201cMy dear mother, when a person is actually in association with pure devotees, the sublime potency of My devotional service can be experienced.\u201d In other words, when a pure devotee speaks, his words act upon the hearts of the audience. What is the secret of hearing and chanting? A professional speaker cannot impress transcendental ecstasy within the hearts of the listeners. However, when a realized soul who is engaged in the service of the Lord is speaking, he has the potency to inject spiritual life within the audience. One should, therefore, seek the association of such pure, unalloyed devotees, and by such association and service a neophyte devotee will certainly develop attachment, love and devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
\nIn the Padma Pur\u0101\u1e47a there is the story of a neophyte devotee who, in order to raise herself to the ecstatic platform, danced all night to invoke the Lord\u2019s grace upon her.
\nSometimes, however, it is found that without undergoing any devotional process, one all of a sudden develops devotion for Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. This sudden development of the devotional attitude in a person must be understood as a special mercy of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a or of His devotee. This apparently accidental development of ecstatic feelings through the causeless mercy of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a can be divided into three groups: simply by speaking, simply by glancing and simply by good wishes.
\nIn the N\u0101rad\u012bya Pur\u0101\u1e47a there is a statement about development of ecstatic love simply by speaking. Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a said to N\u0101rada, \u201cO best of the br\u0101hma\u1e47as, I wish that you may develop unalloyed devotional service to Me, which is full of transcendental bliss and all auspiciousness.\u201d
\nIn the Skanda Pur\u0101\u1e47a there is a statement about developing ecstatic love toward K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a simply by glancing. It is stated there, \u201cWhen the inhabitants of J\u0101\u1e45gala Province saw the Personality of Godhead, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, they were so stricken with feeling that they could not withdraw their glance from Him.\u201d
\nAs far as heartfelt wishes are concerned, there is a statement in the \u015auka-sa\u1e41hit\u0101 where N\u0101rada tells \u015ar\u012bla Vy\u0101sadeva, \u201cYou have a son who is the greatest devotee of the Personality of Godhead, and I can observe that without any following of the regulative principles of devotional service, he is already enriched with many of the symptoms achieved by the execution of devotional service after many, many births.\u201d
\nAs for ecstatic love of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, there is a statement in the Seventh Canto, fourth chapter, verse 36 of \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam, in which N\u0101rada addresses King Yudhi\u1e63\u1e6dhira, \u201cMy dear King, it is very difficult to describe the character of Prahl\u0101da. He developed a natural attraction for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, and whatever I can explain about his character will simply be an arrangement of words; his actual character is impossible to describe.\u201d This means that N\u0101rada himself admitted that the natural development of Prahl\u0101da\u2019s ecstatic love was by the grace of Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.
\nThis natural attraction for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a on the part of Prahl\u0101da was developed simply by the mercy of N\u0101rada. When Prahl\u0101da Mah\u0101r\u0101ja was within the womb of his mother, she was being sympathetically instructed by N\u0101rada about the science of devotional service, and at the same time N\u0101rada was wishing that the child within the womb could also take advantage of the instructions. Because N\u0101rada, an authorized devotee and great associate of the Personality of Godhead, was desiring auspiciousness for Prahl\u0101da Mah\u0101r\u0101ja, he developed all the characteristics of a high-grade devotee. This is called natural attraction. It is caused by the special grace of the Personality of Godhead or by the special grace of a great devotee like N\u0101rada.
\nThere is a statement in the Skanda Pur\u0101\u1e47a wherein Parvata Muni tells N\u0101rada, \u201cMy dear N\u0101rada, of all saintly persons you are so great and glorious that simply by your good wishes a lowborn hunter also has become a great, elevated devotee of Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.\u201d
\nThis ecstatic love for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a can be divided into five divisions, which will be described by \u015ar\u012b R\u016bpa Gosv\u0101m\u012b later on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Ecstatic Love By the process of executing regulated devotional service, one is actually elevated to the transcendental stage, beyond the material modes of nature. At that time one\u2019s heart becomes illuminated like the sun. … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-15 08:57:09","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37894\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}