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Symptoms of... (CC, Other Books, and BG Lectures)

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Preface and Introduction

CC Introduction:

The word caitanya means "living force," carita means "character," and amṛta means "immortal." As living entities we can move, but a table cannot because it does not possess living force. Movement and activity may be considered signs or symptoms of the living force. Indeed, it may be said that there can be no activity without the living force. Although the living force is present in the material condition, this condition is not amṛta, immortal. The words Caitanya-caritāmṛta, then, may be translated as "the character of the living force in immortality."

CC Introduction:

The body itself is composed of inferior nature, matter, but it is the superior nature that is moving the body. The symptom of that superior nature is consciousness. Thus in the spiritual world, where everything is composed of the superior nature, everything is conscious. In the material world there are inanimate objects that are not conscious, but in the spiritual world nothing is inanimate. There a table is conscious, the land is conscious, the trees are conscious—everything is conscious.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 1.52, Purport:

The transcendental personal forms of the Lord are a mystery, and the symptoms of these forms, which are absolutely different from anything made of mundane elements, are also mysterious. The innumerable forms of the Lord, such as Śyāmasundara, Nārāyaṇa, Rāma and Gaurasundara; the colors of these forms (white, red, yellow, cloudlike śyāma and others); His qualities, as the responsive Personality of Godhead to pure devotees and as impersonal Brahman to dry speculators; His uncommon activities like lifting Govardhana Hill, marrying more than sixteen thousand queens at Dvārakā, and entering the rāsa dance with the damsels of Vraja, expanding Himself in as many forms as there were damsels in the dance—these and innumerable other uncommon acts and attributes are all mysteries, one aspect of which is presented in the scientific knowledge of the Bhagavad-gītā, which is read and adored all over the world by all classes of scholars, with as many interpretations as there are empiric philosophers.

CC Adi 1.91, Purport:

By contact with material nature the living entities exhibit varied symptoms of the disease of material consciousness. To cure this material disease is the supreme object of human life. The process that treats this disease is called bhāgavata-dharma, or sanātana-dharma-real religion. This is described in the pages of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Therefore anyone who, because of his background of pious activities in previous lives, is anxious to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam immediately realizes the presence of the Supreme Lord within his heart and fulfills the mission of his life.

CC Adi 4.197, Translation:

There is another natural symptom of the gopīs' love that shows it to be without a trace of lust.

CC Adi 5.20, Purport:

One cannot control the laws of nature by any amount of struggling. One must at last be subject to death, nature's ultimate law. Death, birth, old age and illness are symptoms of the diseased condition of the living being. The highest aim of human life should therefore be to get free from these miseries and go back home, back to Godhead.

CC Adi 5.76, Purport:

The symptoms of the puruṣa are described in the Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta. While describing the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the author has quoted from the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (6.8.59), where it is said, "Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Puruṣottama, Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is always free from the contamination of the six material dualities; whose plenary expansion, Mahā-Viṣṇu, glances over matter to create the cosmic manifestation; who expands Himself in various transcendental forms, all of which are one and the same; who is the master of all living entities; who is always free and liberated from the contamination of material energy; and who, when He appears in this material world, seems one of us, although He has an eternally spiritual, blissful, transcendental form." In summarizing this statement, Rūpa Gosvāmī has concluded that the plenary expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead who acts in cooperation with the material energy is called the puruṣa.

CC Adi 6.14-15, Purport:

The first conclusion is accepted by the Vedānta philosophers, and the second is supported by the atheistic philosophical system of the Sāṅkhya smṛti, which directly opposes the Vedāntic philosophical conclusion. Material scientists cannot see any cognizant spiritual substance that might be the cause of the creation. Such atheistic Sāṅkhya philosophers think that the symptoms of knowledge and living force visible in the innumerable living creatures are caused by the three qualities of the cosmic manifestation. Therefore the Sāṅkhyites are against the conclusion of Vedānta regarding the original cause of creation.

CC Adi 7.31-32, Purport:

Here is an important point. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to invent a way to capture the Māyāvādīs and others who did not take interest in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. This is the symptom of an ācārya. An ācārya who comes for the service of the Lord cannot be expected to conform to a stereotype, for he must find the ways and means by which Kṛṣṇa consciousness may be spread. Sometimes jealous persons criticize the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement because it engages equally both boys and girls in distributing love of Godhead.

CC Adi 7.88, Purport:

Artificially they sometimes laugh, cry and dance just like madmen, but this cannot help one progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Rather, such artificial agitation of the body is to be given up when one naturally develops the necessary bodily symptoms. Actual blissful life, manifested in genuine spiritual laughing, crying and dancing, is the symptom of real advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which can be achieved by a person who always voluntarily engages in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. If one who is not yet developed imitates such symptoms artificially, he creates chaos in the spiritual life of human society.

CC Adi 7.89-90, Purport:

“"Perspiration, trembling, standing on end of one"s bodily hairs, tears, faltering voice, fading complexion, madness, melancholy, patience, pride, joy and humility—these are various natural symptoms of ecstatic love of Godhead, which causes a devotee to dance and float in an ocean of transcendental bliss while chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.

CC Adi 7.89-90, Purport:

This indicates that he has not yet reached complete perfection in devotional life. In other words, a devotee who dances in ecstasy but after dancing and crying appears to be attracted to material affairs has not yet reached the perfection of devotional service, which is called āśaya-śuddhi, or the perfection of existence. One who attains the perfection of existence is completely averse to material enjoyment and engrossed in transcendental love of Godhead. It is therefore to be concluded that the ecstatic symptoms of āśaya-śuddhi are visible when a devotee's service has no material cause and is purely spiritual in nature.

CC Adi 7.118, Purport:

This is proof of māyayāpahṛta-jñāna, or loss of all intelligence due to the influence of māyā. When a living entity is freed from such misconceptions, he is called liberated. When one is actually liberated he no longer identifies with the material world. The symptom of mukti (liberation) is that one engages in spiritual activities instead of falsely engaging in material activities.

CC Adi 8.20, Purport:

At present, human society is specifically cultivating the mode of ignorance (tamo-guṇa), although there may also be some symptoms of passion (rajo-guṇa). Full of kāma and lobha, lust and greed, the entire population of the world consists mostly of śūdras and a few vaiśyas, and gradually it is coming about that there are śūdras only. Communism is a movement of śūdras, and capitalism is meant for vaiśyas. In the fighting between these two factions, the śūdras and vaiśyas, gradually, due to the abominable condition of society, the communists will emerge triumphant, and as soon as this takes place, whatever is left of society will be ruined.

CC Adi 8.27, Purport:

One must be freed from this disease. Pure devotion must be anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11), without desire for anything material. Advanced devotees manifest many bodily transformations, which are symptoms of ecstasy, but one should not imitate them to achieve cheap adoration from the public. When one actually attains the advanced stage, the ecstatic symptoms will appear automatically; one does not need to imitate them.

CC Adi 9.10, Purport:

The process of worship in the disciplic succession of Madhvācārya was full of ritualistic ceremonies, with hardly a sign of love of Godhead. Śrī Mādhavendra Purī was the first person in that disciplic succession to exhibit the symptoms of love of Godhead and the first to write a poem beginning with the words ayi dīna-dayārdra nātha, "O supremely merciful Personality of Godhead." In that poem is the seed of Caitanya Mahāprabhu's cultivation of love of Godhead.

CC Adi 9.51, Purport:

One should not artificially imitate this stage, but if one is serious and sincerely follows the regulative principles and chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, the time will come when these symptoms will appear. Tears will fill his eyes, he will be unable to chant the mahā-mantra distinctly, and his heart will throb in ecstasy. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that one should not imitate this, but a devotee should long for the day to come when such symptoms of trance will automatically appear in his body.

CC Adi 10.57, Translation:

The appearance of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in every devotee's presence is called sākṣāt. His appearance in Nakula Brahmacārī as a symptom of special prowess is an example of āveśa.

CC Adi 10.59, Translation:

In his body there were symptoms of āvirbhāva. Such appearances are uncommon, but Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu displayed many such pastimes through His different features.

CC Adi 10.59, Purport:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally spread the saṅkīrtana movement, and He advised all the inhabitants of Bhāratavarṣa to take up His cult and preach it all over the world. The visible bodily symptoms of devotees who follow such instructions are called āveśa. Śrīla Śivānanda Sena observed such āveśa symptoms in Nakula Brahmacārī, who displayed symptoms exactly like those of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The Caitanya-caritāmṛta states that in the Age of Kali the only spiritual function is to broadcast the holy name of the Lord, but this function can be performed only by one who is actually empowered by Lord Kṛṣṇa. The process by which a devotee is thus empowered is called āveśa, or sometimes it is called śakty-āveśa.

CC Adi 11.40, Purport:

The son of Sadāśiva was Puruṣottama Ṭhākura, and his son was Kānu Ṭhākura. The descendants of Kānu Ṭhākura know him as Nāgara Puruṣottama. He was the cowherd boy named Dāma during kṛṣṇa-līlā. It is said that just after the birth of Kānu Ṭhākura, his mother, Jāhnavā, died. When he was about twelve days old, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu took him to His home at Khaḍadaha. It is ascertained that Kānu Ṭhākura was born some time in the Bengali year 942 (A.D. 1535). It is said that he took birth on the Ratha-yātrā day. Because he was a great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa from the very beginning of his life, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu gave him the name Śiśu Kṛṣṇadāsa. When he was five years old he went to Vṛndāvana with Jāhnavā-mātā, and the Gosvāmīs, upon seeing the ecstatic symptoms of Kānu Ṭhākura, gave him the name Kānāi Ṭhākura.

CC Adi 12.51, Purport:

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī states in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, avyartha-kālatvam: (Cc. Madhya 23.18–19) A Vaiṣṇava must be very alert not to waste even a second of his valuable lifetime. This is a symptom of a Vaiṣṇava. But association with pounds-and-shillings men, or viṣayīs, materialists who are simply interested in sense gratification, pollutes one's mind and hampers such continuous remembrance of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore advised, asat-saṅga-tyāga—ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra: a Vaiṣṇava should behave in such a way as to never associate with nondevotees or materialists (CC Madhya 22.87). One can avoid such association simply by always remembering Kṛṣṇa within his heart.

CC Adi 13 Summary:

Then, in 1407 Śaka Era (A.D. 1486), in the full-moon evening of the month of Phālguna, with the constellation of Siṁha (Leo) on the horizon, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared as the son of Śrī Śacīdevī and Jagannātha Miśra. After hearing of the birth of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, learned scholars and brāhmaṇas, bringing many gifts, came to see the newborn baby. Nīlāmbara Cakravartī, who was a great astrologer, immediately prepared a horoscope, and by astrological calculation he saw that the child was a great personality. This chapter describes the symptoms of this great personality.

CC Adi 13.40, Translation:

Day and night Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu felt separation from Kṛṣṇa. Manifesting symptoms of this separation, He cried and talked very inconsistently, like a madman.

CC Adi 13.41, Purport:

In this connection one should refer to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s soliloquy after meeting Uddhava in Vṛndāvana. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu presented a similar picture of such ecstatic imaginary talking. Full of jealousy and madness symptomizing neglect by Kṛṣṇa, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, criticizing a bumblebee, talked just like a madwoman. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, in the last days of His pastimes, exhibited all the symptoms of such ecstasy. In this connection one should refer to the Fourth Chapter of the Ādi-līlā, verses 107 and 108.

CC Adi 13.121, Translation:

After calculating the birth moment of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Nīlāmbara Cakravartī privately said to Jagannātha Miśra that he saw all the different symptoms of a great personality in both the body and birth moment of the child. Thus he understood that in the future this child would deliver all the three worlds.

CC Adi 14.15, Translation:

“"There are thirty-two bodily symptoms of a great personality: five of his bodily parts are large, five fine, seven reddish, six raised, three small, three broad and three grave."

CC Adi 14.15, Purport:

The five large parts are the nose, arms, chin, eyes and knees. The five fine parts are the skin, fingertips, teeth, hair on the body and hair on the head. The seven reddish parts are the eyes, soles, palms, palate, nails and upper and lower lips. The six raised parts are the chest, shoulders, nails, nose, waist and mouth. The three small parts are the neck, thighs and male organ. The three broad parts are the waist, forehead and chest. The three grave parts are the navel, voice and existence. Altogether these are the thirty-two symptoms of a great personality. This is a quotation from the Sāmudrika.

CC Adi 14.16, Translation:

“This baby has all the symptoms of Lord Nārāyaṇa on His palms and soles. He will be able to deliver all the three worlds.

CC Adi 14.50, Purport:

"To become a staunch, pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead without deviation (ananya-bhāk), one should not divert his attention to the worship of the demigods. Such control is a symptom of pure devotional service."

CC Adi 17.141, Purport:

This is a symptom of Kali-yuga that has already appeared. People cannot feel secure about their lives and property, yet the so-called governments continue, and government ministers get fat salaries, although they are unable to do anything good for society. The only remedy for such conditions is to enhance the saṅkīrtana movement under the banner of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and protest against the sinful activities of all the world's governments.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 1.43, Purport:

There is a discussion of the differences between the mahā-bhāgavata and the ordinary devotee, the symptoms of philosophical speculation, the symptoms of self-worship, or ahaṅgrahopāsanā, the symptoms of devotional service, the symptoms of imaginary perfection, the acceptance of regulative principles, service to the spiritual master, the mahā-bhāgavata (liberated devotee) and service to him, service to Vaiṣṇavas in general, the principles of hearing, chanting, remembering and serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offenses in worship, offensive effects, prayers, engaging oneself as an eternal servant of the Lord, making friendships with the Lord and surrendering everything for His pleasure.

CC Madhya 1.43, Purport:

Devotional service is considered to be liberation with greater facilities, and there is a discussion of how to obtain it. There are also discussions of the transcendental state one achieves after attaining the devotional platform, which is the exact position of love of Godhead; the marginal symptoms of transcendental love, and how it is awakened; the distinction between so-called love and transcendental love on the platform of love of Godhead; and different types of humors and mellows enjoyed in relishing the lusty affairs of the gopīs, which are different from mundane affairs, which in turn are symbolical representations of pure love for Kṛṣṇa.

CC Madhya 1.87, Purport:

In the highest transcendental ecstasy there is a feeling of being enchanted in the presence of the enchanter. When the enchanter and the enchanted become separated, mohana, or bewilderment, occurs. When so bewildered due to separation, one becomes stunned, and at that time all the bodily symptoms of transcendental ecstasy are manifested. When they are manifest, one appears inconceivably crazy. This is called transcendental madness. In this state, there is imaginative discourse, and one experiences emotions like those of a madman. The madness of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī was explained to Kṛṣṇa by Uddhava, who said, “My dear Kṛṣṇa, because of extreme feelings of separation from You, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is sometimes making Her bed in the groves of the forest, sometimes rebuking a bluish cloud, and sometimes wandering about in the dense darkness of the forest.

CC Madhya 1.189, Purport:

Both Dabira Khāsa and Sākara Mallika belonged to the brāhmaṇa caste, but because they were employed by Muslims, their original habits degenerated into those of the Muslim community. Since the symptoms of brahminical culture were almost nil, they identified themselves with the lowest caste. In the Bhakti-ratnākara it is clearly stated that because Sākara Mallika and Dabira Khāsa associated with lower-class men, they introduced themselves as belonging to the lower classes. Actually, however, they had been born in respectable brāhmaṇa families.

CC Madhya 1.208, Purport:

"After initiation, the disciple's name must be changed to indicate that he is a servant of Lord Viṣṇu. The disciple should also immediately begin marking his body with tilaka (ūrdhva-puṇḍra), especially his forehead. These are spiritual marks, symptoms of a perfect Vaiṣṇava." This is a verse from the Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa. A member of the sahajiyā-sampradāya does not change his name; therefore he cannot be accepted as a Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava. If a person does not change his name after initiation, it is to be understood that he will continue in his bodily conception of life.

CC Madhya 2.3, Translation:

During His last twelve years, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu always manifested all the symptoms of ecstasy in separation from Kṛṣṇa.

CC Madhya 2.35, Purport:

The symptoms of avasāda are also explained: "One hankers to revive his original condition and inquires how to do so. There are also deep thought, heavy breathing, crying and lamentation, as well as a changing of the bodily color and drying up of the tongue."

CC Madhya 2.66, Translation:

The symptoms of madness served as an impetus for remembering Kṛṣṇa. The mood of ecstasy awoke love, disdain, defamation by words, pride, honor and indirect prayer. Thus Śrī Kṛṣṇa was sometimes blasphemed and sometimes honored.

CC Madhya 2.66, Purport:

The word unmāda is explained in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu as extreme joy, misfortune and bewilderment in the heart due to separation. Symptoms of unmāda are laughing like a madman, dancing, singing, performing ineffectual activities, talking nonsense, running, shouting and sometimes working in contradictory ways. The word praṇaya is explained thus: When there is a possibility of receiving direct honor but it is avoided, that love is called praṇaya. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, in his Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi, explains the word māna thus: When the lover feels novel sweetness by exchanging hearty loving words but wishes to hide his feelings by crooked means, māna is experienced.

CC Madhya 2.72, Purport:

These are all symptoms of aśru. When there is a combination of moroseness, astonishment, anger, joy and fear, there is a choking in the voice. This choking is called gadgada. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu refers to gadgada-ruddhayā girā, or "a faltering voice." In the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, pulaka is described as joy, encouragement and fear. When these combine, the hairs on the body stand on end, and this bodily state is called pulaka.

CC Madhya 2.76, Translation:

As the spiritual master chastises the disciple and teaches him the art of devotional service, so all the ecstatic symptoms of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu—including despondency, moroseness, humility, restlessness, joy, endurance and anger—instructed His body and mind. In this way, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu passed His time.

CC Madhya 3.127, Translation:

The transcendental ecstatic symptoms of disappointment, moroseness, pleasure, restlessness, pride and humility all began to fight like soldiers within the Lord.

CC Madhya 3.132, Translation:

In this way the Lord danced for at least three hours. Sometimes the symptoms of ecstasy were visible, including pleasure, moroseness and many other waves of ecstatic emotional love.

CC Madhya 5.22, Purport:

Due to pious activities, one can be enriched by four opulences: one may obtain birth in an aristocratic family, become highly educated, become very beautiful or get a sufficient quantity of riches. These are symptoms of pious activities performed in one's past life. In India it is still current for an aristocratic family never to consider a marriage with a common family. Though the caste may be the same, to maintain the aristocracy such marriages are rejected.

CC Madhya 5.113, Purport:

Like these two brāhmaṇas of Vidyānagara, there are many devotees who are eternal servants of the Lord. They are specifically known as nitya-siddha, eternally perfect. Although the nitya-siddhas appear in the material world and seem to be common members of the world, they never forget the Supreme Personality of Godhead in any condition. This is the symptom of a nitya-siddha.

CC Madhya 6.13, Translation:

Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya considered, "The uncommon ecstatic symptoms of adhirūḍha-bhāva are appearing in the body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This is very wonderful! How are they possible in the body of a human being?"

CC Madhya 6.13, Purport:

Such a development of ecstasy is called anurāga. When anurāga reaches its highest limit and becomes perceivable in the body, it is called bhāva. When the bodily symptoms are not very distinct, however, the emotional state is still called anurāga, not bhāva. When bhāva ecstasy is intensified, it is called mahā-bhāva. The symptoms of mahā-bhāva are visible only in the bodies of eternal associates like the gopīs.”

CC Madhya 6.78, Translation:

"My dear Bhaṭṭācārya, you do not know the greatness of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. All the symptoms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are found in Him to the highest degree."

CC Madhya 6.90, Translation:

Gopīnātha Ācārya continued, “You have seen the symptoms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu during His absorption in an ecstatic mood.

CC Madhya 6.91, Translation:

“Despite directly perceiving the symptoms of the Supreme Lord in the body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, you cannot understand Him. This is commonly called illusion.

CC Madhya 6.91, Translation:

Gopīnātha Ācārya is pointing out that Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya had already seen uncommon symptoms of ecstasy in the body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. These uncommon symptoms of ecstatic love indicated the Supreme Person, but despite having seen all these symptoms, the Bhaṭṭācārya could not understand the Lord's transcendental nature. He was considering the Lord's pastimes to be mundane. This was certainly due to illusion.

CC Madhya 8.44, Purport:

When one engages in preaching work, he must distinguish between people and understand that some people are not engaged in the devotional service of the Lord. The preacher then has to take compassion upon such innocent people who do not know how to worship the Lord. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.45), the symptoms of a topmost devotee are described as follows:

sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ paśyed bhagavad-bhāvam ātmanaḥ
bhūtāni bhagavaty ātmany eṣa bhāgavatottamaḥ

"The advanced devotee sees that all living entities are part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everyone is in Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is also within everyone. Such a vision is possible only for a person who is very advanced in devotional service."

CC Madhya 8.166, Purport:

“Her beauty is more and more enhanced, being decorated with the red kuṅkuma of beauty itself and the blackish musk of conjugal love. Thus Her body is decorated with different colors. Her ornaments embody the natural symptoms of ecstasy—trembling, tears, jubilation, stunning, perspiration, faltering of the voice, bodily redness, madness and dullness. In this way Her entire body is bedecked with these nine different jewels. Over and above this, the beauty of Her body is enhanced by Her transcendental qualities, which constitute the flower garland hanging on Her body.

CC Madhya 9.238, Translation:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was greatly happy to find a chapter of that scripture, and symptoms of ecstatic transformation—trembling, tears, perspiration, trance and jubilation—were manifest in His body.

CC Madhya 9.287, Translation:

As soon as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw Śrī Raṅga Purī, He immediately offered him obeisances in ecstatic love, falling flat on the ground. The symptoms of transcendental transformation were visible—namely, tears, jubilation, trembling and perspiration.

CC Madhya 9.289, Purport:

Unless one is connected to the disciplic succession of Mādhavendra Purī, there is no possibility of awakening the symptoms of ecstatic love. The word gosāñi is significant in this connection. The spiritual master who is fully surrendered unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead and has no business other than the Lord's service is called the best of the paramahaṁsas. A paramahaṁsa has no program for sense gratification; he is interested only in satisfying the senses of the Lord. One who has control of the senses in this way is called a gosāñi or a gosvāmī, master of the senses.

CC Madhya 11.21, Translation:

“My dear Lord, as soon as the King heard Your holy name, he was immediately overwhelmed by great ecstatic love. Catching my hand, he displayed all the symptoms of love.

CC Madhya 11.48, Purport:

These are the symptoms of a mahātmā engaged in the Lord's service in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Thus Mahārāja Pratāparudra's determination is very much exalted and is called dṛḍha-vrata. Because of this determination, he was finally able to receive Lord Caitanya's direct mercy.

CC Madhya 11.95, Purport:

Such are the symptoms of pure devotees when they are chanting. All the pure devotees are as bright as sunshine, and their bodily luster is very effulgent. In addition, their performance of saṅkīrtana is unparalleled. There are many professional chanters who can perform congregational chanting with various musical instruments in an artistic and musical way, but their chanting cannot be as attractive as the congregational chanting of pure devotees. If a devotee sticks strictly to the principles governing Vaiṣṇava behavior, his bodily luster will naturally be attractive, and his singing and chanting of the holy names of the Lord will be effective.

CC Madhya 12.63, Translation:

As soon as the prince was touched by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, symptoms of ecstatic love immediately manifested themselves in his body. These symptoms included perspiration, trembling, tears, being stunned and jubilation.

CC Madhya 12.195, Purport:

A Vaiṣṇava, a devotee, should simply discard intimate association with nondevotees. In his Upadeśāmṛta (4), Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has described the symptoms of intimate relationships in this way:

dadāti pratigṛhṇāti guhyam ākhyāti pṛcchati
bhuṅkte bhojayate caiva ṣaḍ-vidhaṁ prīti-lakṣaṇam

The words bhuṅkte bhojayate indicate that one should eat with devotees. One should carefully avoid eating food offered by nondevotees. Indeed, a devotee should be very strict in not accepting food from a nondevotee, especially food prepared in restaurants or hotels or on airplanes. Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu's reference in this connection is meant to emphasize that one should avoid eating with Māyāvādīs and covert Māyāvādīs like the sahajiyā Vaiṣṇavas, who are materially affected.

CC Madhya 13 Summary:

Along that road the servants called gauḍas began to pull the cars. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu divided His saṅkīrtana party into seven divisions. With two mṛdaṅgas in each division, there were altogether fourteen mṛdaṅgas. While performing kīrtana, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu exhibited various symptoms of transcendental ecstasy, and Jagannātha and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu exchanged Their feelings very blissfully. When the cars reached the place known as Balagaṇḍi, the devotees offered the Deities simple food. At this time, in a nearby garden, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His devotees took a brief rest from the dancing.

CC Madhya 13.84, Translation:

When Caitanya Mahāprabhu danced, He displayed various blissful transcendental changes in His body. Sometimes He appeared as though stunned. Sometimes the hairs of His body stood on end. Sometimes He perspired, cried, trembled and changed color, and sometimes He exhibited symptoms of helplessness, pride, exuberance and humility.

CC Madhya 13.170, Translation:

An ocean of transcendental bliss expanded in the heart of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and symptoms of madness immediately intensified like a hurricane.

CC Madhya 14.173, Translation:

“At such times, the ecstatic symptoms of kila-kiñcita are awakened. First there is jubilation in ecstatic love, which is the root cause of these symptoms.

CC Madhya 14.177, Translation:

“There are eight symptoms of ecstatic love on the platform of transcendental jubilation, and when they are combined and tasted by Kṛṣṇa, the Lord's mind is completely satisfied.

CC Madhya 14.186, Translation:

“The symptoms of various ecstasies that become manifest at that time are called vilāsa.

CC Madhya 16 Summary:

Caitanya Mahāprabhu forbade Nityānanda to visit Nīlācala every year. Questioned by the inhabitants of Kulīna-grāma, Caitanya Mahāprabhu again repeated the symptoms of a Vaiṣṇava. Vidyānidhi also came to Jagannātha Purī and saw the festival of Oḍana-ṣaṣṭhī. When the devotees bade farewell to the Lord, the Lord was determined to go to Vṛndāvana, and on the day of Vijaya-daśamī, He departed.

CC Madhya 16.74, Purport:

A neophyte and an intermediate devotee should always be eager to hear the mahā-bhāgavata and serve him in every respect. The neophyte and intermediate devotees can gradually rise to the platform of uttama-adhikārī and become first-class devotees. Symptoms of a first-class devotee are given in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.45):

sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ paśyed bhagavad-bhāvam ātmanaḥ
bhūtāni bhagavaty ātmany eṣa bhāgavatottamaḥ

"The most advanced devotee sees within everything the soul of all souls, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Consequently, he sees systematically everything in relation to the Supreme Lord and understands that everything that exists is eternally situated within the Lord."

CC Madhya 16.75, Translation:

In this way, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught the distinctions between different types of Vaiṣṇavas—the Vaiṣṇava, Vaiṣṇavatara and Vaiṣṇavatama. He thus successively explained all the symptoms of a Vaiṣṇava to the inhabitants of Kulīna-grāma.

CC Madhya 16.200, Purport:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bade farewell to the Muslim governor at Pichaldā. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī herein states that the governor experienced symptoms of ecstatic love due to being separated from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. These symptoms, he admits, cannot be described.

CC Madhya 17.15, Purport:

Not only did he love the Lord, but he was also learned and honest. He was not duplicitous, and he was advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. According to a Bengali proverb, ati bhakti corera lakṣaṇa: "Too much devotion is a symptom of a thief." A person who assumes himself to be a great devotee but mentally is thinking of something else is duplicitous. One who is not duplicitous is called sādhu. Svarūpa Dāmodara immediately pointed out that Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya was quite fit to accompany the Lord because he was a learned scholar and was simple and had great love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He was also advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness; therefore he was considered appropriate for accompanying the Lord as a personal servant.

CC Madhya 17.95, Purport:

There are three kinds of devotees: those who are eternally on the transcendental platform (nitya-siddha), those who have been elevated to the transcendental platform by the execution of devotional service (sādhana-siddha), and those who are neophytes advancing toward the perfectional platform (sādhaka). The sādhakas are gradually becoming free from fruitive reaction. The Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.1.17) describes the symptoms of bhakti-yoga thus:

kleśa-ghnī śubha-dā mokṣa-laghutā-kṛt su-durlabhā
sāndrānanda-viśeṣātmā śrī-kṛṣṇākarṣiṇī ca sā

Devotional service is kleśa-ghnī even for beginners. This means that it reduces or nullifies all kinds of suffering. The word śubha-dā indicates that devotional service bestows all good fortune, and the word kṛṣṇa-ākarṣiṇī indicates that devotional service gradually attracts Kṛṣṇa toward the devotee. Consequently a devotee is not subject to any sinful reaction.

CC Madhya 17.108, Translation:

“He has arms that extend to His knees, and His eyes are like the petals of a lotus. In His person are all the transcendental symptoms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

CC Madhya 17.110, Translation:

“We have heard about the symptoms of a first-class devotee in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and all those symptoms are manifest in the body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

CC Madhya 17.225, Translation:

The brāhmaṇa was astounded to see the symptoms of ecstatic love exhibited by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He then became anxious to give the Lord protection.

CC Madhya 19.136, Translation:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “My dear Rūpa, please listen to Me. It is not possible to describe devotional service completely; therefore I am just trying to give you a synopsis of the symptoms of devotional service.

CC Madhya 19.166, Translation:

“When one is situated in pure devotional service, he develops love of Godhead; therefore let me describe some of the symptoms of pure devotional service.

CC Madhya 19.178, Purport:

"That aspect of prema in which the melting of the heart for the lover is concentrated is called sneha, or affection. The symptom of such affection is that the lover cannot for a moment remain without the association of the beloved." A description of māna can be found in Madhya-līlā (Chapter Two, verse 66). Similarly, a description of praṇaya is also there. As far as rāga is concerned, the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (3.2.87) says:

snehaḥ sa rāgo yena syāt sukhaṁ duḥkham api sphuṭam
tat-sambandha-lave ‘py atra prītiḥ prāṇa-vyayair api

"That stage at which affection for the beloved converts unhappiness into happiness is called rāga, or attachment. When one has such attachment for Kṛṣṇa, he can give up his own life to satisfy his beloved Kṛṣṇa." Anurāga, bhāva and mahābhāva are described in the Sixth Chapter of the Madhya-līlā, verse 13. The purport to that verse explains adhirūḍha-mahābhāva.

CC Madhya 19.180, Purport:

These are the symptoms of anubhāva. Thus the transcendental mellows are experienced in different stages. Similarly, there are many other forms of expression that have been analytically studied by the Gosvāmīs. In the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Rūpa Gosvāmī gives each and every symptom a particular name.

CC Madhya 19.181, Translation:

“When the higher standard of ecstatic love is mixed with the symptoms of sāttvika and vyabhicārī, the devotee relishes the transcendental bliss of loving Kṛṣṇa in a variety of nectarean tastes.

CC Madhya 22 Summary:

The six symptoms of fully surrendered souls are also described in this chapter. Devotional service has been divided into two categories-regulative devotional service and spontaneous love. There are sixty-four items listed in regulative devotional service, and out of these sixty-four the last five are considered very important. By practicing even one of the nine processes of devotional service, one can become successful. Speculative knowledge and mystic yoga can never help one in devotional service. Pious activity, nonviolence, sense control and regulation are not separate from devotional service in its pure form.

CC Madhya 22 Summary:

If one engages in devotional service, all good qualities follow. One does not have to cultivate them separately. Spontaneous devotional service arises when one follows a pure devotee who is awakened to spontaneous love of God. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu describes the symptoms of devotees who are already situated in spontaneous love of God. He also describes the devotees who are trying to follow in the footsteps of the pure devotees.

CC Madhya 22.88-90, Purport:

These verses, quoted from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.31.33–35), were spoken by Kapiladeva, an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to His mother. Herein Kapiladeva discusses pious and impious activities and the symptoms of those who are devoid of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa. Generally people do not know about the miserable conditions within the womb of a mother in any species of life. Due to bad association, one gradually falls into lower species. Association with women is greatly stressed in this regard. When one becomes attached to women or to those who are attached to women, one falls down into the lower species.

CC Madhya 23 Summary:

The following summary of the Twenty-third Chapter is given by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya. In this chapter Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu describes the symptoms of emotion and love and the awakening of one's original loving relationship with the Lord, as well as the characteristics of a devotee who has actually attained that stage. He then describes the gradual increase of love of God up to the point of mahābhāva. He then describes the five divisions of attraction and how they continue. He also describes the mellow derived from conjugal love, which is the supreme emotion. Conjugal love is divided into two categories-svakīya and parakīya. Svakīya refers to loving affairs between husband and wife, and parakīya refers to loving affairs between two lovers.

CC Madhya 23.6, Translation:

“Bhāva (emotion) has two different symptoms—constitutional and marginal. Now, My dear Sanātana, listen to the symptoms of love.

CC Madhya 23.6, Purport:

The word śuddha-sattva-viśeṣātmā means "situated on the transcendental platform of pure goodness." In this way the soul is purified of all material contamination, and this position is called svarūpa-lakṣaṇa, the constitutional symptom of bhāva, emotion. By various tastes, one's heart is softened, and there is an awakening of one's loving propensity to render spontaneous service to the Lord. This is called taṭastha-lakṣaṇa, the marginal symptom of bhāva.

CC Madhya 23.38, Translation:

“These are the symptoms of a person who has developed attraction (bhāva) for Kṛṣṇa. Now let Me describe the symptoms of a person who is actually elevated to love of Kṛṣṇa. O Sanātana, please hear this from Me.

CC Madhya 23.39, Translation:

“Even the most learned man cannot understand the words, activities and symptoms of a person situated in love of Godhead.

CC Madhya 23.40, Translation:

“"Even a most learned scholar cannot understand the activities and symptoms of an exalted personality in whose heart love of Godhead has awakened."

CC Madhya 23.45, Purport:

The real symptoms of the fructification of the seed of love (rati) are manifested because the heart is melted. When such symptoms are found among speculators and fruitive actors, they cannot be accepted as real symptoms of attachment. Foolish people without knowledge of devotional service praise such symptoms of attachment even when they are based on something other than a desire to serve Kṛṣṇa. However, one who is expert in devotional service calls such symptoms raty-ābhāsa, a mere glimpse of attachment.

CC Madhya 23.51, Purport:

"Kṛṣṇa's smile, the fragrance of His transcendental body, His flute, bugle, ankle bells and conchshell, the marks on His feet, His place of residence, His favorite plant (tulasī), His devotees, and the observance of fasts and vows connected to His devotion all awaken the symptoms of ecstatic love."

CC Madhya 24.31, Translation:

“Next are explained the symptoms of love of Godhead, which can be divided into nine varieties, beginning with attraction and extending up to ecstatic love and finally up to the topmost ecstatic love (mahābhāva).

CC Madhya 24.88, Translation:

“"Those who discuss the activities of Lord Kṛṣṇa are on the highest platform of devotional life, and they evince the symptoms of tears in the eyes and bodily jubilation. Such persons discharge devotional service to Kṛṣṇa without practicing the rules and regulations of the mystic yoga system. They possess all spiritual qualities, and they are elevated to the Vaikuṇṭha planets, which exist above us."

CC Madhya 24.277, Translation:

“When Parvata Muni saw the ecstatic loving symptoms of the hunter, he told Nārada, "Certainly you are a touchstone."

CC Madhya 24.336, Translation:

“You should glorify the holy name and explain that one must carefully give up offenses when chanting the holy name. You should also describe the symptoms of a Vaiṣṇava and explain that one must give up or nullify all kinds of sevā-aparādha, offenses in Deity worship.

CC Madhya 24.339, Translation:

“You should describe the symptoms of a devotee, how to associate with devotees, how to satisfy a devotee by rendering service, and how to give up the association of nondevotees. You should also explain the value of regularly hearing the recitation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

CC Madhya 25.140, Translation:

“"Pure devotees manifest spiritual bodily symptoms of ecstatic love simply by remembering and reminding others of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, who takes away everything inauspicious from the devotee. This position is attained by rendering devotional service according to the regulative principles and then rising to the platform of spontaneous love."

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 1.202, Purport:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu informed Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya that he and Sanātana Gosvāmī had engaged equally in devotional service after giving up all relationships with material activity. Such renunciation is a symptom of an unalloyed devotee engaged in the service of the Lord with no tinge of material contamination. According to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, this is the position of tṛṇād api su-nīcena taror iva sahiṣṇunā.

CC Antya 3.50, Purport:

From this statement by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu we can clearly understand that the word yavana does not refer only to a particular class of men. Anyone who is against the behavior of the Vedic principles is called a yavana. Such a yavana may be in India or outside of India. As described here, the symptom of yavanas is that they are violent killers of cows and brahminical culture. We offer our prayers to the Lord by saying, namo brahmaṇya-devāya go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca. The Lord is the maintainer of brahminical culture. His first concern is to see to the benefit of cows and brāhmaṇas.

CC Antya 3.141, Translation:

She worshiped the tulasī plant, following in the footsteps of her spiritual master. Instead of eating regularly, she chewed whatever food she received as alms, and if nothing was supplied she would fast. Thus by eating frugally and fasting she conquered her senses, and as soon as her senses were controlled, symptoms of love of Godhead appeared in her person.

CC Antya 5.23, Translation:

He taught them how to express the symptoms of continuous, natural and transitional ecstasies with the movements of their faces, their eyes and the other parts of their bodies.

CC Antya 7.41, Translation:

“Obsessed with pure love, without knowledge of opulences, the gopīs sometimes chastise Kṛṣṇa. That is a symptom of pure ecstatic love.

CC Antya 10.6, Translation:

Indeed, it is a symptom of real affection that one breaks the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not caring for the regulative principles, to associate with Him.

CC Antya 13.127, Translation:

By the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he experienced the symptoms of ecstatic love—tears, trembling and faltering of the voice. His eyes filled with tears and his throat became choked, and thus he could not recite Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

CC Antya 15.58, Translation:

Just as before, they saw all the symptoms of transcendental ecstatic love manifested in the body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Although externally He appeared bewildered, He was tasting transcendental bliss within.

CC Antya 15.86, Translation:

At that time, all eight kinds of spiritual transformations became manifest in Lord Caitanya's body. The thirty-three symptoms of vyabhicāri-bhāva, beginning with lamentation and jubilation, became prominent as well.

CC Antya 16.29, Purport:

This is a statement by Nārada Muni to Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, wherein Nārada says that the symptoms of a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya and vaiśya are all described in the śāstra. Therefore, if one is found exhibiting the symptoms and qualities of a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya or vaiśya and serving in a brahminical, kṣatriya or vaiśya occupation, even if he is not born a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya or vaiśya he should be considered such according to his qualifications and occupation.

CC Antya 19 Summary:

This chapter further describes how Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu entered the Jagannātha-vallabha garden during the full-moon night of Vaiśākha (April-May) and experienced various transcendental ecstasies. Overwhelmed with ecstatic love at suddenly seeing Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa beneath an aśoka tree, He exhibited various symptoms of spiritual madness.

CC Antya 19.32, Translation:

Suddenly there awoke within Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu the scene of Lord Kṛṣṇa's departure to Mathurā, and He began exhibiting the symptom of ecstatic madness known as udghūrṇā.

CC Antya 19.105, Translation:

"The activities and symptoms of that exalted personality in whose heart love of Godhead has awakened cannot be understood even by the most learned scholar."

CC Antya 20.5, Translation:

He relished the symptoms of various transcendental emotions, such as jubilation, lamentation, anger, humility, anxiety, grief, eagerness and satisfaction.

CC Antya 20.20, Translation:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “O Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī and Rāmānanda Rāya, hear from Me the symptoms of how one should chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra to awaken very easily one's dormant love for Kṛṣṇa.

CC Antya 20.22, Translation:

“These are the symptoms of one who chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Although he is very exalted, he thinks himself lower than the grass on the ground, and like a tree, he tolerates everything in two ways.

CC Antya 20.28, Purport:

They are pretending, however, because these devotional features are only external. The prākṛta-sahajiyās exhibit these symptoms to advertise their so-called advancement in love of Kṛṣṇa, but instead of praising the prākṛta-sahajiyās for their symptoms of transcendental ecstasy, pure devotees do not like to associate with them. It is not advisable to equate the prākṛta-sahajiyās with pure devotees. When one is actually advanced in ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa, he does not try to advertise himself. Instead, he endeavors more and more to render service to the Lord.

CC Antya 20.44, Translation:

The ecstatic symptoms of envy, great eagerness, humility, zeal and supplication all became manifest at once.

CC Antya 20.54, Translation:

“When a beloved gopī shows symptoms of anger toward Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is very satisfied. Indeed, He is extremely pleased when chastised by such a gopī. She shows her pride suitably, and Kṛṣṇa enjoys that attitude. Then she gives up her pride with a little endeavor.

CC Antya 20.61, Translation:

These statements by Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī show the symptoms of pure love for Kṛṣṇa tasted by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In that ecstatic love, His mind was unsteady. Transformations of transcendental love spread throughout His entire body, and He could not sustain His body and mind.

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Intoduction:

The word caitanya means living force. As living entities, we can move, but a table cannot because it does not possess living force. Movement and activity may be considered to be signs or symptoms of the living force. Indeed, it may be said that there can be no activity without the living force. Although the living force is present in the material condition, it is not amṛta, immortal. The words caitanya-caritāmṛta, then, may be translated as "the character of the living force in immortality."

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Intoduction:

That supreme nature is beyond the manifested (vyaktaḥ) and unmanifested (avyaktaḥ). This superior nature which is beyond both creation and annihilation is the living force which is manifest in the bodies of all living entities. The body itself is composed of inferior nature, matter, but it is the superior nature that is moving the body. The symptom of that superior nature is consciousness. Thus in the spiritual world, where everything is composed of the superior nature, everything is conscious. In the material world inanimate objects are not conscious, but in the spiritual world this is not so. There a table is conscious, the land is conscious, the trees are conscious—everything is conscious.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 8:

By the description of the incarnation for the Kali millennium, Sanātana Gosvāmī could understand that Lord Caitanya was indeed that incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, and he could also understand that in the future there would be many people who would try to imitate Lord Caitanya because the Lord played as an ordinary brāhmaṇa, despite the fact that His devotees accepted Him as an incarnation. Since Sanātana knew that there would be many pretenders, he asked the Lord, "How can one understand the symptoms of an incarnation?"

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 12:

The Lord then explained to Sanātana Gosvāmī the various types and symptoms of practical devotional service. When devotional service is performed with our present senses, it is called practical devotional service. Actually devotional service is the eternal life of the living entity and is lying dormant in everyone's heart. The practice which invokes that dormant devotional service is called practical devotional service. The purport is that the living entity is constitutionally part and parcel of the Supreme Lord; the Lord can be compared to the sun, and the living entities can be compared to molecules of sunshine.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 13:

There are two characteristics by which the seeds of love of Godhead can develop, and these are known as rati, or attachment, and bhāva, the condition immediately preceding love of Godhead. It is by such attachment and bhāva that the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is conquered by His devotees. These two characteristics are present before any symptoms of love of Godhead are manifest. This was all explained to Sanātana Gosvāmī by Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya told him that since there is really no end to describing the system of devotional service with attachment, He is simply trying to offer a sampling. Lord Caitanya then described the ultimate goal of devotional service, which is meant for one who wants to attain perfection.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 13:

Lord Caitanya, describing the symptoms of a person who has developed from faith to the stage of bhāva, states that such a person is never agitated even if there are causes for agitation. Nor does such a person waste his time even for a moment; he is always anxious to do something for Kṛṣṇa. Even if he has no engagement, he will find some work to do for Kṛṣṇa's satisfaction. Nor does such a person like anything which is not connected with Kṛṣṇa. Although he is situated in the best position, he does not hanker after honor or personal respect.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 13:

All these descriptions of the bhāva stage of devotional service were quoted by Lord Caitanya to Sanātana Gosvāmī. Lord Caitanya next proceeded to describe the symptoms of actual love for Kṛṣṇa. He informed Sanātana Gosvāmī that no one can understand the person who has developed love of Kṛṣṇa. No one can understand his words, his activities or his symptoms. Even if one is very learned, it is very difficult for him to understand a pure devotee who is in love with the Lord. This is also confirmed in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 14:

The symptoms of highly developed devotional service, which are exhibited by the pure devotees, are sometimes imitated by those who are not actually pure devotees. This is described in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. Without devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, one may have some motive in exhibiting such symptoms, but it should be known that the symptoms are not actual. Sometimes those who are not conversant with the science of devotional service are captivated by the exhibition of ecstatic symptoms, but those who are in knowledge of the science of devotional service do not accept such symptoms as the all in all. These symptoms only mark the beginning of devotional service. That is accepted by learned devotees.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 14:

In the ecstasy of mādana, meeting, there is kissing, and in the ecstasy of mohana, separation, there is udghūrṇā and citrajalpa. As far as citrajalpa is concerned, in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is a portion known as Bhramara-gītā in which various kinds of citra jalpa are mentioned. Udghūrṇā is a symptom of separation, and there is also a symptom called transcendental insanity. In that transcendental insanity one thinks that he himself has become the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In such an ecstasy, he imitates the symptoms of Kṛṣṇa in different ways.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 16:

The mystic who worships the Supersoul within himself is also called ātmārāma. The ātmārāma yogīs are of two kinds: sagarbha and nigarbha, It is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.2.8): "Some yogīs meditate within their heart on the localized Viṣṇu, who is four-handed and who holds four symbols: conch, disc, mace and lotus." The yogī who thinks of the four-handed Viṣṇu becomes absorbed in devotional ecstasy and evinces the symptoms of that state. Sometimes he cries, and sometimes he feels separation. In this way he merges in transcendental bliss. The result of all this is that he becomes entrapped like a fish.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 16:

The Lord then blessed him saying, "Whatever you write, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, will come out of your heart and will be accepted as you have requested. I will also give you some notes that you can take down. The first and foremost point is that one should accept a bona fide spiritual master. That is the beginning of spiritual life." Lord Caitanya then requested Sanātana Gosvāmī to write down the symptoms of a true guru and the symptoms of a true devotee. The symptoms of a devotee are described in the Padma Purāṇa: A person who is a qualified brāhmaṇa and at the same time has all the symptoms of a devotee can become a spiritual master for all classes of men. Such a devotee and spiritual master must be respected as God Himself.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 16:

This is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam when Nārada speaks of the different symptoms characterizing the four divisions of social life. Nārada therein summarizes that brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras should be selected by their individual qualifications. In his commentary, Śrīdhara Svāmī has noted that birth in a family of brāhmaṇas does not necessarily mean that one is a brāhmaṇa. One must be qualified with the symptoms of a brāhmaṇa, as the symptoms are described in the śāstras. In the disciplic succession of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sampradāya, there are two great ācāryas (Ṭhākura Narottama and Śyāmānanda Gosvāmī) who were not born in brāhmaṇa families but were accepted as spiritual masters by many brāhmaṇas of fame, including Gaṅgānārāyaṇa, Rāmakṛṣṇa, etc.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 16:

The Lord then instructed Sanātana to describe the symptoms of those persons who are eligible to accept the mantras and to describe how the mantras should be understood and perfected by ritualistic performances. Then the Lord described initiation, morning duties and duties of cleanliness—washing the face and brushing the teeth—the process of work and the prayers to be recited both in the morning and the evening.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 16:

One should follow the regulative principles of puraścaraṇa and accept Kṛṣṇa prasāda, rejecting foodstuff which is not offered to Kṛṣṇa. Lord Caitanya also cautioned that one should not indulge in defaming a devotee who has the actual symptoms of a devotee.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 16:

Lord Caitanya also explained the symptoms of a holy man and the process of satisfying the sage and rejecting the society of undesirable persons. The Lord also advised that one should hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam constantly. Also to be followed are duties of the day and duties of the fortnight, as well as fasting on Ekādaśī day.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 24:

According to a mantra in Taittirīya Upaniṣad (yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante) this cosmic manifestation is but an emanation from the Supreme Absolute Truth, and it rests in the Supreme Absolute Truth. The Absolute Truth has been called the ablative, causative and locative performer. Thus as a performer, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for these are symptoms of personality. As the ablative performer of this cosmic manifestation, all thinking, feeling and willing come from Him.

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 1:

How Kṛṣṇa becomes attracted by the devotional service of His devotees is described by Nārada in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Seventh Canto, Tenth Chapter, verses 48 and 49. There Nārada addresses King Yudhiṣṭhira while the King is appreciating the glories of the character of Prahlāda Mahārāja. A devotee always appreciates the activities of other devotees. Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja was appreciating the qualities of Prahlāda, and that is one symptom of a pure devotee.

Nectar of Devotion 10:

There are many symptoms of ecstatic love caused by remembering Kṛṣṇa. For example, one friend of Kṛṣṇa informed Him, "My dear Mukunda, just after observing a bluish cloud in the sky, the lotus-eyed Rādhārāṇī immediately began to remember You. And simply by observing this cloud She became lusty for Your association." This is an instance of remembering Kṛṣṇa in ecstatic love because of seeing something resembling Him. Kṛṣṇa's bodily complexion is very similar to the bluish hue of a cloud, so simply by observing a bluish cloud, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī remembered Him.

Nectar of Devotion 17:

To clarify, in the previous chapters the symptoms of devotional service were explained along with instructions as to how we may execute devotional service with our present senses and gradually rise to the platform of ecstasy in spontaneous love. And the two kinds of devotional service—namely devotional service through regulative principles and through spontaneous love—were discussed. Within the stage of the regulative principles of devotional service there are two divisions—namely executive and effective. This effective portion of devotional service is called bhāva, or ecstasy. In this connection, there is a statement in the tantras that ecstasy is the first symptom of pure love for the Personality of Godhead, and in that stage one is sometimes found shedding tears or shivering. Not always are these symptoms manifest, but occasionally. When King Ambarīṣa was put into difficulty by Durvāsā, he began to think of the lotus feet of the Lord, and thus there were some changes in his body, and tears were falling from his eyes. These symptoms are activities of ecstasy.

Nectar of Devotion 20:

If it is interpreted to mean Sanātana Gosvāmī, then it is because he is so greatly favored by Rūpa Gosvāmī, being always served by him, and because he is the annihilator of all kinds of sinful activities. In this division of Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu the author wants to describe the general symptoms of the transcendental mellow (loving mood) of discharging devotional service.

Nectar of Devotion 27:

Sometimes belching also becomes a symptom of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. There is evidence of this in Paurṇamāsī's address to one crying associate of Rādhārāṇī: "My dear daughter, don't be worried because Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is belching. I am about to offer a remedial measure for this symptom. Do not cry so loudly. This belching is not due to indigestion; it is a sign of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. I shall arrange to cure this belching symptom immediately.

Nectar of Devotion 28:

When there are manifestations of ecstatic symptoms in the body of a nondevotee, these are called dried-up symptoms of ecstatic love. The nondevotees are actually materialistic, but in contact with some pure devotee, they sometimes may manifest some symptoms of ecstasy. Devotional scholars call these dried-up symptoms.

Nectar of Devotion 28:

There are eight symptoms of existential ecstatic love: becoming stunned, perspiring, standing of the hairs on the body, faltering of the voice, trembling of the body, changing of bodily colors, shedding of tears and devastation.

Nectar of Devotion 28:

The symptom of being stunned is caused by ecstatic tribulation, fearfulness, astonishment, lamentation and anger. This symptom is exhibited by a stoppage of talking, a stoppage of movement, a feeling of voidness and an extreme feeling of separation.

Nectar of Devotion 28:

When a person is confused by simultaneous happiness and tribulation and does not know what to do, this state of confusion is called pralaya, or devastation. In this condition of pralaya one sometimes falls down on the ground, and all the symptoms of ecstatic love become manifest. When the gopīs were searching after Kṛṣṇa and all of a sudden He came out from the bushes and creepers, all of them became stunned and almost senseless. In this state the gopīs appeared very beautiful. This is an example of pralaya, or devastation, in happiness.

Nectar of Devotion 28:

Out of the many ecstatic symptoms of the body, the symptom of being stunned is especially significant. According to the degree of being stunned, the vital force within the body becomes agitated, and due to such a state, the other ecstatic loving symptoms sometimes become altered. These transcendental ecstatic symptoms gradually develop, and in the course of such development they are sometimes called smoky, sometimes called blazing, and sometimes called shining.

Nectar of Devotion 28:

The shedding of tears, however, sometimes makes the eyes become swollen and whitish, and sometimes the lenses of the eyes become differently focused. Faltering of the voice may sometimes cause choking in the throat and extreme anxiety. As the different symptoms of these ecstatic manifestations are localized, they are accompanied by different local reactions; e.g., when the throat is choked up because of a faltering voice, there may be a sound like "ghura." Such sounds choke the voice, and with extreme mental anxiety they may be manifest in different ways.

Nectar of Devotion 28:

There is a supreme symptom of ecstatic love which is called mahābhāva. This mahābhāva expression was possible only in Rādhārāṇī, but later on when Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya appeared to feel the mode of love of Rādhārāṇī, He also expressed all of the symptoms of mahābhāva. Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī says in this connection that when the symptoms of ecstatic love become the most bright, that stage is accepted as mahābhāva.

Nectar of Devotion 28:

Sometimes impersonalists, who are not actually in devotional service, may also exhibit such symptoms of ecstatic love, but this is not accepted as actual ecstasy. It is a reflection only. For example, sometimes in Vārāṇasī, a holy city for impersonalist scholars, there may be seen a sannyāsī crying from hearing the glories of the Lord. Impersonalists also sometimes chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and dance, but their aim is not to serve the Lord.

Nectar of Devotion 28:

It is to become one with the Lord and merge into His existence. Rūpa Gosvāmī therefore says that even if the reactions to chanting are manifested in the impersonalist's body, they should not be considered to be symptoms of actual attachment, but reflections only, just like the sun reflected in a dark room through some polished glass. The chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, however, is so nice and transcendental that it will eventually melt even the hearts of persons who are impersonalists. Rūpa Gosvāmī says that the impersonalists' symptoms are simply reflections of ecstatic love, not the real thing.

Nectar of Devotion 29:

When one becomes arrogant with false prestige due to drinking intoxicants or being too lustful, the voice becomes faulty, the eyes become swollen, and there are symptoms of redness on the body. There is a statement in the Lalita-mādhava that Lord Baladeva, intoxicated from drinking excessive quantities of honey, once began to address the ants, "O you kings of the ants! Why are you hiding yourselves in these holes?" At the same time He also addressed the King of heaven, "O King Indra! You plaything of Śacī! Why are you laughing? I am now prepared to smash the whole universe, and I know that Kṛṣṇa will not be angry with Me."

Nectar of Devotion 29:

There is another description of the symptoms of intoxication in the person of Śrī Rādhārāṇī after She saw Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes She was walking hither and thither, sometimes She was laughing, sometimes She was covering Her face, sometimes She was talking without any meaning, and sometimes She was praying to Her associate gopīs. Seeing these symptoms in Rādhārāṇī, the gopīs began to talk among themselves: "Just see how Rādhārāṇī has become intoxicated simply by seeing Kṛṣṇa before Her!" This is an instance of ecstatic love in intoxication.

Nectar of Devotion 29:

Similarly, there are symptoms of diseases caused by ecstatic love. This condition is credited by learned scholars as being mahābhāva. This highly elevated condition is also called divyonmāda, or transcendental madness.

Nectar of Devotion 29:

When Kṛṣṇa was absent from Vṛndāvana and was staying in Mathurā, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī sent news to Him that His mother, the Queen of Vraja, was feeling such separation from Him that there was foam coming from her mouth, like the foam on the shore of the ocean. And sometimes she was raising her arms like the waves of the ocean, and because of her intense feelings of separation, she was rolling on the ground and creating a tumultuous roaring sound. And sometimes she was remaining completely silent, like a calm sea. These symptoms of separation from Kṛṣṇa are called apasmāra, or forgetfulness. One completely forgets his position when he manifests these symptoms in ecstatic love.

Nectar of Devotion 29:

In the Tenth Canto, Twelfth Chapter, verse 44, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Mahārāja Parīkṣit asked about Lord Ananta, and upon hearing this question, Śukadeva Gosvāmī began to show symptoms of collapsing. Yet he checked himself and answered King Parīkṣit's question in a mild voice. This collapsing condition is described as a feverish state resulting from ecstatic pleasure.

Nectar of Devotion 30:

Once when Kṛṣṇa, along with His cowherd boyfriends, was having a mock battle, Subala showed the symptoms of fatigue. Kṛṣṇa immediately told His other friends, "Subala is feeling too fatigued from mock-fighting with Me. So please do not disturb him any more by inviting him to fight." This is an instance of laziness caused by dislike of excessive labor.

Nectar of Devotion 30:

There is a symptom of ecstatic love known as concealment, or trying to hide one's real mental condition by externally showing another attitude. In this state of mind one tries to hide his mind by looking away in different directions, by unnecessarily trying for something which is impossible, or by using words which cover one's real thoughts. According to ācāryas expert in the study of psychological activities, these attempts at hiding one's real affections are another part of ecstatic feeling for Kṛṣṇa.

Nectar of Devotion 30:

It is described in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa that when Akrūra came to take Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma to Mathurā, just by seeing Their faces he became so cheerful that all over his body there were symptoms of ecstatic love. This state is called happiness.

Nectar of Devotion 31:

All the previously mentioned thirty-three symptoms of ecstatic love are called vyabhicārī, or disturbing. All these symptoms refer to apparently disturbed conditions, but even in such disturbed conditions there is acute ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. These symptoms, however, can be divided into three groups: first class, second class and third. There are many disturbing symptoms in ecstatic love, such as envy, anxiety, pride, jealousy, conclusion, cowardliness, forgiveness, impatience, hankering, regret, doubtfulness and impudence.

Nectar of Devotion 31:

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says that fright, sleep, fatigue, laziness and the madness of intoxication are sometimes grouped under continuous symptoms of ecstatic love, and they are due to a strong attraction.

Nectar of Devotion 31:

False argument, determination, steadiness, remembrance, joyfulness, ignorance, humility and unconsciousness are also different symptoms of ecstatic love. Dependence is also grouped under ecstatic love, and this can be divided into superior dependence and inferior dependence. The direct differentiations between superior and inferior dependence are ascertained by Rūpa Gosvāmī and will be presented in due course.

Nectar of Devotion 31:

The symptoms of ecstatic love are sometimes grouped under four headings—namely generation, conjunction, aggregation and satisfaction.

Nectar of Devotion 31:

One night, after the Pūtanā demon had been killed, baby Kṛṣṇa could be seen playing upon her breast. Upon seeing this, Yaśodā became stunned for some time. This is an example of a conjunction of various symptoms of ecstatic love. The conjunction can be auspicious or inauspicious. That the Pūtanā demon had been killed was auspicious, but that Kṛṣṇa was playing on her breast in the dead of night, with no one to help Him in case of trouble, was inauspicious. Yaśodā was caught between auspiciousness and inauspiciousness.

Nectar of Devotion 31:

This was immediately detected by mother Yaśodā as well as by Rādhārāṇī's mother, because the necklace was too long for Rādhārāṇī's neck. At the same time Rādhārāṇī could see Kṛṣṇa nearby, as well as Her own husband, Abhimanyu. So all of these things combined to make Rādhārāṇī feel very much ashamed, and with Her face shriveled She began to look very beautiful. In this case there was a combination of bashfulness, anger, jubilation and lamentation. This is an instance of an aggregate of symptoms of ecstatic love.

Nectar of Devotion 31:

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says that although he has no expert knowledge about the sounds and meanings and mellows of the symptoms of ecstatic love, he has tried to give some examples of different varieties of love of Kṛṣṇa. He further states that the thirty-three disturbing symptoms of ecstatic love, plus eight other symptoms, all taken together equal forty-one primary symptoms of ecstatic love. These symptoms create transformations of bodily activities as well as movements of the senses. All of them can be accepted as different feelings of the heart.

Nectar of Devotion 31:

As clothing tinged red appears red, so the temporary appearance of a certain type of feeling can be detected or observed by the specific ecstatic symptom. In fact, all the different humors and mellows of the devotees produce various specific feelings within the mind. And according to these differences, the symptoms of ecstatic love appear in different forms and degrees. If one's heart is highly elevated, grave and magnanimous, or if one's heart is rough and crude, different symptoms of ecstatic love will appear, influenced by the condition of the heart. Actually, people cannot generally understand such different qualities of mentality, but when one's heart is very soft or gentle, these symptoms become very easily visible, and one can understand them very clearly.

Nectar of Devotion 32:

The continuous ecstasy of love can remain like a powerful king, subduing all temporary manifestations of love as well as any opposing elements of anger. It can be exhibited directly or indirectly, and thus ecstatic love can be described as direct or indirect. These symptoms of ecstatic love are possible only when one is fully situated in a transcendental position. Direct ecstatic love can be divided into two groups—namely, selfish and selfless.

Nectar of Devotion 32:

When noncontradictory symptoms of ecstatic love are distinctly manifest, any contradictory symptoms create a sense of abomination. Contradictory ecstatic love is called selfish. That ecstatic love which can adjust all contradictory or noncontradictory symptoms is called direct selfless love. These selfless symptoms can again be divided into five groups: neutrality, servitude, fraternity, parenthood and conjugal love. Such ecstatic love assumes a particular mode in contact with different objects of love.

Nectar of Devotion 32:

Neutrality can be further subdivided into general, transparent and peaceful. An attraction for Kṛṣṇa by the people in general or by children cannot take any specific or satisfactory position. It can be manifest sometimes in trembling of the body and changing of the color of the eyes (to red, white, etc.), although there is no symptom of any particular affection.

Nectar of Devotion 32:

When the great sage Nārada was glorifying the pastimes of the Lord with his vīṇā, the four Kumāras, headed by Sanaka, although merged in the impersonal conception of Brahman, were trembling all over. Another devotee once exclaimed, "Although I can achieve liberation simply by serving the devotees, my mind is still very much anxious to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose bodily complexion is just like a dark cloud." When a devotee is so anxious to contact the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that can also be accepted as a symptom of neutral love.

Nectar of Devotion 33:

All these symptoms of anger may be divided into two parts: constitutional and unconstitutional, or permanent and temporary symptoms. Sometimes great emotion, bewilderment, pride, frustration, illusion, impotence, jealousy, dexterity, negligence and signs of hard labor are also manifest as unconstitutional symptoms.

Nectar of Devotion 35:

There are certain symptoms of great sages who are situated in śānta-rasa devotional service, and these symptoms are exhibited as follows. They concentrate their eyesight on the tip of the nose, and they behave just like an avadhūta. Avadhūta means a highly elevated mystic who does not care for any social, religious or Vedic conventions. Another symptom is that such persons are very careful to step forward when giving speeches. When they speak, they join together the forefinger and thumb. (This is called the jñāna-mudrā position.) They are not against the atheists, nor are they particularly inclined to the devotees.

Nectar of Devotion 35:

These are some of the common symptoms of the devotee who is situated in neutrality. One devotee, after observing the yawning of another devotee, addressed him thus: "My dear mystic, I think that within your heart there is some ecstatic devotional love which is causing you to yawn." It is sometimes found that a devotee in the śānta-rasa falls down on the ground, his hairs stand up on his body, and he trembles all over. In this way, different symptoms of ecstatic trance are exhibited automatically by such devotees.

Nectar of Devotion 37:

The first symptom of anubhāva, or engagement in a particular type of service, is exemplified by Dāruka, a servant of Kṛṣṇa who used to fan Kṛṣṇa with a cāmara, a bunch of hair. When he was engaged in such service, he was filled with ecstatic love, and the symptoms of ecstatic love became manifest in his body. But Dāruka was so serious about his service that he checked all of these manifestations of ecstatic love and considered them hindrances to his engagement. He did not care very much for these manifestations, although they automatically developed.

Nectar of Devotion 37:

Certainly You must have learned this dancing art directly from the goddess of love." When a devotee dances in ecstatic love, there are manifestations of symptoms which are called sāttvika. Sāttvika means that they are from the transcendental platform. They are not symptoms of material emotion; they come from the soul proper.

Nectar of Devotion 37:

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Tenth Canto, Eighty-fifth Chapter, verse 38, Śukadeva Gosvāmī tells Mahārāja Parīkṣit that after surrendering everything unto the lotus feet of Vāmanadeva, Bali Mahārāja immediately caught hold of the lotus feet of the Lord and pressed them to his heart. Being overwhelmed with joy, he manifested all the symptoms of ecstatic love, with tears in his eyes and a faltering voice.

Nectar of Devotion 37:

In such expressions of ecstatic love there are many other subsidiary symptoms, such as jubilation, withering, silence, disappointment, moroseness, reverence, thoughtfulness, remembrance, doubtfulness, confidence, eagerness, indifference, restlessness, impudence, shyness, inertness, illusion, madness, ghastliness, contemplation, dreaming, disease and signs of death. When a devotee meets Kṛṣṇa, there are symptoms of jubilation, pride and perseverance, and when he is feeling great separation from Kṛṣṇa, the symptoms of ghastliness, disease and signs of death become prominent.

Nectar of Devotion 37:

Reverential devotion for the Lord gradually increases and transforms itself into ecstatic love, then affection and then attachment. In the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Thirty-eighth Chapter, verse 6, Akrūra says, "Because I am going to see Lord Kṛṣṇa today, all symptoms of inauspiciousness have already been killed. My life is now successful, because I shall be able to offer my respects unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead!"

Nectar of Devotion 37:

The symptom of ecstatic affection with reverence felt by Bali Mahārāja was expressed as follows: "My dear Lord, You have simultaneously punished me and showed me Your causeless mercy. My conclusion is that when I have taken shelter of Your lotus feet I shall never be disturbed in any condition of life. Whether You give me the opportunity to enjoy all the yogic perfections or You put me into the most abominable condition of hellish life, I shall never be disturbed."

Nectar of Devotion 37:

There is a statement about Uddhava's symptoms of love. When he saw Lord Kṛṣṇa his eyes filled with tears and created a river which flowed down toward the sea of Kṛṣṇa to offer tribute, as a wife offers tribute to her husband. When his body erupted with goose pimples, he appeared like the kadamba flower, and when he began to offer prayers, he appeared completely distinct from all other devotees.

Nectar of Devotion 38:

When Śrī Kṛṣṇa left the city of Dvārakā to seek out the Syamantaka jewel and He was late returning home, Uddhava became so afflicted that the symptoms of disease became manifest on his body. Actually, due to his excessive ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa, Uddhava became known in Dvārakā as crazy. To his great fortune, on that day Uddhava's reputation as a crazy fellow was firmly established. Uddhava's craziness was practically proved when he went to Raivataka Hill to minutely observe the congested black clouds. In his disturbed condition, he began to pray to these clouds, and he expressed his jubilation by bowing down before them.

Nectar of Devotion 40:

In addition to jubilation, there are sometimes symptoms of disappointment. Pradyumna once addressed Sāmba with these words: "My dear Sāmba, you are such a glorified personality! I have seen that once when you were playing on the ground, your body became covered with dust; yet our father, Lord Kṛṣṇa, still took you up on His lap. But I am so unfortunate that I could never get such love from our father!" This statement is an example of disappointment in love.

Nectar of Devotion 40:

When this steady reverential devotion increases further, it is called love of Godhead in reverential devotion. Attraction and affection are two prominent symptoms of this stage. In this reverential devotional attitude, Pradyumna never talked to his father in a loud voice. In fact, he never so much as unlocked the lips of his mouth, nor did he ever show his face filled with tears. He would always glance only at the lotus feet of his father.

Nectar of Devotion 41:

When a devotee is permanently situated in devotional service, and by different symptoms of ecstasy he has developed and matured a fraternal mellow or flavor in relationship with the Personality of Godhead, his feeling is called fraternal love of Godhead.

Nectar of Devotion 42:

The symptoms of the kaiśora age have already been described, and it is at this age that devotees generally most appreciate Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa with Rādhārāṇī is worshiped as Kiśora-kiśorī. Kṛṣṇa does not increase His age that although He is the oldest personality and has innumerable different forms, His original form is always youthful. In the pictures of Kṛṣṇa on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra we can see that He is youthful, although at that time He was old enough to have sons, grandsons and great-grandsons.

Nectar of Devotion 42:

When there are dealings between Kṛṣṇa and His friends which are completely devoid of any feelings of respect and they all treat one another on an equal level, such ecstatic love in friendship is called sthāyī. When one is situated in this confidential friendly relationship with Kṛṣṇa, one shows symptoms of love such as attraction, affection, affinity and attachment. An example of sthāyī was exhibited when Arjuna told Akrūra, "My dear son of Gāndinī, please ask Kṛṣṇa when I shall be able to embrace Him in my arms."

Nectar of Devotion 43:

In the middle kaumāra age, the upper portion of Kṛṣṇa's hair falls around His eyes. Sometimes He is covered with cloth around the lower part of His body, and sometimes He is completely naked. Sometimes He tries to walk, taking step by step, and sometimes He talks very sweetly, in broken language. These are some of the symptoms of His middle kaumāra age. He is thus described when mother Yaśodā once saw Him in His middle kaumāra age: His scattered hairs were touching His eyebrows, and His eyes were restless, but He could not express His feelings with proper words; still, when He was talking, His talk was so nice and sweet to hear.

Nectar of Devotion 43:

In that dress He used to take care of the calves near the house, and sometimes He played with cowherd boys of about the same age. He had a slender flute and a buffalo-horn bugle, and sometimes He played on a flute made from the leaves of trees. These are some of the symptoms of the end of Kṛṣṇa's kaumāra age.

Nectar of Devotion 43:

The dangerous position that Kṛṣṇa had accepted by lifting the hill brought tears to her eyes. With her eyes filled with tears she could not see Kṛṣṇa anymore, and because her throat was choked up by anxiety she could not even instruct Kṛṣṇa as to what He should do in that position. This is a symptom of becoming stunned in ecstatic love.

Nectar of Devotion 43:

As far as mother Yaśodā's anxieties are concerned, when Kṛṣṇa was out of the house in the pasturing ground, a devotee once told her, "Yaśodā, I think your movements have been slackened, and I see that you are full of anxieties. Your two eyes appear to be without any movement, and I feel in your breathing a kind of warmth, which is bringing your breast milk to the boiling point. All these conditions prove that out of separation from your son you have a severe headache." These are some of the symptoms of mother Yaśodā's anxiety for Kṛṣṇa.

Nectar of Devotion 43:

When all the wives of Vasudeva were present in the arena of Kaṁsa, they saw the most pleasing bodily features of Kṛṣṇa, and immediately, out of parental affection, milk began to flow from their breasts, and the lower parts of their sārīs became wet. This symptom of ecstatic love is an example of the result of fulfillment of desire.

Nectar of Devotion 43:

These are some of the signs of parental love for Kṛṣṇa by His mother, His father and elderly persons. Symptoms of ecstatic love in parental affection are expressed when Kṛṣṇa is accepted as the son. These constant transcendental emotions for Kṛṣṇa are called steady ecstasy in parental love.

Nectar of Devotion 45:

In such a laughing ecstasy of love, Kṛṣṇa or matters pertaining to Kṛṣṇa are the cause of the laughter. In such laughing devotional service, there are symptoms of jubilation, laziness, concealed feelings and similar other seemingly disturbing elements.

Nectar of Devotion 47:

Sometimes symptoms like laziness, frustration, defamation, humility, anxiety, moroseness, eagerness, restlessness, madness, death, forgetfulness, disease and illusion are also visible. When in the heart of a devotee there is expectation of some mishap to Kṛṣṇa it is called devotional service in bereavement. Such bereavement is another symptom of this devotional service in compassion.

Nectar of Devotion 47:

In devotional service without strong attraction to the Lord, there may sometimes be smiling and other symptoms, but never the stress or lamentation that are symptoms of devotional service in compassion. The basic principle of this compassion is always ecstatic love. The apprehension of some mishap to Kṛṣṇa or to His beloved queens, as exhibited by Baladeva and Yudhiṣṭhira, has been explained above. This apprehension is due not exactly to their ignorance of the inconceivable potencies of Kṛṣṇa but to their intense love for Him.

Nectar of Instruction

Nectar of Instruction 4, Translation:

Offering gifts in charity, accepting charitable gifts, revealing one's mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting prasāda and offering prasāda are the six symptoms of love shared by one devotee and another.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 20:

The symptoms of the rainy season may be compared to the symptoms of the living entities who are covered by the three modes of material nature. The unlimited sky is like the Supreme Brahman, and the tiny living entities are like the covered sky, or Brahman covered by the three modes of material nature. Originally, everyone is part and parcel of Brahman. The Supreme Brahman, or the unlimited sky, can never be covered by a cloud, but a portion of it can be covered. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, the living entities are part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But they are only an insignificant portion of the Supreme Lord.

Krsna Book 38:

These symbols on the soles of the Lord's transcendental lotus feet are worshiped by all the demigods and other great personalities throughout the three worlds. Upon seeing the footprints of Kṛṣṇa, Akrūra immediately jumped down from the chariot out of respect. He became overwhelmed with all the symptoms of ecstasy; he wept, and his body trembled. Out of extreme jubilation upon seeing the dust touched by the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, Akrūra fell flat on his face and began to roll on the ground.

Krsna Book 55:

He therefore inquired from her, "How is it possible that first you were affectionate like a mother and now you are expressing the symptoms of a lusty woman? What is the reason for such a change?" On hearing this statement from Pradyumna, the woman, Rati, replied, “My dear sir, you are the son of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Before you were ten days old, you were stolen by the Śambara demon and later thrown into the water and swallowed by a fish. In this way you have come under my care, but actually, in your former life as Cupid, I was your wife; therefore, my manifestation of conjugal symptoms is not at all incompatible. Śambara wanted to kill you, and he is endowed with various mystic powers.

Krsna Book 73:

My dear kings, your decision to give up all conceptions of material enjoyment and turn instead toward My devotional service is factually the symptom of your good fortune. Henceforward you will always be blessed with blissful life. I confirm that all you have spoken about Me in your prayers is factual. It is a fact that the materially opulent position of one who is not fully Kṛṣṇa conscious is the cause of his downfall and his becoming a victim of the illusory energy. In the past there were many rebellious kings, such as Haihaya, Nahuṣa, Vena, Rāvaṇa and Narakāsura.

Krsna Book 82:

The family members of the Yadu dynasty and the cowherds of Vṛndāvana had their minds fixed on Kṛṣṇa. That is the symptom of perfect knowledge. And because their minds were always engaged in Kṛṣṇa, they were automatically freed from all material activities. This stage of life is called yukta-vairāgya, as enunciated by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. Knowledge and renunciation, therefore, do not mean dry speculation and renunciation of activities. Rather, one must start speaking and acting only in relationship with Kṛṣṇa.

Krsna Book 87:

If a person is not engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service, it is useless for him to exhibit the symptoms of life. Generally if a person is breathing he is accepted to be alive. But a person without Kṛṣṇa consciousness may be compared to a bellows in a blacksmith's shop. The big bellows is a bag of skin which exhales and inhales air, and a human being who simply lives within the bag of skin and bones without taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and loving devotional service is no better than the bellows.

Krsna Book 87:

The bona fide spiritual master is he who knows the science of devotional service in disciplic succession. This disciplic succession is called śrotriya. The prime symptom of one who has become a spiritual master in disciplic succession is that he is one hundred percent fixed in bhakti-yoga. Sometimes people neglect to accept a spiritual master, and instead they endeavor for self-realization by mystic yoga practice, but there are many instances of failure, even by great yogīs like Viśvāmitra. Arjuna said in the Bhagavad-gītā that controlling the mind is as impractical as stopping the blowing of a hurricane.

Krsna Book 87:

When the Māyāvādīs are asked about this, they cannot properly answer. The speculation that one is equal to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is another symptom of sinful life. One cannot take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness unless one is completely freed from all sinful activities. The very fact that the Māyāvādī claims to be one with the Supreme Lord means that he is not yet freed from the reactions of sinful activities. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says that such persons are aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ (SB 10.2.32), which means that because they falsely think themselves liberated and at the same time think themselves equal with the Absolute Truth, their intelligence is not purified.

Krsna Book 88:

By worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, instead of being puffed up with material opulences one becomes enriched with spiritual advancement of knowledge in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. To become nirguṇa means to achieve eternal peace, fearlessness, religiousness, knowledge and renunciation. All these are symptoms of becoming free from the contamination of the material qualities.

Krsna Book 88:

According to the Vedic system, an animal to be offered as a sacrifice has to be bathed first, and while the animal is wet it is sacrificed. When the demon was thus preparing to cut off his head, Lord Śiva became very compassionate. This compassion is a symptom of the quality of goodness. Lord Śiva is called tri-liṅga, "a mixture of the three material qualities." Therefore his manifestation of the nature of compassion is a sign of the quality of goodness. This compassion, however, is present in every living entity. The compassion of Lord Śiva was aroused not because the demon was offering his flesh into the sacrificial fire but because he was about to commit suicide. This is natural compassion.

Krsna Book 90:

That is the symptom of a pure devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Just as when a man is fully absorbed in some particular thought he sometimes forgets his other bodily activities, the members of the Yadu dynasty acted automatically for their bodily necessities, but their actual attention was always fixed on Kṛṣṇa. Their bodily activities were performed mechanically, but their minds were always absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.6:

The prime symptom of pure devotional service is constant chanting, hearing, and remembrance of the holy name. Mixed devotional service, as we have previously discussed, is devotional service adulterated by karma (fruitive desire) and jñāna (attachment to knowledge). Such devotional service is often impeded by the particular situation or association a person finds himself in. But there is never any impediment to pure devotional service.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.9:

An extreme longing for Lord Kṛṣṇa is the only means for attaining Him. Thus intense, unflinching devotional service is another symptom of a mahātmā. These mahātmās execute all nine limbs of devotional service, beginning with hearing, chanting, and remembering the name, form, qualities, pastimes, and paraphernalia of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Such devotional service is transcendental to any mundane consideration of time, place, or circumstance. Mahātmās are always eager to render loving devotional service to the Lord. They tirelessly dedicate their lives, energy, words, intelligence, body, society—everything—in the service of the Lord.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.5:

Therefore, the real symptom of a true civilization is that its citizens are inspired by Back to Godhead to take up the process of devotion and go back to Godhead, where they will eternally reside in their actual home. Only in this way can they end all futile labor.

Light of the Bhagavata

Light of the Bhagavata 19, Purport:

It is said that a man should give up the order of householder life at the age of fifty. But in this era of ignorance even an old man wants to rejuvenate his bodily functions, put on artificial teeth, and make a pretense of youthful life, even on the verge of death. Cranelike politicians especially are too much attached to the false prestige of position and rank, and so they always seek reelection, even at the fag end of life. These are some of the symptoms of an uncultured life.

Sri Isopanisad

Sri Isopanisad 4, Purport:

Although the individual parts and parcels of the Lord's potencies have all the symptoms of the Lord Himself, they have limited spheres of activity and are therefore all limited. The parts and parcels are never equal to the whole; therefore they cannot appreciate the Lord's full potency. Under the influence of material nature, foolish and ignorant living beings who are but parts and parcels of the Lord try to conjecture about the Lord's transcendental position. Śrī Īśopaniṣad warns of the futility of trying to establish the identity of the Lord through mental speculation. One should try to learn of the Transcendence from the Lord Himself, the supreme source of the Vedas, for the Lord alone has full knowledge of the Transcendence.

Sri Isopanisad 6, Purport:

According to the Bhagavad-gītā (18.54), only one who is already on the liberated platform (brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20)) can become an uttama-adhikārī devotee and see every living being as his own brother. This vision cannot be had by politicians, who are always after some material gain. One who imitates the symptoms of an uttama-adhikārī may serve another's outward body for the purpose of fame or material reward, but he does not serve the spirit soul. Such an imitator can have no information of the spiritual world.

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

Narada Bhakti Sutra 5, Purport:

So when he is forbidden to become enthusiastic about material achievements, he should at once be encouraged to be enthusiastic about spiritual achievements. Enthusiasm is a symptom of the living entity; it cannot be stopped. It is just like a powerful engine: if you utilize it properly, it will give immense production. Therefore enthusiasm should be purified. Instead of employing enthusiasm for attaining material goals, one should be enthusiastic about achieving the perfectional stage of devotional service. Indeed, enthusing His devotees in devotional service is the purpose for which Kṛṣṇa descends to this material world.

Narada Bhakti Sutra 6, Purport:

One who becomes affected by the pleasure potency of the Supreme Lord manifests various symptoms of ecstasy, such as slackening of the heart, laughing, crying, shivering, and dancing. These symptoms are not material. However, exhibiting such ecstatic symptoms just to get credit from the public is not approved by pure devotees. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda says, "Persons without attainment of the highest perfectional stage of loving service cannot achieve any auspiciousness simply by artificially laughing, crying, or dancing without any spiritual understanding. Artificial movement of the body... must always be rejected. One should wait for the natural sequence within devotional service, and at that time, when one cries or dances or sings, it is approved. A person artificially showing symptoms of the pleasure potency creates many disturbances in the ordinary way of life."

Narada Bhakti Sutra 6, Purport:

One who attains the perfectional stage of devotional service under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master may preach the science of devotion as Lord Caitanya did. When Lord Caitanya preached, He danced and showed other symptoms of ecstasy. Once, in Benares, a Māyāvādī sannyāsī named Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī objected to these activities. He said that since Lord Caitanya had taken sannyāsa, the renounced order of life, He should not act in such an intoxicated way.

Narada Bhakti Sutra 6, Purport:

The Lord explained that these symptoms of intoxication had automatically arisen when He had chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, and that upon seeing this His spiritual master had ordered Him to preach devotional service all over the world.

Narada Bhakti Sutra 8, Purport:

The symptom of unflinching faith in pure devotional service is that one has overcome the many disruptive desires that impede pure devotional service, such as (1) the desire to worship the demigods, (2) the desire to serve someone other than Kṛṣṇa, (3) the desire to work for sense gratification, without understanding one's relationship with Kṛṣṇa, (4) the desire to cultivate impersonal knowledge and thereby forget the Supreme Lord, and (5) the desire to establish oneself as the Supreme, in which endeavor there is no trace of the bliss of devotional service.

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 1.1 -- London, July 7, 1973:

So Gandhi never believed that there was Kṛṣṇa, but he became mahātmā by popular vote. That's all. That kind of mahātmā is not accepted by the śāstra. Mahātmā is, first symptom of mahātmā is that he must be a great devotee of Kṛṣṇa. That is mahātmā. That is.... Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ (BG 9.13). And he is not under any material world. He is in the spiritual world. Daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ. And what is the symptom? Bhajanty ananya-manaso.

Lecture on BG 1.12 -- London, July 13, 1973:

So amongst the kṣatriyas when there is fighting, unless one party is killed, the fighting cannot be stopped. This is the Battle of Kurukṣetra, to see the history of the former kings and kṣatriyas, how they were determined. This is one of the qualifications of kṣatriya: not to go away from the fighting. When there is challenge of fighting, immediately a kṣatriya would accept. That is kṣatriya spirit. Īśvara-bhāvaṁ ca, and ruling over others. And charitable. These are the symptoms of kṣatriya.

Lecture on BG 1.21-22 -- London, July 18, 1973:

So sādhu is suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām. Why he should allow animal killing? They are also living entities, but for their benefit, the so-called sādhu says, "The animal has no soul." What is this nonsense? Animal has no soul? Why? What is the difference between animal and man? What are the symptoms of possessing the soul? They are all equal. The man also eats, the animal also eats. The man also sleeps, the animal also sleeps, the man also have sex life, the animals also have sex life.

Lecture on BG 2.1 -- Ahmedabad, December 6, 1972:

It is compassion. Arjuna was not a coward, neither he was less heroic than the other side. But out of compassion, because he was devotee... Devotees, they are para-duḥkha-duḥkhī. The, the symptom of a devotee is they are unhappy by seeing others unhappy. That is the symptom of devotee. Generally, a person, if he sees somebody happy, he becomes happy. Mātsaratā. That is the world situation. If I see my brother is very happy, he has improved in his material condition, then I become unhappy: "He has advanced so much, and I could not do so." This is material civilization. Envious, gṛhamedhī. Everyone is envious.

Lecture on BG 2.1-10 and Talk -- Los Angeles, November 25, 1968:

The Āryan qualification is described there. Simply Arjuna was little flickering, he showed his little weakness, and he was at once condemned as non-Āryan. "Oh, you are just showing your symptom of a non-Āryan." You see. And by Kṛṣṇa. So the Āryan word is not ordinary. To become Āryan means a perfect human being, as far as possible. That is Āryan civilization. Go on.

Lecture on BG 2.6 -- London, August 6, 1973:

That is one of the symptoms of living condition. Fighting. So when that fighting should take place? Of course, at the present moment, by the ambitious politicians, they fight. But fighting, according to Vedic civilization, fighting means dharma-yuddha. On religious principles. Not by whims of political ideas, ism. Just like now fighting is going on on two political groups, the communist and the capitalist.

Lecture on BG 2.6 -- London, August 6, 1973:

So this is going on. Fighting you cannot stop. Many people, they are thinking how to stop war. That is impossible. It is nonsense proposal. It cannot be. Because the fighting spirit is there in everyone. That is a symptom of living entity. Even children, who has no politics, no enmity, they fight for five minutes; again they are friends. So the fighting spirit is there. Now, how it should be utilized? Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is there.

Lecture on BG 2.11 -- Edinburgh, July 16, 1972:

This is the process of śānti. You cannot establish... If you think that "I am the only son of God, and the animal is, has no soul, and let us kill," that is not a very good philosophy. Why not? What the symptoms of possessing soul? The symptoms of possessing soul is the same four formulas: eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. The animals also busy in these four things; we are also busy in these four things. Then where is the difference between animal and me?

Lecture on BG 2.11 (with Spanish translator) -- Mexico, February 11, 1975:

Unless one becomes under the control of ācārya, he has no perfect knowledge. Therefore the Vedas says, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet: (MU 1.2.12) "For understanding that transcendental science, one must approach a guru." And what is the symptom of guru? Samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham: Guru means one who has complete knowledge of Vedic version, and not only that, he is a staunch or fixed-up devotee of the Supreme Lord. These are the qualification.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- Mexico, February 12, 1975:

When one understands fully this, I mean to say, fact, that spirit soul is different from this material world, then he's actually learned. In that stage he's called situated in brahma-bhūtaḥ stage. The symptom of brahma-bhūtaḥ is brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). As soon as one becomes self-realized, he becomes jubilant, jolly. So long one identifies with this body, he is unhappy, full of anxiety.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- Hyderabad, December 12, 1976:

That is the symptom of kṣatriya. When there is fight, they will come forward first. Śauryaṁ tejo... Vīryaṁ yuddhe cāpy apalāyanam īśvara-bhāvaś ca dānaṁ ca. Kṣatriyas means they are very powerful, strong, and when there is fight, a kṣatriya, if he is challenged by somebody that "I want to fight with you," he cannot deny. "Yes. What kind of fight you want, bows, arrows, or club, or sword?" Any way they will fight. And fight means until one is dead, the fight will go on. That is fight.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- Pittsburgh, September 8, 1972:

What is the symptom of bona fide spiritual master? Everyone wants to become spiritual master. So that is also stated. Śābde pare ca niṣṇātam. One who has taken complete bath in the ocean of the Vedic literature, śābde pare ca niṣṇātam. Just like if you take bath, you become refreshed. If you take nice bath, you feel refreshed. Śābde pare ca niṣṇātam. Without refreshness, one cannot understand this sublime subject matter. And the guru, or the spiritual master, should be refreshed by taking bath in the ocean of Vedic knowledge.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- Pittsburgh, September 8, 1972:

And what is the result? Śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam. By, after such cleanliness, he has taken shelter of the Supreme Absolute Truth, without any material desires. He has no more any material desires; he's simply interested in Kṛṣṇa, or the Absolute Truth. These are the symptoms of guru, or spiritual master.

Lecture on BG 2.13-17 -- Los Angeles, November 29, 1968:

This is the sign, characteristics or symptoms of a person who is going to be liberated in this life. He has to do his duty. So far we are concerned, we have accepted Kṛṣṇa consciousness duty, so we have to execute our duties faithfully and seriously. Then it is sure Kṛṣṇa will give us the desired result. A nice example is given. Just like a girl is married to a boy.

Lecture on BG 2.14 -- London, August 20, 1973:

The bodily concept of... Because a human body is very much advanced, has got the power to kill animals, therefore they are speaking this nonsense that the animal has no soul. Why the animal has no soul? What is the symptom of possessing soul? I am spirit soul; I am within this body. Everyone can understand. Understand or no understand, if I am a human being, if I have got my soul, why this poor animal has no soul? What, where is the difference, that you say that the animal has no soul? Where is the difference? Let us analyze.

Lecture on BG 2.15 -- Mexico, February 15, 1975:

Hṛdayānanda: He wanted to know what are the symptoms of one who has become Kṛṣṇa conscious.

Prabhupāda: Symptoms? He's chanting always Hare Kṛṣṇa. Unless one is Kṛṣṇa conscious, why he'll take the trouble, twenty-four hours, "Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa"? This is the symptom. The symptom is further explained that as soon as you see one man and you remember Kṛṣṇa, that means he's Kṛṣṇa conscious. So our men, wherever they go, people say, "Hare Kṛṣṇa!"—by seeing him only. Therefore the man is Kṛṣṇa conscious. This is the proof. That is the statement of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, "If by seeing one person you remember Kṛṣṇa, that person is Kṛṣṇa conscious."

Lecture on BG 2.16 -- Mexico City, February 16, 1975:

In the bodily concept of life we are always full of anxiety and morose. Yes, that is the material condition. But as soon as you realize yourself that you are not this body, you are different from this body, you become jubilant. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). This means as soon as one is self-realized, immediately he becomes happy, jubilant. And what is the symptom of becoming jubilant? That is also stated, na śocati na kāṅkṣati: "He does not hanker after anything; neither he laments for any loss." In the material condition we are in the platform of lamentation and hankering. Everyone is trying to possess something which he does not possess, and everyone is lamenting after losing his possession. These are the condition of the materialistic person.

Lecture on BG 2.17 -- Hyderabad, November 22, 1972:

Even they see. So their... (aside:) Not now. Their proposition is that this consciousness is a symptom of combination of matter. That is Buddhist philosophy. They do not accept the existence of soul. "The consciousness is a combination of matter." But if it is a fact, then why don't you, if some matter is lacking, why don't you bring that matter or chemical and inject in the dead body and make it again conscious? Why it is not possible? What is your argument? If you say consciousness is combination of matter...

Lecture on BG 2.26 -- Los Angeles, December 6, 1968:

All of a sudden the man dies, and he is sure to die, but they cannot simply observe the symptoms. They cannot observe what is that thing which is gone now. They cannot say that. Neither it is possible for them to say. But their theory that combination of matter makes symptoms of life possible, they should prove it by experiment. Then it is complete science. Observation and experiment. But there is no such experiment till now. You trace out the history of the human society. Of course, in the modern world they cannot trace out chronological history more than three thousand years. That's all. But we can give account for many millions and millions of years.

Lecture on BG Lecture Excerpts 2.44-45, 2.58 -- New York, March 25, 1966:

So this theory, that separating the material elements by which this material body is formed, if they are broken or they are sent back to their original position, then we are free from all distresses, material... But we, at least those who are following this Bhagavad-gītā, this philosophy does not say that the material body is all in all. Beyond this material body, there is spirit, and the symptom of that spirit is understood by consciousness. Consciousness. That is the philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā. Now, you cannot deny consciousness. You cannot deny consciousness.

Lecture on BG Lecture Excerpts 2.44-45, 2.58 -- New York, March 25, 1966:

So it is very common sense affair, that consciousness, that is the main thing in this body. So any intelligent man with common sense can understand this. Now, what is this consciousness? This consciousness is the symptom of the soul. Just like wherever there is some fire, there is heat or there is smoke. When you see something... Suppose you are sitting here. If you find somewhere smoking, then you are afraid, "Oh, there must be some fire. Otherwise why smoke is coming?" Or wherever you feel some heat, although you do not see the fire directly, still, you can understand that there is fire. Because there is smoke... Because there is heat, therefore there is fire. Similarly, this consciousness, nobody can deny this consciousness.

Lecture on BG Lecture Excerpts 2.44-45, 2.58 -- New York, March 25, 1966:

Take a drop of water, as clear as possible. But if you see with microscope, you will see, "Oh, it is full of germs." So imperfect vision of existence, of the existence of the soul, does not mean that there is no soul. The soul is there. Soul is there, and we can feel the presence of the soul by the symptom of consciousness. Consciousness. And that's a clear fact.

Lecture on BG 2.46-47 -- New York, March 28, 1966:

They have got a different theory like that. But so far we are concerned, Vedic literature or Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā does not, I mean to say, accept this theory. Consciousness is eternal. Consciousness is eternal, and consciousness is the symptom of the soul. Soul is eternal. When the soul takes shelter in the matter, then the matter develops, not that that combination of matter, you can produce soul. That is not possible. If that would have been possible, then there are many great scientists and many scientific laboratory, especially in your Western countries, in Europe and America... But nobody could produce a single living being in the laboratory, scientific laboratory.

Lecture on BG 2.46-62 -- Los Angeles, December 16, 1968:

After many, many births when a person is actually wise, jñānavān, perfectly in knowledge... What is that symptom of perfect knowledge? Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti. Kṛṣṇa is everything. That is perfection of knowledge. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti (BG 7.19), prapadyate mām. If I find out somebody supreme, then it is my duty to surrender unto him. Yes. But as soon as I surrender, I become mahātmā, liberal, not miser. Miser is thinking on his own account, "How much I'll get? How much in my share?" And liberal means he has no more share, everything Kṛṣṇa's. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Lecture on BG 2.46-62 -- Los Angeles, December 16, 1968:

Vedic rituals, every human society has got some scriptures and some ritualistic activities. Never mind whether Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jews, they have. That is the symptom of human civilization. If you have no religion, if you have no standing, then you are animal. Never mind you accept this religion or that religion, it doesn't matter. But you must have a religion. Otherwise a man is animal. Go on.

Lecture on BG 2.46-62 -- Los Angeles, December 16, 1968:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: 53. Oh, I'll finish this sentence. "Persons in Kṛṣṇa consciousness transcend the limit of śabda-brahma or the range of the Vedas and Upaniṣads." 53: "When your mind is no longer disturbed by the flowery language of the Vedas and when it remains fixed in the trance of self-realization, then you will have attained the divine consciousness (BG 2.53)." 54: "Arjuna said, 'What are the symptoms of one whose consciousness is thus merged in transcendence? How does he speak and what is his language? How does he sit and how does he walk?' " (BG 2.54)

Prabhupāda: This is very important thing. The symptoms, the characteristics, of Kṛṣṇa conscious persons, they are described there, item by item.

Lecture on BG 2.46-62 -- Los Angeles, December 16, 1968:

"Oh, Kṛṣṇa has put me into such miserable..." But a Kṛṣṇa conscious person, when he's in distress, he'll say, "Yes, due to my misdeeds I should have suffered a hundred times more than this distress, but Kṛṣṇa is so kind, He has given me little. That's all." And when he's happiness, "Oh, it is all given by Kṛṣṇa. Therefore all the opulence should be utilized for Kṛṣṇa's service." This is the difference. He's asking, Arjuna is asking, what are the symptoms of Kṛṣṇa conscious person. Sthita-prajña. Sthita-prajña means steadfast in intelligence. So these are the difference. I have read one speech, Chicago speech by late Vivekananda Swami. He's talking to the audience that "You work so hard, why you give credit to God?" You see? If you find his Chicago speech, you'll see. Go on.

Lecture on BG 2.51-55 -- New York, April 12, 1966:

Now, Kṛṣṇa is being questioned by Arjuna that "What are the symptoms of such person who is already in that position of dovetailing the individual consciousness with the superconsciousness? What are the symptoms?"

arjuna uvāca
sthita-prajñasya kā bhāṣā
samādhi-sthasya keśava
sthita-dhīḥ kiṁ prabhāṣeta
kim āsīta vrajeta kim
(BG 2.54)

Now Arjuna says, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, will You kindly explain what are the language? How a person who is already in transcendental position, how does he speak? How does he act? And how does he live? How does he move?" All these things.

Lecture on BG 2.51-55 -- New York, April 12, 1966:

Now, when such thing is performed, when actually one is dovetailed with the superconsciousness, what are the symptoms of his life, this is being questioned by Arjuna. And Lord Kṛṣṇa, śrī bhagavān uvāca. You will find always in Bhagavad-gītā that although Kṛṣṇa is speaking the words, "Bhagavān" is used. Because Kṛṣṇa is, Kṛṣṇa... The very word means the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just like we have recited the śloka,

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ
sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
(Bs. 5.1)

So Kṛṣṇa and Bhagavān is identical. So here you'll see, in the Bhagavad-gītā, instead of mentioning that Kṛṣṇa said, when Arjuna speaking, it is clearly said that "Arjuna said," but when Kṛṣṇa is speaking, it is said śrī bhagavān uvāca: "The Personality of God is speaking."

Lecture on BG 2.51-55 -- New York, April 12, 1966:

The first principle, or the first symptom of a self-realized soul is that he does not make any plan for his prosperity. Because we are always busy in making plan, "Now, after this, we shall do this. After this, we shall do this." But one who is self-realized, he has no plan. Because he has dovetailed himself with the supreme consciousness, so for himself he has nothing to do. He simply depends. He simply depends on the supreme consciousness.

Lecture on BG 2.55-56 -- New York, April 19, 1966:

It is nonsense. Nobody can be desireless. How he can be desireless? Desireless. Desire is the symptom of my, my life. How can you stop it? It is not possible. Desireless, I cannot be, but I must desire, I mean to say, purely. That's all. I should not desire impurely. If I desire from the bodily platform of my life, then my desires will be impure. And when I shall desire as the desire of the Supreme Will, then my desire is pure.

Lecture on BG 2.55-56 -- New York, April 19, 1966:

Now, simply to become free from the bodily conception of life is not... But that consciousness should be made purified, purified. Just like to, just to stop the symptoms of fever or decreasing the degree of fever is not all. Suppose a man is suffering from fever. Doctor gives him medicine. Now the fever decreases and he comes to normal temperature.

Lecture on BG 2.55-58 -- New York, April 15, 1966:

Now, for the last few days, we were discussing these symptoms, symptom of the person who is situated on the platform of pure consciousness. So this is... We, we should remember that this is spoken as the basis of when we attain the stage of perfection, the symptom. It is not that we have already attained that perfection.

Lecture on BG 2.55-58 -- New York, April 15, 1966:

This is, of course, due to imperfect knowledge of the Supreme Lord that people can claim that "I am God." How can I be God? What is the qualification of God? What are the symptoms of God? Are those symptoms present in me? So those things... There are so many things to be considered, and they are very nicely described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Śrīmad-Bhagavad-gītā and, as we make progress, we shall understand them, that we are simply infinitesimal parts of the Supreme Lord.

Lecture on BG 2.59-69 -- New York, April 29, 1966:

This is the symptom of this age. Yaśaḥ arthe. I want to associate with some organization, spiritual, just for the sake of name: "Oh, I am attached to that, such big organization." But, so far my life is concerned, it is as it is. As it is. I have seen that... I don't wish to name that particular... In some yoga institute, I have seen the members, they come.

Lecture on BG 3.8-13 -- New York, May 20, 1966:

The symptoms of the people of this age is also described, prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ sabhya kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ. Prāyeṇa, in this age people are generally short living. They are not living for more than sixty or seventy years. Formerly they were living more than hundred years. Gradually their duration of life is decreasing.

Lecture on BG 3.8-13 -- New York, May 20, 1966:

And it is stated also that it will decrease to such an extent that any man who is living from twenty to thirty years, he will be considered a very old man. That is also stated in the Bhāgavata. Of course, that has not yet come, but it will come in this age. So the symptoms of the people of this age are described, that people are of very short life.

Lecture on BG 3.13-16 -- New York, May 23, 1966:

That point we have discussed several times. That consciousness is the symptom of your existence in this body. So long that consciousness is there, this bodily function is going on very nicely.

Lecture on BG 3.13-16 -- New York, May 23, 1966:

Similarly, as your consciousness is a symptom of your presence, you are spirit soul, similarly, the supreme consciousness is the symptom of the supreme soul, or God, the supreme God. This is the position. Now, as consciousness, we are part and parcel of the supreme consciousness. Therefore, the whole business of our life is to dovetail our activities with the supreme plan. That is called karma-yoga. That is called karma-yoga. Eko bahu syāt.

Lecture on BG 3.16-17 -- New York, May 25, 1966:

That is the symptom of my presence. I am a soul present in this body, and the consciousness is the symptom. Means as soon as this consciousness is removed, the body has no value. That we are experiencing every day. As soon as from the body the consciousness is out, oh, it is dead body.

Lecture on BG 3.18-30 -- Los Angeles, December 30, 1968:

The person in false ego takes all credit for doing everything independently, and that is the symptom of his nescience. He does not know that this gross and subtle body is the creation of material nature under the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and as such his bodily and mental activities should be engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Lecture on BG 4.1-2 -- Columbus, May 9, 1969:

That is God, not that, simply by claiming, "I am God. I am the same God." And how you claim God? Can you tell what I was thinking? Can you tell what he is thinking? No. Then how... What kind of God you are? Don't accept a cheap God. These are the symptoms of God. Adv aitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33). He has got ananta, unlimited... There are unlimited living entities.

Lecture on BG 4.2 -- Bombay, March 22, 1974:

Just like we are trying to preach this Bhagavad-gītā. We are trying to give the essence of knowledge. Satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ (BG 9.14). Mahātmā. The symptoms of mahātmā is that he is always engaged in chanting the glories of the Lord. Satataṁ kīrtayanto mām (BG 9.14). The Bhagavad-gītā says that catur-vidhā bhajante mām: "Four classes of men comes to worship Me." Bhajana means sevā. Sevā. So sevā means bhakti. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam, arcanaṁ vandanam... (SB 7.5.23). These are the sevā formula. So the devotees are engaged in sevā, in service of the Lord.

Lecture on BG 4.6 -- Bombay, March 26, 1974:

These, considering these verses from the Bhagavad-gītā, we should not foolishly accept these so-called cheaters as God. That is not very nice thing. These are the symptoms of God, how He takes His birth. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9). We should try to understand what is God. We should not take so cheaply that "Here is God incarnation. Here is..." No. That is misleading. Then?

Lecture on BG 4.8 -- Montreal, June 14, 1968:

Even in cats and dog the eating, sleeping, mating and defending... There is four symptoms of life. The cat also, or dog also, eat; we also eat. They also sleep; we also sleep. They have their sex desires; we have got our sex desire. We want to defend from enemies; they also want to defend from enemies. Similarly, in every species of life we will find these four principles existing.

Lecture on BG 4.9-11 -- New York, July 25, 1966:

Now, he treats the root of the disease. Now, the patient says, "Doctor, I have got very much headache today." Doctor knows: "Yes. All right. I shall see." He says, "I have got a great pain in here." Now, the doctor sees that these are the symptoms of his main disease.

Lecture on BG 4.11-18 -- Los Angeles, January 8, 1969:

The tendency of a particular man towards work is determined by the modes of material nature which he has acquired. Such symptoms of life according to different modes of material nature are described in the Eighteenth Chapter of this book.

Lecture on BG 4.19 -- New York, August 5, 1966:

So jñānāgni-dagdha-karmāṇaṁ tam āhuḥ paṇḍitaṁ budhāḥ. In this way, we have to become budha. Budha means learned, learned. And you'll find in the Tenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā that the Lord says who is budha. And what are the symptoms of budha. Budha means learned. What are the symptoms? What are the symptoms of mahātmā, great soul? And what are the symptoms of budha? That is described in Bhagavad-gītā.

Lecture on BG 4.19 -- New York, August 5, 1966:

So budha, what are the symptoms? The symptoms of budha is that ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ: he knows that Kṛṣṇa is the fountainhead of all emanations, everything, whatever we find, everything. Anything, whatever you see.

Lecture on BG 4.19-22 -- New York, August 8, 1966:

That automatically comes, as we make progress in the matter of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then our demand for more enjoyment, more accumulation of wealth, diminishes. That is the symptom of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Yadṛcchā-lābha-santuṣṭaḥ.

Lecture on BG 4.20-24 -- New York, August 9, 1966:

Now, in the Bhāgavata in the Eleventh Canto you'll find the symptoms of Caitanya Mahāprabhu in which it is stated that yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ: (SB 11.5.32) "Those who are intelligent persons in this age, in Kali-yuga, they will perform saṅkīrtana-yajña and satisfy Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Lord Caitanya."

Lecture on BG 4.39-5.3 -- New York, August 24, 1966:

Just like when you are diseased, your senses are under certain symptoms of the disease. Just like I am feeling the tongue. Whatever I am eating, the tongue is tasting bitter. Bitter. That is the symptom of my disease. So we haven't got to cut the tongue altogether, but we have to make treatment so that we can taste properly.

Lecture on BG 5.14-22 -- New York, August 28, 1966:

Now, what are the signs? Now Kṛṣṇa describes the symptoms of this stage. Simply superficially, if we think that "I am already in the Brahman stage of life," no, there should be symptoms. Now here Kṛṣṇa says to the symptoms of Brahman. Simply if I say that "I have now hundred millions of dollars in my bank," that will not do. There must be some symptom that actually I have got. I am doing something which requires money.

Lecture on BG 5.17-25 -- Los Angeles, February 8, 1969:

Revatīnandana: "Purport: The symptoms of the self-realized person are given herein. The first symptom is that he is not illusioned by the false identification of the body with his true self."

Prabhupāda: Yes. So achieving something pleasant... Generally we accept a thing pleasant when it satisfies our senses. We accept it as pleasant. But actually, satisfaction of my sense is not real pleasure because my senses are at the present moment diseased. Therefore as it is stated in the Nārada-pañcarātra, that tat-paratvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170).

Lecture on BG 6.25-29 -- Los Angeles, February 18, 1969:

Sacha bole tomare lata... jagat harai dhana kali-yuga dukha lalge haspai (?). This is a Hindi verse by one devotee that this Kali-yuga is so abominable that if you speak truth, then people will come with some rod to beat you. But if you cheat them, bluff them. they'll be bewildered (?), they'll like it. If I say I'm God, people will say, "Oh, here is Swamiji, God." They won't inquire, that "How you have become God? What is the symptom of God? Have you got all the symptoms?" Nobody inquires. So these things happen. Unless one is not fixed up in the self, unless one does not understand what is real self, unless one does not understand what is Superself.

Lecture on BG 6.30-34 -- Los Angeles, February 19, 1969:

First of all our duration life is very short. If you study the statistics you can see your forefathers who lived for hundred years or eighty years, ninety years. Now sixty years, seventy years people are dying. Gradually it will decrease. In this age the memory, the duration of life, mercifulness, so many things will decrease. That is the symptom of this age. Go on.

Lecture on BG 6.46-47 -- Los Angeles, February 21, 1969:

Those who are indulging unrestrictedly in sense enjoyment civilization, that is not good. Because that will lead him to accept next again this material body. Maybe human body or animal body or any body. But he has to accept this body. And as soon as you accept this body then you'll have to undergo the threefold miseries of the body. Birth, death, old age, diseases. These are the symptoms of threefold miseries.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- San Francisco, September 10, 1968:

Devotee (1): Swamiji, you said that the relationship with Kṛṣṇa as lover contains all the other symptoms of the other relationships.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Los Angeles, December 2, 1968:

To accept the blunders... Even there is no blunder. This is the symptom of sincere service. Just like a father is very beloved to his son or the son is very beloved to the father. A little ailments of the son, the father is thinking, "Oh, my son my die. I may be separated." It is the sign of intense love. Not always that the son is dying immediately, you see, but he's thinking like that. Separation. You see? So that is a good sign. We should not think that we are doing very nicely. We should always think that "I am unable."

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Madras, February 14, 1972:

If anyone wants God realization, then they..., he must take to this process of chanting, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also, it is said by Śukadeva Goswāmī when he was teaching it, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, about the symptoms of this kali-yuga. There are many symptom, just like you know how in the Twelfth Canto, Second, Third Chapter, the different types of faulty conditions of this yuga are mentioned there. For example, there is statement, svīkāra eva ca udvāhe: "In this Kali-yuga, simply by agreement the marriage ceremony will be performed."

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Upsala University Stockholm, September 8, 1973:

That is the symptom of spiritual life. You'll see Kṛṣṇa always smiling, always playing on His flute. As you see in this material world also, somebody, he has got a flute and he's playing, enjoying. So this is imitation. That enjoyment will not last. But Kṛṣṇa's flute-playing is eternal. He's enjoying eternally.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Hong Kong, January 25, 1975:

Similarly, the symptoms of living entities and Bhagavān—one is practically the same. Bhagavān... We have got this body; Bhagavān has got this body. Bhagavān is also living being; we are also living being. Bhagavān has got creative energy; we have also creative energy. But the difference is He is very great. Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. When Bhagavān creates this whole universe, He does not require anyone's help. He creates the sky. From the sky there is sound; from the sound there is air; from the air there is fire; from fire there is water; and from water the earth is there.

Lecture on BG 7.1-3 -- Stockholm, September 10, 1973:

It is not that only human being has got the soul, not others. No. Actually if we make analysis what is the symptoms of possessing soul, you will find everywhere. Even in plants' life you will find. Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, one of the greatest scientist of the world, he has proved by machine that when you cut the trees or the leaves, they feel sensation, pain, and that is recorded by machine. So everyone has got soul.

Lecture on BG 7.2 -- Nairobi, October 28, 1975:

Who does not commit any mistake, who is never illusioned, whose senses are not imperfect, and who is not a cheater. These are the qualification. (aside:) The children... These are the symptoms of perfect person. First thing is he does not commit mistake. Throughout the whole world you study big, big men. They committed mistake. Hitler committed mistake. Gandhi committed mistake. Churchill committed mistake. Because "To err is human," however big you may be, you cannot avoid mistakes because you are not liberated.

Lecture on BG 7.8-14 -- New York, October 2, 1966:

So you can conquer. Just like Kṛṣṇa became the son of Nanda Mahārāja, and when He was child, He took the shoes of Nanda Mahārāja on His head just like child play. You see? So these are symptoms of conquering God. What you... You are trying to become one with God? Oh, you can become father of God. You can become father of God. God has no father but He accepts His devotee, His lover, "Oh, you are My father."

Lecture on BG 7.9 -- Vrndavana, August 15, 1974:

If we want to purify our existence... At the present moment our existence is not purified, impure. Therefore we are suffering. Just like when one's physiological condition becomes infected, he suffers from fever and other symptoms of disease, similarly, we are suffering in this material world on account of this material body. If we want really happiness, then we must accept tapasya.

Lecture on BG 7.11-12 -- Bombay, February 25, 1974:

"Always chanting the glories of the Lord." Man-manāḥ... Satataṁ kīrtayanto mām (BG 9.14). Kṛṣṇa also says in the Bha... Satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ (BG 9.14). Namasyantaś ca māṁ bhaktyā nitya-yuktā upāsate. These are the mahātmās, symptoms of mahātmā. They are always engaged in chanting the holy name. Satatam. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu also recommends: kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ.

Lecture on BG 7.11-13 -- Bombay, April 5, 1971:

These are the symptoms of Kali-yuga. The bare necessities of life will not be available. There is no protection. In Calcutta there is no surety. When you go out on the street, there is no surety whether you will come back home at the present moment. Perhaps you all know. So there is no proper defense even, which is not refused to the animals. Why? Because everything is going on—dharmāviruddha. They are going against the law, nature's law. We say "Nature's law" or "God's law." Therefore so much mismanagement.

Lecture on BG 8.21-22 -- New York, November 19, 1966:

That is the symptom of any idea of spirituality. Bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra syāt (SB 11.2.42). The test is... If you have developed your Kṛṣṇa consciousness, if you have developed your devotional spirit, spiritual realization, the result will be that you'll be at once detached from these all kinds of material enjoyment. How it is? The example is given that just like a hungry man, if he's given nice foodstuff, and as soon as he eats and feels satisfaction, he says, "No, I don't want anymore.

Lecture on BG 8.22-27 -- New York, November 20, 1966:

This is the symptom of pure devotion. Of course, a devotee, wherever he remains, he remains in the spiritual kingdom, even in this material body. But from his side he does not demand from God anything for his personal superiority or personal comfort.

Lecture on BG 8.28-9.2 -- New York, November 21, 1966:

That is the symptom of knowledge. So long we go on speculating about God but do not surrender, that is not perfection of knowledge. Perfection of knowledge is bahūnāṁ janmanām ante: (BG 7.19) "After many, many births' mental speculation, philosophical speculation, when one understands what is actually God, God, then he surrenders there. He surrenders there." So long we do not surrender, we cannot understand God. So bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate.

Lecture on BG 9.1 -- Melbourne, April 19, 1976:

This is the symptom of Kali-yuga. Bodily strength—reduced. Therefore Vyāsadeva preferred it that the Vedic knowledge should be kept recorded in writing. So he first of all then wrote all this Vedic knowledge into writing, and the writings...

Lecture on BG 9.2 -- Calcutta, March 7, 1972:

These are the natural symptoms of a qualified brāhmaṇa—śamaḥ, damaḥ, titikṣaḥ, ārjava. These are described all in the Bhagavad-gītā. But still that is material. Even one is śamaḥ damaḥ titikṣaḥ jñānam vijñānam āstikyam, he's possessing, still that is material. But spiritual position is another position, transcendental position, brahma-bhuyāya kalpate (BG 14.26). So bhakti-yoga is so nice that soon as you come to the discipline of bhakti-yoga, you become situated in brahma-bhūta platform.

Lecture on BG 9.3 -- Melbourne, April 21, 1976:

Bhakti, this activity, begins when you are brahma-bhūtaḥ. Now, what is the symptom of becoming brahma-bhūtaḥ? That is stated, prasannātmā, happiness, only happiness. There is no question of distress. That is brahma-bhūtaḥ. You cannot say, "Now I have become Brahman realized, brahma-bhūtaḥ, but I am crying, crying for cigarette."

Lecture on BG 9.3 -- Toronto, June 20, 1976:

So symptoms of rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa means material desires and greediness. And sattva-guṇa means enlightenment. If we cultivate the sattva-guṇa quality, just means, if we cultivate the brahminical qualification, that is the platform of sattva-guṇa. So that is described in the Bhagavad-gītā, satyaṁ śamo damas titikṣā ārjavaṁ jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42). If we cultivate this kind of life, to be truthful, to be peaceful, to be tolerant, to be men of wisdom, knowledge, faith in God and the śāstras, in this way there are nine to twelve qualities.

Lecture on BG 9.4 -- Melbourne, April 23, 1976:

Then we shall realize that God is person, Supreme Being, and He has got all the propensities as we have got. Because we are part and parcel of God, we can study God's personality from our personality, just like we can study the father by the symptoms of the son—this is crude example—similarly, whatever propensities we have got, wherefrom the propensity is coming? It is coming from God.

Lecture on BG 9.11 -- Calcutta, June 30, 1973:

So unless we become ācāryavān... That is the Vedic instruction. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). We cannot understand God, what is God. We cannot make research (because) we do not know what are the symptoms of God, although everything is described in the śāstras. Here also, in the Bhagavad-gītā, the indications are there. Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat (BG 7.7). "There is nobody superior than Me." So this is the shortcut definition of God. Just try to find out a person... God is also a person, but He is the most superior person. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). He is the chief amongst the living beings. Nityo nityānām.

Lecture on BG 9.13 -- New York, November 28, 1966:

Now, Lord Kṛṣṇa says that who are the mahātmās. The symptom of mahātmā is that he knows that the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is the original Personality of Godhead, and He is the fountainhead and source of all emanation. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). In the Vedānta-sūtra it is said very nicely, athāto brahma jijñāsā: "Now this human form of life is meant for inquiring about Brahman, the greatest." We are all engaged in studying temporary, small things, problems, small problems. What is that problem? Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna, the animal problems: how to eat, how to sleep, how to defend and how to mate.

Lecture on BG 9.34 -- New York, December 26, 1966, 'Who is Crazy?':

There are six symptoms of presentation of, presence of the soul. Growth is one of the important. So growth. As soon as the soul is out of this body, no more growth. If the child comes dead, oh, there will be no growth. Oh, the parents will say it is useless. Throw it. So similarly, Lord Kṛṣṇa gave the first example to Arjuna that, "Don't think that the spiritual spark which is within the body, due to his presence, the body is growing from childhood to boyhood, boyhood to youthhood, from youthhood to old age.

Lecture on BG 10.1 -- New York, December 27, 1966:

As in the morning class, we were discussing about the symptoms of incarnation. So in the śāstra, in the scriptures, these symptoms are given. Similarly, who is Bhagavān, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that is also given. And Kṛṣṇa, this word means all-attractive. Because He has got all these things in complete, naturally He's attractive. Just like we have analyzed that beauty attracts, wealth attracts, fame attracts, education knowledge attracts... So He has got all these attractive features. Therefore He is completely attractive.

Lecture on BG 13.1-2 -- Bombay, September 24, 1973:

Just like if you become criminal, the police department is there. The police department will give you pains, chastisement. Similarly, the more we become Godless, the more we become careless to fulfill the mission of human life, the more nature will give us trouble. There will be no rain. Anāvṛṣṭi, anāvṛṣṭi and durbhikṣa, scarcity of foodstuff, and taxation by the government. These are the symptoms of Kali-yuga mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And people will become so much harassed by these three things that they will voluntarily give up their hearth and home and go to the forest.

Lecture on BG 13.2 -- Melbourne, April 4, 1972:

Don't think that the animals or living entities other than the human being, they have no soul. No. That's a wrong conception. They have got souls. How you can say there is no soul. The same symptoms of life there.

Lecture on BG 13.2 -- Melbourne, April 4, 1972:

Just like the symptoms of life means it takes birth at a certain date, then it grows, it stays, it gives some byproducts, then dwindles, then vanishes. Take any. Either you take tree or you take a human body, or you take an animal body or if you take an insect body, or take the demigod's body—any body you take, there is a certain date of birth, everyone, certain date of birth. And then there is a certain duration of life.

Lecture on BG 13.8-12 -- Bombay, October 3, 1973:

That is material education, rajas tamas. Rajas tamo-guṇa. What are the symptoms of different modes of material nature, sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. Sattva-guṇa, goodness. One is satisfied and eager to advance in spiritual knowledge. that is sattva-guṇa, brāhmaṇa's quality. Sattva śamo damas titikṣa. Titikṣa. one has to learn titikṣa. Just like here the, even they are foreigners, how much tribulation they have to suffer on account of this temple. These foreigners, they have come here to become devotees and the authorities are prepared to demolish their temple. So one has to tolerate.

Lecture on BG 13.21 -- Bombay, October 15, 1973:

These are the signs, symptoms of knowledge, wiseness. And another place Bhāgavata says, parābhavas tāvad abodha-jātaḥ. Everyone is born fools and rascals, and he's acting in foolishness and rascaldom. Therefore whatever he is doing this is his defeat. This is his defeat. Actually, if we think very cool-headed... Suppose whole life I have earned so much money, bank balance, skyscraper building, everything, but if my next life I become a cat or dog or rat... There is possibility.

Lecture on BG 13.24 -- Bombay, October 23, 1973:

And what is the symptom of such knowledge? Brahma-niṣṭham, firmly fixed up in Brahman. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11). To know Brahman means to know not only the impersonal brahmajyoti, but also Paramātmā and Bhagavān. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate. This is knowledge.

Lecture on BG 16.6 -- South Africa, October 18, 1975:

So the symptoms of demon... Kṛṣṇa says, daivo vistaraśaḥ proktaḥ: "I have already spoken elaborately about the persons who are daiva, who are on the platform of demigods. Now..." Prokta āsuraṁ pārtha me śṛṇu: "Now I am describing who are the asuras. Just try to understand." The first symptoms of asura is, it is said,

pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca
janā na vidur āsurāḥ
na śaucaṁ nāpi cācāro
na satyaṁ teṣu vidyate
(BG 16.7)

Very nicely described. The first symptom is pravṛtti and nivṛtti. Why we are in this material world, when it has begun—that the asuras do not know. Sometimes they ask that "Why we have come to this material world? We are suffering, we can understand."

Lecture on BG 16.6 -- South Africa, October 18, 1975:

If people take advantage of these books they can stop this pravṛtti, this intense desire for enjoying this material world. But the asuras, they do not know that what we should accept and what we should not accept. Pravṛtti means to accept something, and nivṛtti means to deny something. So they do not know. This is the first symptom of the asuras. Pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca na viduḥ. Pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca janā na vidur āsurāḥ, āsurāḥ janāḥ (BG 16.7), those who are demons, asuras, they do not know it.

Lecture on BG 16.6 -- South Africa, October 18, 1975:

The modern scientists also say. They say that "Chemical evolution, by combination of chemicals, everything has come out, but there is no creator." They will deny this. This is the symptom of the asura. So from this instruction you can understand who is a rascal and asura. As soon as they say that "There is no God. The world is created by chance. By chance..." Aparaspara-bhūtam. Aparaspara: "One thing mixed with another thing..."

Lecture on BG 16.7 -- Tokyo, January 27, 1975:

Everything you will find in the śāstra. So there are two divisions: asura and sura, or asura or deva. Devāsura. Deva means those who are conscious of the responsibility of life. They are called deva. So for the devas, Kṛṣṇa has explained so many things. Now He is explaining about the asuras. What are the symptoms of asura? He says first of all, pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca janā na vidur āsurāḥ. Pravṛttiṁ nivṛttim (BG 16.7).

Lecture on BG 16.7 -- Hawaii, February 3, 1975:

So these are the symptoms of asura. We have already discussed the characteristic of divine nature and the characteristic of demonic nature. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa this is also confirmed. Dvau bhūta-sargau loke daiva āsura eva ca (BG 16.6). There are two kinds of people all over the universe. There is asuraloka and devaloka, planet. So devāsura fight. That is going on perpetually, daiva and āsura, demonic nature and divine nature.

Lecture on BG 16.7 -- Sanand, December 26, 1975:

So we should remember that devatā means who is fully surrendered to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. So there are many symptoms of the asuras. They are all described in the Sixteenth Chapter. It requires a long time to discuss. It is not possible to discuss all the symptoms. But one of the most important symptom of the asura is here described, asatyam apratiṣṭhaṁ te jagad āhur anīśvaram (BG 16.8). Their main proposal is that there is no creator God.

Lecture on BG 18.41 -- Stockholm, September 7, 1973:

This is not very good philosophy, that the animals have no soul. They have got soul. You can practically examine. What is the symptom of possessing soul? First of all try to understand. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: avināśi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idaṁ tatam: The presence of soul can be perceived when there is consciousness on the body. This is the proof. When you pinch my body, I feel pain, when I pinch your body, you feel pain, when I pinch an animal's body, he also feels pain. Even I pinch even the tree's body he feels pain.

Lecture on BG 18.67-69 -- Ahmedabad, December 9, 1972:

So Nārada Muni says if these symptoms are found elsewhere... Yad anyatrāpi dṛśyeta. Suppose a śūdra, or a vaiśya, but he has got the qualification, symptoms, of a brāhmaṇa. So he should be accepted as brāhmaṇa, not as śūdra, as vaiśya. Similarly, a person born in brāhmaṇa family, if he has got the symptoms of a śūdra, he should be accepted as śūdra. This is the injunction in the śāstras. And Śrīdhara Svāmī, he says that simply taking birth in some particular family, brāhmaṇa family or kṣatriya family, one does not become so. It is the qualification. That is required.

Page Title:Symptoms of... (CC, Other Books, and BG Lectures)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, Gopinath
Created:20 of Oct, 2010
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=119, OB=98, Lec=94, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:311