Neutral (CC)
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
One should understand, through the transparent medium of the spiritual master, that the Supreme Lord exists everywhere in His transcendental spiritual nature and that the living entities' relationships with the Lord are directly and indirectly existing everywhere, even in this material world. In the spiritual world there are five kinds of relationships with the Supreme Lord—śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya and mādhurya. The perverted reflections of these rasas are found in the material world. Land, home, furniture and other inert material objects are related in śānta, or the neutral and silent sense, whereas servants work in the dāsya relationship. The reciprocation between friends is called sakhya, the affection of a parent for a child is known as vātsalya, and the affairs of conjugal love constitute mādhurya. These five relationships in the material world are distorted reflections of the original, pure sentiments, which should be understood and perfected in relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. In the material world the perverted rasas bring frustration. If these rasas are reestablished with Lord Kṛṣṇa, the result is eternal, blissful life.
In this verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.6.47), vāta-vāsanāḥ refers to mendicants who do not care about anything material, including clothing, but who depend wholly on nature. Such sages do not cover their bodies even in severe winter or scorching sunshine. They take great pains not to avoid any kind of bodily suffering, and they live by begging from door to door. They never discharge their semen, either knowingly or unknowingly. By such celibacy they are able to raise the semen to the brain. Thus they become most intelligent and develop very sharp memories. Their minds are never disturbed or diverted from contemplation on the Absolute Truth, nor are they ever contaminated by desire for material enjoyment. By practicing austerities under strict discipline, such mendicants attain a neutral state transcendental to the modes of nature and merge into the impersonal Brahman.
Dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya and śṛṅgāra are the transcendental modes of loving service to the Lord. Śānta-rasa, or the neutral stage, is not mentioned in this verse because although in śānta-rasa one considers the Absolute Truth the sublime great, one does not go beyond that conception. Śānta-rasa is a very grand idea for materialistic philosophers, but such idealistic appreciation is only the beginning; it is the lowest among the relationships in the spiritual world. Śānta-rasa is not given much importance because as soon as there is a slight understanding between the knower and the known, active loving transcendental reciprocations and exchanges begin. Dāsya-rasa is the basic relationship between Kṛṣṇa and His devotees; therefore this verse considers dāsya the first stage of transcendental devotional service.
The descent of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, is very purposeful. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that one who knows the truth about Śrī Kṛṣṇa's descent and His various activities is at once liberated and does not have to fall again to this existence of birth and death after he leaves his present material body. In other words, one who factually understands Kṛṣṇa makes his life perfect. Imperfect life is realized in material existence, in five different relationships we share with everyone within the material world: neutrality, servitorship, friendship, parental love and amorous love between husband and wife or lover and beloved. These five enjoyable relationships within the material world are perverted reflections of relationships with the Absolute Personality of Godhead in the transcendental nature. That Absolute Personality, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, descends to revive the five eternally existing relationships. Thus He manifests His transcendental pastimes in Vraja so that people may be attracted into that sphere of activities and leave aside their imitation relationships with the mundane. Then, after fully exhibiting all such activities, the Lord disappears.
Similarly, one who understands the pure parental love of Nanda and Yaśodā for Kṛṣṇa will be saved from being dragged into material parental affection. If one accepts Kṛṣṇa as the supreme friend, the attraction of material friendship will be finished for him, and he will not be dismayed by so-called friendship with mundane wranglers. If he is attracted by servitorship to Kṛṣṇa, he will no longer have to serve the material body in the degraded status of material existence, with the false hope of becoming master in the future. Similarly, one who sees the greatness of Kṛṣṇa in neutrality will certainly never again seek the so-called relief of impersonalist or voidist philosophy. If one is not attracted by the transcendental nature of Kṛṣṇa, one is sure to be attracted to material enjoyment, thus to become implicated in the clinging network of virtuous and sinful activities and to continue material existence by transmigrating from one material body to another. Only in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can one achieve the highest perfection of life.
In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that the Lord, being equally disposed toward every living being, has no enemies and no friends but that He has special affection for a devotee who always thinks of Him in love. Therefore neutrality and partiality are both among the transcendental qualities of the Lord, and they are properly adjusted by His inconceivable energy. The Lord is Para-brahman, or the source of the impersonal Brahma, which is His all-pervading feature of neutrality. In His personal feature, however, as the owner of all transcendental opulences, the Lord displays His partiality by taking the side of His devotees. Partiality, neutrality and all such qualities are present in God; otherwise they could not be experienced in the creation. Since He is the total existence, all things are properly adjusted in the Absolute. In the relative world such qualities are displayed in a perverted manner, and therefore we experience nonduality as a perverted reflection.
As an expansion of Lord Viṣṇu he is called Hara, and he is transcendental to the material qualities, but when he is in touch with tamo-guṇa he appears contaminated by the material modes of nature. This is explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Brahma-saṁhitā. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Tenth Canto, it is stated that Lord Rudra is always associated with the material nature when she is in the neutral, unmanifested stage, but when the modes of material nature are agitated he associates with material nature from a distance. In the Brahma-saṁhitā the relationship between Viṣṇu and Lord Śiva is compared to that between milk and yogurt. Milk is converted into yogurt by certain additives, but although milk and yogurt have the same ingredients, they have different functions. Similarly, Lord Śiva is an expansion of Lord Viṣṇu, yet because of his taking part in the annihilation of the cosmic manifestation, he is considered to be changed, like milk converted into yogurt.
Lord Caitanya, who is known as Śrī Gaurahari, is complete in relishing all the different mellows, namely neutrality, servitorship, fraternity, parental affection and conjugal love. By accepting the ecstasy of different grades of devotees, He is complete in relishing all the mellows of these relationships.
Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu is the immediate expansion of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as His brother. He is the personified spiritual bliss of sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1). His body is transcendental and full of ecstasy in devotional service. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is therefore called bhakta-rūpa (the form of a devotee), and Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu is called bhakta-svarūpa (the expansion of a devotee). Śrī Advaita Prabhu, the incarnation of a devotee, is viṣṇu-tattva and belongs to the same category. There are also different types of bhaktas, or devotees, on the platforms of neutrality, servitude, friendship, parenthood and conjugal love. Devotees like Śrī Dāmodara, Śrī Gadādhara and Śrī Rāmānanda are different energies. This confirms the Vedic sūtra parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). All these bhakta subjects taken together constitute Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is Kṛṣṇa Himself.
In connection with verses 16 and 17, Śrī Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura explains in his Anubhāṣya: "There are specific symptoms by which the internal devotees and the unalloyed or pure devotees are to be known. All unalloyed devotees are śakti-tattvas, or potencies of the Lord. Some of them are situated in conjugal love and others in parental affection, fraternity and servitude. Certainly all of them are devotees, but by making a comparative study it is found that the devotees or potencies who are engaged in conjugal love are better situated than the others. Thus devotees who are in a relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in conjugal love are considered to be the most confidential devotees of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Those who engage in the service of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu and Lord Advaita Prabhu generally have relationships of parental love, fraternity, servitude and neutrality. When such devotees develop great attachment for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they too become situated within the intimate circle of devotees in conjugal love."
CC Madhya-lila
In the dakṣiṇa-vibhāga (southern division) there is a general description of the mellow (relationship) called bhakti-rasa, which is derived from devotional service. There are also descriptions of the stages known as vibhāva, anubhāva, sāttvika, vyabhicārī and sthāyi-bhāva, all on this high platform of devotional service. Thus there are five waves in the dakṣiṇa-vibhāga division. In the western division (paścima-vibhāga) there is a description of the chief transcendental humors derived from devotional service. These are known as mukhya-bhakti-rasa-nirūpaṇa, or attainment of the chief humors or feelings in the execution of devotional service. In that part there is a description of devotional service in neutrality, further development in love and affection (called servitude), further development in fraternity, further development in parenthood, or parental love, and finally conjugal love between Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. Thus there are five waves in the western division.
There is also a discussion of how spiritual feelings can be present when one simply imitates them and of how such mellows are far superior to the ordinary mellows of mundane love, and there are descriptions of different ecstasies, the awakening of ecstasy, transcendental qualities, the distinction of dhīrodātta, the utmost attractiveness of conjugal love, the ecstatic features, the permanent ecstatic features, the mellows divided in five transcendental features of direct loving service, and indirect loving service, considered in seven divisions. Finally there is a discussion of overlapping of different rasas, and there are discussions of śānta (neutrality), servitorship, taking shelter, parental love, conjugal love, direct transcendental enjoyment and enjoyment in separation, previous attraction and the glories of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
As Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura explains, the word nirapekṣa means not being affected by anything material and remaining fixed in the service of the Lord. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not very much care for the roaring tumult and cry at the house of Advaita Ācārya, which He heard when starting for Jagannātha Purī. Worldly moralists may criticize Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu for being very cruel, but the Lord did not care for such criticism. As the world teacher of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, He actually showed that a person seriously engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness should not be affected by worldly affection. The best course is to engage in rendering service to the Lord and to become callous to material objectives. Externally everyone is attached to material things, but if one becomes entangled in such things, he cannot make progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore those who are engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness should not care for the so-called morality of the material world if that morality opposes the service of the Lord. As Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu has personally shown, one cannot properly execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness without being neutral.
Devotional service mixed with non-Vedic speculative knowledge is certainly not pure devotional service. Therefore Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī in his Anubhāṣya preaches that self-realization following the execution of ritualistic ceremonies is in the neutral stage between liberation and conditioned life. It is a place beyond this material world, in the river Virajā, where the three modes of material nature are subdued or neutralized in the unmanifest stage. However, the spiritual world is a manifestation of spiritual energy and is known as Vaikuṇṭhaloka, "the place where there is no anxiety." The material world, known as brahmāṇḍa, is the creation of the external energy.
“It is true that whatever relationship a particular devotee has with the Lord is the best for him; still, when we study all the different methods from a neutral position, we can understand that there are higher and lower degrees of love.
Each and every one of them is as perfect as the others. But by comparative study an unbiased person can realize that the mellow of servitorship is better than the mellow of neutrality, that the mellow of fraternity is better than the mellow of servitorship, that the parental mellow is better than that of fraternity, and that above all other mellows is the mellow of conjugal love. However, these are all spiritually situated on the same platform because all these relationships of perfection in love are based on a central point—Kṛṣṇa.
These mellows cannot be compared to the feelings one derives from demigod worship. Kṛṣṇa is one, but the demigods are different. They are material. Love for Kṛṣṇa cannot be compared to material love for different demigods. Because Māyāvādīs are on the material platform, they recommend the worship of Śiva or Durgā and say that worship of Kālī and Kṛṣṇa are the same. However, on the spiritual platform there is no demigod worship. The only worshipable object is Kṛṣṇa. Therefore although there is no difference between a devotee in śānta-rasa or dāsya-rasa, vātsalya-rasa or mādhurya-rasa, one can still make a comparative study of the intensity of love in these different transcendental positions. For example, it may be said that dāsya-rasa is better than śānta-rasa, yet transcendental love of God is there in both of them. Similarly, we can judge that love of Godhead in fraternity is better than love of Godhead in neutrality and servitorship. Similarly, love of Godhead in parental affection is better than love in fraternity. And, as stated before, love of God in the conjugal rasa is superior to that in the parental rasa.
To explain the topmost quality of conjugal love, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī gives the example of the material elements—sky, air, fire, water and earth. In the sky (space) there is the quality of sound. Similarly, in air there are the qualities of sound and touch. In fire, there are three qualities—sound, touch and form. In water there are four qualities—sound, touch, form and taste. Finally, in earth there are all five qualities—sound, touch, form, taste and also smell. Now, one can see that the quality of the sky is in all—namely in air, fire, water and earth. In earth we can find all the qualities of material nature. The same can be applied to the rasa known as mādhurya-rasa, or conjugal love. In conjugal love there are the qualities of neutrality, servitorship, fraternity and parental affection, as well as those of conjugal love itself. The conclusion is that through conjugal love the Lord is completely satisfied.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura points out that in Vrajabhūmi there is the Yamunā River with its sandy banks. There are kadamba trees, cows, Kṛṣṇa's sticks with which He herds cows, and Kṛṣṇa's flute. All of these belong to śānta-rasa, the mellow of neutrality in devotional service. There are also the direct servants of Kṛṣṇa, such as Citraka, Patraka and Raktaka, and these are the embodiments of service in the mellow of servitude. There are also friends like Śrīdāmā and Sudāmā, who embody service in fraternity. Nanda Mahārāja and mother Yaśodā are the embodiments of parental love. Above all of these are Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Her assistants, the gopīs Lalitā, Viśākhā and others, who embody conjugal love. In this way all five mellows—śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya and mādhurya—exist eternally in Vrajabhūmi. They are also compared, respectively, to copper, bell metal, silver, gold and touchstone, the basis of all metals. Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmī therefore refers to a mine eternally existing in Vṛndāvana, Vrajabhūmi.
Devotional service can control the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the supreme controller of all universal affairs. The five rasas (mellows) in the transcendental world are practiced by the inhabitants of Goloka Vṛndāvana in neutrality, servitorship, friendship, parental affection and conjugal love. All these please the Lord so much that He is controlled by the devotees. For instance, mother Yaśodā was so advanced in devotional service that Kṛṣṇa agreed to be controlled by her stick. In other words, the five principal mellows are so great and glorious that they are able to control the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the material world, however, the so-called siddhis, or perfections, manifest their brightness only as long as one is not interested in devotional service. In other words, the perfection of the karmīs, jñānīs, yogīs and others remains attractive only as long as one does not come to the point of devotional service, which is so great and significant that it can control the supreme controller, Kṛṣṇa.
"When one is completely free from all doubts and material attachments, he attains the neutral position, called śānta."
- vihāya viṣayonmukhyaṁ nijānanda-sthitir yataḥ
- ātmanaḥ kathyate so ’tra svabhāvaḥ śama ity asau
- prāyaḥ śama-pradhānānāṁ mamatā-gandha-varjitā
- paramātmatayā kṛṣṇe jātā śāntī ratir matā
The śānta-rati realization of Kṛṣṇa is in the neutral stage between the conception of impersonalism and personalism. This means that one is not very strongly attached to the personal feature of the Lord. An appreciation of the greatness of the Lord is called śānta-rati. This is attachment not to the personal feature but to the impersonal feature. Generally, one in this stage is attached to the Paramātmā feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
When śānta-rati (neutral attraction) exists continuously and is mixed with ecstatic emotion, and when the devotee relishes that neutral position, it is called śānta-bhakti-rasa. Śānta-bhakti-rasa devotees generally relish the impersonal feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since their taste of transcendental bliss is incomplete, it is called aghana, or not concentrated. A comparison is made between ordinary milk and concentrated milk. When the same devotee goes beyond the impersonal and tastes the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His original form as sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1) (His transcendental, blissful body, complete in knowledge and eternity), the taste is called concentrated (ghana) transcendental bliss. Sometimes the devotees in śānta-rasa relish transcendental bliss after meeting the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but this is not comparable to the transcendental bliss relished by the devotees situated in dāsya-rasa, the transcendental mellow in which one renders service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
On the transcendental platform of neutrality and service, sometimes the opulence of the Lord is prominent. But in the transcendental mellows of fraternal, parental and conjugal love, the opulence is minimized.
When one is fully attached to Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, one attains the śamatā stage. The word "śamatā" is derived from the word "śama"; therefore śānta-rasa, the position of neutrality, means being fully attached to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. This is the verdict from the mouth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. This state is called self-realization.
In this position, one is freed from all material enjoyment. When one is not agitated or disturbed, he can immediately realize his relationship with Kṛṣṇa. A śānta-rasa devotee is therefore always fixed in realization. This instruction was given by the Lord Himself to Uddhava. The beginning of pure devotional service is called anyābhilāṣitā-śūnya. When one is situated on the platform of neutrality, he is freed from the material platform and fully situated in spiritual life. The word dama, used in verse 213, means indriya-saṁyama—curbing one's senses. The word dama can also mean curbing one's enemies. A king has to take steps to curb the criminal activities of his citizens. Great rājarṣis, devotee kings, used to control undesirable elements in their states, and this also may be called dama. However, dama here refers to the conditioned soul who must control his senses. Real dama means controlling the undesirable activities of the senses.
According to the candidate possessing these transcendental qualities (sneha, māna and so on), there are five transcendental mellows—neutrality, servitorship, friendship, parental love and conjugal love.
When the permanent ecstasies (neutrality, servitorship and so on) are mixed with other ingredients, devotional service in love of Godhead is transformed and becomes composed of transcendental mellows.
There are five transcendental mellows—neutrality, servitorship, friendship, parental affection and conjugal love, which is also known as the mellow of sweetness. Conjugal love excels all the others.
The position of neutrality increases up to the point where one can appreciate love of Godhead. The mellow of servitorship gradually increases to the point of spontaneous love of Godhead.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that the mellow of neutrality increases to simple love of Godhead. In the mellow of servitorship, love of Godhead increases beyond that to affection, counterlove (anger based on love), love and attachment. Similarly, the mellow of friendship increases to affection, counterlove, love, attachment and subattachment. It is the same with the mellow of parental affection. The special feature of the mellow of friendship exhibited by personalities like Subala is that it increases from fraternal affection to counterlove, to spontaneous attachment, to subordinate attachment, and finally to the ecstasy where all the ecstatic symptoms continuously exist.
In the transcendental mellows of neutrality and servitorship, there are similar divisions of yoga and viyoga, but they are not variegated. The divisions of yoga and viyoga are always existing in the five mellows. However, in the transcendental mellows of friendship and parental affection, there are many varieties of yoga and viyoga. The varieties of yoga are thus described:
- yogo ‘pi kathitaḥ siddhis
- tuṣṭiḥ sthitir iti tridhā
The attraction to Kṛṣṇa of devotees on the platform of neutrality increases up to love of Godhead (prema), and the attraction of devotees on the platform of servitorship increases to spontaneous attachment (rāga).
These thirteen types of yogīs and munis are called śānta-bhaktas, for they render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the neutral stage.
CC Antya-lila
"When one hears praise from his beloved, he outwardly remains neutral but feels pain within his heart. When he hears his beloved making accusations about him, he takes them to be jokes and enjoys pleasure. When he finds faults in his beloved, they do not diminish his love, nor do the beloved"s good qualities increase his spontaneous affection. Thus spontaneous love continues under all circumstances. That is how spontaneous love of Godhead acts within the heart.’
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is not partial to some and neutral to others. One can actually draw the attention of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by service. Then one is further empowered by the Lord to act in such a way that everyone can appreciate his service. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.11): ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham. Kṛṣṇa is responsive. If one tries to render his best service to the Lord, the Lord gives him the power to do so. Kṛṣṇa also says in the Bhagavad-gītā (10.10):
- teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
- dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te
"To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me." Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestowed His special favor upon Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī because Rūpa Gosvāmī wanted to serve the Lord to the best of his ability. Such is the reciprocation between the devotee and the Lord in the discharge of devotional duties.
You are the most neutral among My associates. This is very good, for without being neutral one cannot protect religious principles.
Such mellows are called uparasa (submellows), anurasa (imitation transcendental mellows) and aparasa (opposing transcendental mellows). Thus the overlapping of transcendental mellows is described as being first grade, second grade or third grade. When the twelve mellows—such as neutrality, servitorship and friendship—are characterized by adverse sthāyi-bhāva, vibhāva and anubhāva ecstasies, they are known as uparasa, submellows. When the seven indirect transcendental mellows and the dried-up mellow of neutrality are produced by devotees and moods not directly related to Kṛṣṇa and devotional service in ecstatic love, they are described as anurasa, imitation mellows. If Kṛṣṇa and the enemies who harbor feelings of opposition toward Him are respectively the object and abodes of the mellow of laughter, the resulting feelings are called aparasa, opposing mellows. Experts in distinguishing one mellow from another sometimes accept some overlapping transcendental mellows (rasābhāsa) as rasas due to their being pleasurable and tasteful.” Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says, paraspara-vairayor yadi yogas tadā rasābhāsaḥ: "When two opposing transcendental mellows overlap, they produce rasābhāsa, or an overlapping of transcendental mellows."
Here is a person coming near. He will give me something. This person gave me something last night. Now another person is coming near. He may give me something. The person who just passed did not give me anything, but another person will come, and he will give me something.’ Thus a person in the renounced order gives up his neutrality and depends on the charity of this person or that. Thinking in this way, he adopts the occupation of a prostitute.
| Page Title: | Neutral (CC) |
| Compiler: | Sahadeva, Mayapur |
| Created: | 05 of Dec, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=37, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 37 |