Describing Devotional Service to God - The Science of Bhakti-rasa
Spiritual life is often misunderstood as merely stopping material activities. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the great ācāryas have meticulously described devotional service as a dynamic, deeply analytical science encompassing a vast ocean of transcendental emotions and eternal relationships with the Supreme Lord.
The Standard of Pure Devotion
To make genuine spiritual progress, one must understand the exact definition of pure bhakti. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes the definition provided by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, which mandates that devotional service must be executed favorably and completely stripped of all selfish, material motives.
- Srila Rupa Gosvami describes pure devotional service as anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam - CC Madhya 19.167.
- Srila Rupa Gosvami has described the finest pattern of devotional service as anukulyena krsnanusilanam (CC Madhya 19.167), or cultivating Krsna consciousness favorably.
- Pure devotional service as described by Rupa Gosvami is free from all material desires. Anyabhilasita-sunyam (CC Madhya 19.167). There can be no excuse for personal or material interest.
- In his Amrta-pravaha-bhasya, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura gives us a short summary of this complicated description of the different rasas. He states that by becoming firmly fixed in the Lord’s service, one is devoid of all material desires.
The Progressive Stages of Bhakti
The path back to Godhead is systematic and evolutionary. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu divides the journey of a devotee into three distinct categories, beginning with the regulative principles of practice and culminating in the highest platform of pure love of God.
- The three categories of devotional service which Srila Rupa Gosvami describes in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu are listed as devotional service in practice, devotional service in ecstasy and devotional service in pure love of Godhead.
- The second concerns the regulative principles for executing devotional service, and the third wave devotional service in ecstasy. In the fourth is the ultimate goal, love of God. These will be explicitly described along with their different symptoms.
- When one is situated in pure devotional service, he develops love of Godhead; therefore let me describe some of the symptoms of pure devotional service.
- Whoever hears this description of the process of practical devotional service very soon attains shelter at the lotus feet of Krsna in love and affection.
The Five Primary Mellows
When a devotee attains perfection, they reestablish their specific, eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that these relationships are broadly categorized into five primary transcendental mellows (rasas), ranging from neutral appreciation to the supreme ecstasy of conjugal love.
- This third division of Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu describes the five primary kinds of devotional service - namely neutrality, servitude, fraternity, parenthood and conjugal love.
- Santa-bhakti-rasa is described in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (3.1.4-6): When santa-rati (neutral attraction) exists continuously and is mixed with ecstatic emotion, and when the devotee relishes that neutral position, it is called santa-bhakti-rasa.
- Dasya-rasa, or dasya-bhakti-rasa, is described in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (3.2.3-4): When according to his desires the living entity develops love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this beginning stage of love is called dasya-bhakti-rasa.
- Sakhya-rati is described in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (2.5.30). According to the opinion of advanced devotees and learned scholars, a devotee in sakhya-rati feels equal to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is a relationship in friendship.
The Indirect Ecstasies
In the absolute realm, even emotions that appear negative in the material world are transformed into transcendental bliss. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the ācāryas have carefully described seven indirect ecstasies, showing how anger, fear, and lamentation become beautiful expressions of devotion when directed toward Kṛṣṇa.
- In the fourth division of Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami has described seven kinds of indirect ecstasies of devotional service, known as laughing, astonishment, chivalry, compassion, anger, dread and ghastliness.
- Raudra-bhakti-rasa is described as follows (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 4.5.1): When devotion is mixed with anger in the heart of the devotee, the taste is called raudra-bhakti-rasa.
- Bhayanaka-bhakti-rasa is described as follows (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 4.6.1): When devotion is mixed with fear, it is called bhayanaka-bhakti-rasa.
- Karuna-bhakti-rasa is described as follows (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 4.4.1): When one's devotional attitude and attachment for Krsna is mixed with lamentation, it is called karuna-bhakti-rasa.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Śrīla Prabhupāda reveals that the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a highly sophisticated, spiritual science, meticulously mapped out by great ācāryas like Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. Far from being a vague or sentimental religious practice, pure devotional service demands a rigid standard: it must be executed completely free from the ulterior motives of fruitive work and mental speculation. By submissively following the progressive stages of sādhana-bhakti, a practitioner gradually purifies their heart and awakens to the platform of ecstatic love (bhāva). On this exalted platform, the devotee reclaims their original, eternal relationship with the Lord in one of the five primary mellows, and even experiences the intense, spiritualized thrills of the indirect ecstasies, such as transcendental anger or chivalry. Because this science of bhakti-rasa is so incredibly confidential and valuable, Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that it must be carefully guarded as a precious jewel. It is not meant for dry speculators or false renouncers, but rather for sincere souls who are genuinely dedicated to reviving their eternal, loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
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