madnessscripture, whereas the superior second type is the deep love of God,
which arises spontaneously by following one’s emotions. This devotion
is called an absolute rasa (sap, taste, essence), an active realization of
God. Those members of the movement willing to risk everything for their
love are the primary examples of pure love (prema), a selfless type of
love similar to Christian agape.Further reading: Gosvāmin (2003); Nygren (1953); Outka (1972); Watson
(2000)MADNESS
To be considered mad within a religious context does not mean that
someone is clinically insane or mentally ill, although this could be the
case. Since Religious Studies is a humanistic discipline, it is possible to
view madness in a humanistic way. For someone to be perceived mad
that person must act continuously abnormal, which implies that such a
person must act contrary to accepted norms of behavior or what people
expect of a normal and mentally healthy person. By deviating from the
expected decorum of a person’s social or religious role, such a person
runs the risk of being labeled crazy. In other words, for someone to lack
consistent intention, to act outrageously, to appear indifferent to what one
says and does, and to behave in unpredictable ways are characteristics of
a mad person.
There is a long tradition of mad figures within the context of the devo-
tional Hindu tradition from Ālvār (one immersed in god) poets to saints
such as Ramakrishna of the nineteenth century. Being separated from god
is what drives the poet mad. GuÏ ̄am RauÀ, a thirteenth-century saint of
the Mahānubbāva sect of western India, often acts infantile, greedy, rude,
excessively demanding, and petulant. Mīrābāī (1403–1470), a Rājput
princess who refuses to commit sati (self-immolation on her husband’s
funeral pyre) after her husband’s death, writes poems about how
Krishna’s flute drove her mad as does her separation from her deity. The
Bengali saint Caitanya (d. 1533) is known to experience uninterrupted
conscious separation from Krishna, a condition that drives him mad. He
also experiences wide mood swings and incoherent behavior, and he
manifests physical symptoms associated with madness. Within the Śaiva
ascetic tradition, the Pāśupatas deliberately act mad in order to incur the
censure of others for their crazy behavior, which helps an ascetic rid
himself of negative karma and acquire positive karma on his path to