Symptoms of Ecstatic Love 228

is stated that sometimes when Narada Muni was chanting the Hare
Krsna mantra, he remained stunned for awhile, and saliva oozed from
his mouth.

Laughing like a Madman

When a devotee laughs very loudly like a madman, it is done out
of an extraordinary agitation of ecstatic love within the heart. Such
mad laughing is an expression of the condition of the heart, which is
technically called atta-hdsa. When a devotee becomes affected with
this mental condition, his love is expressed through the lips. The
laughing sounds, coming one after another, are compared to flowers
falling from the creeper of devotion which grows within the heart of
the devotee. In the Caitanya-caritamrta devotional service to the
Lord is also compared to a creeper which rises up to the lotus feet of
Krsna in Goloka Vrndavana.

Wheeling of the Head

One gopi told her friend: “It appears that Lord Krsna, the enemy
of the demon Agha, has released from His mouth a whirlwind which
is acting on your head and is gradually proceeding to do the same to
the other lotus-eyed gopis.”’

Belching

Sometimes belching also becomes a symptom of ecstatic love for
Krsna. There is evidence of this in Paurnamasi’s address to one crying
associate of Radharani: ‘““My dear daughter, don’t be worried because
Srimati Radharani is belching. I am about to offer a remedial measure
for this symptom. Do not cry so loudly. This belching is not due to
indigestion; it is a sign of ecstatic love for Krsna. I shall arrange to
cure this belching symptom immediately. Don’t be worried.” This
statement of Paurnamasi is evidence that ecstatic love for Krsna is
sometimes manifested through belching.

Sometimes trembling of the whole body and hemorrhaging from
