vapur-ādiṣu yo’pi ko’pi vā
guṇato’sāni yathā-tathā-vidhaḥ |
tad ayaṁ tava pāda-padmayor
aham adyaiva mayā samarpitaḥ ||
(Stotra-ratna: 52; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.196)
“Whoever I may be inside the body and so forth, and of whatever sort [I may be in terms of body and so forth] according to the guṇas—today as such this ‘I’ is offered by me at your lotus feet.”
na pārameṣṭhyaṁ na mahendra-dhiṣṇyaṁ
na sārvabhaumaṁ na rasādhipatyam |
na yoga-siddhīr apunar-bhavaṁ vā
mayy arpitātmecchati mad vinānyat ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.14; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.580; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.42; Bhakti Sandarbha: 132, 168; Prīti Sandarbha: 23)
[Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Uddhava:] “One who has offered oneself to me desires neither the post of Brahmā, nor the abode of Indra, nor dominion over the entire earth, nor reign over Pātāla, nor the siddhis of yoga, nor non-repetition of birth [i.e., mokṣa], nor anything else apart from me.”
na nāka-pṛṣṭhaṁ na ca sārvabhaumaṁ
na pārameṣṭhyaṁ na rasādhipatyam |
na yoga-siddhīr apunar-bhavaṁ vā
vāñchanti yat-pāda-rajaḥ-prapannāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.16.37; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.669; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.39; Prīti Sandarbha: 24)
[The nāga-patnīs to Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] “Those who have taken shelter in the dust of your feet desire neither the domain of Dhruva, nor dominion over the entire earth, nor the post of Brahmā, nor reign over Pātāla, nor the siddhis of yoga, nor even non-repetition of birth [i.e., mokṣa].”
śruti-ratna-vibhūṣaṇa-ruci-jita-pūṣaṇam alidūṣaṇa-nayanānta-gatiṁ
yamunā-taṭa-talpita-puṣpam analpita-mada-jalpita-dayitāpta-ratim |
vandemahi vandita-nandam amandita-kulam andhita-khala-kaṁsa-matiṁ
tvām iha dāmodara haladhara-sodara hara no daram anubaddha-ratim ||
(Stava-mālā: Tribhaṅgī-pañcakam, 5)
“Unto you whose jeweled earrings have conquered the splendor of the sun, you whose sidelong glances belittle black bees, you who lie on a bed of flowers on the bank of the Yamunā, you who become delighted by the plentiful proud words of your beloved, you by whom Nanda is venerated, you who are of a prominent family, you who blinded the mind of wicked Kaṁsa, you who are bound by rati [to your bhaktas]—we offer obeisance. O Dāmodara! O Brother of Haladhara [i.e., O Kṛṣṇa, brother of Balarāma]! Please remove our fear here [i.e., our fear related to saṁsāra].”
tās tu vṛndāvaneśvaryāḥ sakhyaḥ pañca-vidhā matāḥ |
sakhyaś ca nitya-sakhyaś ca prāṇa-sakhyaś ca kāścana |
priya-sakhyaś ca parama-preṣṭha-sakhyaś ca viśrutāḥ ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 4.50)
“The sakhīs of Vṛndāvaneśvarī [i.e., Śrī Rādhā] are considered to be of five types. They are known as sakhīs, nitya-sakhīs, prāṇa-sakhīs, priya-sakhīs, and parama-preṣṭha-sakhīs.”
tulayāma lavenāpi na svargaṁ nāpunar-bhavam |
bhagavat-saṅgi-saṅgasya martyānāṁ kim utāśiṣaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.18.13 and 4.30.34; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.284, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.228; Bhakti Sandarbha: 134, 247; Prīti Sandarbha: 31, 112)
[The sages at Naimiṣāraṇya to Sūta Gosvāmī and the Pracetās to Bhagavān:] “We cannot equate Svarga or non-repetition of birth, much less benedictions had by human beings, with even an instant of association with those who are attached to Bhagavān.”
aprekṣya klamam ātmano vidadhati prītyā pareṣāṁ priyaṁ
lajjante dūritodyamād iva nija-stotrānubandhād api |
vidyā-vitta-kulādibhiś ca yad amī yānti kramān namratāṁ
ramyā kāpi satām iyaṁ vijayate naisargikī prakriyā ||
(Vidagdha-mādhava-nāṭaka: 1.11)
“Not considering their own fatigue, they lovingly please others. They feel ashamed as a result of [hearing] their own praise just as others do so as a result of commiting a sin. As far as they become endowed with knowledge, wealth, nobility, and so forth, so also they become humble. This extraordinary, delightful, and natural conduct of the sat [i.e., of sādhus] triumphs.”
smartavyaṁ satataṁ viṣṇor vismartavyo na jātucit |
sarve vidhi-niṣedhāḥ syur etayor eva kiṅkarāḥ ||
(Padma Purāṇa; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.8; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.113)
“Viṣṇu is to be remembered always and is never to be forgotten. All injunctions and prohibitions should be servants of these two [principles].”
rāgānugāmi-bhajanollāsa-mānasānāṁ
śrī-rādhayā saha sadā smaratāṁ vrajendum |
śrī-rūpa-pāda-kamalāśrita-cetasāṁ me
cittaṁ satāṁ madhukarīyatu pāda-padme ||
(Mukunda Dāsa Gosvāmī in his Artha-ratnālpa-dīpikā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.1.1)
“May my mind become a bee [lit., “a nectar-gatherer”] in the lotuses of the feet of the sādhus whose minds are filled with the joy of rāgānugā-bhajana, who are ever-engaged in remembrance of the Moon of Vraja [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa] with Śrī Rādhā, and whose hearts are sheltered at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa.”
śrī-rūpa-mañjarī kuryād atulāṁ karuṇāṁ mayi |
vṛṣabhānu-sutā-pāda-padma-prāptir yayā bhavet ||
(Sādhana-dīpikā: 8)
“May Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī bestow upon me [her] unparalleled compassion, by which attainment of the lotus feet of Vṛṣabhānu’s daughter shall [certainly] occur.”
