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- Read on →: ratir aniśa-nisargoṣṇa-prabalatarānanda-pūra-rūpaiva
ratir aniśa-nisargoṣṇa-prabalatarānanda-pūra-rūpaiva |
uṣmāṇam api vamantī sudhāṁśu-koṭer api svādvī ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.3.61)“Verily of the nature of a flood of bliss that is very strong and hot as a result of [its] incessant nature, rati, although [thus] emitting heat, is relishable more so than even a crore of nectar-rayed moons.”
- Read on →: pātraṁ tv atra niruktaṁ vai kavibhiḥ pātra-vittamaiḥ
pātraṁ tv atra niruktaṁ vai kavibhiḥ pātra-vittamaiḥ |
harir evaika urvīśa yan-mayaṁ vai carācaram ||
devarṣy-arhatsu vai satsu tatra brahmātmajādiṣu |
rājan yad agra-pūjāyāṁ mataḥ pātratayācyutaḥ ||
jīva-rāśibhir ākīrṇa aṇḍa-kośāṅghripo mahān |
tan-mūlatvād acyutejyā sarva-jīvātma-tarpaṇam ||
purāṇy anena sṛṣṭāni nṛ-tiryag-ṛṣi-devatāḥ |
śete jīvena rūpeṇa pureṣu puruṣo hy asau ||
teṣv eva bhagavān rājaṁs tāratamyena vartate |
tasmāt pātraṁ hi puruṣo yāvān ātmā yatheyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.14.34–38)“[Śrī Nārada to Śrī Yudhiṣṭhira:] O Ruler of the earth! The one Hari alone, of whom the universe [lit., the moving and the unmoving] is constituted, has been declared the [most] fit recipient of honor (pātram) here [i.e., on the earth] by the learned most knowledgable in regard to fit recipients of honor since, O King, Acyuta [i.e., Hari] was accepted as being the fit recipient of the first worship there [i.e., at your Rājasūya sacrifice] even when the devas, ṛṣis, ascetics, sons of Brahmā [i.e., Sanat, Sanandana, and so on], and others were present. Worship of Acyuta is satisfying to all jīvas and oneself because of [his] being the root of the vast tree of the universe filled with the multitudes of jīvas. The abodes [i.e., bodies] of human beings, animals, sages, and devatās [i.e., all living beings] were emanated by him. He, the Puruṣa, [then] lies in those abodes in the form of life [i.e., in the form of he who is the cause of life in those abodes, i.e., the Inner Regulator (Antaryāmī)]. O King, Bhagavān is present in these [abodes, i.e., bodies] verily in a gradation. Therefore, a person [i.e., a human being] is a fit recipient of honor as and to the extent the Self [i.e., Bhagavān] is perceived.”
- Read on →: vairāgyaṁ vidhi-rāga-bhaktim amalān nānā-rasān dvādaśa
vairāgyaṁ vidhi-rāga-bhaktim amalān nānā-rasān dvādaśa
premānaṁ vraja-vāsināṁ śuka-mukhair vipra-rṣibhiḥ saṁstutam |
gopīnāṁ paramāṁ lasat-para-mahābhāvāṁ samarthāṁ ratiṁ
rādhāyām iha mādanaṁ vada sakhe ko vetti rūpaṁ vinā ||
(Govardhana Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī)“O friend,
Pray tell,
Who here [i.e., in this world] would understand
Non-attachment (vairāgya),
Vidhi- and rāgā-bhakti [i.e., vaidhī- and rāgānugā-bhakti],
The twelve different taintless rasas,
The prema of the residents of Vraja
Highly praised by the learned seers led by Śuka,
The gopīs’ paramount samartha-rati
Which shines ultimately as mahābhāva,
Or the mādana [i.e., the mādanākhyā-mahābhāva, manifest] in Rādhā
Without Rūpa?” - Read on →: kaḥ śrī-bhāgavatasya tattvam amalaṁ boddhuṁ kṣamo bhūtale
kaḥ śrī-bhāgavatasya tattvam amalaṁ boddhuṁ kṣamo bhūtale
ko vṛndāvana-mādhurīṁ kalayituṁ vaktuṁ ca dhatte matim |
goṣṭhendrāmala-rūpam adbhutatamaṁ ko vā nayen mānasaṁ
śrīmantaṁ karuṇākaraṁ guṇa-nidhiṁ rūpaṁ sabandhuṁ vinā ||
(Govardhana Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī)“Who on the surface of the earth
Is able to understand
The taintless truth of Śrīmad Bhāgavam,
Who can cause the intellect to grasp and describe
The sweetness of Vṛndāvana,
And who can fix the mind
On the supremely astonishing, taintless figure
Of [Śrī Kṛṣṇa,] the Prince of the cowherd dwelling,
Without the illustrious reservoir of compassion
And treasury of qualities,
Śrī Rūpa,
Along with his companions?” - Read on →: hitvā rūpa-padāmbujaṁ bhavati yo rādhāṅghri-dāsyotsukas
hitvā rūpa-padāmbujaṁ bhavati yo rādhāṅghri-dāsyotsukas
tuṅgaṁ geham asau tanoti na kathaṁ ramye sthale saikate |
bāhubhyāṁ tridivaṁ spṛśen na hi kathaṁ no vā kathaṁ cchādayet
tūrṇaṁ bhūri-rajobhir ambara-maṇiṁ paṅguṁ na kiṁ cālayet ||
(Govardhana Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī)“Does one who becomes strongly desirous
Of service to the feet of Rādhā
But disregards the lotus feet of Rūpa
Not [in effect] build a lofty house
In a pleasant spot on a sand-bank?
Can one not touch the heavens with one’s arms?
Can one not cover the sun with a bunch of dust?
Can one not make a lame person walk?” - Read on →: deśān puṇyān āśrayeta mad-bhaktaiḥ sādhubhiḥ śritān
deśān puṇyān āśrayeta mad-bhaktaiḥ sādhubhiḥ śritān |
devāsura-manuṣyeṣu mad-bhaktācaritāni ca ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.10; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.519)“One should take shelter of sacred places where the sādhus, my bhaktas, reside, and [one should take shelter] of the activities of my bhaktas among the devas, asuras, and human beings.”