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  • śrī-rūpasyāṅghri-padmaṁ praṇata-matir ahaṁ naumi bhūmau nipatya
    śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-līlāmṛta-salila-nidhau majjitā yena lokāḥ |
    śrīmac-caitanya-candro’py atiśaya-kṛpayā yatra śaktiṁ prakāśya
    śrīmad-vṛndāvanīyaṁ madhura-rati-rasaṁ darśayāmāsa sarvān ||
    (Bhāvanā-sāra-saṅgraha: Upasaṁhara, 3)

    “Humble in mind,
    I fall to the earth
    And praise the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa,
    By whom the people [of the world] have been immersed
    In the ocean of the nectar of Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa’s līlā,
    And by empowering whom with profuse grace
    Śrīmac Caitanyacandra so also revealed to everyone
    The rasa of the madhura-rati found in Śrīmad Vṛndāvana.”

    Read on →: śrī-rūpasyāṅghri-padmaṁ praṇata-matir ahaṁ naumi bhūmau nipatya

  • pada-kāntyā jita-madano
    mukha-kāntyā khaṇḍita-kamala-maṇi-garvaḥ |
    śrī-rūpāśrita-caraṇaḥ
    kṛpayatu mayi gaura-govindaḥ ||
    (Unknown source; cited in Sādhana-dīpikā: 2)

    “May Gaura Govinda—
    He by the splendor of whose feet
    Madana [i.e., Kāma] is vanquished,
    He by the splendor of whose face
    The pride of lotuses and jewels is crushed,
    He at whose feet Śrī Rūpa has taken shelter—
    Bestow grace upon me.”

    Read on →: pada-kāntyā jita-madano

  • yesāṁ śāstrānugā buddhir na te muhyanti bhārata |
    (Mahābhārata: 1.1.84)

    “[Sañjaya to Dhṛtarāṣṭra:] Those whose intellect (buddhi) is not adherent to śāstra become deluded, O Bhārata.”

    Read on →: yesāṁ śāstrānugā buddhir na te muhyanti bhārata

  • kā vidyā hari-bhaktir eva na punar vedādi-niṣṇātatā
    kīrtiḥ kā bhagavat-paro’yam iti yā khyātir na dānādijā |
    kā śrīḥ tat-priyatā na vai dhana-jana-grāmādi-bhūyiṣṭhatā |
    kiṁ duḥkhaṁ bhagavat-priyasya viraho no hṛd-vraṇādi-vyathā ||8||
    bhagavān: bhadram | ke muktāḥ?
    rāmānandaḥ: pratyāsattir hari-caraṇayoḥ sānurāge na rāge
    prītiḥ premātiśayini harer bhakti-yoge na yoge |
    āsthā tasya praṇaya-rabhasasyopadehe na dehe
    yeṣāṁ te hi prakṛti-sarasā hanta muktā na muktāḥ ||9||
    bhagavān : bhavatu |
    kiṁ geyaṁ vraja-keli-karma kim iha śreyaḥ satāṁ saṅgatiḥ
    kiṁ smartavyam aghāri-nāma kim anudhyeyaṁ murāreḥ padam |
    kva stheyaṁ vraja eva kiṁ śravaṇayor ānandi vṛndāvana-
    krīḍaikā kim upāsyam atra mahasī śrī-kṛṣṇa-rādhābhidhe ||10||
    bhagavān: bhadram |
    (Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭakam: 7.8–10; cited in Alaṅkāra-kaustubha: 8.233–234, 236)

    “Bhagavān: What is knowledge?
    “Rāmānanda: Hari-bhakti alone [is knowledge], and not, rather, expertise in the Vedas and so on.
    “Bhagavān: What is glory?
    “Rāmānanda: The renown, ‘He is devoted to Bhagavān’ [is glory] and not that produced by giving and so on.
    “Bhagavān: What is wealth?
    “Rāmānanda: Fondness for him [i.e., Bhagavān, is wealth], and certainly not an abundance of money, people [i.e., relatives, friends, followers, man-power, or otherwise], villages [i.e., land, property, social influence, etc.] and so on.
    “Bhagavān: What is suffering?
    “Rāmānanda: The separation of one dear to Bhagavān [is suffering], and not the pain of a wound in the heart or otherwise.
    “Bhagavān: Very well. Who is liberated?
    “Rāmānanda: Hanta! Those of rasa-laden disposition [alt., nature] who have close contact with [alt., affinity (āsakti) for] those possessed of loving attachment (anurāga) to Hari’s feet and not [rather close contact with or affinity for] attachment (rāga) [to objects of the senses (viṣaya)], [who] have fondness (prīti) for bhakti-yoga filled with a profusion of prema related to Hari, and not [rather] for yoga [i.e., jñāna-, karma-, or aṣṭāṅga-yoga, etc.], and [who] have conviction in the body suitable for he of fervent love (praṇaya) and not [rather conviction] in the [worldly] body, are liberated, and not [rather] the liberated [i.e., those who think themselves liberated].
    “Bhagavān: Let it be. What is to be sung?
    “Rāmānanda: The acts of play in Vraja.
    “Bhagavān: What is the highest good (śreyas) here [in this world]?
    “Rāmānanda: The association of the sat.
    “Bhagavān: What is to be remembered?
    “Rāmānanda: The name of Agha’s Foe.
    “Bhagavān: What is to be meditated upon?
    “Rāmānanda: The feet of Mura’s Foe.
    “Bhagavān: Where is one to be stationed?
    “Rāmānanda: In Vraja alone.
    “Bhagavān: What is delighting to the ears?
    “Rāmānanda: The play in Vṛndāvana alone.
    “Bhagavān: What is the object to be approached [i.e., worshiped] here?
    “Rāmānanda: The object of worship is the [two-fold] brilliance known as Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā.
    “Bhagavān: Very well.”

    Read on →: kā vidyā hari-bhaktir eva na punar vedādi-niṣṇātatā

  • tāvad gīti-sugadya-padya-racanāḥ kartuṁ spṛhā jāyate
    garvas tāvad aho ahaṁ kavir iti prāyeṇa kharvo na hi |
    śrīmad-rūpa-sanātanānukathanaṁ śrī-jīva-gosvāminaḥ
    śrī-govinda-kaver vicitra-kavitā yāvan na karṇaṁ vrajet ||
    (Ghanaśyāma Dāsa’s Govinda-rati-mañjarī: 1.9)

    “The desire arises to compose
    Songs and fine prose and poetry,
    And aho!
    The pride, ‘I am a poet (kavi)’
    Seldom ever becomes crushed,
    So long as the discourse of Śrīmad Rūpa and Sanātana
    And the extraordinary poetry
    Of Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī and Śrī Govinda Kavi
    Shall not enter the ear!”

    Read on →: tāvad gīti-sugadya-padya-racanāḥ kartuṁ spṛhā jāyate

  • śrīmad-rūpa-padābja-dhūlim alike nityaṁ dadhe yā manāg
    ghrātā hṛn-madhupaṁ mamānayad aho kṛṣṇāṅghri-tṛṣṇāṅghripam |
    yaḥ saṁsāra-mataṅgajāṅga-madirāṁ vyasmārayat svai rasair
    yad-gandhāṇu-lavo’pi karṣati dhṛtottarṣaṁ munīndrān api ||
    (Stavāmṛta-laharī: Nikuñja-keli-virudāvalī: 70)

    “Aho!
    Forever I hold upon my forehead
    The pollen of the lotus feet of Śrīmad Rūpa,
    Which upon being smelled [just] slightly
    Have drawn the bee [lit., nectar-drinker] of my heart
    To the desire-tree of Kṛṣṇa’s feet,
    Which with their own nectars
    Have caused forgetfulness of the rut juice
    Of the elephant of saṁsāra,
    And even a minute trace of the fragrance of which
    Attracts even the best of the sages
    And fills them with intense desire.”

    Read on →: śrīmad-rūpa-padābja-dhūlim alike nityaṁ dadhe yā manāg

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