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.
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