Verse 2.2.214

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.2.214:

तत्रानुभविता सोऽनुभावनीयोऽनुभूतयः ।
वृत्तयः करणानां च बहुधा प्रस्फुरन्ति हि ॥ २१४ ॥

tatrānubhavitā so'nubhāvanīyo'nubhūtayaḥ |
vṛttayaḥ karaṇānāṃ ca bahudhā prasphuranti hi || 214 ||

tatra–in this regard; anubhavitā–whose who have perceived or experienced; saḥ–that; anubhavanīyaḥ–the worthy object of perception or experience; anubhūtayaḥ–the perceptions or experiences; vṛttayaḥ–actions; karaṇānām–of the senses; ca–also; bahudhā–in many ways; prasphuranti–are brilliantly manifested; hi–certainly.

In such happiness of bhakti, the devotees who realize or experience it; Bhagavān, who is the object of that realization; the realization itself; and the instruments, or cause, of the realization–in other words, the disposition of the internal sense, meaning the mind, as well as the [external] senses–all manifest in various ways.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

“Happiness experienced in the state of samādhi by the best of those who are self-satisfied is really just a semblance of happiness, whereas the happiness of loving devotion to the Lord is far superior and glorious.” The bhakti-śāstras now substantiate this idea with another type of logic. They say, “In the matter of devotional happiness (bhakti-sukha), the devotees are the subjects of the experience or realization and the ineffable Śrī Bhagavān is its object. When one performs bhakti, all the means of personal experience–the processes of perceiving and experiencing and all the functions of the external and internal senses–all manifest excellently and wonderfully in variegated ways.

“This occurs in the following process: first, the person–the subject of realization–has the self-conception that ‘I am a servant of Bhagavān.’ With this self-conception, he perceives a glimse, or sphūrti, of his actual spiritual form (svarūpa) that corresponds to myriad services such as massaging the Lord’s lotus feet, fanning Him with a cāmara, and so on. Then, the wonderful, intensely sweet form and playful pastimes (vilāsa) of Śrī Kṛṣṇa–the object of realization–are revealed to him. Thereafter, different sense functions manifest, such as hearing (śravaṇa) and singing (kīrtana), as well as different objects that correspond to the propensities of the senses.

“Based on the distinctions of form, qualities, pastimes, etc. of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the object of perception, there are concomitant distinct elements, such as śravaṇa and kīrtana. For instance, form can be remembered, form’s loveliness can be glorified, descriptions of qualities and narrations of pastimes can be heard–in this way, a multiplicity of divisions manifest. Thus, as the true nature of the object of realization is full of variegatedness, and the happiness realized also manifests infinite variegatedness, it is therefore naturally of great significance.

“The purport of this is that the three subjects–the person who is experiencing, the object of experience, and the experience itself–are full of unlimited variegatedness. Because of this, and by means of the unlimited external and internal sense functions that manifest during the experience, the happiness of bhakti manifests an enormous degree of variegatedness. Consequently, its extreme importance is automatically established.

“One cannot say, ‘When one has realization, or sphūrti, of his constitutional nature (such as that of being a servant), and concomitantly, the manifestation, or sphūrti, of the functions of his internal and external senses (such as śravaṇa and kīrtana) occurs, at that time he does not have the realization, or sphūrti, of the lotus feet of Śrī Bhagavān, and therefore, there is hindrance in experiencing the continuous concentrated bliss of the Lord’s lotus feet. So it is impossible to have both kinds of realization at the same time.’”

To substantiate this refutation, the bhakti-śāstras say, “The manifestation of one’s transcendental constitutional nature as well as that of the activites of bhakti–that is, the functions of his internal and external senses–indeed depend upon steadfast attachment to the lotus feet of Bhagavān, and therefore, such manifestations are not completely independent, but rather manifest in a secondary manner. The appearance of such manifestations are a secondary result of the primary result of manifestation of the lotus feet of Bhagavān.

“Yet, if one asserts that the above-mentioned manifestations appearing in a secondary manner are as good as not achieved, or in other words, they only culminate in the non-manifestation of the constitutional nature of the self as well as the function of the senses, then the answer is: ‘No, this is not so.’ This is because when experience of the lotus feet of Śrī Bhagavān exists, at that time the person who experiences, as well as the means and tools of experience, that is the senses, certainly also exist in a fully-revealed manner. This means that the permanent ecstasy (sthāyī-bhāva) of a devotee simultaneously manifests all the ingredients, such as the special ecstasies (for example, vibhāva). Sthāyī-bhāva also mixes with all those ingredients and reaches the state of rasa, or relationship in love. Therefore, the ability of a devotee to have this experience [which simultaneously, fully encompasses the nature and form of the self, the Lord, the ingredients of rasa, and all the senses] is to be understood to be a special power of sthāyī-bhāva. Otherwise, in the absence of experience, the object achieved becomes as good as not achieved, as in the logic of ‘asmṛta kaṇṭha-maṇi–the jewel around the neck which, having been forgotten, is as good as not there.’

“The word anubhūti, meaning ‘experience, perception, and realization,’ is used ubiquitously in the scriptures, as in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (10.12.11): itthaṃ satāṃ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā. When a devotee experiences the happiness of bhakti, his ability to experience does not disappear, as it does in the nirvikalpa-samādhi of the selfsatisfied souls.”