Does Krishna taste Rasa?

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Krishna manifests as Mahaprabhu because he wants the following:

 

1) To know what it is like to love him (Krishna) as much as Radharani does

("sri-radhayah

pranaya-mahima").

 

2) To taste the Bhakti Rasa that she tastes by loving him, the reservoir of all

 

rasa ("svadyo yenadbhuta-madhurima ")

 

3) To taste that happiness of being loved by him (Krishna) in reciprocation

("saukhyam

casya mad-anubhavatah")

 

For the benefit of others reading this thread: In the context of rasa, Vishaya

is the "object receiving love," and Ashraya is the "Subject possesing and

giving

love." In the context of Bhakti Rasa, Sri Krishna is the Vishaya, and Sri Radha

 

and other devotees are the Ashraya. In the context of Bhakti Rasa (the

pleasurable

experience of loving devotion for Krishna), Krishna is always the object

receiving

love, and Radha and other devotees are always the object giving love.

 

However, if you look again at Krishna's third reason for manifesting as

Mahaprabhu

(To taste that happiness of being loved by him (Krishna) in reciprocation), you

 

will see that the devotee also receives love from Krishna. The third reason

Krishna

appears as Mahaprabhu is to know what it feels like to be loved by him. When

Krishna reciprocates the devotees love, Krishna becomes the ashraya (the

subject

possesing and giving love) and the devotee becomes the vishaya (the object

receiving

love). From the devotee's point of view, Krishna is always the Vishaya (object

of love), but from Krishna's point of view, the devotee is His Vishaya (object

of love).

 

Therefore, Krishna also feels the ecstacy of love. It would be silly to say

that

the origin of all bliss does not feel bliss. Krishna experiences bliss by

loving

and being loved by his expansions. Indeed, that is the reason why he manifested

 

those expansions. Thus I do not agree that Krishna cannot experience

sattvika-bhava-vikar,

and the other components of Rasa. Of course Rasaraj Sri Krishna can experience

Rasa! However, he could not experience the most superexcellent type of Rasa

that

Sri Radha experiences by loving and being loved by him. He therefore appeared

as Mahaprabhu to taste THAT specific rasa.