sarvātmakatvena bṛhat-tamatvād bhagavato rūpam eva brahma |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.8.78)
“On account of being the greatest [i.e., the most vast entity] by virtue of being the constitution of all [other entities in existence, i.e., of being the totality of existence], only the form of Bhagavān is [the rightful referent of the word] Brahman.”
atha praṇāma-vidhiḥ
tatraiva—
śiro mat-pādayoḥ kṛtvā bāhubhyāṁ ca parasparam |
prapannaṁ pāhi mām īśa bhītaṁ mṛtyu-grahārṇavāt ||
kiṁ cāgame—
dorbhyāṁ padbhyāṁ ca jānubhyām urasā śirasā dṛśā |
manasā vacasā ceti praṇāmo’ṣṭāṅga īritaḥ ||
jānubhyāṁ caiva bāhubhyāṁ śirasā vacasā dhiyā |
pañcāṅgakaḥ praṇāmaḥ syāt pūjāsu pravarāv imau ||
(Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 8.359–361)
“Now, the procedure for prostration [is explained]: Therein specifically [i.e., in SB 11.27.46, it is explained by Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa], ‘Putting the head before my feet and the arms opposite one another, [one should address the deity], ‘O Lord, please protect me, I who have taken shelter [in you] and am afraid of the ocean inhabited by the shark of death’ [and then offer obeisance].’ Furthermore, in the Āgamas [it is said], ‘An obeisance with the arms, feet, knees, chest, head, sight, mind, and speech is known as aṣṭāṅga [i.e., an obeisance made with eight (aṣṭa) limbs (aṅga)]. An obeisance with the knees, arms, head, speech, and mind is [known as] pañcāṅga [i.e., an obeisance made with five (pañca) limbs (aṅga)]. These two [types of obeisance] are best in offerings of worship.’”
asāre ghora-saṁsāre sāraṁ kṛṣṇa-padārcanam |
(Gautamīya Tantra; cited in Rādhā-Kṛṣṇārcana-dīpikā: 6)
“In essenceless, fearsome saṁsāra, the essence is worship of Kṛṣṇa’s feet.”
śrī-bhāgavata-nidhy-arthā ṭīkā-dṛṣṭir adāyi yaiḥ |
śrīdhara-svāmipādāṁs tān vande bhakty-eka-rakṣakān ||
svāmi-pādair na yad vyaktaṁ yad vyaktaṁ cāsphuṭaṁ kvacit |
tatra tatra ca vijñeyaḥ sandarbhaḥ krama-nāmakaḥ ||
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.1)
“I offer obeisance unto him, Śrīdhara Svāmīpāda, the sole guardian of bhakti, by whom was given the vision of his commentary on the treasure Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. This sandarbha [i.e., treatise on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam] known as Krama [i.e., this Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā] is to be understood [to apply] in regard to what was not explained by Svāmīpāda and sometimes to what was explained unclearly [by him in his Bhāvārtha-dīpikā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam].”
yaḥ kenāpy atibhāgyena jāta-śraddho’sya sevane |
nātisakto na vairāgya-bhāg asyām adhikāry asau ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.14)
“One who by some sort of great fortune is possessed of śraddhā in his [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s] service and is neither excessively attached nor possessed of non-attachment is a bearer of eligibility (adhikārī) for this [i.e., for vaidhī-bhakti].”
viyoge tv adbhutānanda-vivartatvaṁ dadhaty api |
tanoty eṣā pragāḍhārti-bharābhāsatvam ūrjitā ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.5.109)
“In separation [i.e., when a dear one of Kṛṣṇa is separated from him], however, although retaining the nature of being a transformation of astonishing bliss, this powerful [rati] produces the state of a semblance of an abundance of intense distress.”
alaukikī tv iyaṁ kṛṣṇa-ratiḥ sarvādbhutādbhutā |
yoge rasa-viśeṣatvaṁ gacchanty eva hari-priye ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.5.108)
“This otherworldly rati for Kṛṣṇa, an astonishment beyond all [other] astonishments, however, certainly in union [i.e., when a meeting with Kṛṣṇa occurs] reaches the distinctive state of rasa in a dear one of Hari.”
saric-chaila-vanoddeśān mukunda-pada-bhūṣitān |
ākrīḍān īkṣyamāṇānāṁ mano yāti tad-ātmatām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.46.22)
“The mind of those who behold the rivers, hills, forests, spots, and pleasure-grounds decorated by the feet of Mukunda enter a state of absorption in him.”
yo gajendraṁ jhaṣa-grastaṁ dhyāyantaṁ caraṇāmbujam |
krośantīnāṁ kareṇūnāṁ kṛcchrato’mocayad drutam ||
taṁ sukhārādhyam ṛjubhir ananya-śaraṇair nṛbhiḥ |
kṛtajñaḥ ko na seveta durārādhyam asādhubhiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.19.35–36; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 153)
“What grateful person would not worship he who swiftly saved the crying lady elephants’ elephant-king [i.e., Gajendra] from danger while [the elephant-king was] meditating on his lotus feet after being seized by a crocodile, [he] who is easily propitiated by persons who are sincere and of undivided shelter yet difficult to propitiate for the unvirtuous?”
trailokye pṛthivī dhanyā yatra vṛndāvanaṁ purī |
tatrāpi gopikāḥ pārtha tatra rādhābhidhā mama ||
(Ādi Purāṇa; cited in Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.46; Prīti Sandarbha: 109)
“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] In the three worlds, the earth [particularly], where the abode of Vṛndāvana is present, is blessed; therein, furthermore, the gopīs [are blessed], O Pārtha, and therein mine [i.e., the gopī most dear to me] by the name of Rādhā [is (most) blessed].”
