viṣayābhiniveśena nātmānaṁ yat smaret punaḥ |
jantor vai kasyacid dhetor mṛtyur atyanta-vismṛtiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.22.38)
“Complete non-remembrance as a consequence of some cause on account of which one shall not remember again the [previous] body [one had] as a result of absorption in objects of the senses [while in one’s new body] is [called] death.”
paraṁ bhagavatā sākaṁ sākṣāt-krīḍā-paramparāḥ |
sadānubhavituṁ tair hi vaikuṇṭho’pekṣyate kvacit ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.3.62)
“Vaikuṇṭha is sometimes desired by them [i.e., bhaktas sometimes desire to enter Vaikuṇṭha] only specifically to continuously and directly experience a succession of play with Bhagavān.”
nāradāham idaṁ manye tādṛśānāṁ yataḥ sthitiḥ |
bhavet sa eva vaikuṇṭho loko nātra vicāraṇā ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.3.60)
“O Nārada, this I consider: wherever there is the presence of those who are such [i.e., who are bhaktas of Śrī Bhagavān as described earlier in BB 1.3.55–58], that itself shall be Vaikuṇṭha-loka. There is no [need of] deliberation in this regard [i.e., there is no doubt about it].”
praśastācaraṇaṁ nityam apraśastasya varjanam |
etad dhi maṅgalaṁ proktam ṛṣibhis tattva-darśibhiḥ ||
(Unknown source; cited in the Bhāvārtha-dīpikā and Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.21.42)
“Continuous laudable conduct and avoidance of the unlaudable—this specifically is declared well-being [alt., auspiciousness] (maṅgala) by the sages who are seers of the reality.”
śrīmad-gopāla-mantro’yaṁ naiva kiñcid apekṣate |
hṛn-mātra-spṛk phalaty eva spṛṣṭo hi dahano yathā ||
(Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 17.260)
“This divine Gopāla-mantra does not depend on anything [i.e., any saṁskāra, such as the upanayana, or other means of purification, preparation, etc. (DDT: kiñcit saṁskārādikaṁ)]. Upon touching just the heart, it certainly produces results just as fire does upon being touched.”
dvijānām anupetānāṁ sva-karmādhyayanādiṣu |
yathādhikāro nāstīha syāc copanayanād anu ||
tathātrādīkṣitānāṁ tu mantra-devārcanādiṣu |
nādhikāro’sty ataḥ kuryād ātmānaṁ śiva-saṁstutam ||
(Āgama-śāstra; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 2.3–4)
“As the twice-born [i.e., those of the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, and vaiśya varṇas] who have not been invested with the sacred thread do not have eligibility (adhikāra) for their own rites [e.g., chanting the gāyatrī-mantra and conducting yajñas], study [of the Veda], and so forth, and can [have eligibility] in that regard [only] after the upanayana [-saṁskāra, i.e., only after investiture with the sacred thread, meaning, only after receiving the sāvitra-birth and thus actually becoming twice-born], so those without dīkṣā here [i.e., on the path of bhakti] do not have eligibility for [chanting] mantras, [performing] ritual worship of Deva [i.e., Śrī Bhagavān], and so forth. Therefore, one should make oneself truly praised by Śiva!”
tac chrūtvācintayaṁ brahman vaiśyatve syāt sukhaṁ mahat |
prabhor eṣāṁ ca viprāṇāṁ tad-bhaktānām upāsanāt ||
eṣāṁ yajñaika-niṣṭhānām aikyenāvaśyake nije jape ca |
sad-gurūddiṣṭe māndyaṁ syād dṛṣṭa-sat-phale |
tatas tān anumānyāham anaṅgīkṛtya vipratām |
tatrāvasaṁ svato jāta-prājāpatya-mahāsukhaiḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.2.56–58)
“Hearing that [i.e., the instruction of the great ṛṣis in Maharloka to become a brāhmaṇa and perform worship of the Lord of the universe by means of fire sacrifice (yajña) as is done by these ṛṣis in Maharloka], O brāhmaṇa, I thought, ‘Greater joy shall come about by being a vaiśya [rather than a brāhmaṇa] because of [the] worship [a vaiśya and not a brāhmaṇa can perform] of Prabhu and of these brāhmaṇas [here in Maharloka] who are his bhaktas. Also, slacking in regard to my own japa, which is imperative, which was taught [to me] by a genuine guru, and which has had genuine observable results, shall arise as a result oneness with those of singular fixity upon yajña [i.e., if I were to become one of these brāhmaṇas who engage solely in yajña].’ Therefore, honoring them [i.e., the brāhmaṇas of Maharloka] but not accepting brāhmaṇahood (vipratā), I dwelled there in the great joy manifested of its own accord among the Prajāpatis [i.e., among Bhṛgu and the other sages of Maharloka].”
na me priyaś caturvedī mad-bhaktaḥ śvapacaḥ priyaḥ |
tasmai deyaṁ tato grāhyaṁ sa ca pūjyo yathā hy aham ||
(Itihāsa-samuccaya; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.127; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.19.50, 2.20.58)
“[Śrī Bhagavān:] A caturvedī [i.e., a brāhmaṇa versed in the four Vedas] is not dear to me [if they are not my bhakta]. [Even] A dog-cooker who is my bhakta [however] is dear [to me]. Give [charity, etc.] to him [i.e., such a bhakta] and accept [prasāda, etc.] from him since he is also worshipable as I am.”
śvapākam iva nekṣeta loke vipram avaiṣṇavam |
vaiṣṇavo varṇa-bāhyo’pi punāti bhuvana-trayam ||
na śūdrā bhagavad-bhaktās te tu bhāgavatā matāḥ |
sarva-varṇeṣu te śūdrā ye na bhaktā janārdane ||
(Padma Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.164–165; Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 5.455; Bhakti Sandarbha: 247)
“Like a dog-cooker [is not to be looked at], one should not look at a non-Vaiṣṇava brāhmaṇa in this world. Even a Vaiṣṇava outside the varṇas [i.e., who does not belong to any of the four varṇas] purifies the three worlds. Bhaktas of Bhagavān are not śūdras. Rather, they are accepted as Bhāgavatas [i.e., to belong to Śrī Bhagavān and not to any caste]. Among all the varṇas, they are śūdras who are not bhaktas of Janārdana.”
śūdraṁ vā bhagavad-bhaktaṁ niṣādaṁ śvapacaṁ tathā |
vīkṣate jāti-sāmānyāt sa yāti narakaṁ dhruvam ||
(Itihāsa-samuccaya; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.119; Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 5.455)
“One who sees a bhakta of Bhagavān to be a śūdra, tribesman (niṣāda), or dog-cooker [i.e., outcaste] because of commonality in caste (jāti) certainly goes to Naraka.”
