Here is an excerpt from one of the texts we studied at our recent 4-day retreat (first time online), the Hymns to Shiva, Utpaladeva’s Shivastotravali.
Chapter 16 (03:49)
जयन्तोऽपि हसन्त्येते जिता अपि हसन्ति च ।
भवद्भक्तिसुधापानमत्ताः केऽप्येव ये प्रभो ॥३॥
jayanto’pi hasantyete jitā api hasanti ca /
bhavadbhaktisudhāpānāmattāḥ ke’pyeva ye prabho //3//
O Lord, really Your devotees have tasted the nectar of Your devotion (nectar means that liquor). They have tasted the liquor of Thy devotion and they have become mad, they have lost their senses. I will show You how they have lost their senses. I will put that [example] before You.
Jayanto’pi, whenever they conquer, they smile; when they conquer everybody, they smile. When they are conquered, they smile [laughter]. They smile in both ways, so they are mad! There is no distinctive feeling in them. When they conquer everybody, they smile. That is good. That was natural. When they are conquered by people, they smile [laughter]. At that time also, they smile. So, they are mad. Actually, they are mad.
Source: Hymns to Shiva, Utpaladeva’s Shivastotravali revealed by Swami Lakshmanjoo
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