Chapter Forty-seven

Compassion and Anger

When the ecstasy of devotional service produces some kind of
lamentation in connection with Kṛṣṇa, it is called devotional service in
compassion. The impetus of this devotional service is Kṛṣṇa'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 Kṛṣṇa it is called devotional service in bereavement. Such
bereavement is another symptom of this devotional service in compassion.
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Tenth Canto, 16th Chapter, 13th verse, there is
the following description. When Kṛṣṇa was chastising the Kāliyanāga in
the Yamunā, the big snake wrapped his coils all over Kṛṣṇa's body, and upon
seeing Kṛṣṇa in this situation, all His dear cowherd friends became greatly
disturbed. Out of bereavement, distress and fearfulness, they became
bewildered and began to fall on the ground. Because the cowherd boys were
under the illusion that Kṛṣṇa 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 Kṛṣṇa.
When Kṛṣṇa entered the Yamunā River, which had become very
poisonous from the presence of Kāliya, Mother Yaśodā 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 Śaṅkhāsura demon was attacking Kṛṣṇa's queens one
after another, Lord Baladeva became more and more bluish.
In the Haṁsadūta, the following incident is described:
The gopīs requested Haṁsadūta to search after the marks of Kṛṣṇa's lotus
feet and to accept them as Lord Brahmā had accepted them on his helmet
after he had stolen all Kṛṣṇa's cowherd boys. Regretting his challenge
to Kṛṣṇa, Lord Brahmā had bowed down before the Lord, and his helmet
became marked with the footprints of Kṛṣṇa. The gopīs reminded
Haṁsadūta that sometimes even the great sage Nārada 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 Kṛṣṇa," 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 Kṛṣṇa's
footprints. He began to cry and call out, "Mother Mādrī! Where are you
now? Father Pāṇḍu! Where are you now? I am very sorry that you are not
here to see these footprints of Kṛṣṇa!" This is another instance of devotional
service in compassion.
In such devotional service in compassion there are sometimes smiling
symptoms, but never is there any stress or lamentation. 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 not exactly due to their ignorance of the inconceivable potencies
of Kṛṣṇa but to their intense love for Him. This kind of apprehension of
some mishap to Kṛṣṇa 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.
In ecstatic loving service to Kṛṣṇa in anger, Kṛṣṇa is always the object.
In Vidagdha-mādhava, Second Canto, 53rd verse, Lalitāgopī expressed her
anger, which was caused by Kṛṣṇa, when she addressed Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī
thus: "My dear friend, my inner desires have been polluted. Therefore I
shall go to the place of Yamarāja. But I am sorry to see that Kṛṣṇa 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 Kṛṣṇa, Jaratī 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 Vṛndāvana 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 Kṛṣṇa in anger was expressed by Rohiṇī-
devī when she heard the roaring sound of the two falling arjuna trees to
which Kṛṣṇa had been tied. The whole neighborhood proceeded
immediately towards the place where the accident took place, and
Rohiṇīdevī took the opportunity to rebuke Mother Yaśodā 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 Rohiṇī-devī's anger toward Yaśodā is an example of ecstatic love in anger
caused by Kṛṣṇa.
Once, while Kṛṣṇa was in the pasturing ground with His cowherd boys,
His friends requested Him to go to the Tālavana Forest, where
Gardabhāsura, a disturbing demon in the shape of an ass, resided. The
friends of Kṛṣṇa wanted to eat the fruit from the forest trees, but they could
not go because of fear of the demon. Thus they requested Kṛṣṇa to go there
and kill Gardabhāsura. After Kṛṣṇa did this, they all returned home, and
their report of the day's activity perturbed
Mother Yaśodā because Kṛṣṇa had been sent alone into such danger in the
Tālavana Forest. Thus she looked upon the boys with anger.
There is another instance of anger on the part of a friend of Rādhārāṇī's.
When Rādhārāṇī was dissatisfied with the behavior of Kṛṣṇa and had
stopped talking with Him, Kṛṣṇa was very sorry for Rādhārāṇī's great
dissatisfaction, and in order to beg forgiveness, He fell down at Her lotus
feet. But even after this, Rādhārāṇī was not satisfied, and She did not talk
with Kṛṣṇa. 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 Kṛṣṇa'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 īrṣyu.
When Uddhava was leaving Vṛndāvana, some of the
elderly gopīs rebuked him as follows: "O son of Gāndinī, your cruelty is
defaming the dynasty of King Yadu. You are taking Kṛṣṇa away, keeping us
in such pitiable condition without Him. Now, even before you have left, the
life air of all the gopīs has practically disappeared."
When Kṛṣṇa was insulted by Śiśupāla in the assembly of the rāja-
sūya yaj�a convened by Mahārāj Yudhiṣṭhira, there was a great turmoil
amongst the Pāṇḍavas and Kurus, involving grandfather Bhīṣma. At that
time Nakula said with great anger, "Kṛṣṇa 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 Pāṇḍava that I will kick his helmet with my
left foot, and I will strike him with my arrows, which are as good
as Yamadaṇḍa, the sceptor of Yamarāja!" This is an instance of ecstatic love
for Kṛṣṇa 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 the two hands, clacking the teeth, clamping
the lips, moving the eyebrows, scratching the arms, lowering the head,
breathing rapidly, uttering strong words, nodding the head, exhibiting
yellowishness at the corner of the eyes, and exhibiting trembling lips.
Sometimes the eyes turn red, and sometimes they fade. And there is
sometimes chastisement and silence. All these symptoms of anger can 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 Jarāsandha angrily attacked the city of Mathurā, he looked
at Kṛṣṇa with sarcastic glances. At that time Baladeva took up His plow
weapon and gazed upon Jarāsandha with colored eyes.
There is a statement in the Vidagdha-mādhava wherein Śrīmatī
Rādhārāṇī, in an angry mood, addressed Her mother, Paurṇamāsī, after she
had accused Rādhārāṇī of going to Kṛṣṇa. "My dear
mother," Rādhā declared, "what can I say to you? Kṛṣṇa 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 Kṛṣṇa!"
Sometimes amongst contemporary personalities there are signs of
ecstasy in anger because of love for Kṛṣṇa. An example of such anger was
exhibited in the quarrel between Jaṭilā and Mukharā. Jaṭilā was the mother-
in-law of Rādhārāṇī, and Mukharā was Her great-grandmother. Both of
them were talking about Kṛṣṇa's unnecessary harassment of Rādhārāṇī
when She was walking on the street. Jaṭilā said, "You cruel-faced Mukharā!
By hearing your words my heart feels like it is burning in a fire!"
And Mukharā replied, "You sinful Jaṭilā, by hearing your words, there is
aching in my head! You cannot give any evidence that Kṛṣṇa has attacked
Rādhārāṇī, the daughter of my granddaughter Kīrtidā."
Once, when Rādhārāṇī was taking off the necklace given to Her
by Kṛṣṇa, Jaṭilā, her mother-in-law, told a friend: "My dear friend, just see
the beautiful necklace that Kṛṣṇa has presented to Rādhārāṇī. She is now
holding it, but still She wants to tell us that She has no connection
with Kṛṣṇa. This girl's activities have disgraced our whole family!"
Natural jealousy of Kṛṣṇa by persons like Śiśupāla cannot be accepted as
ecstatic love in anger with Kṛṣṇa.

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