277 The Nectar of Devotion

or observed by the specific ecstatic symptom. In fact, all the different
humors and mellows of the devotees possess various specific feelings
within the mind. And, according to these differences, the symptoms
of ecstatic love appear in different forms and degrees. If one’s heart
is highly elevated, grave and magnanimous, or if one’s heart is rough
and crude, different symptoms of ecstatic love will appear, influenced
by the condition of the heart. Actually, people cannot generally
understand such different qualities of mentality, but when one’s heart
is very soft or gentle, these symptoms become very easily visible, and
one can understand very clearly. The heart of one who is highly ele-
vated and grave is compared with gold. If one’s heart is very soft and
gentle, his heart is compared with a cotton swab. When there is an
ecstatic sensation within the mind, the golden heart or grave heart is
not agitated, but the soft heart immediately becomes agitated.

To offer another example, a grave, magnanimous heart is compared
to a great city, and a soft heart to an insignificant cottage. There may
be many lights, or even great elephants in the big city, but no one will
take particular notice of them. But when such lights or elephants are
seen near a small cottage, everyone can distinctly point them out.

Hardness of the heart is compared to a lightning bolt, with gold
and with shellac. The lightning bolt is very strong and never becomes
soft. Similarly, the hearts of those who are engaged in severe austeri-
ties and penances do not become very easily softened. The golden
heart becomes melted at high temperature, as in ecstatic love. And
the shellac heart is very easily melted in slight temperature.

Softness of the heart is compared with honey, with butter and with
nectar. And the condition of the mind is compared with sunshine. As
honey and butter become melted even in slight sunshine, so soft-
hearted persons become easily melted. Nectar, however, is by its na-
ture always liquid. And the hearts of those who are in pure ecstatic
love with Krsna are by nature always liquified, just like nectar.

A pure devotee of Krsna is always specifically qualified with nec-
tarean qualifications and sometimes with the qualifications of butter
and honey. On the whole, all the different conditions of the heart
mentioned above can be melted under certain circumstances, just as
a hard diamond sometimes is melted by a combination of certain
