Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Antya 1.148
Love for Kṛṣṇa Is Bitter and Sweet
“ ‘My dear beautiful friend, if one develops love of Godhead, love of Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, all the bitter and sweet influences of this love will manifest in one’s heart. Such love of Godhead acts in two ways. The poisonous effects of love of Godhead defeat the severe and fresh poison of the serpent. Yet there is simultaneously transcendental bliss, which pours down and defeats the poisonous effects of a snake, as well as the happiness derived from pouring nectar on one’s head. It is perceived as doubly effective, simultaneously poisonous and nectarean.’”
What the purport teaches
- When love for Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, develops, both its bitter and sweet influences manifest in the heart.
- Its poisonous effects surpass the severe, fresh poison of a serpent. Yet transcendental bliss simultaneously pours down, overcoming those effects and surpassing the happiness of nectar.
- Paurṇamāsī speaks this verse in the Vidagdha-mādhava. She describes love of Godhead as simultaneously poisonous and nectarean.
Try this today
Read the verse slowly and note one phrase describing bitterness and one describing bliss.
Ask yourself
How does this description deepen your understanding beyond the idea that love brings only sweetness?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport; the practice and question are plain words for trying the verse today.