The Latest
- Read on →: dharmaḥ satya-dayopeto vidyā vā tapasānvitā
dharmaḥ satya-dayopeto vidyā vā tapasānvitā |
mad-bhaktyāpetam ātmānaṁ na samyak prapunāti hi ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.22; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.557; Bhakti Sandarbha: 79, 111, 147)“Devoid of bhakti to me, dharma endowed with truthfulness and compassion, or knowledge accompanied by austerity, certainly do not fully purify the mind.”
- Read on →: yatreme sad-asad-rūpe pratiṣiddhe sva-saṁvidā
yatreme sad-asad-rūpe pratiṣiddhe sva-saṁvidā |
avidyayātmani kṛte iti tad brahma-darśanam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.3.33; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 3)“That [vision] wherein the gross and subtle bodies are negated [i.e., understood to not be the self] through full knowledge of the self, such that they are [recognized to have been] superimposed upon the self by ignorance (avidyā) is vision (darśana) [i.e., direct experience (sākṣātkāra)] of Brahman.”
- Read on →: śreyaḥ-sṛtiṁ bhaktim udasya te vibho
śreyaḥ-sṛtiṁ bhaktim udasya te vibho
kliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye |
teṣām asau kleśala eva śiṣyate
nānyad yathā sthūla-tuṣāvaghātinām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.14.4; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.608; Bhagavat Sandarbha: 95; Bhakti Sandarbha: 5, 67, 71, 105, 176; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.22, 2.24.170, 2.25.31)“O Lord, for those who abandon [the path of] bhakti to you, that from which there is a flow of auspiciousnesses [alt., that which is the path to auspiciousness], and struggle to attain awareness of oneness, only this hardship remains and nothing else, as is the case for those who thresh thick chaff.”
- Read on →: ye’nye’ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas
ye’nye’ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas
tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ |
āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ
patanty adho’nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.2.42; cited in Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.14; Bhakti Sandarbha: 111, 121; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.30, 2.24.131, 141, 2.25.32)“[The devas address Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the womb of Mother Devakī:] O Lotus-eyed One, others, who consider themselves fully liberated yet are of not fully purified intellect because of having forsaken bhāva for you, ascend with hardship to the highest position but fall down from there because of their having disregarded your feet.”
- Read on →: rāgātmika-bhaktimatāṁ durabhisandhināpy anukaraṇa-mātreṇa
rāgātmika-bhaktimatāṁ durabhisandhināpy anukaraṇa-mātreṇa tādṛśatva-prāptiḥ śrūyate, yathā dhātrītvānukaraṇena pūtanāyāḥ | tad uktam—‘sad-veśād iva pūtanāpi sakulā’ iti | kim uta tadīya-rucimadbhis tādṛśa-nirantara-samyag-bhakty-anuṣṭhānena |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 312)“Attainment of being such [i.e., of being a rāgātmikā-bhakta] is heard of [occurring] just by means of emulation of those possessed of rāgātmikā-bhakti even [when done] out of ill-intent, as in the case of Pūtanā’s emulation of a nursemaid. This is stated [in SB 10.14.35], ‘Even Pūtanā along with her family was caused to attain you just because of [her wearing] fine dress [i.e., just because of her having donned the beautiful garb of a cowherd woman which is very dear to Śrī Kṛṣṇa as a disguise in an attempt to murder him].’ So how much more so [must the attainment of being a rāgātmikā-bhakta occur] as a result of continuous, genuine [alt., pleasing] engagement in bhakti of such nature by those possessed of taste (ruci) for that [i.e., for a particular type of rāgātmikā-bhakti]?”
- Read on →: ato vai kavayo nityaṁ bhaktiṁ paramayā mudā
ato vai kavayo nityaṁ bhaktiṁ paramayā mudā |
vāsudeve bhagavati kurvanty ātma-prasādanīm ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.2.22)“Therefore, indeed with paramount delight, the wise always perform bhakti to Bhagavān, Vāsudeva, which is purifying of the self.”