“Rasa is an unequalled tattva which can be compared to the rising of the moon, whose radiance is the expanding līlā of para-brahma Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Bhakti-rasa is the function of kṛṣṇa-bhakti when it becomes absolutely pure.”
Vrajanātha: Is rasa a principle that is predetermined?
Gosvāmī: I cannot answer that question in a single word, “Yes” or “No.” I will explain the subject elaborately so that you can understand it clearly. The kṛṣṇa-rati about which you have heard from your Gurudeva is called sthāyībhāva. When the other components (sāmagrī) of rasa are combined with the sthāyībhāva, the resultant manifestation is called kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa.
Vrajanātha: Will you kindly explain in detail what is sthāyībhāva, and what are the constituent ingredients (sāmagrī) of rasa? We have heard from our Gurudeva about bhāva, but we have not heard how bhāvas combine with each other to form rasa.
Gosvāmī: Ordinarily, at the stage of bhāva, bhakti is kṛṣṇa-rati. This rati arises in the heart of the bhakta from the saṁskāras of past and present lives, and develops further to the stage of rasa, when it becomes the very embodiment of ānanda.
It is made up of four different ingredients:
(1) vibhāva, (2) anubhāva, (3) sāttvika, and (4) vyabhicārī or sañcārī.
I will first explain these ingredients...
Chapter 26 Audio Narration: