mano-madhye sthito mantro mantra-madhye sthitaṁ manaḥ |
mano-mantraṁ samāyuktam etad dhi japa-lakṣaṇam ||
(Dhyānacandra Gosvāmī’s Gaura-Govindārcana-smaraṇa-paddhatiḥ: 64)
“The mantra is fixed in the mind.
The mind is fixed in the mantra.
The mind and mantra aptly united—
This indeed is the characteristic of [successful] japa.”
smerāṁ śrī-kuṅkumābhāṁ sphurad-aruṇa-paṭa-prānta-kḷptāvaguṇṭhāṁ
ramyāṁ veśena veṇī-kṛta-cikura-śikhālambi-padmāṁ kiśorīm |
tarjjany-aṅguṣṭha-yuktyā hari-mukha-kamale yuñjatīṁ nāgavallī-
parṇaṁ karṇāyatākṣīṁ tri-jagati madhurāṁ rādhikām arcayāmi ||
(Gaurī Tantra; cited in the Gaura-Govindārcana-smaraṇa-paddhati of Gopāla Guru Gosvāmī and Dhyānacandra Gosvāmī)
“Gently smiling,
Bright with beautiful kumkum,
Veiled by the edge of her lustrous, red silken garment,
Delightful in appearance,
A lotus dangling from the peak of her braided hair,
Adolescent,
Placing a betel leaf in the lotus mouth of Hari
With her forefinger and thumb,
Her eyes extending to her ears
[i.e., her lotus eyes so wide so as to almost extend to her ears],
Charming the three worlds—
Śrī Rādhikā—
I worship.”
ekasmin vāsanā-dehe yadi cānyasya bhāvanā |
tarhi tat-sāmyam eva syād yathā vai bharate nṛpe ||
(Bhakti-tattva-kaumudī; cited in Gaura-Govindārcana-smaraṇa-paddhati (149) of Gopāla Guru Gosvāmī and Dhyānacandra Govsāmī (152))
“If thought of another [body] occurs while in one cognitional body, then likeness with that specifically shall occur [i.e., then one will attain a body like the one that was thought of], as in the case of King Bharata [who attained the body of a deer after being prolongedly absorbed in thought of a deer he had taken into his care].”
hariṁ surāga-mārgeṇa sevate yo narottamaḥ |
kevalenaiva sa tadā gopikātvam iyād vraje ||
(Attributed to Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmīpāda in Aṣṭa-kālīya-līlā-smaraṇa-paddhati (148) of Gopāla Guru Gosvāmī and Dhyānacandra Govsāmī (151))
“An exalted human being who worships Hari by means of the excellent path of rāga [i.e., the path of rāgānugā-bhakti-sādhana] alone then attains the state of being a gopikā in Vraja.”
kṛpā-marandānvita-pāda-paṅkajaṁ
śvetāmbaraṁ gaura-ruciṁ sanātanam |
śandaṁ sumālyābharaṇaṁ guṇālayaṁ
smarāmi sad-bhaktimayaṁ guruṁ harim ||
(Yāmala; cited in Gaura-govindārcana-smaraṇa-paddhati: 1.15; Sādhanāmṛta-candrikā: 1.2)
“The eternal, beneficent abode of virtue filled with pure bhakti and possessed of lotus feet replete the nectar of grace, white cloth, golden luster, and the adornment of a fine garland—I meditate upon the guru, [who is] Hari.”
vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca |
patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ ||
(Unknown source; cited in Sādhanāmṛta-candrikā: 1.38)
“Unto the desire-fulfilling trees,
Unto the oceans of grace,
Unto the purifiers of the fallen,
Unto the Vaiṣṇavas—
Obeisance and obeisance.”
śrīman-mauktika-dāma-baddha-cikuraṁ susmera-candrānanaṁ
śrīkhaṇḍāguru-cāru-citra-vasanaṁ srag-divya-bhūṣāñcitam |
nṛtyāveśa-rasānumoda-madhuraṁ kandarpa-veśojjvalaṁ
caitanyaṁ kanaka-dyutiṁ nija-janaiḥ saṁsevyamānaṁ bhaje ||
(Gaura-govindārcana-paddhati: 49; cited in Sādhanāmṛta-candrikā: 2.11)
“His hair bound with beautiful strings of pearls,
An excellent smile on his moon face,
Adorned with sandalwood paste, aguru, and charming, wondrous garments,
Bedecked with garlands and shining ornaments,
Mellifluous with delight
Ensuing from the rasa of absorption in dance,
And radiant in appearance more so than Kāmadeva—
I worship Śrī Caitanya of golden luster
As he is served by his personal associates.”
ye caitanya-padāravinda-madhupāḥ sat-prema-bhūṣojjvalāḥ
śuddha-svarṇa-ruco dṛg-ambu-pulaka-svedaiḥ sad-aṅga-śriyaḥ |
sevopāyana-pāṇayaḥ smita-mukhāḥ śuklāmbarāḥ sad-varāḥ
śrīvāsādi-mahāśayān sukha-mayān dhyāyema tān pārṣadān ||
(Gaura-govinda-smaraṇa-paddhati: 1.53; cited in Sādhanāmṛta-candrikā: 2.13)
“Bees [lit., nectar-drinkers] in the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya,
Radiant with the ornaments of true prema,
Their lusters pure gold,
Their fine figures adorned with tears, horripilation, and perspiration,
Their hands filled with service offerings,
Their faces smiling,
And their garments white—
We meditate upon them,
The best of the sādhus,
The great souls led by Śrīvāsa,
The joyful associates [of Śrī Gaurāṅga].”
gadādhara namas tubhyaṁ yasya gaurāṅgo jīvanam |
(Gaura-govindārcana-smaraṇa-paddhati: 23)
“O Gadādhara, obeisance unto you, whose life is Gaurāṅga.”
kāruṇyaika-maranda-padma-caraṇaṁ caitanyacandra-dyutiṁ
tāmbūlārpaṇa-bhaṅgi-dakṣiṇa-karaṁ śvetāmbaraṁ sad-varam |
premānanda-tanuṁ sudhā-smita-mukhaṁ śrī-gauracandrekṣaṇaṁ
dhyāyec chrīla-gadādharaṁ dvija-varaṁ mādhurya-bhūṣojjvalam ||
(Gaura-Govindārcana-smaraṇa-paddhati: 52; cited in Sādhanāmṛta-candrikā: 2.14)
“The lotus of his feet filled solely with the nectar of compassion,
His luster like that of the moon Śrī Caitanya,
His right hand bent over offering pan,
His cloth white,
The best of the sādhus,
An embodiment of the bliss of prema,
His smiling face like nectar,
His glance fixed upon the moon Śrī Gaura—
Meditate on Śrīla Gadādhara,
The best of the twice-born,
Radiant with the adornment of mādhurya.”
