Impetuses for Krsna’s Service 311
of his eyebrows alone he was embracing the Lord. Such ecstatic love
has been divided by great scholars into two groups—addition and sub-
traction. If a devotee is not directly associated with the Lord, it is
called subtraction. In this state of love, one is constantly fixed with
his mind at the lotus feet of the Lord. A devotee in this state be-
comes very eager to learn of the transcendental qualities of the Lord.
The most important business of such a devotee is attaining the asso-
ciation of the Lord.

In the Nrsirhha Purana there is a statement about King Iksvaku
which illustrates this state of ecstatic love. Because of his great affec-
tion for Krsna, King Iksvaku became greatly attached to the black
cloud, the black deer, the deer’s black eyes and to the lotus flower,
which is always compared to the eyes of the Lord. In the Tenth
Canto, 38th Chapter, 9th verse of the Bhagavatam, Akrira thinks:
‘Since the Lord has now appeared to diminish the great burden of
the world and is now visible to everyone’s eyes in His personal tran-
scendental body, when we see Him before us, is that not the ultimate
perfection of our eyes?” In other words, Akrira realized that the
perfection of the eyes is fulfilled when one is able to see Lord Krsna.
Therefore, when Lord Krsna was visible on the earth by direct appear-
ance, everyone who saw Him surely attained perfection of sight.

In the Krsna-karndmrta written by Bilvamangala Thakur there is
this expression of eagerness in ecstatic love: ““How miserable it is, my
dear Krsna, O friend of the hopeless! O merciful Lord, how can I
pass these thankless days without seeing You?” A similar sentiment
was expressed by Uddhava when he wrote a letter to Krsna and said,
‘““My dear Supreme King of Braja, You are the vision of nectar for
the eyes, and without seeing Your lotus feet and the effulgence of
Your body, my mind is always morose. I cannot perceive any peace
under any circumstance. Besides that, I am feeling every moment’s
separation to be like the duration of many, many long years.”

In the Krsna-karnamrta it is also said, ““My dear Lord, You are the
ocean of mercy. With my arms placed upon my head, I am bowing
down befor. You with all humility and sincerity. Iam praying unto
You, my Lord. Would You be pleased just to sprinkle a little of the
water of Your glance upon me? That will be a great satisfaction.”
