Śrī Śrī Rūpānuga-bhajana-darpaṇa – Song Eleven – ‘raty-āswāda hetu jata’

 (1)
raty-āswāda hetu jata         bibhāba nāmete khyāta
ālambana uddīpana hoya
biṣoya-āśroya-gata       ālambana dui mata
kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa-bhakta se ubhoya

1) All the things which cause one to taste his attachment to the Lord are called vibhāva (special stimulants). The two divisions of these causes are called: 1) alambana (the persons who are foundations of support, and between whom love appears reciprocally), and 2) uddipana (the exciting factors which stimulate the awakening of love). There are also two sides to the alambana foundations 1) viṣaya (the subject of love: Kṛṣṇa) and 2) āśraya (the object of love: Kṛṣṇa’s devotee).

(2)
nāyakera śiromaṇi        swayaḿ kṛṣṇa guṇa-maṇi
nitya guṇa-dhāma parāt para
tāṅra bhābe anurakta          guṇāḍhya jateka bhakta
siddha eka sādhaka apara

 2) Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself is full of all good qualities, for He is the most outstanding Hero amongst all heroes. He is the eternal reservoir of all virtuous qualities, and is the Supreme Greatest of the greatest. There are many, many devotees who are very much attached to Kṛṣṇa in ecstatic love. These devotees are also full of transcendental qualities themselves. Some of them are known as siddha (spiritually perfect), whereas others are sādhaka (neophyte practitioners).

(3)
bhāba uddīpana kore      uddīpana nāma dhore
kṛṣṇera sambandha bastu saba
smitāsya saurabha śṛṅga       baṁśī kambu khetra bhṛṅga
padāṅkanūpura kala-raba

 3) All the things which stimulate the awakening of ecstatic emotions are called uddipana. This includes Kṛṣṇa’s enchanting smile, His sweet bodily fragrance, His buffalo horn, His flute, His conch-shell, His place of residence, the buzzing of the bees in Vraja, the marks on the soles of His lotus feet, His ankle bells, and the soft sweet sound of His voice and flute.

(4)
tulasī bhajana cīna      bhakta jana-daraśana
ei-rūpa nānā uddīpana
bhakti-rasa-āswādane          ei saba hetu-gaṇe
nirdeśila rūpa-sanātana

 4) Other causes are the association of Śrīmatī Tulasī Devī, the various symbols and practices of devotional service, and the vision of the Lord’s bona-fide representatives and devotees. In this way, there are many factors to stimulate ecstatic love. And all these causes, which induce one to taste the mellow of devotion, have been clearly described by Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī and Śrīla Sanātana Goswāmī.