PART TWO
20 / Transcendental Mellow
In this second division of  Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu  the author offers his respectful obeisances unto “ Sanātana .” This  Sanātana  can be interpreted as either Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself or as Sanātana Gosvāmī, the elder brother and spiritual master of Rūpa Gosvāmī. In the case where  Sanātana  is accepted to mean Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the obeisances are offered to Kṛṣṇa because He is naturally so beautiful and because He is the killer of the demon Agha. If it is interpreted to mean Sanātana Gosvāmī, then it is because he is so greatly favored by Rūpa Gosvāmī, being always served by him, and because he is the annihilator of all kinds of sinful activities. In this division of  Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu  the author wants to describe the general symptoms of the transcendental mellow (loving mood) of discharging devotional service.
In this division of  Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu  there are five general topics: 1)  vibhāva —special symptoms of ecstasy, 2)  anubhāva —subsequent ecstasy, 3)  sāttvika-bhāva —constitutional ecstasy, 4)  vyabhicāri-bhāva —aggressive ecstasy and 5)  sthāyi-bhāva —fervent ecstasy.
The word  rasa , used in the  Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu , is understood by different persons differently because the exact English equivalent is very difficult to find. But as we have seen our spiritual master translate this word  rasa  into “mellow,” we shall follow in his footsteps and also translate the word in that way.
The particular loving mood or attitude relished in the exchange of love with the Supreme Personality of Godhead is called  rasa , or mellow. The different types of  rasa , when combined together, help one to taste the mellow of devotional service in the highest degree of transcendental ecstasy. Such a position, although entirely transcen-
152