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- Read on →: amantram akṣaraṁ nāsti nāsti mūlam anauṣadham
amantram akṣaraṁ nāsti nāsti mūlam anauṣadham |
ayogyaḥ puruṣo nāsti yojakas tatra durlabhaḥ ||
(Unknown source)“There is no phoneme that is not a mantra [i.e., that cannot function as a mantra]. There is no root that is not a medicine [i.e., that cannot function as a medicine for some ailment]. There is no person that is incapable [i.e., that cannot somehow perform some sort of useful function]. Rare then is the employer [i.e., it is rare to find someone who knows the potential of things and how to make good use of them under varying circumstances].”
- Read on →: svātantryāt kriyate karma na ca vedoditaṁ mahat
svātantryāt kriyate karma na ca vedoditaṁ mahat |
vinaiva bhagavat-prītyā te vai pāṣaṇḍinaḥ smṛtāḥ ||
(Padma Purāṇa: Uttara-khaṇḍa, 235.9a, 7a; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 312)“One who performs [even] great acts described in the Veda independently [i.e., not out of adherence to the guidance of the Vedas] and without affinity for Bhagavān—they are known as heretics (pāṣaṇḍis).”
- Read on →: yadyapy akiñcanā bhaktir evābhidheyeti
yadyapy akiñcanā bhaktir evābhidheyeti tat-kāraṇatvena tad-bhakta-saṅga evābhidheye sati … |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 202)“Although unconditional (akiñcanā) bhakti is certainly the abhidheya [i.e., the principal direction of the śāstra, the means to attain the highest end], association with his [i.e., Bhagavān’s] bhaktas is certainly [also] the abhidheya because of its being the cause thereof [i.e., of unconditional (akiñcanā) bhakti].”
- Read on →: tad evaṁ teṣāṁ bahu-bhedeṣu satsu teṣām eva
tad evaṁ teṣāṁ bahu-bhedeṣu satsu teṣām eva prabhāva-tāratamyena kṛpā-tāratamyena bhakti-vāsanā-bheda-tāratamyena sat-saṅgāt kāla-śaighrya-svarūpa-vaiśiṣṭyābhyāṁ bhaktir udayate | … tatra prathamaṁ tāvat tat-tat-saṅgāj jātena tat-tac-chraddhā-tat-tat-paramparā-kathā-rucy-ādinā jāta-bhagavat-sāmmukhyasya tat-tad-anuṣaṅgenaiva tat-tad-bhajanīye bhagavad-āvirbhāva-viśeṣe tat-bhajana-mārga-viśeṣe ca rucir jāyate |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 202)“Thus, in this way, bhakti manifests with speciality in nature (svarūpa) and with swiftness or time [i.e., relative slowness] as a result of sat-saṅga in accord with a gradation in types of bhakti-vāsanās [i.e., the predilections for particular forms of bhakti fostered by the sādhus with whom one associates], [as well as] in accord with a gradation in [the degree of] grace [received by an individual from the sādhus with whom one associates], and in accord with a gradation in the potency [i.e., spiritual prowess] of those [sādhus] among the numerous types of sādhus there among [i.e., among all the sādhus who are Vaiṣṇavas]. … In this regard, taste [alt., liking] (ruci) for a specific appearance [i.e., form] of Bhagavān as one’s specific object of worship (bhajanīya), as well as for a specific path of worship (bhajana) of him, manifest in the course of ongoing specific association [i.e., association with a specific type of Vaiṣṇava sādhu] for someone in whom intentness (sāmmukhya) upon Bhagavān has manifested by means first of all of a specific form of śraddhā, a specific form of taste (ruci) for the kathā [i.e., discussion of Bhagavān] of a [specific] paramparā [i.e., lineage of Vaiṣṇava sādhus], and so forth, [which become] manifest as a result of a specific form of association [i.e., the association of a particular Vaiṣṇava sādhu].”
- Read on →: jñātvājñātvātha ye vai māṁ yāvān yaś cāsmi yādṛśaḥ
jñātvājñātvātha ye vai māṁ yāvān yaś cāsmi yādṛśaḥ |
bhajanty ananya-bhāvena te me bhakta-tamā matāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.11.33; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.24; Bhakti Sandarbha: 201, 312)“Having understood, or not having understood, me as far as I am, for who I am, and of what nature I am, those who worship me with a one-pointed (ananya) bhāva are considered by me the best of bhaktas.”