The Ingredients of Ecstasy
Bhaktivinoda Thäkura
Rasa is created when rati has matured and produced sthäyi-bhäva. When the four ingredients of bhäva (vibhäva, anubhäva, sättvika bhäva and vyabhicäré bhäva) are added, rasa is churned up. Vibhäva (the basis of ecstatic love) is of two kinds: älambana (the support—the person) and uddipana (the stimuli—the characteristics of the person). Älambana is further divided into two: äçrayä (the shelter) and visaya (the object). The devotee, in whom the sthäyi-bhäva reposes, is the äçrayä (the shelter) of rasa. The Person towards whom the sthäyi-bhäva is directed is the viñaya, (the object of rasa). In the realm of spiritual rasa, the object of worship is the viñaya and the worshiper is the shelter, äçrayä. The qualities and characteristics of the object of worship are known as uddépanas (stimuli).
The following is a list of the twelve different anubhävas (external bodily symptoms of ectacsy): dancing, rolling on the ground, singing loudly, stretching the body, crying out loudly, yawning, breathing heavily, disregarding the presence of others, drooling, laughing madly, reeling in the head and belching.
Next is a list of the eight sattvika bhävas (transformations in the body arising from the internal disturbance of the heart and präëa): becoming stunned, perspiration, horripilation, faltering of the voice, trembling, pallor, tears and devastation (fainting).
There are, in all, thirty-three symptoms of vyabhicäré bhäva (overwhelming ecstatic love): disappointment, lamentation, humility, guilt, fatigue, intoxication, pride, doubt, apprehension, intense emotion, madness, forgetfulness, disease, confusion, death, laziness, inertness, bashfulness, concealment, remembrance, argumentativeness, anxiety, thoughtfulness, endurance, happiness, eagerness, violence, haughtiness, envy, impudence, dizziness, sleepiness and alertness.
All these ecstatic symptoms rise like the sun and create waves in the ocean of bhäva to further nurture the devotee's sthäyi-bhäva.
Rasa is created when rati has matured and produced sthäyi-bhäva. When the four ingredients of bhäva (vibhäva, anubhäva, sättvika bhäva and vyabhicäré bhäva) are added, rasa is churned up. Vibhäva (the basis of ecstatic love) is of two kinds: älambana (the support—the person) and uddipana (the stimuli—the characteristics of the person). Älambana is further divided into two: äçrayä (the shelter) and visaya (the object). The devotee, in whom the sthäyi-bhäva reposes, is the äçrayä (the shelter) of rasa. The Person towards whom the sthäyi-bhäva is directed is the viñaya, (the object of rasa). In the realm of spiritual rasa, the object of worship is the viñaya and the worshiper is the shelter, äçrayä. The qualities and characteristics of the object of worship are known as uddépanas (stimuli).
The following is a list of the twelve different anubhävas (external bodily symptoms of ectacsy): dancing, rolling on the ground, singing loudly, stretching the body, crying out loudly, yawning, breathing heavily, disregarding the presence of others, drooling, laughing madly, reeling in the head and belching.
Next is a list of the eight sattvika bhävas (transformations in the body arising from the internal disturbance of the heart and präëa): becoming stunned, perspiration, horripilation, faltering of the voice, trembling, pallor, tears and devastation (fainting).
There are, in all, thirty-three symptoms of vyabhicäré bhäva (overwhelming ecstatic love): disappointment, lamentation, humility, guilt, fatigue, intoxication, pride, doubt, apprehension, intense emotion, madness, forgetfulness, disease, confusion, death, laziness, inertness, bashfulness, concealment, remembrance, argumentativeness, anxiety, thoughtfulness, endurance, happiness, eagerness, violence, haughtiness, envy, impudence, dizziness, sleepiness and alertness.
All these ecstatic symptoms rise like the sun and create waves in the ocean of bhäva to further nurture the devotee's sthäyi-bhäva.
Comments