īdṛśān aśivān ghorān ācārān iha jājale |
kevalācaritatvāt tu nipuṇo nāvabudhyase ||
kāraṇād dharmam anvicchen na loka-caritaṁ caret |
(Mahābhārata: 12.262.51–2)
[Tulādhāra:] “O Jājali, such inauspicious and dreadful activities exist here [i.e., in this world] only because of their being customary, and not because you consider them proper. One should follow dharma because of reason. One should not [simply] do what is done by people in general.”
kṛṣṇa kene daraśana dibe kali-kāle? |
nija-bhrame mūrkha-loka kare kolāhale ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.18.101)
“[Mahāprabhu to Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya:] Why would Kṛṣṇa give darśana in the Age of Kali? As a result of their own misunderstanding, foolish people make a tumult.”
tabe tāre kahena prabhu cāpaḍa māriyā |
mūrkhera vākye mūrkha hailā paṇḍita ha-iyā ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.18.100)
“Prabhu then slapped him [i.e., Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya, and said], ‘Because of the words of fools, you [too] have become a fool [even] while being a paṇḍita [i.e., although you are learned, you have failed to deliberate on what you have heard and thus acted like a fool].”
cirād āśā-mātraṁ tvayi viracayantaḥ sthira-dhiyo
vidadhyur ye vāsaṁ madhurima-gabhīre madhupure |
dadhānaḥ kaiśore vayasi sakhitāṁ gokula-pate
prapadyethās teṣāṁ paricayam avaśyaṁ nayanayoḥ ||
(Lalita-mādhava-nāṭakam: 10.37)
“[Rādhā to Kṛṣṇa:] O Lord of Gokula, please appear bearing your companionship in your adolescent age [i.e., accompanied by your friends beginning with Śrīdāma in your form of an adolescent flute-player] before the eyes of those of steady mind who have long resided in profoundly sweet Madhupurī [i.e., Mathurā Maṇḍala] desiring only you.”
ambhojinī-vana-vihāra-vilāsam eva
haṁsasya hanti nitarāṁ kupito vidhātā |
na tv asya dugdha-jala-bheda-vidhau prasiddhāṁ
vaidagdhī-kīrtim apahartum asau samarthaḥ ||
(Nīti-śatakam: 18)
“Vidhātā [i.e., Brahmā, or, destiny], [even] when exceedingly angered,
may destroy a swan’s fun
of playing in a cluster of lotuses,
but he cannot destroy
the widely renowned fame
of its skill in separating milk from water.”
haṁsāḥ sārāsāra-viveka-caturāḥ |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.3; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 326)
“Haṁsas [lit., “swans”] are those who are expert in discriminating between the essential and non-essential.”
haṁsaḥ padma-vanaṁ samicchhati yathā nīlāmbudaṁ cātakaḥ
kokaḥ koka-nada-priyaṁ prati-dinaṁ candraṁ cakoras tathā |
ceto vāñchati mām ekaṁ paśupate cinmārga-mṛgyaṁ vibho
gaurīnātha bhavat padābja-yugalaṁ kaivalya-saukhya-pradam ||
(Śaṅkarācārya‘s Śivānanda-laharī: 59)
“As the swan longs for the lotus cluster,
The cātaka for the dark blue cloud,
The cakravāka for the sun,
The cakora for the moon, day after day,
So, my heart hankers only for your lotus feet,
Which are the goal of the spiritual path,
And which grant the joy of kaivalya,
O all-pervading One, O Lord of all beings, O husband of Gaurī!”
tatrāsakti-kṛd anyatra prīti-saṁhāriṇī hy asau |
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.5.28)
“It [i.e., the sthāyi-bhāva known as prīti, that is, dāsya-bhāva] produces attachment to him [i.e., Bhagavān] and completely destroys affection for all else.”
santu ramyāṇi bhūrīṇi prārthyaṁ syād idam eva me |
iti yo nirṇayo dhīrair abhimānaḥ sa ucyate ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 14.19)
“‘Let many pleasing things be [i.e., let me disregard them], and let this alone be desirable to me [i.e., let me desire only this],’—such determination is called abhimāna by the wise.”
avabodhitavān imāṁ yathā
mayi nityāṁ bhavadīyatāṁ svayam |
kṛpayaivam ananya-bhogyatāṁ
bhagavan bhaktim api prayaccha me ||
(Stotra-ratna: 54)
“As you yourself have made known this state of being eternally your own in me, O Bhagavān, so by your grace please also bestow upon me bhakti which has no other enjoyer [than you, i.e., bhakti which is performed solely for your enjoyment].”
