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Hinduism - What Is Vatsalya?

 

Vatsalya ("calf-like") is a Sanskrit word that means to be or behave like a calf. 

Bhava Rupa Goswami, a devotee (bhakta) of the deity Krishna and a close lower of the Bengali saint Chaitanya, defined the fourth of the five ways of devotion to God most vividly.


Rupa utilized several forms of human connections as models for various views of the deity-devotee relationship.

From the serene (shanta) experience that comes from understanding one's entire identification with Brahman or Supreme Reality, to seeing God as one's master, friend, child, or lover, these five models demonstrated increasing emotional intensity.


Devotees who practice the Vatsalya method of devotion believe themselves to be God's parents, lavishing love and care on the god in the same way as a cow does for her calf.

This is an emotionally strong kind of interaction that lacks the sensual aspect that characterizes the fifth mode, madhurya bhava.


~Kiran Atma


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