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  • vijita-hṛṣīka-vāyubhir adānta-manas turagaṁ
    ya iha yatanti yantum atilolam upāya-khidaḥ |
    vyasana-śatānvitāḥ samavahāya guroś caraṇaṁ
    vaṇija ivāja santy akṛta-karṇadharā jaladhau ||
    (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.33)

    “O Unborn One [i.e., Bhagavān], those here [i.e., in the ocean of saṁsāra] who abandon the feet of guru and endeavor to subdue the extremely volatile stallion of the untamed mind [even] with conquered senses and vital airs become afflicted by the method [i.e., by the very method, whatever it may be, they take up to try to tame the mind] and beset with hundreds of adversities, just as merchants who have not procured a helmsman are [so afflicted] at sea.”

    Read on →: vijita-hṛṣīka-vāyubhir adānta-manas turagaṁ

  • nṛ-deham ādyaṁ sulabhaṁ sudurlabhaṁ
    plavaṁ sukalpaṁ guru-karṇa-dhāram |
    mayānukūlena nabhasvateritaṁ
    pumān bhavābdhiṁ na taret sa ātma-hā ||
    (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.20.17)

    [Kṛṣṇa to Uddhava:] “Having attained the well-constructed boat of this human body, which is fundamental [to all attainments], easily yet rarely attained, captained by guru, and propelled by the wind of my favor, a person who shall not cross the ocean of material existence is a self-destroyer.”

    Read on →: nṛ-deham ādyaṁ sulabhaṁ sudurlabhaṁ

  • yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo
    yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto’pi |
    dhyāyaṁ stuvaṁs tasya yaśas tri-sandhyaṁ
    vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam ||
    (Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda’s Gurudevāṣṭakam: 8)

    “I offer obeisance unto the beautiful lotus feet of guru, meditating upon and praising his glory at the three junctions of the day. By his grace, one gains Bhagavān’s grace, and by his dissatisfaction, one has no shelter anywhere.”

    Read on →: yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo

  • uttiṣṭha jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata |
    kṣurasya dhārā niśitā duratyayā
    durgaṁ pathas tat kavayo vadanti ||
    (Kaṭha Upaniṣad: 1.3.14)

    “Arise! Awake! Find the exalted ones and learn. The wise say the path is sharp as a razor’s edge, difficult to traverse, and arduous.”

    Read on →: uttiṣṭha jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata

  • athāsya tad-veśyā-vaktrāc chrī-rādhāyāḥ śrī-kṛṣṇānurāgādi-śravaṇa-jāta-lobhatvād rāgānugā-mārgeṇaiva bhajanam | tatra rāgānugā-mārge’nutpanna-rati-sādhaka-bhaktair api svepsita-siddha-dehaṁ manasi parikalpya bhagavat-sevādikaṁ kriyate | jāta-ratīnāṁ tu svayam eva tad-deha-sphūrtiḥ | asya tūtpannā madhura-jātīyā ratiḥ krameṇānurāga-daśāṁ prāptāsti, atas tad-deha-sphūrtiḥ sadaiva |
    (Sāraṅga-raṅgadā-ṭīkā on Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta: 2)

    “His [i.e., Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura’s] bhajana was based solely on the rāgānugā-mārga because of his intense desirousness (lobhatva) produced by hearing about Śrī Rādhā’s anurāga and so forth for Śrī Kṛṣṇa from the mouth of the courtesan [i.e., Cintāmaṇi]. There in rāgānugā-mārga, even by sādhaka-bhaktas in whom rati has not [yet] manifested, service and so forth to Bhagavān is performed by meditating in the mind upon one’s desired siddha-deha. For those in whom rati has manifested, however, manifestation (sphūrti) of that deha [i.e., the siddha-deha] occurs of its own accord [i.e., without requiring any specific effort from the sādhaka to meditate upon it]. His [i.e., Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura’s] manifest rati of the madhura-type, however, gradually attained the stage of anurāga [even though this is normally impossible for anyone within saṁsāra apart from those who participate directly in Bhagavān’s prakaṭa-līlā], and thus manifestation of that deha [i.e., the siddha-deha] became constant [in his mind].”

    Read on →: athāsya tad-veśyā-vaktrāc chrī-rādhāyāḥ śrī-kṛṣṇānurāgādi-śravaṇa-jāta-lobhatvād rāgānugā-mārgeṇaiva bhajanam

  • apakāra-daśāyām apy upakurvanti sādhavaḥ |
    chindantam api vṛkṣaḥ sva-chāyayā kiṁ na rakṣati ||
    (Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 1876)

    “Even in a condition of [receiving] harm, sādhus help [those who harm them]. Does a tree even while being chopped down not offer protection [to those who are cutting it] with its own shade?”

    Read on →: apakāra-daśāyām apy upakurvanti sādhavaḥ

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