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- Read on →: niyamāt phalam āpnoti na śreyo niyamaṁ vinā
niyamāt phalam āpnoti na śreyo niyamaṁ vinā ||
(Bhaviṣya Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 15.464, Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 13.510, 15.630)“One attains the result on account of the vow [i.e., the resolution (saṅkalpa) to perform a given vrata or sevā]. Without the vow, no auspicious result comes about.”
- Read on →: viṣaya thākite kṛṣṇa-prema nāhi haya
viṣaya thākite kṛṣṇa-prema nāhi haya |
viṣayīra dūre kṛṣṇa jāniha niścaya ||
viṣaye āviṣṭa mana baḍai jañjāla |
strī-putra māyā-jāla, ei saba kāla ||
daive kona bhāgyavān sādhu-saṅga pāya |
viṣaye āveśa chāḍi kṛṣṇere bhajaya ||
sei saba aparādha habe punar-bāra |
viṣayera dharma ei śuna kathā-sāra ||
‘viṣaya pāsara ahar-niśa bala hari’ ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 1.16.59–63)“[Hari Dāsa Ṭhākura to inmates in jail:] “Kṛṣṇa-prema does not manifest in the presence of viṣaya [i.e., objects of the senses and mental inclinations for them]. Know for certain that Kṛṣṇa is far from viṣayīs. A mind absorbed in viṣaya is a great disturbance. Wife and sons are the net of māyā. They are all death [i.e., the bewilderment produced attachment related to them effectively terminates one’s endeavor to transcend the realm of saṁsāra and perpetuates only absorption in worldly ends]. If by destiny some fortunate person attains association with a sādhu, then one gives up absorption in viṣaya and serves Kṛṣṇa. All that offense [i.e., all the offenses in the form of violence towards, and disturbance of, other living beings that you have committed and thus wound up in jail] will happen again [if you do not follow my advice]. This is the nature of viṣaya [i.e., the nature of worldly objects and the mental inclinations they produce, that is, vāsanās, is that they cause one to perpetually engage in the same behaviors]. Listen to the essence of my message …: ‘Forget viṣaya and day and night chant, “Hari!”’”
- Read on →: tathāpi viṣayera svabhāva—kare mahā-andha
tathāpi viṣayera svabhāva—kare mahā-andha |
sei karma karāya, yāte haya bhava-bandha ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.6.199)”Still, the nature of viṣaya [i.e., objects of the senses and the inclinations for them impressed in the mind] makes one severely blind. It causes one to perform karma whereby worldly bondage accrues.”
- Read on →: manur api pareṇaivaṁ pratisandhita-manorathaḥ surarṣi
manur api pareṇaivaṁ pratisandhita-manorathaḥ surarṣi-varānumatenātmajam akhila-dharā-maṇḍala-sthiti-guptaya āsthāpya svayam ati-viṣama-viṣaya-viṣa-jalāśayāśāyā upararāma |
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.1.22)“His desire thus accomplished by Brahmā, Manu too, with the permission of Surarṣi [i.e., Nārada], designated his son to maintain law across the entire earth and [then] personally withdrew from [all] inclination towards the poisonous ocean of extremely arduous viṣaya.”
- Read on →: kṛṣṇe gate madhupurīṁ bata ballavīnāṁ
kṛṣṇe gate madhupurīṁ bata ballavīnāṁ
bhāvo’bhavat sapadi yo laya-vahni-tīvraḥ |
premāsya hetur uta tattvam idaṁ hi tasya
mā tad-viśeṣam aparaṁ bata boddhum iccha ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.232)“The cause of the gopīs’ bhāva, intense like the fire of [universal] destruction, that immediately arose when Kṛṣṇa went to Madhupurī is prema, and this [i.e., this state] is indeed its [i.e., prema’s] very nature. Bata! Do not desire to understand anything other than this description.”
- Read on →: śūnyāyate mahāgoṣṭhaṁ girīndro’jagarāyate
śūnyāyate mahāgoṣṭhaṁ girīndro’jagarāyate |
vyāghra-tuṇḍāyate kuṇḍaṁ jīvātu-rahitasya me ||
(Stavāvalī: Prārthanāśraya-caturdaśaka, 11)“The great pastureland [i.e., Vraja] seems empty, the king of mountains [i.e., Girirāja Govardhana] seems like a python, and the pool [i.e., Rādhā Kuṇḍa] seems like the jaws of a tiger for I who am bereft of [my] vitality [i.e., Śrī Rūpa].”