To understand the relationship between Krishna and His devotees, it is first necessary to understand the foundation on which all these relationships are built. It is love for God – prema. It is from love for God that personal relationships with Him begin.
Srila Jiva Goswami spoke very extensively about Love for God in his "Priti Sandarbha".
In the beginning, he analyzes what problems plague everyone, and then how to solve them. Every person is looking for happiness, ananda. Whatever he does, the goal is happiness. However, no matter how much we analyze material or spiritual happiness, we will come to the conclusion that happiness is possible only when there is priti – love. That is, a person is happy only when he loves or is loved by another. In this respect, love for God is higher than liberation.
Two characteristics of the object
To know an object fully, one needs to know both these and those signs.
The word priti or love comes from the verb prin – to satisfy someone or to give pleasure. This means that there must always exist one who is to be satisfied. Priti never exists without an object. Material happiness can be without an object, but priti never. The desire for happiness is never the object of priti, therefore devotees do not desire it.
Priti does not belong to this material world, because it is the essence of Krishna's internal energy. Therefore it is impossible to explain it directly. Priti is similar to our material attachment to sense objects. No matter how much a person eats, no matter what he eats, attachment to eating never passes. Similarly, the need to serve the senses never subsides for those who have material tendencies. This is called vishaya-priti. Similarly, spiritual priti, it never passes, regardless of circumstances or the relationship between the object of priti and the one who feels priti. Sometimes people pray: "Oh that I would love Krishna like my relatives, wife, children!" Such a prayer is fundamentally wrong, because it means that we are asking for material attachment to Krishna, although at the same time we condemn such attachments and want to be liberated from them. In the material world we are attached to sense pleasures, because we try to achieve happiness through them. If we want such attachment to Krishna, it means that we are trying to achieve happiness through Krishna. It is attachment of the same nature, only the object is changed. In fact, the result of such attachment will be different, because the objects of attachment have completely different qualities. Attachment to Krishna will purify, but it is not priti. Material happiness or happiness in general, means "to experience joy". Whatever it may be, happiness means knowledge, experience, realization. In other words, happiness is nothing but a sensation.
Priti manifests in three stages:
Vishaya anukulyatmaka
To act in a way that is pleasing to the object of love. This is the essence or core of priti. Here vishaya anukulya means krishna anukulya, because Krishna is also called vishaya – the object of service. Anukulya here is not just activity, but activity in which there is bhava – attraction to Krishna. There must be a desire to act for Krishna's benefit in all circumstances. Such is the attitude of consciousness.
Anukulya anughat
First to have a feeling of benevolence, and then desire. This means that if we love someone benevolently, we can be far from our object of love if we know that he likes it or it is good for him. Then there is no desire to be together with the Lord, because it is realized that the Lord wants to be separate more. In this way, happiness is experienced not by satisfying oneself, but the object of love, although it may hinder personal happiness.
Jnana vishesha
Realization of happiness, which arises when we want good for Krishna and behave in a way that creates joy for Krishna. That feeling of happiness arises when we realize that we have given joy to Krishna. This is priti. Thus priti is not limited by individual happiness, which is never perfect. Priti is a reflection of Krishna's happiness, and Krishna's happiness is unlimited in nature.
Material happiness manifests in contradictions that destroy it. When we experience envy or suffering, the feeling of happiness disappears. This means that material happiness is within us and it is independent of others' happiness. Thus someone can be happy when others suffer. But equally material happiness depends on our general condition. That is, when a person suffers, he is no longer happy. But priti happiness is different. It does not belong to us and is not within us. Priti happiness is not experienced from within. It is experienced through Krishna. Thus it is not dependent on individual fluctuations and does not belong to him at all. Priti happiness depends on whether Krishna is happy. If the vishaya – object is happy, then all ashrayas, that is subjects, are also happy. Material happiness depends on us, priti depends on the object of love.
Priti and dvesha – love and envy – are opposites of each other. Happiness and suffering can exist without an object. That is, a person can be happy or unhappy from himself. But love and envy must always have their object. In this they are similar. But in their attitude they differ. The difference is especially felt in Sanskrit grammar. In Sanskrit, every action requires a subject (karta), an object (karma) and the action itself. The object of action stands in the accusative case in the sentence to mark the connection with the verb. And this fits when we say that someone hates someone (in other words, someone experiences hatred for someone) or in other sentences where there is a doer, an action and an object of action. But when we speak about priti, the object of priti is not considered karma. It is considered adhikara or the locative case or container. Therefore, even according to Sanskrit, one cannot say "he has love for Krishna", one must say "he has love in Krishna". This makes the object of love independent of the subject of love. In the case of material happiness, happiness is subordinate to the subject, but in the case of priti, Krishna is not subordinate or dependent on those who love Him. All love for Him is in Him, therefore it does not depend on those who love Him. He gives love for Himself to those who are worthy of it.
4 results of action (Karma):
These four results of action fall into the category of karma. However, priti itself is not karma, but is adhikara, otherwise its result would also fall into one of these 4 categories, which manifest in that the properties of the object are changed, and they are changed by the subject. But Krishna cannot be changed by anyone. He is not dependent on anyone, therefore priti does not mean action in the ordinary sense. It means being in love with Krishna.
Priti is not a consequence of any activity, it does not depend on anyone's instructions, it is not created by any activity. It exists eternally as the internal energy of the Lord.
Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami defines the difference between love and lust as follows: in the case of lust we derive happiness from our senses, and in the case of love we experience happiness by seeing that our object of love is happy.
Rasavada – Theory of Tastes
In SB 1.1.3 purport Prabhupada says: The Vedas are compared to a desire tree because they contain all knowledge required by man. They deal with questions related to both material needs satisfaction and spiritual advancement. The Vedas set forth the systematic principles of sociology, politics, religion, economics, military science, medicine, chemistry, physics and metaphysics, and also provide information necessary for daily human life. Moreover they give specific instructions on how to achieve spiritual perfection. The sequentially presented Vedic truths help the living entity to gradually rise to the spiritual platform, and the highest spiritual perfection it achieves when it realizes that the Personality of Godhead – is the reservoir of all spiritual tastes and rasas.
Every living entity – from the firstborn of the material world Brahma to an insignificant ant, desires to experience one or another taste of sense gratification. Sense pleasures are designated by the special term rasa. There are various rasas. The revealed scriptures list these twelve rasas:
5 Primary Rasas
Shanta (Neutral)
Refuge at the Lord's lotus feet, end of material suffering, disgust with everything not related to Bhagavan. When dry impersonalism or the Brahman concept ends, shanta rasa awakens. The Four Kumaras, Sanaka, Sanatana, Sananda and Sanatkumara, who were initially impersonalists, later immersed themselves in shanta rasa.
Dasya (Servitorship)
Servitorship
Sakhya (Friendship)
Friendship
Vatsalya (Parenthood)
Parenthood
Madhurya (Conjugal Love)
Conjugal love (shringara)
7 Indirect (Secondary) Rasas
The sum of all these rasas is called love. Love manifests primarily as worship, service, friendship, parental and conjugal affection. Sometimes love manifests not in these five rasas, but indirectly – through anger, wonder, laughter, chivalry, fear, shock, etc. For example, the love rasa between a man and a woman is called conjugal love. When the relationship between a man and a woman breaks, the partners may experience wonder, anger, shock or even horror. Sometimes people's love ends in terrible murder scenes. These rasas are characteristic of both human and animal relationships within their species boundaries. Rasas between a human and an animal or a human and some other species representative are impossible in the material world. Rasa is characteristic only of relationships between representatives of the same species, although in reality all spiritual souls in a qualitative sense are identical to the Supreme Lord. Therefore the primary rasa – is the mutual relationship between the spiritual living entity and the spiritual whole, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Mutual spiritual relationships (rasa) between living entities and the Supreme Lord reach their highest expression in the spiritual world.
Therefore in all shruti mantras, Vedic hymns, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is called "the original source of all rasas". By associating with the Supreme Lord as dictated by its original rasa, the living entity is truly happy.
Shruti mantras indicate that every living entity has a certain original relationship rasa with the Personality of Godhead. This primary rasa is fully revealed upon liberation. In the material world rasa is distorted and temporary. Therefore material world rasas usually manifest in material forms of raudra (anger) and other analogous forms.
Therefore a person who knows well rasas, which are the driving force of any activity, can distinguish distorted manifestations of original rasas in the material world. A scientifically thinking person desires to experience true, spiritual rasa. Initially he wants to merge with the Supreme. Thus, transcendentalists of lesser understanding, knowing nothing about rasas, cannot escape from the concept of merging with the spiritual whole captivity.
Sukadeva Goswami did not need to undergo the gradual path of spiritual advancement, because he was a completely liberated soul. And although he was completely liberated and had attained transcendence, i.e. risen above the three modes of material nature, he was attracted by the transcendental rasa of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is glorified by liberated souls singing Vedic hymns. For liberated souls, the pastimes of the Supreme Lord are more attractive than for materialists. Naturally, the Lord cannot be impersonal, because reciprocal transcendental rasa can only be experienced with a person.
Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 32 writes about rasa tastes.
Rasa means taste experienced due to relationships, in other words taste that is sweet. Rasa is the highest goal of life, because it allows experiencing relationships with Krishna. All these relationships give joy and reflect the original connection of the living entity with Krishna, otherwise called svarupa. These relationships are not evaluated as more valuable or less. Every rasa is fully perfect. And yet there is a certain progression in these relationships. In the materialistic sense rasa means juice, syrup, expressed feeling or mood of an essay. But in reality rasa is not what materialists call rasa. Sometimes tree sap is called rasa, and sometimes the relationship between a boy and a girl. But in reality rasa is the connection of our soul with the Soul of all souls – Sri Krishna. The true nature of the living entity is pure spirit. Being in such a state the living entity lives together with the Supreme Brahman beyond the material manifestation, in the dhama called Vaikuntha. When the living entity is in this constitutional position, which is transcendental to matter, it is said that this is a pure spiritual position. The feeling of happiness experienced in this state while living with the Supreme Personality of Godhead is called rasa.
5 bhavas.
Five direct relationships with Krishna:
Indirect relationships with Krishna
Appendix: Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
If the reader considers carefully, he will find that spiritual science, born in ancient times, gradually unfolded and became simpler, clearer and more focused. The more impurities, arising due to place and time, are removed, the brighter spiritual science shines before us. This spiritual science was born in the land of kusha grass, on the banks of the Sarasvati River, in Brahmavarta. When it gradually gained strength, this spiritual science spent its childhood in the snow-covered abode of Badarikashrama. It spent its adolescence in Naimisharanya, on the banks of the Gomati River, and its youth on the banks of the beautiful Kaveri River in the Dravida province. Spiritual science reached maturity in Navadvipa, on the bank of the Ganges River, which purifies the entire universe.
Studying world history, we will see that spiritual science reached its peak in Navadvipa. The Supreme Absolute Truth is the only object of love for all living entities. As long as a person does not worship Him with attachment, he will never be able to attain Him. Even if a person renounces all attraction to this world and thinks about the Supreme Lord, it would still not be easy to attain Him. He is controlled and attainable only through transcendental relationship tastes. These tastes are of five types: shanta, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya.
Evolution of Rasas:
- Shanta: The first taste, shanta is a stage where the living entity overcomes the pains of material existence and finds itself in transcendence. In this state there is little happiness, but no sense of independence. At that time the connection between the practitioner and the Lord is not yet established. It was seen in the early days of India. When the soul was no longer satisfied by performing sacrifices with material substances, transcendentalists such as Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanat-kumara, Sananda, Narada and Lord Shiva all renounced the material world and being in transcendence, realized shanta rasa.
- Dasya: Dasya rasa is the second taste. It contains all the ingredients of shanta rasa, and also attachment. "The Lord is my master, and I am His eternal servant." Such a type of relationship is experienced in dasya rasa. No one worries about the best things of this material world, if it is not related to attachment. Therefore dasya rasa is higher than shanta rasa in many respects. Much later, dasya rasa manifested through Hanuman, the servant of Sri Ramachandra. This same dasya rasa gradually expanded to the northwest and manifested through the great personality named Moses.
- Sakhya: Sakhya is higher than dasya. In Dasya rasa there is one thorn, a form of respectful fear and humility, but the main ornament of sakhya rasa is the feeling of friendly equality. Among servants, the one who is a friend is higher. There is no doubt about this. In Sakhya rasa also lies all the wealth of shanta and dasya. in the Dvapara age Uddhava and Arjuna became the most experienced authorities of sakhya rasa. They preached this rasa all over the world. Gradually this rasa spread to Arab countries and touched the heart of Mohammed, the knower of religious principles.
- Vatsalya: It is easy to understand that vatsalya is higher than sakhya. A son gives more attachment and happiness than any friend. Therefore in vatsalya rasa we see the wealth of four rasas. Although vatsalya rasa is higher than these other rasas, it seems insignificant before madhurya rasa. There can be many unknown secrets between father and son, this does not apply in the case of husband and wife. Therefore, if we consider deeply, we will see that all the above mentioned rasas reach their perfection in madhurya rasa. Vatsalya rasa manifested in India in different forms, in various periods. Among various forms vatsalya, mixed with opulence crossed India and appeared through the great personality named Jesus Christ, who preached the principles of the Jewish religion.
- Madhurya: Madhurya rasa first shone brightly in Vraja. This rasa rarely enters the hearts of conditioned souls, because this rasa tends to stay with prepared, pure living entities. This mysterious rasa was preached by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Moon of Navadvipa, together with His followers. Until now this rasa has not crossed the borders of India. Recently a scholar from England named Newman realized something about this rasa and wrote a book about it. People in Europe and America were not fully satisfied with vatsalya rasa, mixed with opulence, as preached by Jesus Christ. I hope that by the Lord's mercy, the time will come very soon when they will feel attraction to drink the intoxicating nectar of madhurya rasa.
It has been observed that any rasa that appeared in India gradually spread to Western countries, therefore madhurya rasa will soon be preached all over the world. Just as the sun first rises in India and gradually spreads its rays to the West, so the incomparable effulgence of spiritual truths first appears in India and gradually spreads to Western countries.
Self-Check Questions
- Explain the differences between material and spiritual love.
- List the five rasas and their Sanskrit names.
- Tell how relationships with the Lord develop from shanta dasa to madhurya.