BENGAL VAISHNAVA LYRICS 91 experiences the beatitudes of the soul that completely abandons itself to the contempla- tion and enjoyment of the romantic sports of the Lord. To the un-illumined and the impure these Yaishnava lyrics inevitably seem to be erotic. And this is the real cause of the undoubted degeneration into which the Yaishnava tyrics have fallen at the hands of the carnal crowd. But even apart from their highly esoteric and spiritual character, these lyrics, judged even by ordinary canons of art and psychology, do not justify the vulgar use and interpretation to which they have been reduced by the impure and un-illumined crowd, both inside the Yaishnava cult and outside it. In fact, these Yaishnava lyrics are not all of the same class or character. The majority of the later compositions are really imitations of the earlier masters, particularly of the music of their sound than of the truth of their experiences or realisations. The real spiritual significance of the Yaish- nava lyrics depicting the psycho-physical transformations brought about by ecstatic emotions lies in what has been described as satvikee vikara. Vikara means literally a change from the normal state. The eight
