Nectar of Devotion
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Forty-seven
Compassion and Anger
Compassion
When the ecstasy of devotional service produces some kind of lamentation in connection with Krsna, it is called devotional service in compassion. The impetuses for this devotional service are Krsna’s transcendental quality, form and activities. In this ecstasy of devotional service there are sometimes symptoms like regret, heavy breathing, crying, falling on the ground and beating upon one’s chest. 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 Krsna it is called devotional service in bereavement. Such bereavement is another symptom of this devotional service in compassion.
In Srimad-Bhagavatam, Tenth Canto, Sixteenth Chapter, verse 10, there is the following description. When Krsna was chastising the Kaliya-naga in the Yamuna, the big snake wrapped his coils all over Krsna’s body, and upon seeing Krsna in this situation, all His dear cowherd friends became greatly disturbed. Out of bereavement, distress and fear, they became bewildered and began to fall on the ground. Because the cowherd boys were under the illusion that Krsna could be in some mishap, their symptoms are not at all astonishing; they had dedicated their friendship, their possessions, their desires and their very selves to Krsna.
When Krsna entered the Yamuna River, which had become very poisonous from the presence of Kaliya, mother Yasoda feared all kinds of mishaps, and she was breathing hotly. Tears from her eyes were soaking her clothes, and she was almost collapsing.
Similarly, when the Sankhasura demon was attacking Krsna’s queens one after another, Lord Baladeva became more and more bluish.
In the Hamsaduta, the following incident is described. The gopis requested Hamsaduta to search after the marks of Krsna’s lotus feet and to accept them as Lord Brahma had accepted them on his helmet after he had stolen all Krsna’s cowherd boys. Regretting his challenge to Krsna, Lord Brahma had bowed down before the Lord, and his helmet became marked with the footprints of Krsna. The gopis reminded Hamsaduta that sometimes even the great sage Narada becomes very ecstatic by seeing these footprints, and sometimes great liberated sages also aspire to see them. “You should therefore seek very enthusiastically to find the footprints of Krsna,” they urged. This is another instance of devotional service in compassion.
There is an instance when Sahadeva, the younger brother of Nakula, became greatly gladdened at seeing the effulgent glowing of Krsna’s footprints. He began to cry and call out, “Mother Madri! Where are you now? Father Pandu! Where are you now? I am very sorry that you are not here to see these footprints of Krsna!” This is another instance of devotional service in compassion.
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 Krsna or to His beloved queens, as exhibited by Baladeva and Yudhisthira, has been explained above. This apprehension is due not exactly to their ignorance of the inconceivable potencies of Krsna but to their intense love for Him. This kind of apprehension of some mishap to Krsna first of all becomes manifested as an object of lamentation, but gradually it develops into such compassionate loving ecstasy that it turns to another channel and gives transcendental pleasure.
Anger
In ecstatic loving service to Krsna in anger, Krsna is always the object. In Vidagdha-madhava, Second Act, verse 37, Lalita-gopi expressed her anger, which was caused by Krsna, when she addressed Srimati Radharani thus: “My dear friend, my inner desires have been polluted. Therefore I shall go to the place of Yamaraja. But I am sorry to see that Krsna has still not given up His smiling over cheating You. I do not know how You could repose all Your loving propensities upon this lusty young boy from the neighborhood of the cowherds.”
After seeing Krsna, Jarati sometimes said, “O You thief of young girls’ properties! I can distinctly see the covering garment of my daughter-in-law on Your person.” Then she cried very loudly, addressing all the residents of Vrndavana to inform them that this son of King Nanda was setting fire to the household life of her daughter-in-law.
Similar ecstatic love for Krsna in anger was expressed by Rohini-devi when she heard the roaring sound of the two falling arjuna trees to which Krsna had been tied. The whole neighborhood proceeded immediately toward the place where the accident had taken place, and Rohini-devi took the opportunity to rebuke mother Yasoda as follows: “You may be very expert in giving lessons to your son by binding Him with rope, but don’t you look to see if your son is in a dangerous spot? The trees are falling on the ground, and He is simply loitering there!” This expression of Rohini-devi’s anger toward Yasoda is an example of ecstatic love in anger caused by Krsna.
Once, while Krsna was in the pasturing ground with His cowherd boys, His friends requested Him to go to the Talavana forest, where Gardabhasura, a disturbing demon in the shape of an ass, resided. The friends of Krsna wanted to eat the fruit from the forest trees, but they could not go because of fear of the demon. Thus they requested Krsna to go there and kill Gardabhasura. After Krsna did this, they all returned home, and their report of the day’s activity perturbed mother Yasoda because Krsna had been sent alone into such danger in the Talavana forest. Thus she looked upon the boys with anger.
There is another instance of anger on the part of a friend of Radharani’s. When Radharani was dissatisfied with the behavior of Krsna and had stopped talking with Him, Krsna was very sorry for Radharani’s great dissatisfaction, and in order to beg forgiveness, He fell down at Her lotus feet. But even after this, Radharani was not satisfied, and She did not talk with Krsna. At that time, one of Her friends chastised Her in the following words: “My dear friend, You are allowing Yourself to be churned by the rod of dissatisfaction, so what can I say unto You? The only advice I can give You is that You had better leave this scene immediately, because Your misbehavior is giving me too much pain. I cannot bear to see Your behavior, because even though Krsna’s peacock feather has touched Your feet, You still appear to be red-faced.”
The above attitudes of dissatisfaction and anger in devotional service are called irsyu.
When Akrura was leaving Vrndavana, some of the elderly gopis rebuked him as follows: “O son of Gandini, your cruelty is defaming the dynasty of King Yadu. You are taking Krsna away, keeping us in such a pitiable condition without Him. Now, even before you have left, the life air of all the gopis has practically disappeared.”
When Krsna was insulted by Sisupala in the assembly of the Rajasuya yajna convened by Maharaja Yudhisthira, there was a great turmoil among the Pandavas and Kurus, involving grandfather Bhisma. At that time Nakula said with great anger, “Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the nails of His toes are beautified by the light emanating from the jeweled helmets of the authorities of the Vedas. If He is derided by anyone, I declare herewith as a Pandava that I will kick his helmet with my left foot and I will strike him with my arrows, which are as good as yama-danda, the scepter of Yamaraja!” This is an instance of ecstatic love for Krsna in anger.
In such a transcendental angry mood sometimes sarcastic remarks, unfavorable glances and insulting words are exhibited. Sometimes there are other symptoms, like rubbing of the two hands, clacking of the teeth, clamping of the lips, moving of the eyebrows, scratching of the arms, lowering of the head, rapid breathing, uttering of strong words, nodding of the head, yellowishness at the corners of the eyes, and trembling lips. Sometimes the eyes turn red, and sometimes they fade. And there are sometimes chastisement and silence. 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.
In all these humors of ecstatic love, the feeling of anger is accepted as the steady factor.
When Jarasandha angrily attacked the city of Mathura, he looked at Krsna with sarcastic glances. At that time Baladeva took up His plow weapon and gazed upon Jarasandha with colored eyes.
There is a statement in the Vidagdha-madhava wherein Srimati Radharani, in an angry mood, addressed Her mother, Paurnamasi, after she had accused Radharani of going to Krsna. “My dear mother,” Radha declared, “what can I say to you? Krsna is so cruel that He often attacks Me on the street, and if I want to cry out very loudly, this boy with a peacock feather on His head immediately covers My face so that I cannot cry. And if I want to go away from the scene because I am afraid of Him, He will immediately spread His arms to block My path. If I piteously fall down at His feet, then this enemy of the Madhu demon, in an angry mood, bites My face! Mother, just try to understand My situation, and don’t be unnecessarily angry with Me. Instead, please tell Me how I can save Myself from these terrible attacks of Krsna!”
Sometimes among contemporary personalities there are signs of ecstasy in anger because of love for Krsna. An example of such anger was exhibited in a quarrel between Jatila and Mukhara. Jatila was the mother-in-law of Radharani, and Mukhara was Her great-grandmother. Both of them were talking about Krsna’s unnecessary harassment of Radharani when She was walking on the street. Jatila said, “You cruel-faced Mukhara! By hearing your words my heart feels like it is burning in a fire!” And Mukhara replied, “You sinful Jatila, by hearing your words, there is aching in my head! You cannot give any evidence that Krsna has attacked Radharani, the daughter of my granddaughter Kirtida.”
Once, when Radharani was taking off the necklace given to Her by Krsna, Jatila, her mother-in-law, told a friend, “My dear friend, just see the beautiful necklace that Krsna has presented to Radharani. She is now holding it, but still She wants to tell us that She has no connection with Krsna. This girl’s activities have disgraced our whole family!”
Natural jealousy of Krsna by persons like Sisupala cannot be accepted as ecstatic love in anger with Krsna.