Jīva Gosvāmī

tat-prema-śarmaṇāṁ

tat-prema-śarmaṇāṁ sarvātiśayi-dharmatāyām aham api marma-vettā, yataḥ—
harir gopa-kṣauṇī-pati-mithunam anye ca vibudhā
na naḥ krūraṁ cittaṁ mṛdulayitum īśā lavam api |
aho teṣāṁ premā vilasati harau yas tu balavān
harer vā yas teṣu drutayati sa eva pratipadam ||
(Gopāla-Campū: Pūrva, 1.81; 64)

“Even I [who have a most hard heart] am able to understand the secret of the super-excellence of the bliss of that prema [found between Śrī Kṛṣṇa and his companions]: Neither Hari, nor the King and Queen of the land of the cowherds [i.e., Nanda and Yaśodā], nor any other wise persons [of Vraja] are able to soften my hard heart even one bit. But aho! The powerful prema they express for Hari and that Hari expresses for them melts my heart at every step.”

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yatra rāgānavāptatvāt

yatra rāgānavāptatvāt pravṛttir upajāyate |
śāsanenaiva śāstrasya sā vaidhī bhaktir ucyate ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.6)

“That bhakti in regard to which the inclination [to enact it] arises only from the śāstra’s ruling because of [that inclination’s] not being acquired from rāga is called vaidhī.”

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kṛti-sādhyā bhavet sādhya

kṛti-sādhyā bhavet sādhya-bhāvā sā sādhanābhidhā |
nitya-siddhasya bhāvasya prākaṭyaṁ hṛdi sādhyatā ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.2)

“[When it is] To be accomplished by activity and that by which bhāva is to be accomplished, that [viz., uttama-bhakti] shall be known as sādhana [-bhakti]. Eternally accomplished bhāva’s manifestation into the heart is [the intended sense of] its being to be accomplished.”

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mad-guṇa-śruti-mātreṇa

mad-guṇa-śruti-mātreṇa mayi sarva-guhāśaye |
mano-gatir avicchinnā yathā gaṅgāmbhaso’mbudhau ||
lakṣaṇaṁ bhakti-yogasya nirguṇasya hy udāhṛtam |
ahaituky avyavahitā yā bhaktiḥ puruṣottame ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.29.11–12; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.13–15; Bhakti Sandarbha: 234)

“‘[Kapiladeva to Devahūti:] Bhakti which is an uninterrupted, causeless, and unobstructed flow of the mind—solely because of hearing my qualities—towards me, the Supreme Person, who dwells in the hearts [lit., “caves”] of all, like [the flow of] the water of the Gaṅgā towards the ocean, is said to be the characteristic of nirguṇa-bhakti-yoga.”

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anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam |
ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.1.11)

“Continuous action for [alt., related to] Kṛṣṇa possessed of favorability that is free from desirousness of anything else and unobstructed by jñāna, karma, and so forth, is uttamā (exalted) bhakti.”

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bhaktir hi svataḥ prabalatvād anya-nirapekṣā

bhaktir hi svataḥ prabalatvād anya-nirapekṣā | na tu jñānādivat samyag vairāgyādi-sāpekṣā |
(Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.15)

“Bhakti, because of its own great power, is independent of others [i.e., is not dependent on the paths of jñāna or karma], and not, rather, dependent on complete vairāgya and so forth like jñāna and so forth [i.e., is not like jñāna and karma dependent, respectively, on vairāgya and eligibility for varṇāśrama-dharma].”

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varaṁ varaya bhadraṁ te

varaṁ varaya bhadraṁ te vareśaṁ mābhivāñchitam |
brahmañ chreyaḥ-pariśrāmaḥ puṁso mad-darśanāvadhiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.9.21)

[Bhagavān:] “O Brahmā! Auspiciousness to you. Request your desired benediction from me, the master [i.e., capable bestower] of [all] benedictions, as a person’s endeavor for well-being culminates in darśana of me.”

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yadā yasyānugṛhṇāti

yadā yam anugṛhṇāti bhagavān ātma-bhāvitaḥ |
sa jahāti matiṁ loke vede ca pariniṣṭhitām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.29.46; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.64; Bhakti Sandarbha: 284; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 11.115)

“[Nārada to Prācīnabarhi:] When Bhagavān, being meditated upon within the heart, favors one, then one abandons resolute regard for the world [i.e., social conventions] and the Veda [i.e., injunctions given in the Vedas].”

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taṁ sukhārādhyam ṛjubhir

taṁ sukhārādhyam ṛjubhir ananya-śaraṇair nṛbhiḥ |
kṛtajñaḥ ko na seveta durārādhyam asādhubhiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.19.36′; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 153)

“What grateful person would not worship he who is easily propitiated by persons who are sincere and of undivided shelter yet difficult to propitiate for the unvirtuous [i.e., those who are the opposite]?”

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bhavān hi kāraṇaṁ tatra

bhavān hi kāraṇaṁ tatra sarva-jño jagad-īśvaraḥ |
anugrahaṁ nigrahaṁ vā manyase tad vidhehi naḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.16.59)

“Because you, the all-knowing Īśvara of the universe, are the cause in this regard [i.e., of one giving up your māyā], please give us mercy or punishment, as you think [fit].”

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