The Nectar of Devotion ( Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu)

Description

Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (The Ocean of the Nectar of Devotion) by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī is a foundational Sanskrit text in Gaudiya Vaishnavism, detailing the science of pure devotional service (bhakti) to Krishna, describing its stages from initial practice (sādhana-bhakti) through spiritual ecstasy (bhāva-bhakti) to the highest love (prema-bhakti). It analyzes the spiritual emotions (rasas) involved, offers guidelines for devotional conduct, explains offenses to avoid, and serves as a comprehensive guide for achieving the ultimate goal of loving relationship with God, heavily drawing from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

The book “Nectar of Devotion” is, as Srila Prabhupada’s statement, a “Summary study of Srila Rupa Goswami’s ‘Bhakti Rasamrta-sindhu’”.

The title of the book ‘Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu’ is discussed by Srila Prabhupada in the Preface with the special reference to the word ‘rasa’, because rasa is very difficult to translate into English. But Srila Prabhupada accepted the use of the word ‘mellow’ following Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, meaning ‘the sweet taste that one derives from rendering devotional service’.

[Rasa in the highest sense is actually composed of five different types of ‘bhava’ or ecstasy. When the five types of bhava combine they produce ‘rasa’. Later on, the different five types of bhava will be discussed. We can just imagine how ecstatic rasa is if it is made of the five different types of ecstasy.

One of the types of ecstasy is called ‘stayi-bhava’, which means permanent ecstasy. And this permanent ecstasy will come in one of five categories: neutrality, servitorship, friendship, parental affection and conjugal love. When a person becomes established in his eternal relationship with Krsna he is continuously feeling ecstasy in one of the five types of relationships. Then the basic continuous ecstasy becomes mixed with other types of ecstasy and their combination produces rasa. The mixture of the different types of ecstasy has been

compared to a mixture of yogurt, sugar candy, black pepper and camphor. This is exceedingly tasty.]

Bhakti-rasa means the sweet taste or flavour or mellow that comes from loving and serving Krsna. Amrta means eternal and also nectarean. Sindhu means ocean. Bhakti Rasamrta-sindhu means ‘the nectarean ocean of the mellow or sweet taste of Bhakti’, the ‘Nectar of Devotion’. The sweet taste that comes from serving Krsna with devotion. It is actually an ocean of ecstasy.

Rupa Goswami was told by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself: “I cannot describe fully this ocean of ecstasy, but by letting you taste a drop of it you will get an idea of the quality of this ‘ocean’.”

If there is an ocean of salt and one tastes one drop of it, he gets an idea of the entire ocean’s qualities, how it looks like. Similarly it is impossible to taste completely this ‘Bhakti rasamrta-sindhu’, because it is Krsna’s internal energy. But a living entity according to his ‘capacity’ can swim and dive and enjoy in this ocean.