Bhava - an essential subject

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As human beings, all of us have feelings towards each other and/or for certain objects in our lives. Invariably, all of us have strong feelings towards our parents, and most of us love them. However, we must understand that as everything in this world is temporary, so are our relations as well as the feelings associated with them. If we realize that God (Krishna) is our Supreme, original and permanent father, then we will automatically develop a feeling of love towards Him. A general translation of this feeling of love is 'bhava' because there are various types of bhavas in one's devotion to the Lord. The three stages of transcendental development in devotional service, are technically called sthāyi-bhāva, anubhāva and mahābhāva. Continuous perfect love for God is known as sthāyi-bhāva, and when it is performed in a particular type of transcendental relationship it is called anubhāva. The stage of mahābhāva however, is visible amongst the personal pleasure potential energies of the Lord, which is what all devotees must aim to achieve.

Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, conversations and letters offer a comprehensive presentation of this essential subject as seen in the Vaniquotes Bhava category. An introduction from his books is given below in the following 8 quotes.

Quotes from Srila Prabhupada's books


vanipedia.org 		A person in bhava is confident in his work, and he is never under the impression that he is not making progress toward the supreme goal of life-going back to Godhead. Since he is fully convinced of his progress, he is always confident and keeps himself busy to achieve the highest goal. He is very much attached to gratifying the Lord and in chanting or hearing about the Lord, and he is always attached to describing the transcendental qualities of the Lord. (Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 13)



vanipedia.org 		Lord Caitanya, describing the symptoms of a person who has developed from faith to the stage of bhāva, states that such a person is never agitated even if there are causes for agitation. Nor does such a person waste his time even for a moment; he is always anxious to do something for Kṛṣṇa. Even if he has no engagement, he will find some work to do for Kṛṣṇa's satisfaction. Nor does such a person like anything which is not connected with Kṛṣṇa. Although he is situated in the best position, he does not hanker after honor or personal respect. (Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 13)



vanipedia.org 		As the devotee's heart becomes increasingly sterilized by the sunshine of love, he attains a state called bhāva. This is the description of bhāva given by Rūpa Gosvāmī. Bhāva is the permanent characteristic of the living entity, and the crucial point of progress for bhāva is called the marginal state of love of Godhead. When the bhāva state becomes deeper and deeper, learned devotees call it love of Godhead. (Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 13)



vanipedia.org 		ukadeva Gosvāmī and the Kumāras, although situated in the transcendental position, became converted by another feature of bhāva and turned into pure devotees of the Lord. Tribulations imposed upon the devotees by the Lord constitute another exchange of transcendental bhāva between the Lord and the devotees. The Lord says "I put My devotee into difficulty, and thus the devotee becomes more purified in exchanging transcendental bhāva with Me." Placing the devotee into material troubles means delivering him from the illusory material relations. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.9.19)



vanipedia.org 		When the pleasure potency is further condensed, it is called mahābhāva. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the eternal consort of Kṛṣṇa, is the personification of that mahābhāva. In this regard, in the Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi (4.3) Rūpa Gosvāmī states that there are two competitors in loving Kṛṣṇa—Rādhārāṇī and Candrāvalī. When they are compared, it appears that Rādhārāṇī is superior, for She is mahābhāva-svarūpa. (Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 31)



vanipedia.org 		When one actually becomes situated on the transcendental platform, he becomes steady. Unless one is so situated, his position may not be steady and he may fall down. When one is actually situated transcendentally, there is no fear of falling down. This stage of understanding is technically called sthāyi-bhāva. (Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 1)



vanipedia.org 		The love of the gopīs is called rūḍha-bhāva. It is pure and spotless. It is not at any time lust. As already explained, the position of the gopīs in their loving dealings with Kṛṣṇa is transcendental. Their emotion is called rūḍha-bhāva. Although it is apparently like mundane sex, one should not confuse it with mundane sexual love, for it is pure and unadulterated love of Godhead. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 4.162)



vanipedia.org 		There are two characteristics by which the seeds of love of Godhead can develop, and these are known as rati, or attachment, and bhāva, the condition immediately preceding love of Godhead. It is by such attachment and bhāva that the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is conquered by His devotees. These two characteristics are present before any symptoms of love of Godhead are manifest. (Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 13)


Bhava - explore more within this category.

Vanipedia has now over 903 introductory articles compiled from Srila Prabhupada's books under the series titled Essential Subjects. All these articles can be seen in the Table of Content on the right side of this article and also here in this Umbrella Category. Browse through them to relish the breadth and depth of Srila Prabhupada's teachings - There is a subject for everyone.


   
 

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