Verse Text
śamasya nirvikāratvān nāṭyajṣair naiṣa manyate |
śānty-ākhyāyā rater atra svīkārān na virudhyate ||46||
śamo man-niṣṭhatā buddher [Note: SB 11.19.36] iti śrī-bhagavad-vacaḥ |
tan-niṣṭhā durghaṭā buddher etāṁ śānta-ratiṁ vinā ||47||
Translation
Because of the lack of an object of devotion in the state of śama, the experts in poetics do not consider śānta as a rasa. [Note: Śama was defined in 2.5.16 as non-differentiation of the self from the object perceived. However in 2.5.18, śanta-rati was defined as the realization of Paramātma by a person who has śama.] However, in our opinion, because we accept śānta-rati for the Lord as the sthāyi-bhāva, this objection cannot be made (since the Lord is the object of devotion). The Lord says “śama is having the intelligence fixed in Me.” Without the attainment of śānta-rati, fixing the intelligence in the Lord cannot take place.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Let them oppose śānta-rasa. But according to our opinion, it is not possible for them to oppose it. The reason is given. The condition of rasa was established on the basis of rati for the Lord. Rati as the cause is then described by its effect: śama, which means fixing the intelligence in the Lord (tan-niṣṭhā). When a person has attained sāmānya-rati, [Note: Sāmānya-rati is the lowest form of śuddha-rati, but this can mature into śānta-rati. 2.5.9.] it matures into a superior form of fixing the intelligence on the Lord by abundance of that śama.
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
According to some authorities, this condition cannot be accepted as one of the transcendental humors, or rasas, but Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says that even if one does not accept it as a transcendental humor, one must still accept it as the beginning position of devotional service. However, if one is not further raised to the platform of actual service to the Lord, he is not considered to be on the platform of transcendental mellow. In this connection, in the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Lord Kṛṣṇa personally instructs Uddhava like this: “The state of being established in My personal form is called śānta-rasa, and without being situated in this position, no one can advance to actual pure devotional service.” In other words, no one can be situated in the personal feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead without being situated at least in śānta-rasa.