Bhakty-ānanda

jala-sthalaukasaḥ sarve nava-vāri-niṣevayā

jala-sthalaukasaḥ sarve nava-vāri-niṣevayā |
abibhran ruciraṁ rūpaṁ yathā hari-niṣevayā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.20.13)

“All [living beings] dwelling on land and in water bore a bright appearance by partaking of the fresh water [of the monsoon rains] just as [all living beings do] by serving Hari.”

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ekāntino yasya na kañcanārthaṁ

ekāntino yasya na kañcanārthaṁ
vāñchanti ye vai bhagavat-prapannāḥ |
atyadbhutaṁ tac-caritaṁ sumaṅgalaṁ
gāyanta ānanda-samudra-magnāḥ ||
tam akṣaraṁ brahma paraṁ pareśam
avyaktam ādhyātmika-yoga-gamyam |
atīndriyaṁ sūkṣmam ivātidūram
anantam ādyaṁ paripūrṇam īḍe ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.3.20–21; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.193; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.37; Bhakti Sandarbha: 165)

“[Gajendra to Śrī Bhagavān:] I praise him, the Supreme Brahman, the Supreme Īśa—inexhaustible, unmanifest, knowable by means of the yoga related to the Self, beyond the senses, as though minute, very far off, infinite, original, and fully complete—from whom the one-pointed, those who have taken full shelter in Bhagavān and are immersed in an ocean of bliss by singing of his highly astonishing and most auspicious activities, desire no object whatsoever.”

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naikātmatāṁ me spṛhayanti kecin

naikātmatāṁ me spṛhayanti kecin
mat-pāda-sevābhiratā mad-īhāḥ |
ye’nyonyato bhāgavatāḥ prasajya
sabhājayante mama pauruṣāṇi ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.25.34; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.440; Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.43 ; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.27; Bhakti Sandarbha: 340; Prīti Sandarbha: 21, 51, 73)

“Some bhāgavatas, who are deeply engaged in service to my feet, whose actions are for me, and who devoutly honor my feats, do not covet oneness with me.”

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sā śraddadhānasya vivardhamānā

sā śraddadhānasya vivardhamānā
viraktim anyatra karoti puṁsaḥ |
hareḥ padānusmṛti-nirvṛtasya
samasta-duḥkhāpyayam āśu dhatte ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.5.13)

“That [i.e., inclination (mati), meaning, taste, for discussion of Hari], upon flourishing, produces disinterest for all else in a person endowed with śraddhā. The dissolution of all suffering of one who is delighted by continuous remembrance of Hari’s feet is quickly effected.”

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jayati nija-padābja-prema-dānāvatīrṇo

jayati nija-padābja-prema-dānāvatīrṇo
vividha-madhurimābdhiḥ ko’pi kaiśora-gandhiḥ |
gata-parama-daśāntaṁ yasya caitanya-rūpād
anubhava-padam āptaṁ prema gopīṣu nityam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.1)

“Someone—

Who descended to bestow prema

For his own lotus feet,

Who is an ocean

Of various sweetnesses,

Who is fragrant with adolescence,

And whose everlasting prema for the gopīs,

Having attained the ultimate limit

Of the highest state,

Has reached the position of experience [for others]

Because of his form of Caitanya—triumphs!”

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yadavadhi mama cetaḥ kṛṣṇa-pādāravinde

yadavadhi mama cetaḥ kṛṣṇa-pādāravinde
nava-nava-rasa-dhāmany udyataṁ rantum āsīt |
tadavadhi bata nārī-saṅgame smaryamāne
bhavati mukha-vikāraḥ suṣṭhu niṣṭhīvanaṁ ca ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.5.72)

“Ever since my mind began to delight in the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, the abode of newer and newer rasa, oh, whenever remembrance of [past] association with women occurs, my face recoils sharply and I spit.”

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bhaktir yā nikhilārtha-varga-jananī yā brahma-sākṣātkṛter

bhaktir yā nikhilārtha-varga-jananī yā brahma-sākṣātkṛter
ānandātiśaya-pradā viṣayajāt saukhyād vimuktir yayā |
śrī-rādhā-ramaṇaṁ padāmbuja-yugaṁ yasyā mahān-āśrayo
yā kāryā vraja-lokavat gurutara-premnaiva tasyai namaḥ ||
(Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.1.1)

“Obeisance unto her, Bhakti [Devī],

Who is the mother of all goals

[i.e., the cause of attaining all the puruṣārthas],

Who is the bestower of bliss

Surpassing [that of] Brahman realization,

By whom complete liberation from pleasure

Produced by the sense objects is attained,

Whose principal shelter

Is the two lotus feet of Śrī Rādhā Ramaṇa,

And who is to be performed with very strong prema

Like the people of Vraja.”

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parama-sāra-bhūtāyā api svarūpa-śakteḥ sāra-bhūtā hlādinī

parama-sāra-bhūtāyā api svarūpa-śakteḥ sāra-bhūtā hlādinī nāma yā vṛttiḥ, tasyā eva sāra-bhūto vṛtti-viśeṣo bhaktiḥ, sā ca raty-apara-paryāyā bhaktir bhagavati bhakte ca nikṣipta-nijobhaya-koṭiḥ sarvadā tiṣṭhati | ata evoktaṁ bhagavān bhakta-bhaktimān iti | tasmād bhaktasthayā tayā bhagavatas tṛptau, na svatas tṛptitā-hāniḥ | pratyuta śaktitvena svarūpato bhinnābhinnāyā api tasyāḥ, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham iti nyāyena bhakta-citta-sphuritāyā bheda-vṛtter iva sphuraṇāt, bhagavato māṁ hlādayaty asya bhaktir iti, ānanda-camatkārātiśayaś ca bhavati |
(Excerpt from Paramātma Sandarbha: 93)

“The particular vṛtti existent as the essence of the vṛtti which is named hlādinī and existent as the essence of [Bhagavān’s] svarūpa-śakti, which itself is existent as the supreme essence [of all of existence] is [called] bhakti [i.e., the most essential vṛtti of the hlādinī-vṛtti of the svarūpa-śakti is called bhakti], and that bhakti, a synonym of which is rati, dwells forever in Bhagavān and the bhakta, itself cast into both domains [i.e., into these two entities of distinct nature, namely, Bhagavān and his bhakta]. Therefore, it is said [in SB 10.86.59], ‘Bhagavān is he who possesses bhakti for his bhaktas.’ Thus, when Bhagavān’s satisfaction occurs because of that [i.e., bhakti] situated in his bhakta [i.e., because of something located outside of himself], there is no loss of his being self-satisfied. On the contrary, because of its [i.e., bhakti’s] manifesting [only] like a distinct vṛtti as a result of its manifesting in the heart of bhakta as per the reasoning [based on Śrī Bhagavān’s statement in BG 4.11], ‘As they approach me, so exactly I reciprocate with them,’ on account of its being both different and non-different from his [i.e., Bhagavān’s] svarūpa (nature) by virtue of [its] being his śakti, it also becomes a tremendous bliss and wonder for Bhagavān, such that [he feels], ‘His [i.e., my bhakta’s] bhakti delights me.’”

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yasmād evaṁ sarvānandātikrama-liṅgena paramānanda-svarūpāsau

yasmād evaṁ sarvānandātikrama-liṅgena paramānanda-svarūpāsau bhaktis tasmāt tatra svabhāvata eva pravṛttir guṇaḥ, tathābhūtām api tan-mādhurīṁ svadoṣeṇānubhavitum asamarthānāṁ tu kevala-vidhi-niṣedha-sambhava-guṇa-doṣa-dṛṣṭyaiva pravṛttir api pūrvāpekṣayā doṣa eva |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 177)

“Since, in this way, with the characteristic of surpassing all [other types of] bliss, bhakti is by nature the supreme bliss, engagement in it altogether naturally [i.e., solely out of natural disposition] is a virtue (guṇa), whereas even the engagement [in it], although it is such, solely out of consideration of the merits and demerits (guṇas and doṣas) brought about only by injunctions and prohibitions [related to engagement and non-engagement in it] of those who are unable to experience its sweetness because of their own faults [e.g., an absence of awareness of Bhagavān, desires unrelated to Bhagavān, or aparādhā against Bhagavān] is verily a fault (doṣa) in comparison to the former [i.e. in comparison to engagement in bhakti naturally].”

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eka-kṣaṇa prabhura yadi pāiye darśana

eka-kṣaṇa prabhura yadi pāiye darśana |
koṭi-cintāmaṇi-lābha nahe tāra sama ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.9.95)

“If I could have darśana of Prabhu [i.e., Śrīman Mahāprabhu] for one moment, then the attainment of a crore of thought-jewels would not equal that.”

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