Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Nectar of Devotion

When Madhumangala, an intimate friend of Krishna, was dancing before Krishna in a joking manner, no one was paying attention to him, and he jokingly said, "My dear Lord, please be merciful upon me. I am praying for Your mercy." This is an example of uparasa in fraternal affection and neutrality.

Kamsa once addressed his sister Devaki as follows: "My dear sister, having seen your dear son Krishna, I think that He is so strong that He can kill even wrestlers as strong as the mountains. So I will have no more anxieties about Him, even if He is engaged in a terrible fight." This is an instance of uparasa in a perverted reflection of parental love.

In the Lalita-madhava, Srila Rupa Gosvami says, "The wives of the yajnika brahmanas were all young girls, and they were attracted to Krishna in the same way as the gopis of Vrindavana. Out of their attraction, they distributed food to Krishna." Here the two devotional mellows are conjugal love and parental love, and the result is called uparasa in conjugal love.

One of the friends of Srimati Radharani told Her, "My dear friend Gandharvika [Radharani], You were the most chaste girl in our village, but now You have divided Yourself and are partially chaste and partially unchaste. It is all due to Cupid's influence upon You after You saw Krishna and heard the sound of His flute." This is another example of uparasa caused by divided interests in conjugal love.

According to some expert learned scholars, the feelings between lover and beloved create perverted reflections of mellows in many ways.

"The gopis have become purified by Krishna's glance, and as such, Cupid's influence is distinctly visible on their bodies." Although in the material sense the glancing of a boy at a girl is a kind of pollution, when Krishna threw His transcendental glance at the gopis, they became purified. In other words, because Krishna is the Absolute Truth, any action by Him is transcendentally pure.

After Krishna chastised the Kaliya-naga in the Yamuna River by dancing on his heads, the Kaliya-naga's wives addressed Krishna, "Dear cowherd boy, we are all only young wives of the Kaliya-naga, so why do You agitate our minds by sounding Your flute?" Kaliya's wives were flattering Krishna so that He would spare their husband. Therefore this is an example of uparasa, or false expression.

One devotee said, "My dear Govinda, here is a nice flowery bush in Kailasa. I am a young girl, and You are a young poetic boy. After this, what more can I say? You just consider." This is an example of uparasa, caused by impudence in conjugal love.

When Narada Muni was passing through Vrindavana, he came to the Bhandiravana forest and saw in one of the trees the famous parrot couple that always accompanies Lord Krishna. The couple was imitating some discussion they had heard upon the Vedanta philosophy, and thus were seemingly arguing upon various philosophical points. Upon seeing this, Narada Muni was struck with wonder, and he began to stare without moving his eyelids. This is an example of anurasa, or imitation.

When Krishna was fleeing from the battlefield, from a distant place Jarasandha was watching Him with restless eyes and was feeling very proud. Being thus puffed up with his conquest, he was repeatedly laughing. This is an example of aparasa.

Everything in connection with Krishna is called ecstatic devotional love, although it may be exhibited in different ways: sometimes in right order and sometimes as a perverted reflection. According to the opinion of all expert devotees, anything that will arouse ecstatic love for Krishna is to be taken as an impetus for transcendental mellow.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta summary study of Sri Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu by Srila Rupa Gosvami.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness