VIRAHA AND MAHABHAVA

Oh! immense is the suffering that arises from Viraha or the feeling of separation from God. It is said that when Rupa and Sanatana' sat under a tree in that state, the very leaves of it used to get scorched ¹ I was almost unconscious for three days while in that state !

1 These were two of the foremost disciples of Lord Chaitanya. They built the famous shrine of Govindaji in Brindavan.

I could not move, and I lay in one spot. When I became a little conscious, Brahmanil would take me to bathe; but she could not touch my skin. The whole body was covered with a thick cloth, and she held me by placing her hands over the cloth. The earth with which the body was smeared got burnt! When that state came, I used to feel as if a big spear had been passed through my spine. I would cry out at times that I was dying. But it was always followed by intense beatific feeling.

Mahabhava is the supreme God-consciousness; it brings about a terrible commotion both in the body and the mind, as if a mighty elephant enters into a small hut and shakes it furiously, sometimes even breaking it to pieces. There is as much bliss after that state, as there is suffering before it.