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satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido
bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ |
taj-joṣaṇād āśv apavarga-vartmani
śraddhā ratir bhaktir anukramiṣyati ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.25.25; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.273; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.3.12; Tattva Sandarbha: 33; Bhakti Sandarbha: 11, 172, 202, 340; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.1.60, 2.22.83, 2.23.16)
“As a result of extensive association with sādhus, discussions [of me] become full perceptions of my potency and elixirs for the heart and the ears. By cherishing them, swiftly śraddhā, rati (bhāva), and bhakti (prema) to I who am the path to liberation will manifest in succession.”
Read on →: satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido
tulayāma lavenāpi na svargaṁ nāpunar-bhavam |
bhagavat-saṅgi-saṅgasya martyānāṁ kim utāśiṣaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.18.13 and 4.30.34; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.284, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.228; Bhakti Sandarbha: 134, 247; Prīti Sandarbha: 31, 112)
[The sages at Naimiṣāraṇya to Sūta Gosvāmī and the Pracetās to Bhagavān:] “We cannot equate Svarga or non-repetition of birth, much less benedictions had by human beings, with even an instant of association with those who are attached to Bhagavān.”
Read on →: tulayāma lavenāpi na svargaṁ nāpunar-bhavam
yaḥ snātaḥ śānti-sitayā sādhu-saṅgati-gaṅgayā |
kiṁ tasya dānaiḥ kiṁ tīrthaiḥ kiṁ tapobhiḥ kim adhvaraiḥ ||
(Padma Purāṇa: 5.100.5; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.257)
“For one who has bathed in the peaceful, bright Gaṅgā of association with a sādhu, what is the use of charity, tīrthas, austerities, or sacrifices? [There is no need for them at all.]”
Read on →: yaḥ snātaḥ śānti-sitayā sādhu-saṅgati-gaṅgayā
gaṅgādi-puṇya-tīrtheṣu yo naraḥ snātum icchati |
yaḥ karoti satāṁ saṅgāṁ tayoḥ sat-saṅgamo varaḥ ||
(Padma Purāṇa: 5.98.78; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.256)
“Between a human being who desires to swim in purifying tīrthas such as the Gaṅgā and one who engages in association with sādhus, the one who associates with sādhus is superior.”
Read on →: gaṅgādi-puṇya-tīrtheṣu yo naraḥ snātum icchati
sādhūnāṁ sama-cittānāṁ sutarāṁ mat-kṛtātmanām |
darśanān no bhaved bandhaḥ puṁso’kṣṇoḥ savitur yathā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.10.41; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 179)
“As there is no longer any bondage for the eyes upon seeing the sun, so there is no longer any bondage for a person upon seeing sādhus who are equanimous and thus of mind fixed upon me.”
Read on →: sādhūnāṁ sama-cittānāṁ sutarāṁ mat-kṛtātmanām
vinu sata-saṁga viveka na hoi |
rāma-kṛpā vinu sulabha na soi ||
sata-saṁgata muda maṁgaka mūlā |
soi phala siddhi saba sādhana phulā ||
(Rāma-carita-mānasa: 1.2.4)
“Without sādhu-saṅga, discernment (viveka) does not manifest, and without Rāma’s grace, that [i.e., sādhu-saṅga] is not readily attained. Sādhu-saṅga is the root of joy and well-being; siddhi [i.e., spiritual realization] is its fruit, and all sādhanas are its flowers.”
Read on →: vinu sata-saṁga viveka na hoi