Verse Text
atha sattvābhāsa-bhavāḥ –
mud-vismayāder ābhāsaḥ prodyan jātyā ślathe hṛdi |
sattvābhāsa iti proktaḥ sattvābhāsa-bhavās tataḥ ||86||
Translation
When a shadow (ābhāsa) of joy, astonishment or other emotions appears in the heart of a person who is soft by nature (sentimental), the heart is said to have developed a state of sattvābhāsa. From this state of sattvābhāsa arise symptoms similar to sāttvika-bhāvas. They are called sattvābhāsa-bhava.
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
Rūpa Gosvāmī therefore says that even if the reactions to chanting are manifested in the impersonalist’s body, they should not be considered to be symptoms of actual attachment, but reflections only, just like the sun reflected in a dark room through some polished glass. The chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, however, is so nice and transcendental that it will eventually melt even the hearts of persons who are impersonalists. Rūpa Gosvāmī says that the impersonalists’ symptoms are simply reflections of ecstatic love, not the real thing.