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- Read on →: mantre tīrthe dvije deve
mantre tīrthe dvije deve daivajñe bheṣaje gurau |
yādṛśī bhāvanā yasya siddhir bhavati tādṛśī ||
(Skanda Purāṇga: 5.3.227.38–9; cited in Pañcatantra: 5.96)“In regard to a mantra, tīrtha, brāhmaṇa, deva, astrologer, medicine, or guru—as is one’s attitude (bhāvanā), so is one’s attainment.”
- Read on →: na kāṣṭhe vidyate devo
na kāṣṭhe vidyate devo na śilāyāṁ kadācana |
bhāve hi vidyate devas tasmād bhāvaṁ samācaret ||
(Garuḍa Purāṇa: 2.38.13)“Deva is never present in wood or in stone. Deva is present in bhāva. Therefore, cultivate bhāva.”
- Read on →: avabodhitavān imāṁ yathā
avabodhitavān imāṁ yathā
mayi nityāṁ bhavadīyatāṁ svayam |
kṛpayaivam ananya-bhogyatāṁ
bhagavan bhaktim api prayaccha me ||
(Stotra-ratna: 54)“As you yourself have made known this state of being eternally your own in me, O Bhagavān, so by your grace please also bestow upon me bhakti which has no other enjoyer [than you, i.e., bhakti which is performed solely for your enjoyment].”
- Read on →: kāṣṭha-pāṣāṇa-dhātūnāṁ
kāṣṭha-pāṣāṇa-dhātūnāṁ kṛtvā bhāvena sevanam |
śraddhayā ca tathā siddhis tasya viṣṇu-prasādataḥ ||
(Cāṇakya-nīti-darpaṇa: 8.12)“If one serves that which is made of wood, stone, or metal [i.e., a deity] with bhāva and śraddhā, then siddhi [i.e., success in one’s worship] occurs by Viṣṇu’s grace.”
- Read on →: nāgni-hotraṁ vinā vedā
nāgni-hotraṁ vinā vedā na ca dānaṁ vinā kriyā |
na bhāvena vinā siddhis tasmād bhāvo hi kāraṇam ||
(Cāṇakya-nīti-darpaṇa: 8.10)“There are no Vedas without Agni-hotra [i.e., the practice of Agni-hotra is described all throughout the Vedas], and there are no rites without charity [ie., Vedic sacrifices always include, and not considered successful without, giving charity]. [Similarly,] There is no attainment without bhāva. Therefore, bhāva is the means.”
- Read on →: sarvopāya-parityāgaḥ
sarvopāya-parityāgaḥ kṛṣṇopāyanam arcanam |
suciraṁ proṣite kānte yathā pati-parāyaṇā ||
priyānurāgiṇī dīnā tasya saṅgaika-kāṅkṣiṇī |
tad-guṇān bhāvayen nityaṁ gāyaty api śṛṇoti ca ||
śrī-kṛṣṇa-guṇa-līlādi-smaraṇādi tathā caret |
na punaḥ sādhanatvena kāryaṁ tat tu kadācana ||
(Sanat-kumāra-saṁhitā: 115–117)“One [then] gives up all other processes and engages in worship of Kṛṣṇa just as a wife devoted to her husband worships her beloved while he is abroad for a long time. Filled with loving attachment for her husband, humble, desirous only of his company, she always meditates on, sings, and hears of his qualities. Similarly, one should engage in remembrance and so forth of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s qualities, līlās, and so forth. This is never to be done, however, with it being a means of attainment [of something else, i.e., it should be done simply for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa and not to obtain any other result].”