Pure love (CC and other books)

Expressions researched:
"pure love"

Notes from the compiler: Vedabase query: "pure love" not "of god" not "of godhead"

CC Preface and Introduction

CC Introduction:

"I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, who is more magnanimous than any other avatāra, even Kṛṣṇa Himself, because He is bestowing freely what no one else has ever given—pure love of Kṛṣṇa."

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 1.56, Purport:

When one develops pure love for the Lord, he derives an ocean of transcendental happiness from the association of the Personality of Godhead. To qualify oneself to reach this stage of life is the highest perfection.

CC Adi 1.96, Translation:

The Absolute Truth is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and loving devotion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa exhibited in pure love is achieved through congregational chanting of the holy name, which is the essence of all bliss.

CC Adi 4.21-22, Purport:

The regulative principles help ordinary devotees rise to the stage of perfect love of Godhead. Pure love for Kṛṣṇa is the perfection of pure devotion, and pure devotional service is identical with spontaneous devotional service.

CC Adi 4.26, Purport:

Similarly, His fiancee or lover sometimes supersedes the position of the Lord. But such attempts are exhibitions of the highest love. Only out of pure love does the subordinate lover of the Supreme Personality of Godhead chide Him. The Lord, enjoying this chiding, takes it very nicely. The exhibition of natural love makes such activities very enjoyable.

CC Adi 4.26, Purport:

Regulative principles in devotional service are meant for those who have not invoked their natural love of Godhead. When natural love arises, all regulative methods are surpassed, and pure love is exhibited between the Lord and the devotee.

CC Adi 4.26, Purport:

A neophyte devotee who follows the Vedic instructions that regulate those who lack pure love of Godhead may superficially seem more exalted than a devotee in spontaneous love of Godhead. But in fact such spontaneous pure love is far superior to regulated devotional service.

CC Adi 4.29, Purport:

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

CC Adi 4.30, Purport:

Those under the spell of the material energy cannot at all appreciate the activities of yogamāyā, for a conditioned soul can hardly understand the pure reciprocation between the Lord and His devotee. But by executing devotional service under the regulative principles, one can become very highly elevated and then begin to appreciate the dealings of pure love under the management of yogamāyā.

CC Adi 4.33, Translation:

"Then, by hearing about the pure love of the residents of Vraja, devotees will worship Me on the path of spontaneous love, abandoning all rituals of religiosity and fruitive activity."

CC Adi 4.155, Purport:

Like the gopīs, one can see Kṛṣṇa continuously if one is fortunate enough. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said that sages whose eyes have been smeared with the ointment of pure love can see the form of Śyāmasundara (Kṛṣṇa) continuously in the centers of their hearts. This text from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.21.7) was sung by the gopīs on the advent of the śarat season.

CC Adi 4.163, Translation:

"The pure love of the gopīs has become celebrated by the name "lust." The dear devotees of the Lord, headed by Śrī Uddhava, desire to taste that love."

CC Adi 4.164, Translation and Purport:

Lust and love have different characteristics, just as iron and gold have different natures.

One should try to discriminate between sexual love and pure love, for they belong to different categories, with a gulf of difference between them. They are as different from one another as iron is from gold.

CC Adi 4.165, Purport:

The revealed scriptures describe pure love as follows:

sarvathā dhvaṁsa-rahitaṁ saty api dhvaṁsa-kāraṇe

yad bhāva-bandhanaṁ yūnoḥ sa premā parikīrtitaḥ

"If there is ample reason for the dissolution of a conjugal relationship and yet such a dissolution does not take place, such a relationship of intimate love is called pure." The predominated gopīs were bound to Kṛṣṇa in such pure love.

CC Adi 4.200-201, Purport:

The gopīs had no desire for selfish enjoyment. Their feeling of happiness was indirect, for it was dependent on the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa. Causeless love of Godhead is always so. Such pure love is possible only when the predominated is made happy by the happiness of the predominator.

CC Adi 4.264, Translation:

"Formerly I appeared in the world to taste mellows, and I tasted the mellows of pure love in various ways."

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 1.43, Purport:

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 1.55, Purport:

Caitanya Mahāprabhu was a sannyāsī; He left home and everything else. He could certainly not be induced by any mundane lusty desires. So when He used the word madana-dahane ("in the fire of lusty desire"), He meant that out of pure love for Kṛṣṇa He was burning in the fire of separation from Kṛṣṇa.

CC Madhya 2.43, Translation:

"Pure love for Kṛṣṇa, just like gold from the Jāmbū River, does not exist in human society. If it existed, there could not be separation. If separation were there, one could not live."

CC Madhya 8.69, Translation:

Rāmānanda Rāya continued, "As long as there is hunger and thirst within the stomach, varieties of food and drink make one feel very happy. Similarly, when the Lord is worshiped with pure love, the various activities performed in the course of that worship awaken transcendental bliss in the heart of the devotee."

CC Madhya 8.83, Purport:

The analysis of different types of love of Godhead has been made by expert ācāryas who know all about devotional service on the transcendental platform. Unfortunately, inexperienced and unauthorized persons in the mundane world, not understanding the transcendental position of pure love, try to find some material fault in the transcendental process.

CC Madhya 8.214, Translation:

"The transcendental mellow is nourished by that mutual behavior in transcendental love of Godhead. When Lord Kṛṣṇa sees how the gopīs have developed pure love for Him, He becomes very satisfied."

CC Madhya 11.52, Translation:

As soon as the Bhaṭṭācārya saw the King's firm determination, he declared, "The Supreme Lord is approached only by pure love. Your love for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is very, very deep; therefore without a doubt He will be merciful upon you."

CC Madhya 11.58, Translation:

"The Lord has already changed His mind due to Rāmānanda Rāya's description of your pure love for Him."

CC Madhya 11.146, Translation and Purport:

After seeing Śaṅkara, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu told Dāmodara, "My affection for you is on the platform of awe and reverence."

Here the Lord is addressing Dāmodara Paṇḍita, who is different from Svarūpa Dāmodara. Dāmodara Paṇḍita is the elder brother of Śaṅkara. Thus the Lord informed Dāmodara that His affection toward him was on the platform of awe and reverence. However, the Lord's affection toward his younger brother, Śaṅkara, was on the platform of pure love.

CC Madhya 14.16, Purport:

"I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, who is more magnanimous than any other avatāra, even Kṛṣṇa Himself, because He is bestowing freely what no one else has ever given—pure love of Kṛṣṇa."

CC Madhya 14.156, Translation:

"Kṛṣṇa is full of ecstatic love and always subordinate to the love of His devotees. The gopīs are very much experienced in pure love and in the dealings of transcendental mellows."

CC Madhya 15.68, Translation:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu next spoke some relishable words to Rāghava Paṇḍita. He said, "I am obliged to you due to your pure love for Me."

CC Madhya 15.119, Translation:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then informed all His devotees, "Please hear about Mukunda's love of Godhead. It is a very deep and pure love and can only be compared to purified gold."

CC Madhya 19.53, Translation:

"O most munificent incarnation! You are Kṛṣṇa Himself appearing as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and You are widely distributing pure love of Kṛṣṇa. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You."

CC Madhya 19.165, Translation:

"As long as there is not the slightest fragrance of pure love of Kṛṣṇa, which is the perfect medicinal herb for controlling Lord Kṛṣṇa within the heart, the opulences of the material perfections known as the siddhis, the brahminical perfections (satya, śama, titikṣā and so on), the trance of the yogīs and the monistic bliss of Brahman all seem wonderful for men."

CC Madhya 19.177, Purport:

"When the heart is completely softened and devoid of all material desires and when one's emotional feelings become very strong, one becomes very much attached to Kṛṣṇa. Such purified emotion is known as pure love."

CC Madhya 22.106, Translation:

"The spiritual activities of hearing, chanting, remembering and so forth are the natural characteristics of devotional service. The marginal characteristic is that it awakens pure love for Kṛṣṇa."

CC Madhya 22.107, Translation:

"Pure love for Kṛṣṇa is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens."

CC Madhya 23.13, Purport:

Bhāva-bhakti is the platform of purified goodness. By such purified goodness, one's heart melts in devotional service. Bhāva-bhakti is the first seed of love of Godhead. This emotional stage is there before one attains pure love. When that emotional stage intensifies, it is called prema-bhakti, or transcendental love of Godhead.

CC Madhya 24.181, Translation:

"Dhṛti is the fullness felt due to the absence of misery and the attainment of knowledge of the Supreme Lord and pure love for Him. The lamentation that accrues from not obtaining a goal or from losing something already attained does not affect this completeness."

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 3.19, Translation:

(Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu thought:) "This impudence is also a sign of pure love for Me. I have no other intimate friend like Dāmodara Paṇḍita."

CC Antya 3.38, Translation:

"Thus I again and again eat everything you offer Me, for I am attracted by your pure love."

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 7.45, Translation:

"Completely distinct from love of Kṛṣṇa in opulence, pure love of Kṛṣṇa is on the highest level. On the surface of the world there is no devotee greater than Uddhava."

CC Antya 10.19, Purport:

Because of pure love, the devotees of Kṛṣṇa in Goloka Vṛndāvana, Vrajabhūmi, loved Kṛṣṇa as an ordinary human being like them. Yet although they considered Kṛṣṇa one of them, their love for Kṛṣṇa knew no bounds.

CC Antya 13.3, Translation:

In this way, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would taste various transcendental relationships of pure love in the company of Jagadānanda Paṇḍita.

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.

CC Antya 20.62, Translation:

The pure devotional service in Vṛndāvana is like the golden particles in the river Jāmbū. In Vṛndāvana there is not a trace of personal sense gratification. It is to advertise such pure love in this material world that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has written the previous verse and explained its meaning.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Intoduction:

"I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, who is more magnanimous than any other avatāra, even Kṛṣṇa Himself, because He is bestowing freely what no one else has ever given—pure love of Kṛṣṇa."

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 15:

As far as devotional service is concerned, there are two divisions. In the beginning there is vidhi-bhakti, or devotional service with regulative principles. In the higher stage there is rāga-bhakti, or devotional service in pure love.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 29:

Rāmānanda Rāya then explained the gradual process by which pure love for Kṛṣṇa is developed. He pointed out that the living entity is related to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in one of the relationships just suitable for him. Actually, relationships with the Supreme Lord begin with the master and servant relationship and further develop into friendship, paternal love and conjugal love.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 31:

Everything generated from the body or the mind is always imperfect and perishable, but transcendental spiritual activities are always bright and wonderful. Pure love on the transcendental platform is the paragon of purity devoid of material affection and completely spiritual.

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 17:

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.

Nectar of Devotion 17:

Because he had the opportunity to hear these pastimes and songs of Kṛṣṇa from the mouths of pure devotees, he became very attracted within his heart. Because he had become so eager to hear these topics, he gradually developed within himself an ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. This ecstatic love is prior to the pure love of Kṛṣṇa, because in the next verse Nārada confirms that by the gradual process of hearing from the great sages he developed love of Godhead.

Nectar of Devotion 17:

These are practical examples of how one can develop to the stage of ecstatic love simply by the association of pure devotees. It is essential, therefore, that one constantly associate with pure devotees who are engaged morning and evening in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. In this way one will get the chance to purify his heart and develop this ecstatic pure love for Kṛṣṇa.