PART TWO

20 / Transcendental Mellow

In this second division of Bhakti-rasémrta-sindhu the author offers
his respectful obeisances unto “Sandtana.’’ This Sanatana can be in-
terpreted as either Sri Krsna Himself or as Sanatana Gosvami, the
elder brother and spiritual master of Riipa Gosvami. In the case where
Sandtana is accepted to mean Sri Krsna, the obeisances are offered to
Krsna because He is naturally so beautiful and because He is the killer
of the demon Agha. If it is interpreted to mean Sanatana Gosvami,
then it is because he is so greatly favored by Ripa Gosvami, being
always served by him, and because he is the annihilator of all kinds
of sinful activities. In this division of Bhakti-rasdmrta-sindhu the au-
thor wants to describe the general symptoms of the transcendental
mellow (loving mood) of discharging devotional service.

In this division of Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu there are five general
topics: 1) vibhava—special symptoms of ecstasy, 2) anubhava—sub-
sequent ecstasy, 3) sdttvika-bhava—constitutional ecstasy, 4) vyabhi-

cari-bhava—aggressive ecstasy and 5) sthdyi-bhava—fervent ecstasy.
The word rasa, used in the Bhakti-rasamrta-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 foot-
steps 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 mel-
low. 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-

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