Tears (CC)
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
Imitation devotees, who wish to advertise themselves as elevated Vaiṣṇavas and who therefore imitate the previous ācāryas but do not follow them in principle, are condemned in the words of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.3.24) as stone-hearted. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has commented on their stone-hearted condition as follows: bahir aśru-pulakayoḥ sator api yad dhṛdayaṁ na vikriyeta tad aśma-sāram iti kaniṣṭhādhikāriṇām eva aśru-pulakādi-mattve ’pi aśma-sāra-hṛdayatayā nindaiṣā. "Those who shed tears by practice but whose hearts have not changed are to be known as stone-hearted devotees of the lowest grade. Their imitation crying, induced by artificial practice, is always condemned."
False devotees may think that simply shedding tears will lead one to the transcendental plane, even if one has not had a factual change in heart, but such a practice is useless if there is no transcendental realization. False devotees, lacking the conclusion of transcendental knowledge, think that artificially shedding tears will deliver them.
"The lotus-eyed Rādhārāṇī powerfully condemned the ecstatic love that caused a flow of tears that hindered Her sight of Govinda."
When someone saw the eyes of Mīnaketana Rāmadāsa, tears would automatically flow from his own eyes, for a constant shower of tears flowed from the eyes of Mīnaketana Rāmadāsa.
"When will there be eruptions on my body as soon as I chant the name of Lord Caitanya, and when will there be incessant torrents of tears as soon as I chant the holy names Hare Kṛṣṇa? When will Lord Nityānanda be merciful toward me and free me from all desires for material enjoyment? When will my mind be completely freed from all contamination of desires for material pleasure? Only at that time will it be possible for me to understand Vṛndāvana. Only if I become attached to the instructions given by the six Gosvāmīs, headed by Rūpa Gosvāmī and Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, will it be possible for me to understand the conjugal love of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa."
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu prays in His Śikṣāṣṭaka:
- yugāyitaṁ nimeṣeṇa cakṣuṣā prāvṛṣāyitam
- śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ govinda-viraheṇa me
"O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence." It is the aspiration of a devotee that while he chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra his eyes will fill with tears, his voice falter and his heart throb. These are good signs in chanting the holy name of the Lord. In ecstasy, one should feel the entire world to be vacant without the presence of Govinda. This is a sign of separation from Govinda.
While chanting and dancing or hearing the holy name of the Lord, one automatically remembers the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and because there is no difference between the holy name and Kṛṣṇa, the chanter is immediately linked with Kṛṣṇa. Thus connected, a devotee develops his original attitude of service to the Lord. In this attitude of constantly serving Kṛṣṇa, which is called bhāva, he always thinks of Kṛṣṇa in many different ways. One who has attained this bhāva stage is no longer under the clutches of the illusory energy. When other spiritual ingredients, such as trembling, perspiration and tears, are added to this bhāva stage, the devotee gradually attains love of Kṛṣṇa.
“"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.
Whether he is offensive or inoffensive, anyone who even now chants śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda is immediately overwhelmed with ecstasy, and tears fill his eyes.
The prākṛta-sahajiyās who chant nitāi-gaura rādhe śyāma have very little knowledge of the Bhāgavata conclusion, and they hardly follow the Vaiṣṇava rules and regulations, and yet because they chant bhaja nitāi-gaura, their chanting immediately evokes tears and other signs of ecstasy. Although they do not know the principles of Vaiṣṇava philosophy and are not very much advanced in education, by these symptoms they attract many men to become their followers. Their ecstatic tears will of course help them in the long run, for as soon as they come in contact with a pure devotee their lives will become successful. Even in the beginning, however, because they are chanting the holy names of nitāi-gaura, their swift advancement on the path of love of Godhead is very prominently visible.
Simply by talking of Nityānanda Prabhu one awakens his love for Kṛṣṇa. Thus all his bodily limbs are agitated by ecstasy, and tears flow from his eyes like the waters of the Ganges.
"If one's heart does not change, tears do not flow from his eyes, his body does not shiver, and his bodily hairs do not stand on end as he chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, it should be understood that his heart is as hard as iron. This is due to his offenses at the lotus feet of the Lord's holy name."
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, commenting on this verse, which is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.3.24), remarks that sometimes a mahā-bhāgavata, or very advanced devotee, does not manifest such transcendental symptoms as tears in the eyes, whereas sometimes a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī, a neophyte devotee, displays them artificially. This does not mean, however, that the neophyte is more advanced than the mahā-bhāgavata devotee. The test of the real change of heart that takes place when one chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is that one becomes detached from material enjoyment. This is the real change.
If it is sometimes found that a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī (neophyte devotee) shows artificial tears in his eyes while chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra but is still completely attached to material things, his heart has not really changed. The change must be manifested in terms of one's real activities.
When one's transcendental loving service to the Lord is actually awakened, it generates transformations in the body such as perspiration, trembling, throbbing of the heart, faltering of the voice and tears in the eyes.
If one chants the exalted holy name of the Lord again and again and yet his love for the Supreme Lord does not develop and tears do not appear in his eyes, it is evident that because of his offenses in chanting, the seed of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa does not sprout.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura remarks in this connection that if one takes shelter of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda, follows Their instructions to become more tolerant than the tree and humbler than the grass, and in this way chants the holy name of the Lord, very soon he achieves the platform of transcendental loving service to the Lord, and tears appear in his eyes. There are offenses to be considered in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, but there are no such considerations in chanting the names of Gaura-Nityānanda. Therefore, if one chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra but his life is still full of sinful activities, it will be very difficult for him to achieve the platform of loving service to the Lord. But if in spite of being an offender one chants the holy names of Gaura-Nityānanda, he is very quickly freed from the reactions to his offenses. Therefore, one should first approach Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda, or worship Guru-Gaurāṅga, and then come to the stage of worshiping Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.
While chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu sometimes fainted and remained unconscious for many hours. He prays in His Śikṣāṣṭaka (7):
- yugāyitaṁ nimeṣeṇa cakṣuṣā prāvṛṣāyitam
- śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ govinda-viraheṇa me
"O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from My eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence." This is the perfectional stage of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and eating the fruit of love of Godhead, as exhibited by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. 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.
I shall describe the contents of the bags of Rāghava Paṇḍita later in this book. Hearing this narration, devotees generally cry, and tears glide down from their eyes.
The place where Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī performed his devotional service still exists by Rādhā-kuṇḍa. He almost completely gave up eating, and therefore he was very skinny and of weak health. His only concern was to chant the holy name of the Lord. He gradually reduced his sleeping until he was almost not sleeping at all. It is said that his eyes were always full of tears. When Śrīnivāsa Ācārya went to see Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, the Gosvāmī blessed him by embracing him. Śrīnivāsa Ācārya requested his blessings for preaching in Bengal, and Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī granted them.
There is a book in the Oriyā language called Caitanya-carita-mahākāvya, in which there are many narrations about Śikhi Māhiti. One narration concerns his seeing an ecstatic dream. Śikhi Māhiti always engaged in serving the Lord in his mind. One night, while he was rendering such service, he fell asleep, and while he was asleep his brother and sister came to awaken him. At that time he was in full ecstasy because he was having a wonderful dream that Lord Caitanya, while visiting the temple of Jagannātha, was entering and again coming out of the body of Jagannātha and looking at the Jagannātha Deity. Thus as soon as he awakened he embraced his brother and sister and informed them, "My dear brother and sister, I have had a wonderful dream that I shall now explain to you. The activities of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the son of Mother Śacī, are certainly most wonderful. I saw that Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, while visiting the temple of Jagannātha, was entering the body of Jagannātha and again coming out of His body. I am still seeing the same dream. Do you think I have become deranged? I am still seeing the same dream! And the most wonderful thing is that as soon as I came near Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He embraced me with His long arms." As Śikhi Māhiti spoke to his brother and sister in this way, his voice faltered and there were tears in his eyes. Thus the brothers and sister went to the temple of Jagannātha, and there they saw Lord Caitanya in the Jagamohana kīrtana hall, looking at the beauty of the Śrī Jagannātha Deity just as in Śikhi Māhiti's dream. The Lord was so magnanimous that He immediately embraced Śikhi Māhiti, exclaiming, "You are the elder brother of Murāri!" Being thus embraced, Śikhi Māhiti felt ecstatic transcendental bliss.
The Śākhā-nirṇaya states that Baṅgavāṭī Caitanya dāsa was always seen with eyes full of tears. He also had a branch of descendants. Their names were Mathurāprasāda, Rukmiṇīkānta, Jīvanakṛṣṇa, Yugalakiśora, Ratanakṛṣṇa, Rādhāmādhava, Ūṣāmaṇi, Vaikuṇṭhanātha and Lālamohana, or Lālamohana Śāhā Śāṅkhānidhi. Lālamohana was a great merchant in the city of Dacca.
After the Kazi heard this, tears flowed down from his eyes. He immediately touched the lotus feet of the Lord and spoke the following sweet words.
CC Madhya-lila
The prākṛta-sahajiyās do not consult the Vedic literatures, and they are debauchees, woman-hunters and smokers of gañjā. Sometimes they give a theatrical performance and cry for the Lord with tears in their eyes. Of course, all scriptural conclusions are washed off by these tears. The prākṛta-sahajiyās do not realize that they are violating the orders of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who specifically said that to understand Vṛndāvana and the pastimes of Vṛndāvana one must have sufficient knowledge of the śāstras (Vedic literatures).
"Certainly that heart is steel-framed which, in spite of one's chanting the holy name of the Lord with concentration, does not change and feel ecstasy, at which time tears fill the eyes and the hairs stand on end.”
The word nirveda is also explained in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: "One may feel unhappiness and separation, as well as jealousy and lamentation, due to not discharging one's duties. The despondency that results is called nirveda. When one is captured by this despondency, thoughts, tears, loss of bodily luster, humility and heavy breathing result."
Staying near the Garuḍa-stambha, the Lord would look upon Lord Jagannātha. What can be said about the strength of that love? On the ground beneath the column of the Garuḍa-stambha was a deep ditch, and that ditch was filled with the water of His tears.
In front of the temple of Jagannātha is a column on which the statue of Garuḍa is situated. It is called the Garuḍa-stambha. At the base of that column is a ditch, and that ditch was filled with the tears of the Lord.
Aśru is explained in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu as a combination of joy, anger and moroseness that causes water to flow from the eyes without effort. When there is joy and there are tears in the eyes, the temperature of the tears is cold, but when there is anger, the tears are hot. In both cases, the eyes are restless, the eyeballs are red and there is itching. 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.
Advaita Ācārya led the saṅkīrtana party, and with great pleasure He sang this verse. There was a manifestation of ecstatic perspiration, shivering, raised hairs, tears in the eyes and sometimes thundering and bellowing.
Tears fell from His eyes, and His whole body trembled. His bodily hairs stood on end, He perspired heavily, and His words faltered. Sometimes He stood, and sometimes He fell. And sometimes He cried.
Harṣa is described in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. Harṣa is experienced when one finally attains the desired goal of life and consequently becomes very glad. When harṣa is present, the body shivers, and one's bodily hairs stand on end. There are perspiration, tears and an outburst of passion and madness. The mouth becomes swollen, and one experiences inertia and illusion. When a person attains his desired object and feels very fortunate, the luster of his body increases. Because of his own qualities and feelings of greatness, he does not care for anyone else, and this is called garva, or pride. In this condition one utters prayers and does not reply to others' inquiries. Looking at one's own body, concealing one's desires and not heeding the words of others are symptoms visible in the ecstasy of garva.
Out of love she began to caress the body of the Lord. Sometimes she kissed His face and tried to observe Him carefully, but because her eyes were filled with tears, she could not see.
When the Lord performed kīrtana, He manifested all kinds of transcendental symptoms. He appeared stunned and trembling, His hair stood on end, and His voice faltered. There were tears and devastation.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu could not recite the whole verse. He simply said, "Ayi dīna! Ayi dīna!" repeatedly. Thus He could not speak, and profuse tears were in His eyes.
Trembling, perspiration, jubilant tears, shock, fading of the bodily luster, disappointment, moroseness, loss of memory, pride, joy and humility were all visible in Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's body.
Out of ecstatic love of God, the Bhaṭṭācārya shed tears, and his body was stunned. He exhibited an ecstatic mood, and he perspired, shook and trembled. He sometimes danced, sometimes chanted, sometimes cried and sometimes fell down to touch the lotus feet of the Lord.
As they danced and embraced, spiritual symptoms manifested in their bodies. They perspired, trembled and shed tears, and the Lord began to speak in His ecstasy.
The body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was naturally very beautiful. It was like molten gold dressed in saffron cloth. Indeed, He was most beautiful for being ornamented with the ecstatic symptoms, which caused His bodily hair to stand on end, tears to well up in His eyes, and His body to tremble and perspire all over.
When they embraced each other, ecstatic symptoms—paralysis, perspiration, tears, shivering, paleness and standing up of the bodily hairs—appeared. The word "Kṛṣṇa" came from their mouths falteringly.
“I hear everyone chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. Everyone's body is thrilled with ecstasy, and there are tears in everyone's eyes.
“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."
While reading the book, the brāhmaṇa experienced transcendental bodily transformations. The hairs on his body stood on end, tears welled up in his eyes, and his body trembled and perspired as he read. Seeing this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu became very happy.
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.
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.
Due to ecstatic love experienced upon visiting Lord Jagannātha, inundations of trembling, perspiration, tears and jubilation swept the body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
While kīrtana was going on, there was a transformation of ecstatic love and much tears, jubilation, trembling, perspiration and deep resounding in the body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Upon seeing this transformation, all the people present became very much astonished.
The tears from the eyes of the Lord came out with great force, like water from a syringe. Indeed, all the people who surrounded Him were moistened by His tears.
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.
The entire beautiful body of the Lord was covered with dust and dirt. In this way it became transcendentally beautiful. At times, when cleansing the temple, the Lord shed tears, and in some places He even cleansed with those tears.
As usual, when Caitanya Mahāprabhu danced, there were perspiration, trembling, fading, tears, jubilation and roaring. Indeed, the tears from His eyes washed His body and those before Him.
In this way Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu washed the bodies of all the devotees with the tears from His eyes. The tears poured like the rains in the month of Śrāvaṇa.
As usual, there were transcendental blissful symptoms in Caitanya Mahāprabhu's body. He perspired and trembled, and a constant flow of tears fell from His eyes. But the Lord checked these tears so they would not disturb His seeing the face of the Lord.
All the Vaiṣṇavas came together like an assembly of clouds. As the devotees chanted the holy names in great ecstasy, tears fell from their eyes like rain.
Tears came forcefully from the eyes of the Lord, as if from a syringe, and all the people surrounding Him became wet.
After saying this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu began to recite the same verse again and again. Both the King and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu were trembling, and tears were flowing from their eyes.
“"May the sight of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī"s kila-kiñcita ecstasy, which is like a bouquet, bring good fortune to all. When Śrī Kṛṣṇa blocked Rādhārāṇī’s way to the dāna-ghāṭi, there was laughter within Her heart. Her eyes grew bright, and fresh tears flowed from Her eyes, reddening them. Due to Her sweet relationship with Kṛṣṇa, Her eyes were enthusiastic, and when Her crying subsided, She appeared even more beautiful.’
“"Agitated by tears, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī"s eyes were tinged with red, just like the eastern horizon at sunrise. Her lips began to move with jubilation and lusty desire. Her eyebrows curved, and Her lotuslike face smiled mildly. Seeing Rādhārāṇī’s face exhibit such emotion, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa felt a million times happier than when He embraced Her. Indeed, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa's happiness is not at all mundane.’”
“"Actually She has no desire to stop Kṛṣṇa"s endeavor to touch Her body with His hands, yet Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, whose thighs are like the trunk of a baby elephant, protests His advances and, sweetly smiling, admonishes Him. At such times She cries without tears on Her charming face.’
“My mother was thinking, "Nimāi is not here. Who will accept all this food?" As she meditated upon Me in this way, her eyes filled with tears.
“While she was thus thinking and crying, I immediately went there with great haste and ate everything. Seeing the dish empty, she wiped her tears away.
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard Vāsudeva Datta's statement, His heart became very soft. Tears flowed from His eyes, and He began to tremble. In a faltering voice He spoke as follows.
While Amogha danced in ecstatic love, he manifested all the ecstatic symptoms—trembling, tears, jubilation, trance, perspiration and a faltering voice. Seeing these waves of ecstatic emotion, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu began to laugh.
Being overwhelmed with love, the King again and again got up and fell down. When he offered prayers, his whole body shivered, and tears fell from his eyes.
When the Lord embraced the King, the King again and again offered prayers and obeisances. In this way, the Lord's mercy brought tears from the King, and the Lord's body was bathed with these tears.
Upon seeing the Lord, they all felt themselves overwhelmed with love of Godhead, and, tears pouring from their eyes, they began to chant the holy name, "Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa!"
Upon seeing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu from a distant place, the Muslim governor fell to the ground and offered obeisances. Tears came to his eyes, and he was jubilant with ecstatic emotions.
“His tongue is always chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, and from His eyes tears incessantly fall like the flowing Ganges.
Upon seeing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the trees and creepers of Vṛndāvana became jubilant. Their twigs stood up, and they began to shed tears of ecstasy in the form of honey.
The Lord's body was restless, and tears, trembling and jubilation were manifest. He said very loudly, "Chant "Kṛṣṇa!" Chant "Kṛṣṇa!""
The Lord then clasped the necks of the deer and began to cry. There was jubilation manifest in the bodies of the deer, and tears were in their eyes.
“When Lord Kṛṣṇa wanders in the forest of Vṛndāvana with His friends on an equal level, there are innumerable cows grazing. This is another of the Lord's blissful enjoyments. When He plays on His flute, all living entities—including trees, plants, animals and human beings—tremble and are saturated with jubilation. Tears flow constantly from their eyes.
“"With their words, they offer prayers to the Lord. With their minds, they always remember the Lord. With their bodies, they offer obeisances to the Lord. Despite all these activities, they are still not satisfied. This is the nature of pure devotees. Shedding tears from their eyes, they dedicate their whole lives to the Lord"s service.’
“"O Govinda, this youthful girl named Rādhikā is today constantly pouring forth tears like nectar falling from flowers as She sings Your holy names in a sweet voice."
“"O Lord Puṇḍarīkākṣa, while chanting Your holy name with tears in my eyes, when shall I dance in ecstasy on the bank of the Yamunā?"
“"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."
“"When one is in ecstatic love with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one"s heart is melted by bhakti-yoga and one feels transcendental bliss. There are bodily symptoms manifest, and due to eagerness, there are tears in the eyes. Thus one is subjected to spiritual bliss. When the heart is overly afflicted, the meditative mind, like a fishing hook, is gradually separated from the object of meditation.’
“When the hunter chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra before his spiritual master, his body trembled and tears welled up in his eyes. Filled with ecstatic love, he raised his hands and began to dance, waving his garments up and down.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu plainly explains that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam cannot be understood by those who are materially situated. In other words, one has to become a madman like Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Apart from being the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is an ācārya who exhibited love of God like a madman. According to His own written verse, yugāyitaṁ nimeṣeṇa. He says that for Him, "a moment seems to last twelve years." Cakṣuṣā prāvṛṣāyitam: "My tears are flowing like torrents of rain." Śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvam: "I feel as if the entire universe were vacant." Why? Govinda-viraheṇa me: "Due to My being separated from Govinda, Kṛṣṇa."
One can understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam only by following in the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who was mad for Kṛṣṇa. We cannot, of course, imitate Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. It is not possible. However, unless one is very serious about understanding Kṛṣṇa, he cannot understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Ecstatic spiritual transformations began to take place in the Lord's body. His body trembled, and His voice faltered. He perspired, turned pale and wept a constant flow of tears, which wet all the people standing there. The eruptions on the Lord's body appeared like kadamba flowers.
“Now hear from Me what actual love of Godhead is. It is the prime object of life and is symptomized by bodily trembling, tears in the eyes, chanting and dancing.
CC Antya-lila
“"Upon seeing peacock feathers in front of Her, this girl suddenly begins trembling. When She sometimes sees a necklace of guñjā (small conchshells), She sheds tears and cries loudly. I do not know what kind of new ecstatic influence has entered the heart of this poor girl. It has imbued Her with the dancing attitude of a player creating wonderful, unprecedented dances on a stage."
He continuously exhibited bodily transformations of transcendental love. Thus he cried, trembled, became stunned, perspired, danced in love of Godhead and made sounds like those of a cloud.
Pradyumna Brahmacārī was overwhelmed by transcendental ecstasy upon seeing Caitanya Mahāprabhu eating everything. Thus tears flowed from his eyes. Nevertheless, he expressed dismay, saying, “Alas, alas! My dear Lord, what are You doing? You are eating everyone's food!
“‘You offered the food to Lord Kṛṣṇa, and while you were in meditation I suddenly appeared, and your eyes filled with tears.
When the Muslim heard Raghunātha dāsa's appealing voice, his heart softened. He began to cry, and tears glided down his beard.
The stone from Govardhana was always moist with tears from His eyes. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would say, "This stone is directly the body of Lord Kṛṣṇa."
Simply because of this line, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was dancing in greatly ecstatic love. People all around Him floated in the water of His tears.
He began to chant the holy name of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya again and again. As he drank the sweetness of the face of the Lord, tears constantly glided down from his eyes.
When all the devotees heard these sweet words of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, their hearts melted, and they began to shed incessant tears.
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.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu sat down on the ground and began to mark it with His fingernails. He was blinded by tears, which flowed from His eyes like the Ganges.
The Lord's eyes filled and overflowed with unlimited tears, like the Ganges and Yamunā meeting in the sea.
The eight ecstatic symptoms are the state of being stunned, perspiration, standing of the bodily hairs on end, faltering of the voice, trembling, fading of the body's color, tears and devastation.
To Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu the prasādam tasted millions upon millions of times better than nectar, and thus He was fully satisfied. The hair all over His body stood on end, and incessant tears flowed from His eyes.
“"My dear gopīs, what auspicious activities must the flute have performed to enjoy the nectar of Kṛṣṇa"s lips independently and leave only a taste for us gopīs, for whom that nectar is actually meant. The forefathers of the flute, the bamboo trees, shed tears of pleasure. His mother, the river on whose bank the bamboo was born, feels jubilation, and therefore her blooming lotus flowers are standing like hair on her body.’”
“"The trees on the bank of the Yamunā and Ganges are always jubilant. They appear to be smiling with their flowers and shedding tears in the form of flowing honey. Just as the forefathers of a Vaiṣṇava son or grandson feel transcendental bliss, the trees feel blissful because the flute is a member of their family."
His arms and legs had entered the trunk of His body, exactly like those of a tortoise. His mouth was foaming, there were eruptions on His body, and tears flowed from His eyes.
“I shivered in fear and shed tears. My voice faltered, and all the hairs on my body stood up.
“Dear cloud, O friend of Kṛṣṇa's, are you thinking of the Śrīvatsa symbol on Kṛṣṇa's chest like us queens engaged in loving affairs with Him? You are absorbed in meditation, remembering the association of Kṛṣṇa, and thus you shed tears of misery.”
“"My dear Lord, when will My eyes be beautified by filling with tears that constantly glide down as I chant Your holy name? When will My voice falter and all the hairs on My body stand erect in transcendental happiness as I chant Your holy name?"
“"My Lord Govinda, because of separation from You, I consider even a moment a great millennium. Tears flow from My eyes like torrents of rain, and I see the entire world as void."
“In My agitation, a day never ends, for every moment seems like a millennium. Pouring incessant tears, My eyes are like clouds in the rainy season.
| Page Title: | Tears (CC) |
| Compiler: | Rishab |
| Created: | 11 of Jul, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=103, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 103 |