Verse Text
kṛṣṇa-bhakti-viśeṣasya gariṣṭhatvādibhir guṇaiḥ |
samavetaṁ sadāmībhir dvitrair api mano bhavet ||268||
Translation
The mind of some devotee may be constantly influenced by a mixture of two or three of the above conditions such as gariṣṭha.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Gariṣṭha, gambhīra and mahiṣṭha are caused by having mixed motives in a relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Laghiṣṭha, uttāna and kṣodiṣṭha manifest by having with no personal motives. Awareness of the greatness of Brahman produces hardness in the heart (karkaśa). Awareness of sweetness of Kṛṣṇa produces softness in the heart. The appreciation of Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness and the soft heart produced in His devotees are causes of astonishing effects. This is explained in the commentary on the Tenth Canto of the following verse.
itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā
dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena
māyāśritānāṁ nara-dārakeṇa
sākaṁ vijahruḥ kṛta-puṇya-puṣjāḥ
Here is the Supreme Person, who is considered the impersonal Brahman by great sages, a most worshipable form by the dāsya-bhaktas, and the son of a human being by ordinary men. Now these boys, who have performed many, many pleasing activities in their past lives, are playing with that Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of a cowherd boy. SB 10.12.11
In the verse at hand, the minds of these devotees do not show variety caused by material guṇas such as sattva-guṇa, but rather by various bhāvas (guṇaiḥ). These bhāvas are of two types: prākṛta (inferior) and bhāgavata (exalted). The kaniṣṭha devotees possess prākṛta-bhāvas and these become causes of gariṣṭha, gambhīra and mahiṣṭha. The devotees of highest quality show bhāgavata-bhāvas. Because of possessing bhāvas caused by having hearts as soft as nectar, those devotees are completely devoid of low qualities such as gariṣṭha.
In all cases, the amount of softness or melting of the heart depends on the strength of the sthāyi-bhāva. In the list of thunderbolt, gold and lac mentioned in verse 263, lac is softest, gold is less soft, and the thunderbolt is least soft. (Thus the amount of sthāyi-bhāva will be least with the thunderbolt heart.) And thus disturbance or lack of disturbance from the vyabhicāri-bhāvas also depends on the strength of the sthāyi-bhāva. But in all these cases the cause of being gariṣṭha, gambhīra and mahiṣṭha, laghiṣṭha, uttāna or kṣodiṣṭha is the one natural bhāva (strong or weak) and the causes of disturbance are various incidental bhāvas. [Note: This is restatement of verses 254-255.]
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
A pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa is always specifically qualified with nectarean qualifications and sometimes with the qualifications of butter and honey.