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  • uddiṣṭasya tattva-vyavacchedako dharmo lakṣaṇam |
    (Vātsyāyana’s Nyāya-bhāṣya on Nyāya-sūtra: 1.1.3)

    “A characteristic distinguishing of the nature of a stated object [from the nature of all other objects] is [called] a lakṣaṇa.”

    Read on →: uddiṣṭasya tattva-vyavacchedako dharmo lakṣaṇam

  • svarūpa-lakṣaṇa āra taṭastha-lakṣaṇa |
    ei dui lakṣaṇera vastu jāne muni-gaṇa ||
    ākṛti prakṛti ei—svarūpa-lakṣaṇa |
    kārya-dvārāya jñāna ei—taṭastha-lakṣaṇa ||
    (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.20.353–354)

    “Intrinsic characteristics and extrinsic characteristics—the sages understand an object by means of these two [types of] characteristics. Figure and nature—these are intrinsic characteristics (svarūpa-lakṣaṇas). That which is known through an effect [of the object to be defined]—this is an extrinsic characteristic (taṭastha-lakṣaṇa).”

    Read on →: svarūpa-lakṣaṇa āra taṭastha-lakṣaṇa

  • (Svāmī Vivekānanda in Bhakti-rahasya)

    “A great soul would say, ‘Imagine there is a thief in this house. Somehow, he came to know that there is a tāla of gold in the next room, and between these two rooms there is a very thin wall. In such a case, what will be the condition of the thief? He will have no sleep. He will not be able to eat. He will not be able to do anything. “How can I obtain that tāla of gold?” His mind will remain fixed only on that. He will only think, “How can I make a hole in that wall and take the tāla of gold?”
“‘What do you all want to say [i.e., so, what do I mean by this]? If human beings truly had faith that the source of happiness, bliss, and glory, Svayaṁ Bhagavān, exists, then would they be able to engage in ordinary worldly (sāṁsārika) work and not try to attain him?’
“As soon as human beings have faith that someone known as Bhagavān exists, then they become mad with intense desire to attain him. … This frenzy, this thirst, this earnest propensity, is called the awakening of a life of dharma. Only when people reach this state has their spiritual (ādhyātmika) life begun.”

    Read on →: Svāmī Vivekānanda in Bhakti-rahasya

  • niḥsaṁśayeṣu sarveṣu nityaṁ vasati vai hariḥ |
    sa-saṁśayād dhetu-balān nādhyāvasati mādhavaḥ ||
    (Mahābhārata: 12.349.71; cited in Paramātma Sandarbha: 17 and Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī-tīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.40.10)

    “Hari ever abides in all who are free from doubt. As a result of doubting and the strength of reasoning, [however,] Mādhava does not dwell [in a given place, i.e., Mādhava does not dwell in the hearts of those who are doubtful and rely solely upon reasoning to ascertain reality].”

    Read on →: niḥsaṁśayeṣu sarveṣu nityaṁ vasati vai hariḥ

  • mata-bhede śiṣṭa-prayoga eva pramāṇam |
    (Amṛta-ṭīkā on Hari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇa: 955)

    “In the case of a difference of opinion, the usage of the learned is the pramāṇa [i.e., the means of determining propriety].”

    Read on →: mata-bhede śiṣṭa-prayoga eva pramāṇam

  • prayoga eva pramāṇa-śiromaṇiḥ,
    ataś ca tad-anusāri vyākaraṇam |
    (Amṛta-tīkā on Hari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇa: 1244)

    “Usage is the crest jewel of pramāṇas [in grammar], and thus vyākaraṇa [i.e., grammatical correctness] follows that [i.e., is determined to reflect established usage].”

    Read on →: prayoga eva pramāṇa-śiromaṇiḥ

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