Text 14

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.3.32) states:

क्वचिद् रुदन्त्य् अच्युत-चिन्तया क्वचिद् धसन्ति नन्दन्ति वदन्त्य् अलौकिकाः
नृत्यन्ति गायन्त्य् अनुशीलयन्त्य् अजं भवन्ति तूष्णीं परम् एत्य निर्वृताः

kvacid rudanty acyuta-cintayā kvacid dhasanti nandanti vadanty alaukikāḥ
nṛtyanti gāyanty anuśīlayanty ajaṃ bhavanti tūṣṇīṃ param etya nirvṛtāḥ

The transcendental mahā-bhāgavata’s condition is astonishing. Sometimes he starts to worry, thinking, “So far I have not had direct audience of the Supreme Lord. What shall I do? Where shall I go? Whom shall I ask? Who will be able to find Him for me?” Thinking like this he begins to weep. Sometimes he receives an internal revelation of Bhagavān’s sweet pastimes, and he laughs loudly as he beholds the Supreme Lord, who is endowed with all opulences, hiding in fear of the gopīs. Sometimes he is submerged in bliss upon receiving Śrī Bhagavān’s darśana and directly experiencing His prema. Sometimes, when situated in his siddha-deha, he speaks with Bhagavān, saying, “O Prabhu, after so long, I have attained You,” and he proceeds to sing the glories of his Lord. Sometimes, when he receives Śrī Bhagavān’s affection, he starts to dance, and sometimes he experiences great peace and remains silent.

भावोदये कभु काङ्दे कृष्ण-चिन्ता फले
हासे आनन्दित हय, अलौकिक बले

bhāvodaye kabhu kāṅde kṛṣṇa-cintā phale
hāse ānandita haya, alaukika bale

नाचे गाय, कृष्ण आलोचने सुख पाय
लीला-अनुभवे हय, तूष्णीम् भूत प्राय

nāce gāya, kṛṣṇa ālocane sukha pāya
līlā-anubhave haya, tūṣṇīm bhūta prāya

Commentary: Bhajana-rahasya-vṛtti:

Upon the appearance of bhāva, the sādhaka’s internal and external activities become extraordinary. Due to remembering narrations of the Supreme Lord, sometimes he cries, sometimes he laughs, sometimes he dances, sometimes he displays delight and sometimes, becoming silent, he is grave. And at other times, in the association of like-minded devotees, he describes his transcendental realisations, which are filled with prema.

In the Gambhīrā, Śrīman Mahāprabhu was immersed in many transcendental sentiments and would reveal them to Svarūpa Dāmodara and Rāya Rāmānanda. Mahāprabhu’s mind would completely drown in the ocean of Śrī Rādhā’s sentiments, and He would become as if mad (unmatta), sometimes losing external conscious ness and sometimes, in a half-conscious state (ardha-bāhyadaśā), He would express some of the sentiments in His heart. While dreaming (svapnāveśa), He would become silent, fully absorbed in bliss. Sometimes, in ardha-bāhya-daśā, He saw Kṛṣṇa, and sometimes He lost Him. When He was in full external cons ciousness (bāhya-daśā), He was unhappy to be separated from the jewel He had attained but had now lost. Sometimes, like a madman, He asked animals, birds and people, “Where is Kṛṣṇa? Have you seen Him?” At night, when the atmosphere was calm and it was time for Rādhikā’s rendezvous with Kṛṣṇa, He could not keep His composure. As He remembered the rāsa-līlā, He would become overwhelmed with bhāva and begin to sing and dance.

In internal consciousness (antar-daśā ) there is only meeting and happiness. Sometimes, while thus absorbed, Mahāprabhu would say, “Today Kṛṣṇa was sporting in the midst of the sakhīs at Rādhākuṇḍa. One sakhī helped Me behold those pleasure-filled dalliances from a distance.” When Mahāprabhu returned to full external consciousness, He would say, “Svarūpa! Did I just say something to you?

What? Oh, I am a sannyāsī named Caitanya!” He then lamented in the anguish of separation. Remembering Kṛṣṇa’s qualities, He would clasp the neck of Rāya Rāmānanda and Svarūpa Dāmodara, and cry with great restlessness. This would happen every day.

In the stage of bhāva, a sādhaka sometimes cries, “Alas, alas! It is impossible for me to obtain kṛṣṇa-prema, so it is useless for me to remain alive.” Sometimes he laughs as he remembers a pastime, and thinks, “Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who steals the young wives of the cowherd men, passed the whole night under a tree in the courtyard. Although He was calling the gopīs with various sounds, He was defeated by Jaṭilā and Kuṭilā’s careful guard and interrogation, and He did not succeed in meeting with the gopīs.” Sometimes a sādhaka becomes silent and peaceful, concealing the wealth of prema in his heart. Sometimes, imitating a pastime of Śrī Hari, he dances, and sometimes he speaks in a strange and incomprehen-sible way.