365bet娱乐

Another list we must consider is that of the stages Rupa that occur in the development of preman itself. indicates that the advanced levels of love for God are exceedingly difficult to understand. 73 In fact, because they are rarely manifest in aspirants, he discusses them only briefly in the BRS 74 and reserves their detailed consideration for his Ujjvalanilamani. He gives, in the latter, an extended analysis of the various nuances of what he and the tradition believe to be the most fervent devotional relationship possible, that of the gopis' and their beloved Krsna. The stages considered are (1) preman

138 75 (7) 76 (2) sneha, (3) mana, (4) pranaya, (5) raga, (6) anuraga, bhava, and (8) mahabhava. In the Caitanya-caritamrta, these levels are compared with the stages which sugar passes through during refinement: sugarcane seed, sugarcane, sugarcane juice, molasses, brown sugar, white sugar, sugar candy, and rock candy. Like the sweetness of sugar, says Krsnadasa, the sweet taste (asvada) of preman increases as it is refined. Preman, now considered as the first of these eight higher levels of bhakti, is described as the bond of feeling (bhavabandhana) that is the indestructible seed (bija) of love. 77 Sneha, literally "affection," is a further development of preman which causes complete melting of the heart (hrdayadravana) upon seeing, hearing of, or 78 recollecting the beloved. This is a deeper state than bhava or preman, which cause only softening of the heart. Mana, an emotion that plays a vital part in the classical dramatic accounts of the love affair of Radha and Krsna, is an affected mood of fickleness or pique owing to jealousy. The literal meaning of the term is "pride," but it suggests much more: a special combination of indignation and affection, resistance and longing, that serves to heighten the feeling of love between the partners.79 Pranaya, the name of the next stage, is usually used as a synonym for love. Here, however, it refers more specifically to a state of love in friendly confidence

139 (visrambha), either maitra, friendship qualified by humility, or sakhya, unreserved fellowship. 80 Raga, literally "attachment" or "passion," is described as "that stage at which affection for the beloved converts unhappiness into happiness." With this kind of love, Rupa 81 declares, one is willing to give up one's life for Krsna. Anuraga is the state in which love is ever fresh, constantly revealing what was unknown before. It has four aspects: self-surrender (paravasibhava), anxious anticipation of separation (premavaicitya), desire for birth as an inanimate object dear to the Lord (apranijanma), and having visions of the beloved in the state of separation (vipralambhavisphurti).82 Bhava or mahabhava (the "great ecstasy"), the last stage, is the highest pinnacle of love. According to the tradition, it can be experienced only by Krsna's queens and the gopfs. 83 The gopis alone, however, have the ability to experience its higher reaches. Indeed, in its fully developed form it can be attained only by Radha 84 or a divine incarnation that is able to reactualize her unique intensity of love, the only example of the latter recognized by the tradition being Caitanya himself. 85 Mahabhava is said to have two levels of development. When several, but not all, of the physical manifestations of love (sattvikabhavas) are "burning intensely," it is said to

140 be "developed" (rudha). Symptoms of this state include the inability to bear separation even for a moment (nimesasahata) and the distortion of one's time sense so that a whole age (kalpa) seems to last only a moment (ksana) and a moment seems to last a whole age. The second stage, attained 86 when all of the physical symptoms are present in their full intensity, is called "totally developed great ecstasy" (adhirudhamahabhava), which may in its initial modes be either "delighting" (modana) or "utterly intoxicating" (mohana), depending on the extremity of the physical manifestations.87 According to the Caitanya-caritamrta, the former state is experienced when in the presence of the beloved and the latter when separated.88 The profundity of mohana is suggested by its association with such phenomena as divine frenzy (divyonmada) and the willingness to bear unbearable suffering. It is said to have the capacity to cause the whole universe to sorrow. 89 The final level of this "totally developed great ecstasy" is termed madana ("maddening"). Including simultaneously the unimaginable bliss of union and the heart-rending pangs of separation, it is said to have infinite varieties of expression that are beyond the reach of language or understanding. 90 Caitanya's experience of mahabhava as he relived the ecstatic agony of Radha's separation from Krsna is reported in the Caitanya-caritamrta as follows:

141 At first he went as fast as the wind, then suddenly he turned into a pillar, paralysed and unable to move. The flesh around the roots of his hair swelled like boils, and his hair stood on end all over his body. Sweat was dripping from his hair like blood. Unable to speak, his throat emitted gurgling sounds. His eyes filled with tears; his body turned pallid like a white conch. He began to shake, and shivering and trembling fell down on 91 the ground. It would be hard to imagine a true Advaitin accepting the kind of spirituality represented in such descriptions. Madhusudana's conception of the highest stages of bhakti, as we shall see, makes room for the familiar gopt-paradigm, even including the theme of love in separation. But it remains to be seen whether his idea of devotion approaches the ecstatic extremes envisioned by the Bengal tradition. While he uses much of the same technical terminology, in many cases the meanings are different, and in the end he makes a surprising re-evaluation of the hallowed Vaisnava belief that the bhakti of the gopis occupies the highest place in the hierarchy of devotional experience.