Second Wave: Ecstatic Expressions

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Second Wave: Ecstatic Expressions

Anubhāva

anubhāvās tu citta-stha-bhāvānām avabodhakāḥ |
te bahir vikriyā prāyāḥ proktā udbhāsvarākhyayā ||2.2.1||

Anubhāva refers to those things that express the bhāva within the heart. They are predominantly external transformations, thus they are called udbhāsvara (shining on the body).”

||2.2.2||

“The external transformations known as anubhāvas are actions, such as dancing, rolling on the ground, singing, shouting, stretching the body, bellowing, yawning, breathing heavily, disregarding others, drooling, laughing loudly, whirling around and hiccups.”

||2.2.3||

Anubhāvas are of two types with the suitable names of śita (meaning cool, with a lack of bodily movement) and kṣepana (meaning throwing about, involving distinct bodily movements). Śita includes singing, yawning, breathing heavily, disregarding others, drooling and smiling. Kṣepana includes dancing, rolling on the ground, shouting, stretching the body, bellowing, laughing loudly, whirling around and hiccups.

||2.2.4||

Dancing:
“Seeing the moonlike face of Hari, radiating sweetness as He practiced His flute playing, Lord Śiva began to tremble and then began to dance in the sky along with Ganeṣa to the rhythm of his drum.”

||2.2.5||

Falling on the ground, from the Third Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam [3.1.32]:
“Please tell me whether Akrūra, the son of Śvaphalka, is doing well. He is a faultless soul surrendered unto the Personality of Godhead. He once lost his mental equilibrium due to his ecstasy of transcendental love and fell down on the dust of a road which was marked with the footprints of Lord Kṛṣṇa.”

||2.2.6||

Another example:
“O Kṛṣṇa! Because of Her new attraction for You, Rādhā is not in control of Her limbs. On smelling the fragrance of Your forest garland, becoming intoxicated, she has fallen on the hard ground of Vraja and injured Her beautiful body.”

||2.2.7||

Singing:
“Moon of Gokula! Today Rādhā whose mind is possessed by the beauty of the Śrī Rāga (or the zeal of love), is singing a new song about You. Her friends have become like stones, and the stones have melted.”

||2.2.8||

Shouting:
“Because of transformations brought about by chanting the Holy Name of Hari, Nārada began shouting in such a manner that the demons immediately hid themselves, trembling in fear that Narasiṃha had made His appearance.”

||2.2.9||

Another example:
“O son of Vraja's king! Today in Vṛndāvana the beautiful Rādhā, Her heart melted by the sound of Your flute, was constantly shouting in agitation like a female osprey with a changed voice.”

||2.2.10||

Stretching the body:
“Nārada, blissfully singing the Holy Names of Hari on his vīṇā with a happy mind, stretched his body in an astonishing way and completely broke his sacred thread.”

||2.2.11||

Bellowing:
“Hearing the sound of the vīṇā, Śiva, his mind excited, bellowed in such a way that it destroyed the demons and gave the highest bliss to the devotees at every moment.”

||2.2.12||

Yawning:
“O lotus! How astonishing that in the grove of blossoming water lilies, you have blossomed at the rising of the moon on the eastern horizon.”

||2.2.13||

Heavy breathing:
“When the monsoon arrived with colorful clothing, the Cātakī bird named Lalitā became increasingly thirsty. Seeing the form of that black cloud named Kṛṣṇa driven away by the strong breathing of the monsoon wind mixed with rain, she became disturbed.”

||2.2.14||

Disregard for others, from the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam [10.23.40]:
“Just see the unlimited love these women have developed for Lord Kṛṣṇa, the spiritual master of the entire universe! This love has broken for them the very bonds of death—their attachment to family life.”

||2.2.15||

Another example, from Padyāvalī [73]:
“Let the bigmouths gossip! We will not consider it at all! By tasting the sweet liquor of Hari, we we have become joyful and intoxicated. Let us fall on the ground, dance and enjoy.”

||2.2.16||

Drooling:
“I think that Nārada, bitten by the scorpion of prema, is suffering in pain, because he has fallen motionless, and saliva is dripping from his mouth.”

||2.2.17||

Laughing loudly:
“Laughing that arises from a disturbance of the heart is called laughing loudly [aṭṭahāsa]. This is different from a normal laugh,”

||2.2.18||

An example:
“I think that the creeper of devotion in the heart of the servant of Kṛṣṇa has been blossoming for a long time, because a multitude of flowers in the form of his loud laughing is shaking his trembling lips.”

||2.2.19||

Whirling around:
“O my friend, dear flute! Kṛṣṇa, on the pretext of blowing you, is certainly producing a gale. Otherwise, how does your sound alone cause the beautiful women of Vraja to whirl around?”

||2.2.20||

Hiccups:
“O daughter! Are you worrying uselessly that something has happened to your dear friend Rādhā? Do not apply any medicine! Give up your this loud weeping! O beautiful-eyed girl! Today Rādhā, afflicted by the transformations brought on by love for Kṛṣṇa, is afflicted with hiccups while chanting His Holy Name incessantly.”

||2.2.21||

“Other symptoms such as extreme goosebumps and sweating blood are not described here because they are very rare.”

iti śrī-śrī-bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhau dakṣiṇa-vibhāge
bhakti-rasa-sāmānya-nirūpaṇe’nubhāva-laharī dvitīyā |

“Thus ends the Second Wave of the Southern Ocean of Śrī Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, concerning anubhāva.”