The Latest

ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo’tha bhajana-kriyā |
tato’nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt tato niṣṭhā rucis tataḥ |
athāsaktis tato bhāvas tataḥ premābhyudañcati |
sādhakānām ayaṁ premnaḥ prādurbhāve bhavet kramaḥ ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.4.15–16)
“First śraddhā, then sādhu-saṅga, then bhajana-kriyā, then anartha-nivṛtti, then niṣṭhā, then ruci, then āsakti, then bhāva, and then prema appear. These are the stages in the appearance of prema in a sādhaka.”
Read on →: ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo
ātmendriya-prīti-icchā—tāre bali ‘kāma’ |
kṛṣṇendriya-prīti-ichchā —dhare ‘prema’ nāma ||
ataeva kāma-preme bahuta antara |
kāma andha-tamaḥ, prema nirmala bhāskara ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.4.165, 172)
“The desire to please one’s own senses—that we call ‘kāma,’ and the desire to please Kṛṣṇa’s senses bears the name ‘prema.’ … Therefore, there is a vast difference between kāma and prema: kāma is [like] blinding darkness, and prema is [like] a taintless sun.”
Read on →: ātmendriya-prīti-icchā—tāre bali ‘kāma’
samyaṅ-masṛṇita-svānto mamatvātiśayāṅkitaḥ |
bhāvaḥ sa eva sāndrātmā budhaiḥ premā nigadyate ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.4.1)
“That particular bhāva, intense in nature, because of which the heart is completely melted, and [thus] marked by a profusion of my-ness (mamatva) [i.e., loving attachment to Kṛṣṇa], is called prema by the wise.”
Read on →: samyaṅ-masṛṇita-svānto
sādhanābhiniveśena kṛṣṇa-tad-bhaktayos tathā |
prasādenātidhanyānāṁ bhāvo dvedhābhijāyate |
ādyas tu prāyikas tatra dvitīyo viralodayaḥ ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.3.6)
“Bhāva manifests in the greatly fortunate in two ways: (1) by absorption in sādhana and (2) by the grace of Kṛṣṇa or his devotee. In this regard, the first is common, and the second is a rare occurrence.”
Read on →: sādhanābhiniveśena
na hy anyatra spṛhā anyatra ratiḥ |
(Durgama-saṅgaminī-ṭīkā to Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.3.41)
“It is not that there can be desire elsewhere and rati elsewhere.
Read on →: na hy anyatra spṛhā anyatra ratiḥ
tad-eka-spṛhatvam eva rater lakṣaṇaṁ mukhyam ity uktam |
(Durgama-saṅgamī-ṭīkā to Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhi: 1.3.41)
“It is stated that desirousness only of him [i.e., Bhagavān] is truly the primary characteristic of rati [i.e., merely inner softness that manifests sāttvika-bhāvas, such as crying and trembling, is not the primary characteristic, since this can also be observed in persons engaged in impure forms of bhakti].”
Read on →: tad-eka-spṛhatvam eva rater lakṣaṇaṁ