244 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
SYNONYMS

priya—the lover; yadi—if; mdna kari’—sulking; karaye—does; bhartsana—rebuking;
veda-stuti—the Vedic prayers; haite—from; hare—takes away; se/—that; mora—My;
mana—mind.

TRANSLATION

“If My beloved consort reproaches Me in a sulky mood, that steals My mind from
the reverent hymns of the Vedas.

PURPORT

According to the Upanisads, all living entities are dependent on the supreme
living entity, the Personality of Godhead. As it is said, nityo nityGndrn cetana$
cetandnam eko bahiinadrh yo vidadhati kaéman: one eternal living entity supports all
the other eternal living entities. Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead main-
tains all the other living entities, they remain subordinate to the Lord, even when
joined with Him in the reciprocation of loving affairs. But in the course of exchang-
ing transcendental love of the highest purity, sometimes the subordinate devotee
tries to predominate over the predominator. One who lovingly engages with the
Supreme Lord as if His mother or father sometimes supersedes the position of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, His fiancée or lover sometimes supersedes
the position of the Lord. But such attempts are exhibitions of the highest love.
Only out of pure love does the subordinate lover of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead chide Him. The Lord, enjoying this chiding, takes it very nicely. The
exhibition of natural love makes such activities very enjoyable. In worship of the
Supreme Lord with veneration there isno manifestation of such natural love because
the devotee considers the Lord his superior.

Regulative principles in devotional service are meant for those who have not
invoked their natural love of Godhead. When natural love arises, all regulative
methods are surpassed, and pure love is exhibited between the Lord and the devotee.
Although on such a platform of love the devotee sometimes appears to predominate
over the Lord or transgress regulative principles, such dealings are far more advanced
than ordinary dealings through regulative principles with awe and veneration. A
devotee who is actually free from all designations due to complete attachment in
love for the Supreme exhibits spontaneous love for Godhead, which is always
superior to the devotion of regulative principles.

The informal language used between lover and beloved is significant of pure
affection. When devotees worship their beloved as the most venerable object,
spontaneous loving sentiments are observed to be lacking. A neophyte devotee who
follows the Vedic instructions that regulate those who lack pure love of Godhead
may superficially seem more exalted than a devotee in spontaneous love of God-
head. But in fact such spontaneous pure love is far superior to regulated devotional
service. Such pure love of Godhead is always glorious in all respects, more so than
reverental devotional service rendered by a less affectionate devotee.
