Sentiment (CC and Other Books)

Expressions researched:
"sentiment" |"sentimental" |"sentimentalism" |"sentimentalist" |"sentimentalists" |"sentimentality" |"sentimentally" |"sentiments"

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 1.5, Translation:

The loving affairs of Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are transcendental manifestations of the Lord's internal pleasure-giving potency. Although Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are one in Their identity, They separated Themselves eternally. Now these two transcendental identities have again united, in the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. I bow down to Him, who has manifested Himself with the sentiment and complexion of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī although He is Kṛṣṇa Himself.

CC Adi 1.31, Purport:

Lord Caitanya is the Absolute Truth, Kṛṣṇa Himself. This is substantiated by evidence from the authentic spiritual scriptures. Sometimes people accept a man as God on the basis of their whimsical sentiments and without reference to the revealed scriptures, but the author of Caitanya-caritāmṛta proves all his statements by citing the śāstras. Thus he establishes that Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

CC Adi 1.46, Purport:

False spiritual masters pose themselves as identical with Śrī Kṛṣṇa in every respect to exploit the sentiments of their disciples, but such impersonalists can only mislead their disciples, for their ultimate aim is to become one with the Lord. This is against the principles of the devotional cult.

CC Adi 1.56, Purport:

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.

CC Adi 3.15, Translation:

“Everywhere in the world people worship Me according to scriptural injunctions. But simply by following such regulative principles one cannot attain the loving sentiments of the devotees in Vrajabhūmi.

CC Adi 4.15-16, Purport:

During the period of Lord Kṛṣṇa's appearance, the killing of asuras or nonbelievers such as Kaŕsa and Jarāsandha was done by Viṣṇu, who was within the person of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Such apparent killing by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa took place as a matter of course and was an incidental activity for Him. But the real purpose of Lord Kṛṣṇa's appearance was to stage a dramatic performance of His transcendental pastimes at Vrajabhūmi, thus exhibiting the highest limit of transcendental mellow in the exchanges of reciprocal love between the living entity and the Supreme Lord. These reciprocal exchanges of mellows are called rāga-bhakti, or devotional service to the Lord in transcendental rapture. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa wants to make known to all the conditioned souls that He is more attracted by rāga-bhakti than vidhi-bhakti, or devotional service under scheduled regulations. It is said in the Vedas (Taittirīya Up. 2.7), raso vai saḥ: the Absolute Truth is the reservoir for all kinds of reciprocal exchanges of loving sentiments.

CC Adi 4.26, Purport:

The informal language used between lover and beloved is indicative of pure affection. When devotees worship their beloved as the most venerable object, spontaneous loving sentiments are observed to be lacking.

CC Adi 4.29, Translation and Purport:

“The influence of yogamāyā will inspire the gopīs with the sentiment that I am their paramour.

Yogamāyā is the name of the internal potency that makes the Lord forget Himself and become an object of love for His pure devotee in different transcendental mellows. This yogamāyā potency creates a spiritual sentiment in the minds of the damsels of Vraja by which they think of Lord Kṛṣṇa as their paramour. This sentiment is never to be compared to mundane illicit sexual love. It has nothing to do with sexual psychology, although the pure love of such devotees seems to be sexual.

CC Adi 4.30, Purport:

In the spiritual loving sentiment induced by the yogamāyā potency, both Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the damsels of Vraja forget themselves in spiritual rapture. By the influence of such forgetfulness, the attractive beauty of the gopīs plays a prominent part in the transcendental satisfaction of the Lord, who has nothing to do with mundane sex.

CC Adi 4.31, Purport:

The spontaneous attraction of Śrī Kṛṣṇa for His dearest parts and parcels generates an enthusiasm that obliges Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs to meet together. To celebrate this transcendental enthusiasm, there is need of a sentiment of separation between the lover and beloved. In the condition of material tribulation, no one wants the pangs of separation. But in the transcendental form, the very same separation, being absolute in its nature, strengthens the ties of love and enhances the desire of the lover and beloved to meet.

CC Adi 4.34, Purport:

Special natural appreciation of the descriptions of a particular pastime of Godhead indicates the constitutional position of a living entity. Adoration, servitorship, friendship, parental affection and conjugal love are the five primary relationships with Kṛṣṇa. The highest perfectional stage of the conjugal relationship, enriched by many sentiments, gives the maximum relishable mellow to the devotee.

CC Adi 4.41, Translation:

In this way, assuming the sentiment of a devotee, He preached devotional service while practicing it Himself.

CC Adi 4.41, Purport:

The intention of Lord Caitanya is to taste Kṛṣṇa's sweetness in transcendental love. He does not care to think of Himself as Kṛṣṇa, because He wants the position of Rādhārāṇī. We should remember this. A class of so-called devotees called the nadīyā-nāgarīs or gaura-nāgarīs pretend that they have the sentiment of gopīs toward Lord Caitanya, but they do not realize that He placed Himself not as the enjoyer, Kṛṣṇa, but as the enjoyed, the devotee of Kṛṣṇa.

CC Adi 4.44, Translation:

Each kind of devotee feels that his sentiment is the most excellent, and thus in that mood he tastes great happiness with Lord Kṛṣṇa.

CC Adi 4.44, Translation:

But if we compare the sentiments in an impartial mood, we find that the conjugal sentiment is superior to all others in sweetness.

CC Adi 4.50, Translation:

Therefore Lord Gaurāṇga, who is Śrī Hari Himself, accepted the sentiments of Rādhā and thus fulfilled His own desires.

CC Adi 4.50, Purport:

As the Lord appears by His own internal potency, so He also brings all His paraphernalia by the same internal potency, without extraneous help. It is further stated here in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta that the parakīya sentiment exists only in that transcendental realm and nowhere else.

CC Adi 4.55, Translation:

"The loving affairs of Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are transcendental manifestations of the Lord's internal pleasure-giving potency. Although Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are one in Their identity, They separated Themselves eternally. Now these two transcendental identities have again united, in the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. I bow down to Him, who has manifested Himself with the sentiment and complexion of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī although He is Kṛṣṇa Himself."

CC Adi 4.69, Purport:

The unadulterated action of the hlādinī-śakti is displayed in the dealings of the damsels of Vraja and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, who is the topmost participant in that transcendental group. The essence of the hlādinī-śakti is love of Godhead, the essence of love of Godhead is bhāva, or transcendental sentiment, and the highest pitch of that bhāva is called mahābhāva. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the personified embodiment of these three aspects of transcendental consciousness. She is therefore the highest principle in love of Godhead and is the supreme lovable object of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

CC Adi 4.81, Translation:

Among them are various groups of consorts in Vraja who have varieties of sentiments and mellows. They help Lord Kṛṣṇa taste all the sweetness of the rāsa dance and other pastimes.

CC Adi 4.110, Translation:

Whenever a particular sentiment arose in His heart, Svarūpa Dāmodara satisfied Him by singing songs or reciting verses of the same nature.

CC Adi 4.217, Purport:

It is said that the gopīs are divided into five groups, namely the sakhīs, nitya-sakhīs, prāṇa-sakhīs, priya-sakhīs and parama-preṣṭha-sakhīs. All these fair-complexioned associates of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the Queen of Vṛndāvana-dhāma, are expert artists in evoking erotic sentiments in Kṛṣṇa. The parama-preṣṭha-sakhīs are eight in number, and in the ecstatic dealings of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā they side sometimes with Kṛṣṇa and at other times with Rādhārāṇī, just to create a situation in which it appears that they favor one against the other. That makes the exchange of mellows more palatable.

CC Adi 4.220, Translation:

Lord Caitanya appeared with the sentiment of Rādhā. He preached the dharma of this age—the chanting of the holy name and pure love of God.

CC Adi 4.268, Translation:

“Therefore, assuming Rādhārāṇī’s sentiments and bodily complexion, I shall descend to fulfill these three desires.”

CC Adi 4.271-272, Translation:

First Lord Kṛṣṇa made His parents and elders appear. Then Kṛṣṇa Himself, with the sentiments and complexion of Rādhikā, appeared in Navadvīpa, like the full moon, from the womb of mother Śacī, which is like an ocean of pure milk.

CC Adi 6.47, Translation:

All the associates of Lord Kṛṣṇa, such as Brahmā, Śiva, Nārada, Śuka and Sanātana Kumāra, are very pleased in the sentiment of servitude.

CC Adi 6.49-50, Translation:

Śrīvāsa, Haridāsa, Rāmadāsa, Gadādhara, Murāri, Mukunda, Candraśekhara and Vakreśvara are all glorious and are all learned scholars, but the sentiment of servitude to Lord Caitanya makes them mad in ecstasy.

CC Adi 6.82, Translation:

All the emotions, whether those of father, mother, teacher or friend, are full of sentiments of servitude. That is the nature of love of Kṛṣṇa.

CC Adi 6.88, Translation:

The source of the sentiment of servitude is indeed Lord Balarāma. The plenary expansions who follow Him are all influenced by that ecstasy.

CC Adi 6.103, Translation:

The sweetness of Lord Kṛṣṇa is not to be tasted by those who consider themselves equal to Kṛṣṇa. It is to be tasted only through the sentiment of servitude.

CC Adi 7.42, Translation:

"This Caitanya Mahāprabhu is an illiterate sannyāsī and therefore does not know His real function. Guided only by His sentiments, He wanders about in the company of other sentimentalists."

CC Adi 7.101, Purport:

Monist philosophers like Śaṇkarācārya and his followers want to establish that God and the living entity are one, and instead of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead they present themselves as God. They want to be worshiped as God by others. Such persons do not accept the philosophies of the Vaiṣṇava ācāryas, which are known as śuddhādvaita (purified monism), śuddha-dvaita (purified dualism), viśiṣṭādvaita (specific monism), dvaitādvaita (monism and dualism) and acintya-bhedābheda (inconceivable oneness and difference). Māyāvādīs do not discuss these philosophies, for they are firmly convinced of their own philosophy of kevalādvaita, exclusive monism. Accepting this system of philosophy as the pure understanding of the Vedānta-sūtra, they believe that Kṛṣṇa has a body made of material elements and that the activities of loving service to Kṛṣṇa are sentimentality. They are known as Māyāvādīs because according to their opinion Kṛṣṇa has a body made of māyā and the loving service of the Lord executed by devotees is also māyā. They consider such devotional service to be an aspect of fruitive activities (karma-kāṇḍa). According to their view, bhakti consists of mental speculation or sometimes meditation. This is the difference between the Māyāvādī and Vaiṣṇava philosophies.

CC Adi 7.102, Purport:

The Vaiṣṇavas are by far the greatest philosophers in the world, and the greatest among them was Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī Prabhu, whose philosophy was again presented less than four hundred years later by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Mahārāja. Therefore one must know very well that Vaiṣṇava philosophers are not sentimentalists or cheap devotees like the sahajiyās. All the Vaiṣṇava ācāryas were vastly learned scholars who understood Vedānta philosophy fully, for unless one knows Vedānta philosophy he cannot be an ācārya.

CC Adi 7.102, Purport:

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī said:

śruti-smṛti-purāṇādi-pañcarātra-vidhiṁ vinā

aikāntikī harer bhaktir utpātāyaiva kalpate

(Brs. 1.2.101)

"Devotional service performed without reference to the Vedas, Purāṇas, Pañcarātras, etc., must be considered sentimentalism, and it causes nothing but disturbance to society." There are different grades of Vaiṣṇavas (kaniṣṭha-adhikārī, madhyama-adhikārī and uttama-adhikārī), but to be a madhyama-adhikārī preacher one must be a learned scholar in the Vedānta-sūtra and other Vedic literatures because when bhakti-yoga develops on the basis of Vedānta philosophy it is factual and steady.

CC Adi 9.4, Purport:

A sentimentalist who has no Vaiṣṇava qualifications cannot produce transcendental writings. There are many fools who consider kṛṣṇa-līlā to be a subject of art and who write or paint pictures about the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs, sometimes depicting them in a manner practically obscene. These fools take pleasure in material sense gratification, but one who wants to make advancement in spiritual life must scrupulously avoid their literature.

CC Adi 14.75, Purport:

The absolute knowledge explained by the Lord to His mother is described by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhaṣya as follows: “The Lord said, "Mother, that this is pure and that is impure is surely a worldly sentiment with no basis in fact. You have cooked food for Lord Viṣṇu within these pots and offered the food to Him. How then can these pots be untouchable? Everything in relationship with Viṣṇu is to be considered an expansion of Viṣṇu"s energy. Viṣṇu, the Supersoul, is eternal and uncontaminated. How then may these pots be considered pure or impure?’ Hearing this discourse on absolute knowledge, His mother was very much astonished and forced Him to take a bath.”

CC Adi 17.9, Purport:

The followers of the Lord must be prepared to offer brāhmaṇas all due respect. But preachers of Lord Caitanya's cult object if someone presents himself as a brāhmaṇa without having the necessary qualifications. The followers of Lord Caitanya cannot blindly accept that everyone born in a brāhmaṇa family is a brāhmaṇa. Therefore one should not indiscriminately follow the Lord's example of showing respect to brāhmaṇas by drinking water that has washed their feet. Gradually the brāhmaṇa families have become degraded because of the contamination of Kali-yuga. Thus they misguide people by exploiting their sentiments.

CC Adi 17.141, Purport:

The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not a sentimental religious movement; it is a movement for the reformation of all the anomalies of human society.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 1.33, Purport:

Devotional service is not a sentimental activity. The essence of Vedic knowledge is devotional service, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15): vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ. All the Vedic literature aims at understanding Kṛṣṇa, and how to understand Kṛṣṇa through devotional service has been explained by Śrīla Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmīs, with evidence from all Vedic literatures.

CC Madhya 1.34, Translation and Purport:

The Gosvāmīs carried out the preaching work of devotional service on the basis of an analytical study of all confidential Vedic literatures. This was in compliance with the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Thus one can understand the most confidential devotional service of Vṛndāvana.

This proves that bona fide devotional service is based on the conclusions of the Vedic literature. It is not based on the type of sentiment exhibited by the prākṛta-sahajiyās. The prākṛta-sahajiyās do not consult the Vedic literatures, and they are debauchees, woman-hunters and smokers of gañjā. Sometimes they give a theatrical performance and cry for the Lord with tears in their eyes. Of course, all scriptural conclusions are washed off by these tears. The prākṛta-sahajiyās do not realize that they are violating the orders of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who specifically said that to understand Vṛndāvana and the pastimes of Vṛndāvana one must have sufficient knowledge of the śāstras (Vedic literatures). As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.12), bhaktyā śruta-gṛhītayā. This means that devotional service is acquired from Vedic knowledge. Tac chraddadhānāḥ munayaḥ. Devotees who are actually serious attain bhakti, scientific devotional service, by hearing Vedic literatures (bhaktyā śruta-gĺhītayā). It is not that one should create something out of sentimentality, become a sahajiyā and advocate such concocted devotional service.

CC Madhya 1.41, Purport:

There is also a book called Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi, a transcendental account of loving affairs that includes metaphor, analogy and higher bhakti sentiments. Devotional service in conjugal love is described briefly in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, but it is very elaborately discussed in the Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi. This book describes different types of lovers, their assistants, and those who are very dear to Kṛṣṇa.

CC Madhya 1.161, Purport:

For a pure devotee, it is the same whether he materially constructs a path or constructs one within his mind. This is because the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Janārdana, is bhāva-grāhī, or appreciative of the sentiment. For Him a path made with actual jewels and a path made of mental jewels are the same.

CC Madhya 11.102, Purport:

If one does not have full faith in Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he cannot properly chant and dance in the saṇkīrtana movement. Artificial chanting and dancing may be due to sentiments or sentimental agitation, but this cannot help one advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

CC Madhya 16.238, Purport:

When a man takes a dead body to the crematorium, he sometimes thinks, "This is the final end of the body. Why am I working so hard day and night?" Such sentiments naturally arise in the mind of any man who goes to a crematorial ghāṭa. However, as soon as he returns from the cremation grounds, he again engages in material activity for sense enjoyment. This is called śmaśāna-vairāgya, or markaṭa-vairāgya.

CC Madhya 17.116, Translation and Purport:

Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī said, "Yes, I have heard about Him. He is a sannyāsī from Bengal, and He is very sentimental. I have also heard that He belongs to the Bhāratī-sampradāya, for He is a disciple of Keśava Bhāratī. However, He is only a pretender."

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was considered bhāvuka (sentimental) because He was always seen in the bhāva stage. That is, He always exhibited ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. However, foolish people considered Him sentimental. In the material world, so-called devotees sometimes exhibit emotional symptoms. Caitanya Mahāprabhu's ecstatic love cannot be compared to the imitative emotional exhibitions of pretenders. Such exhibitions do not continue for very long. They are temporary.

CC Madhya 17.117, Translation:

Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī continued, “I know that His name is Caitanya and that He is accompanied by many sentimentalists. His followers dance with Him, and He tours from country to country and village to village.

CC Madhya 17.120, Translation:

“This Caitanya is a sannyāsī in name only. Actually He is a first-class magician. In any case, His sentimentalism cannot be very much in demand here in Kāśī.

CC Madhya 17.144, Translation:

“I have come here to sell My emotional ecstatic sentiments in this city of Kāśī, but I cannot find any customers. If they are not sold, I must take them back home.

CC Madhya 19.17, Purport:

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.12):

tac chraddadhānāḥ munayo jñāna-vairāgya-yuktayā

paśyanty ātmani cātmānaṁ bhaktyā śruta-gṛhītayā

"The seriously inquisitive student or sage, well equipped with knowledge and detachment, realizes that Absolute Truth by rendering devotional service in terms of what he has heard from the Vedānta-śruti."

This is not sentiment. Knowledge and renunciation can be obtained through devotional service (bhaktyā śruta-gṛhītayā), that is, by arousing one's dormant devotional consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. When Kṛṣṇa consciousness is aroused, it relieves one from fruitive activity, activity for economic improvement and material enjoyment.

CC Madhya 23.52, Purport:

Nirveda, harṣa and other symptoms are explained in Madhya-līlā 14.167. The transitory elements (vyabhicārī) are described in the Bhakti-rasāmĺta-sindhu as follows:

athocyante trayas triṁśad-bhāvā ye vyabhicāriṇaḥ

viśeṣeṇābhimukhyena caranti sthāyinaṁ prati

vāg-aṇga-sattva-sūcyā ye jñeyās te vyabhicāriṇaḥ

sañcārayanti bhāvasya gatiṁ sañcāriṇo’pi te

unmajjanti nimajjanti stāyiny amṛta-vāridhau

ūrmi-vad vardhayanty enaṁ yānti tad-rūpatāṁ ca te

"There are thirty-three transitory elements, known as vyabhicārī ecstatic emotions. They especially wander about the permanent sentiments as assistants. They are to be known by words, by different symptoms seen in the limbs and in other parts of the body, and by the peculiar conditions of the heart. Because they set in motion the progress of the permanent sentiments, they are specifically called sañcārī, or impelling principles. These impelling principles rise up and fall back in the permanent sentiments of ecstatic love like waves in an ocean of ecstasy. Consequently they are called vyabhicārī."

CC Madhya 25.214, Translation:

Subuddhi Rāya and Sanātana Gosvāmī had known each other before accepting the renounced order. Therefore Subuddhi Rāya showed much affection to Sanātana Gosvāmī, but Sanātana Gosvāmī hesitated to accept his sentiments and affections.

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 2.120, Purport:

One should strictly follow the regulative principles, namely no illicit sex, no meat-eating, no intoxication and no gambling, and in this way one should make progress in spiritual life. If an unfit person sentimentally accepts vairāgya or takes sannyāsa but at the same time remains attached to women, he is in a very dangerous position. His renunciation is called markaṭa-vairāgya, or renunciation like that of a monkey. The monkey lives in the forest, eats fruit and does not even cover itself with a cloth. In this way it resembles a saint, but the monkey always thinks of female monkeys and sometimes keeps dozens of them for sexual intercourse. This is called markaṭa-vairāgya.

CC Antya 3.223, Purport:

Śrīla Advaita Ācārya sets the standard for ācāryas in the Vaiṣṇava sampradāya. An ācārya must always be eager to deliver the fallen souls. A person who establishes a temple or maṭha to take advantage of people's sentiments by using for his livelihood what people contribute for the worship of the Deity cannot be called a gosvāmī or ācārya.

CC Antya 6.162, Purport:

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura comments that although the atheists who have deviated from the order of Śrī Advaita Ācārya introduce themselves as followers of Advaita Ācārya, they do not accept Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Yadunandana Ācārya, one of the most confidential followers of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, was the initiated disciple of Advaita Ācārya. He was not polluted by sentimental distinctions classifying Vaiṣṇavas according to birth. Therefore, although Vāsudeva Datta had not been born in a brāhmaṇa family, Yadunandana Ācārya also accepted him as his spiritual master.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Prologue:

Nimāi Paṇḍita was now the most important paṇḍita of his times.

It was at the age of 16 or 17 that he traveled to Gayā with a host of his students and there took his spiritual initiation from Īśvara Purī, a Vaiṣṇava sannyāsī and a disciple of the renowned Madhavendra Purī. Upon his return to Nadia, Nimāi Paṇḍita turned religious preacher, and his religious nature became so strongly represented that Advaita Prabhu, Śrīvāsa and others who had before the birth of Caitanya already accepted the Vaiṣṇava faith were astonished at the change of the young man. He was then no more a contending naiyāyika, a wrangling smārta and a criticising rhetorican. He swooned at the name of Kṛṣṇa and behaved as an inspired man under the influence of his religious sentiment.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Prologue:

The smārta brāhmaṇas became jealous of Nimāi Paṇḍita's success and complained to Chand Kazi against the character of Caitanya as un-Hindu. The Kazi came to Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita's house and broke a mṛdaṇga (khola drum) there and declared that unless Nimāi Paṇḍita ceased to make noise about his queer religion he would be obliged to enforce Mohammedanism on him and his followers. This was brought to Mahāprabhu's notice. He ordered the townspeople to appear in the evening, each with a torch in his hand. This groups, and on his arrival in the Kazi's house, he held a long conversation with the Kazi and in the end communicated into his heart his Vaiṣṇava influence by touching his body. The Kazi then wept and admitted that he had felt a keen spiritual influence which had cleared up his doubts and produced in him a religious sentiment which gave him the highest ecstasy. The Kazi then joined the saṇkīrtana party. The world was astonished at the spiritual power of the Great Lord, and hundreds and hundreds of heretics converted and joined the banner of Viśvambhara after this affair.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Prologue:

From this time, that is, from his 31 st year, Mahāprabhu continually lived in Purī in the house of Kāśi Miśra until his disappearance in his forty-eighth year at the time of saṇkīrtana in the temple of Ṭoṭā-gopīnātha. During these 18 years, his life was one of settled love and piety. He was surrounded by numerous followers, all of whom were of the highest order of Vaiṣṇavas and who were distinguished from the common people by their purest character and learning, firm religious principles and spiritual love of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Svarūpa Dāmodara, who had been known by the name of Puruṣottamācārya while Mahāprabhu was in Nadia, joined him from Benares and accepted service as his secretary. No production of any poet or philosopher could be laid before Mahāprabhu unless Svarūpa had passed it as pure and useful. Rāya Rāmānanda was his second mate. Both he and Svarūpa would sing while Mahāprabhu expressed his sentiments on a certain point of worship. Paramānanda Purī was his minister in matters of religion. There are hundreds of anecdotes described by his biographers which we do not think it meet here to reproduce. Mahāprabhu slept short. His sentiments carried him far and wide in the firmament of spirituality every day and night, and all his admirers and followers watched him throughout.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 17:

The Māyāvādī philosophers are very fond of Vedānta, and they misinterpret it in their own way. Instead of understanding their own position, they criticized Lord Caitanya as an unauthorized sannyāsī, arguing that because He was a sentimentalist, He was not actually a bona fide sannyāsī.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 18:

The Māyāvādī sannyāsī is simply supposed to engage in the study of Vedānta. Therefore when the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs in Benares saw that Lord Caitanya was indulging in singing, dancing, playing musical instruments and always chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, they concluded that He was not educated and that, out of sentiment, He was misleading His followers. Śaṇkarācārya's injunction was that a sannyāsī should always be engaged in the study of Vedānta and that he should be satisfied by simply having one cloth and nothing more. Because Lord Caitanya neither studied Vedānta formally nor ceased from singing and dancing He was criticized by all the sannyāsīs at Benares, as well as by their householder followers.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 18:

Since Lord Caitanya was a Vaiṣṇava, He was naturally humble and meek, and He wanted to give the better sitting place to Prakāśānanda, who belonged to the Sarasvatī sampradāya. According to Śaṇkara's principles, a brahmacārī of the Bhāratic school is called Caitanya. However, although Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu took sannyāsa, He kept His brahmacārī name and did not take up the title of Bhāratī.

"Well, Sir," Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī continued, "You belong to our Śaṇkara sect, and You are living in Benares—so why don't You mix with us? What is the reason? Another thing—You are a sannyāsī and are supposed to engage simply in the study of Vedānta, but we see that instead You are always engaged in chanting and dancing and playing music. What is the reason? These are the activities of emotional and sentimental people but You are a qualified sannyāsī. Why not engage in the study of Vedānta? By Your effulgence it appears to us that You are just like the Supreme Nārāyaṇa, the Personality of Godhead, but by Your behavior, You appear to be otherwise. So we are inquisitive to know why You act in this way."

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 19:

Lord Caitanya next explained that His spiritual master had confirmed the validity of His ecstasy which resulted from His chanting the holy name of God and also confirmed that the essence of all Vedic literature is the attainment of love of Godhead. Lord Caitanya's spiritual master had said that the Lord was fortunate enough to have attained love of Godhead. By attaining such transcendental love, one's heart becomes very anxious to attain direct contact with the Lord. Feeling such transcendental sentiment, one sometimes laughs and sometimes cries, sings and dances like a madman, and sometimes traverses hither and thither.

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 13:

The places in the eighty-four-square-mile district of Mathurā are so beautifully situated on the banks of the River Yamunā that anyone who goes there will never want to return to this material world. These statements by Rūpa Gosvāmī are factually realized descriptions of Mathurā and Vṛndāvana. All these qualities prove that Mathurā and Vṛndāvana are situated transcendentally. Otherwise, there would be no possibility of invoking our transcendental sentiments in these places. Such transcendental feelings are aroused immediately and without fail after one arrives in Mathurā or Vṛndāvana.

Nectar of Devotion 14:

Some scholars recommend that knowledge and renunciation are important factors for elevating oneself to devotional service. But actually that is not a fact. Actually, the cultivation of knowledge or renunciation, which are favorable for achieving a footing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, may be accepted in the beginning, but ultimately they may also come to be rejected, for devotional service is dependent on nothing other than the sentiment or desire for such service. It requires nothing more than sincerity.

Nectar of Devotion 14:

We simply ask people to do whatever they are doing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is the same principle on which, in Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa advised Arjuna to utilize his fighting abilities in devotional service. Similarly, we are utilizing these machines for Kṛṣṇa's service. With such sentiment for Kṛṣṇa, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we can accept everything.

Nectar of Devotion 16:

A devotee who is actually advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, who is constantly engaged in devotional service, should not manifest himself, even though he has attained perfection. The idea is that he should always continue to act as a neophyte devotee as long as his material body is there. Activities in devotional service under regulative principles must be followed even by the pure devotee. But when he realizes his actual position in relationship with the Lord, he can, along with the discharging of regulative service, think within himself of the Lord, under the guidance of a particular associate of the Lord, and develop his transcendental sentiments in following that associate.

Nectar of Devotion 16:

Lord Rāmacandra remained silent, and His silence shows that He accepted the prayers of the sages. Thus they were blessed by Lord Rāmacandra to have association with Lord Kṛṣṇa in their future lives. As a result of this benediction, they all took birth as women in the wombs of gopīs at Gokula, and as they had desired in their previous lives, they enjoyed the company of Lord Kṛṣṇa, who was present at that time in Gokula Vṛndāvana. The perfection of their human form of life was thus achieved by their generating a transcendental sentiment to share conjugal love with Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Conjugal love is divided into two classifications—namely, conjugal love as husband and wife and conjugal love as lover and beloved. One who develops conjugal love for Kṛṣṇa as a wife is promoted to Dvārakā, where the devotee becomes the queen of the Lord. One who develops conjugal love for Kṛṣṇa as a lover is promoted to Goloka Vṛndāvana, to associate with the gopīs and enjoy loving affairs with Kṛṣṇa there. We should note carefully, however, that this conjugal love for Kṛṣṇa, either as gopī or as queen, is not limited only to women. Even men can develop such sentiments, as was evidenced by the sages of Daṇḍakāraṇya. If someone simply desires conjugal love, but does not follow in the footsteps of the gopīs, he is promoted to association with the Lord at Dvārakā.

Nectar of Devotion 16:

There is a statement in the Nārāyaṇa-vyūha-stava prayers that persons who are always engaged in thinking of the Lord as their husband, friend, father or well-wisher are always worshipable by everyone. This spontaneous love for Kṛṣṇa can be developed only by the special mercy of Kṛṣṇa or His pure devotee. This process of devotional service is sometimes called puṣṭi-mārga. Puṣṭi means "nourishing," and mārga means "path." Such development of sentiment nourishes devotional service to the highest standard. Thus it is called the path of nourishment, or puṣṭi-mārga.

Nectar of Devotion 18:

Actually, if someone goes to Vṛndāvana, he will immediately feel separation from Kṛṣṇa, who performed such nice activities when He was present there.

Such attraction for remembering Kṛṣṇa's activities is known as attachment for Kṛṣṇa. There are impersonalist philosophers and mystics, however, who by a show of devotional service want ultimately to merge into the existence of the Supreme Lord. They sometimes try to imitate a pure devotee's sentiment for visiting the holy places where Kṛṣṇa had His pastimes, but they simply have a view for salvation, and so their activities cannot be considered attachment.

Nectar of Devotion 28:

Sometimes, while participating in ceremonies celebrating Kĺńṇa's pastimes, or in the society of devotees, there is dancing ecstasy. Such sentiments are called blazing.

Nectar of Devotion 31:

There is a proverb in Sanskrit which says, "Disappointment gives rise to the greatest satisfaction." In other words, when one's sentiment or ambition becomes too great and is not fulfilled until after seemingly hopeless tribulation, that is taken as the greatest satisfaction.

Nectar of Devotion 31:

A pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa is always specifically qualified with nectarean qualifications and sometimes with the qualifications of butter and honey. On the whole, the heart in any of the different conditions mentioned above can be melted under certain circumstances, just as a hard diamond is sometimes melted by a combination of certain chemicals. In the Dāna-keli-kaumudī it is stated, "When love develops in the heart of a devotee, he cannot check the transformation of his sentiments. His heart is just like the ocean at the rising of the moon, when the ebb tide cannot be checked: immediately there must be movement of high waves."

Nectar of Devotion 34:

The particular type of ecstatic loving sentiment that develops within the heart of a particular devotee is considered to be vibhāva. And the resultant manifestations such as moving of the eyebrows, fear, astonishment and smiling, which have been explained hereinbefore, are called anubhāva. The different causes for developing anubhāva and vibhāva are called steady ecstasy, or sañcāri-bhāva.

Nectar of Devotion 37:

In the Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta, written by Bilvamaṇgala Ṭhākura, there is this expression of eagerness in ecstatic love: "How miserable it is, my dear Kṛṣṇa, O friend of the hopeless! O merciful Lord, how can I pass these thankless days without seeing You?" A similar sentiment was expressed by Uddhava when he wrote a letter to Kĺńṇa and said, "My dear Supreme King of Vraja, You are the vision of nectar for the eyes, and without seeing Your lotus feet and the effulgence of Your body, my mind is always morose. I cannot perceive any peace under any circumstance. Besides that, I am feeling every moment's separation to be like the duration of many, many long years."

Nectar of Instruction

Nectar of Instruction 3, Purport:

Devotional service is not a matter of sentimental speculation or imaginative ecstasy. Its substance is practical activity.

Nectar of Instruction 3, Purport:

Devotional service is so pure and perfect that once having begun, one is forcibly dragged to ultimate success. Sometimes a person will give up his ordinary material engagements and out of sentiment take shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord and thus begin the preliminary execution of devotional service.

Easy Journey to Other Planets

Easy Journey to Other Planets 2:

Everything in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is scientific. It is not bogus, whimsical, sentimental, fanatical or imaginary. It is truth, fact, reality. One must understand Kṛṣṇa in truth.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 32:

"My dear friends," Kṛṣṇa continued, “you might be aggrieved by My words and acts, but you must know that sometimes I do not reciprocate My devotees' dealings with Me. My devotees are very much attached to Me, but sometimes I do not reciprocate their feelings properly in order to increase their love for Me more and more. If I can very easily be approached by them, they might think, "Kṛṣṇa is so easily available." So sometimes I do not respond. If a person has no money but after some time accumulates some wealth and then loses it, he will think of the lost property twenty-four hours a day. Similarly, in order to increase the love of My devotees, sometimes I appear to be lost to them, and instead of forgetting Me, they feel their loving sentiments for Me increase.

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.11:

One must not misunderstand the meaning of the word samaḥ, "equal." It does not mean that the Lord is impersonal and that He will bless any whimsical act, even unruly behaviour. The Lord is absolutely personal, the reservoir of divine sentiments, the supreme performer of transcendental pastimes.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.12:

The subject matter that needs to be promulgated among the people is not some cheap, sentimental concoction meant to deceive them; it is in fact a deeply profound and esoteric theology. The words of Lord Caitanya can never be disseminated by unscrupulous self-styled "gurus" who fake spiritual sentiments to impress the ignorant mass of people. All saintly persons beware!

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.13:

The impersonalists and empiric philosophers consider the unalloyed devotees of the Lord sentimental fools, and thus they deride them. This is a big offense. Such offences cause the impersonalists and pseudo-devotees to slowly become demoniac.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 3.1:

Only a liberated, highly evolved soul can utter the Lord's name purely and thus achieve the highest realization, untainted love of Godhead. The speculative philosopher brāhmaṇa, who was very much addicted to sophism, could not fathom the saint's instructions and so ended up offending him. The foolish brāhmaṇa tried to impose his own interpretations on the excellences of the holy name and concluded that Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura was a mere sentimentalist. He insolently rebuked the saint in public and tried to ridicule his explanations and character.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 3.1:

Unfortunately, the stubborn impersonalists cannot comprehend that the final spiritual destination, beyond even the four Vedic goals (religiosity, economic development, sense gratification, and liberation) is absolutely pure and transcendental love of Godhead. They mistake the devotees of the Lord for sentimentalists and consider them their philosophical opponents. Besides these out-and-out impersonalists, there is a certain group of devotees that has deviated from the path of pure devotion and fallen prey to pretension. These cheaters actually end up following the impersonalists' path of trying to merge with the Supreme Lord. Such materialistic sentimentalists are not counted among the devotees of the Lord. Like their impersonalist counterparts, they cannot understand the true position of the Supreme Lord's name, form, qualities, pastimes, associates, or paraphernalia, for they wrongly consider these transcendental subjects illusory. They act capriciously and confuse the mass of people.

These materialistic sentimentalists reject the spiritual conclusions of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and try and take shelter of impersonalism. Yet they miserably lack the scholarship and discipline of the impersonalists. They divorce themselves from the impersonalists' scriptural studies and philosophical discussions, regarding discussions on the scripture as dry speculation and their ignorant, sentimental outbursts as spontaneous devotional fervour. Some of these pretenders very closely follow in the impersonalists' footsteps and so may be accepted as a deranged offshoot of the impersonalist line. But they are certainly not part of the Vaiṣṇava discipline followed by those in the line of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. These pretenders diligently cultivate and exhibit certain mannerisms of devotees, and so the impersonalists reject them from their fold. Thus ostracized by both impersonalists and Vaiṣṇavas, they form a cult of demented sentimentalists. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī declares that such pretenders create an outrage in spiritual society.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 3.1:

If one pretends to be a devotee of the Lord but does not understand the difference between dry speculative knowledge and knowledge of the Supreme Absolute Truth, then such a person's devotion borders on impersonalism and is rank with cheap sentimentalism, which is totally against the spiritual teachings of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. Therefore jñāna-yoga is not speculation or empirical research; nor is it the sudden emotional outbursts of upstarts pretending to be devotees. By practicing genuine jñāna-yoga, even an empirical philosopher will develop a taste for hearing purely spiritual topics from the scriptures. Eventually he will come to understand the Supreme Lord's transcendental position and potency, and ultimately he will relish the Lord's form, which is eternal and full of knowledge and bliss. He will perceive the Lord as the embodiment of all transcendental mellows. And if the pretentious nondevotee sentimentalists, who like to imitate the empiricists, practice genuine jñāna-yoga, then they too will gain an accurate perspective on the Absolute Truth. They will become firmly established in the understanding that the Supreme Lord's form is spiritual and transcendental, and then they will begin to render unflinching devotional service.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

The noble Arjuna thoroughly analyzed what was good and bad, what was his duty and not his duty, and decided not to take up arms to fight. Then Lord Kṛṣṇa, understanding that Arjuna was motivated by self-gratificatory social sentiments and sheer selfish interests, gave him two kinds of instructions: The first dealt with the process by which the conditioned jīva attains liberation; the second taught Arjuna how the liberated soul can surrender to the Lord and render pure devotional service.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

When the famous Māyāvādī sannyāsī Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī met Lord Caitanya in Benares, he spoke as follows to the Lord: "I see You are a sannyāsī, yet You are in the company of sentimentalists, and like them You are dancing and singing. The real business of sannyāsīs is to study the Vedas and meditate on Brahman. But You have rejected these duties and are acting like a sentimentalist. I am impressed with Your effulgent form, which resembles that of Lord Nārāyaṇa Himself, but why do You act below your status?"

Light of the Bhagavata

Light of the Bhagavata 27, Purport:

No society can improve in transcendental knowledge without the guidance of such first-class men, and no brain can assimilate the subtle form of knowledge without fine brain tissues. For such important brain tissues we require a sufficient quantity of milk and milk preparations. Ultimately, we need to protect the cow to derive the highest benefit from this important animal. The protection of cows, therefore, is not merely a religious sentiment but a means to secure the highest benefit for human society.

Sri Isopanisad

Sri Isopanisad 12, Purport:

The pseudo religionists have neither knowledge nor detachment from material affairs, for most of them want to live in the golden shackles of material bondage under the shadow of philanthropic activities disguised as religious principles. By a false display of religious sentiments, they present a show of devotional service while indulging in all sorts of immoral activities. In this way they pass as spiritual masters and devotees of God.

Mukunda-mala-stotra (mantras 1 to 6 only)

Mukunda-mala-stotra mantra 3, Purport:

Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, a great associate of Lord Caitanya's, was a very rich man's son who had a beautiful wife and all other opulences. When he first met Lord Caitanya at Pāṇihāṭi, a village about forty miles from Calcutta, Raghunātha dāsa asked permission from the Lord to leave his material connections and accompany Him. The Lord refused to accept this proposal and instructed Raghunātha dāsa that it is useless to leave worldly connections out of sentimentality or artificial renunciation.

Narada-bhakti-sutra (sutras 1 to 8 only)

Narada Bhakti Sutra 7, Purport:

It is said that when conjugal affection between a lover and beloved comes to the point of being destroyed and yet is not destroyed, such a relationship is pure love, or prema. In the material world it is not possible to find this kind of love, for it exists only between Kṛṣṇa and His intimate devotees, such as the gopīs. The sentiment between the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa was so strong that it could not be destroyed under any circumstances.