Swimming in the Ocean of Bhakti-rasa: Reflections on the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu of Rūpa Gosvāmī

Abstract

The article "Swimming in the Ocean of Bhakti Rasa: Reflections on the Bhaktirasamrtasindhu of Rupa Gosvami" by David L. Haberman offers a personal reflection on his decades-long engagement with Rupa Gosvami's Bhaktirasamrtasindhu. Haberman recounts his journey from discovering the text to undertaking its translation, highlighting how the immersive process of translation led to a profound understanding of Rupa's philosophy. He emphasizes Rupa's revolutionary concept of bhakti as a yoga of divine emotions where love (prema) is supreme and the very essence of God. The article also explores Rupa's unique perspective that love itself transforms ordinary objects into vibhavas (excitants of emotion), enabling an ever-expanding experience of divine reality. Haberman connects these insights to a distinctive form of environmentalism, arguing that approaching the world with love reveals its true, divine nature and motivates loving action.