Reverential Devotion of Sons and Other Subordinates 323

premature stage it is sometimes found that a lusty, conditioned per-
son will artificially try to establish some relationship with Krsna in
conjugal love. The result of this is that one becomes prakrta-sahajiya,
or one who takes everything very cheaply. Although such persons
may be very anxious to establish a relationship with Krsna in con-
jugal love, their conditioned life in the material world is still most
abominable. A person who has actually established his relationship
with Krsna can no longer act on the material plane, and his personal
character cannot be criticized.

When Cupid came on one occasion to visit Lord Krsna, some devo-
tee addressed him thus: “My dear Cupid, because you have been so
fortunate as to have placed your eyesight on the lotus feet of Krsna,
the drops of perspiration on your body have become frozen, and
they resemble kantaki fruits [a kind of a small fruit found in thorny
bushes].” These are signs of ecstasy and veneration unto the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. When the princes of the Yadu dynasty heard
the vibration of Krsna’s Paficajanya conchshell, the hairs on their
bodies immediately stood up in ecstatic jubilation. It seemed at that
time that all the hairs on the bodies of the princes were dancing in
ecstasy.

In addition to jubilation, there are sometimes symptoms of disap-
pointment. Pradyumna once addressed Samba with these words: “My
dear Samba, you are such a glorified personality! I have seen that
once when you were playing on the ground, your body became
covered with dust; yet, our father, Lord Krsna, still took you up on
His lap. But I am so unfortunate that I could never get such love
from our father!” This statement is an example of disappointment in
love.

To regard Krsna as one’s superior is called reverential feeling, and
when, in addition to this, a devotee feels that Krsna is his protector,
his transcendental love for Krsna is increased, and his combined feel-
ings are called reverential devotion. When this steady reverential de-
votion increases further, it is called love of Godhead in reverential de-
votion. Attraction and affection are two prominent symptoms of this
stage. In this reverential devotional attitude, Pradyumna never talked
to his father in a loud voice. In fact, he never so much as unlocked
