Dramatic QualitiesWith Examples From Vedic Literature
Part IV
Part IV
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Eternity
Definition - existing always*
Eternity
An example of eternity is found in Bhagavad-Gita, Ch. 2, text 12. Krishna tells Arjuna: “Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.” In this verse, Krishna affirms that the soul is eternal.
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Bliss
Bliss
Definition - joy, gladness
An example of bliss is ananda buddhi-vardhanam, from Siksastak, verse one. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur comments on this phrase in his Sanmodana Bhasya. When the jiva can separate his soul from his gross and subtle body, he realizes that the soul is infinitesimal. A question can arise, is the happiness the jiva experience also infinitesimal? To answer this doubt Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu writes: “Ananda budhi vardhanam.” “The holy name is an ever-increasing ocean of bliss.”
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Awakening
Awakening
Definition - ceasing to sleep, to be awake
An example of awakening is from Siksastaka, verse six. “O Gopi Janavallabha, when will a stream of tears lovingly flow from the eyes of this gopi while chanting Your holy name? When will my voice choke up and when will the hairs on my body stand on end due to ecstasy?” Srila Bhaktisiddhanta comments upon this verse. He writes that this verse is lalasamayi which is a “kind of prayer that applies only to one in whom rati has already been awakened.”
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Enlightenment
Enlightenment
Definition - illuminate spiritually or intellectually.
An example of enlightenment is found in Sri Brahma Vivarta Puruna. The demigods - healed by Brahma, Siva and Yamaraja - visit Krishna Loka to request help to remove the burden of the earth. They enter, one by one, sixteen beautiful gates, then Radha’s abode, where “there are many things that are not found in the material world.” Then they see a light which has “robbed all other lights of their splendour.” Then the demigods offer prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead “who has now assumed this form of light.” Then Lord Krishna reveals His personal form in the center of that light,” splendid as a monsoon cloud, a form that enchants the three worlds.”
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Homage
Homage
Definition - honor with praise or tributes added, connotes a worshipful attitude.
An example of homage of the guru-puja ceremony. Devotees sing a bhajan in praise of the guru, while the pujari offers aroti, and while devotees in line offer a flower and pay obeisances.
An example of homage of the guru-puja ceremony. Devotees sing a bhajan in praise of the guru, while the pujari offers aroti, and while devotees in line offer a flower and pay obeisances.
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Serenity
Serenity
Definition - peace
An example is found in Caitanya - Caritamrita Madhya-Lila, Ch. 19, verse 1: “On His way to Vrindaban, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu passed through the forest of Jharikanda and made all the tigers, elephants, deer and birds dance and chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Thus all these animals were overwhelmed by ecstatic love.”
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Harmony
Harmony
Definition - balance, accord, agreement
In Krishna Loka, everything is in harmony because Krishna is accepted as the supreme enjoyer and controller. This verse from Sri Vidagdha-Madhava, Act one, text 24, describes the harmony of the natural setting: Krishna says: The sweet fragrant honey oozing from newly grown mango buds is again and again attracting groups of bumble bees, and this forest is trembling in the softly moving breezes from the Malaya Hills, which are full of sandalwood trees. Thus the forest of Vrindaban is increasing My transcendental pleasure.”
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Solace
Definition - comfort, relief, consolation.
An example of solace is found in the Smriti. After Devaki lost her eight children to Kamsa, she felt great separation especially from the eighth child who she understood to be God Himself. “One day, Devaki could not suppress the longing anymore. With her loving hands, she fashioned a little clay image of a new-born baby and had a cradle made for it. Thereafter it became a daily joy with her to rise up early in the morning, form a little baby out of lay, offer it flowers and red powder and saffron, swing it in the cradle and offer it milk, singing loving songs all the while. Then she sent it to sleep, woke it up with fond hymns, tinkling a bell all the time, and offered it flowers and fruits and milk and honey.
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Esoteric
Esoteric
Definition - intelligible only to those of special knowledge.
An example is found is Bhagavad-Gita, ch. 4 text 22. Krishna calls the knowledge He is about to be impart to Arjuna the most secret of all secrets. In the purport that knowledge is said to be of the activities of the soul after liberation.
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Surrealism
Surrealism
Definition - strange, bizarre.
An example is found in Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 4,chapter 10. Dhruva Maharaj singlehandedly fights with the Yaksas who killed his brother. The Yaksas with their mystic power evoke many illusions meant to bewilder Dhruva Maharaj such as: “Then as if it were the time for the dissolution of the whole world, the fierce sea with foaming waves and great roaring sounds came forward before him.”
