manaḥ-saṁharaṇaṁ śaucaṁ maunaṁ mantrārtha-cintanam |
avyagratvam anirvedo japa-sampatti-hetavaḥ ||
(Mantrārṇava; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 17.129)
“Retraction of the mind [from objects of the senses], purity, silence, contemplation of the mantra’s meaning, non-agitation [i.e., steadiness], and non-dejection [i.e., perseverance, sustained enthusiasm] are causes of success in japa.”
āraṇya-veśo vicalat-kadamba-
mālāvataṁsāmbara-bārha-mauliḥ |
saurabhya-saṁvāsita-dik-taṭānto
līlā-smita-śrī-vikasan-mukhābjaḥ ||
kṛpāvalokollasad-īkṣaṇāmbujo
vicitra-saundarya-bharaika-bhūṣaṇaḥ |
go-dhūlikālaṅkṛta-cañcalālaka-
śreṇy-āvṛti-vyagra-karāmbujāṅguliḥ ||
dharā-tala-śrī-bhara-dāna-hetunā
bhūmi-spṛśor nṛtya-vilāsa-gāminoḥ |
sujātayoḥ śrī-pada-padmayor javad-
uccālanollāsa-bharair manoharaḥ ||
kaiśora-mādhurya-bharollasac-chrī-
gātrābhra-kānty-ujjvalitākhilāśaḥ |
tatratya-nitya-priya-loka-citta-
grāhyādbhutāneka-mahattva-sindhuḥ ||
sva-dīna-loka-priyatā-niyantrito
balād athotplutya samīpam āgataḥ |
tad-īkṣaṇa-prema-vimohitaṁ hi māṁ
gale gṛhitvā sahasāpatad bhuvi ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.56–60)
“With forest garb,
Kadamba garland, earrings, and peacock feather crest swaying,
The extremes of the directions
Fully scented with his fragrance,
Lotus face blossoming
With the splendor of a mild, playful smile,
Lotus eyes beaming with a glance of grace,
An abundance of variegated beauty
As his preeminent ornament,
The fingers of his lotus hand eagerly engaged
In retaining his locks
That had become decorated
With the dust raised by the cows,
Captivating the heart
With abundances of elation—
The high steps of his superb, blessed lotus feet
Moving with the joviality of dance
And touching the earth
For the sake of granting an abundance of blessedness
Upon the earth’s surface—
All directions illuminated
By the cloud-like luster of his blessed figure
Shining with an abundance of the sweetness of adolescence,
An ocean of numerous, astonishing greatnesses
Constantly perceptible to the minds
Of his dear ones present there [i.e., in Goloka],
And controlled by his fondness [i.e., prema]
For this humble person of his own [i.e., me (Gopa Kumāra)],
He then,
Forcibly jumping,
Came near me—
I who was overwhelmed with prema
Just by the sight of him—
Grabbed hold of my neck,
And suddenly [i.e., unintentionally] fell to the ground.”
bhaktā bhagavato ye tu sakāmāḥ svecchayākhilān |
bhuñjānāḥ sukha-bhogāṁs te viśuddhā yānti tat-padam ||
vaikuṇṭhaṁ durlabhaṁ muktaiḥ sāndrānanda-cid-ātmakam |
niṣkāmā ye tu tad-bhaktā labhante sadya eva tat ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.1.13–14)
“Those desirous (sakāma) bhaktas of Bhagavān, however, who remain pure [even] while partaking by their own wish of all pleasant objects of experience, [eventually] attain his abode. Bhaktas of his who are desireless (niṣkāma), however, quickly attain that [abode,] Vaikuṇtha, constituted of intense bliss and consciousness, [which is] difficult to attain [even] for muktas.”
tadīya-nāmehita-gāna-tatparā
vicitra-veśāmbara-kānti-bhūṣitāḥ |
ramātisaubhagya-mada-prahārikā
javena kṛṣṇā-taṭam āśrayanta tāḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.53)
“Absorbed in singing his names and of his acts,
Adorned with extraordinary ornaments, garments, and embellishments,
And demolishing Ramā’s pride in her great beauty,
They swiftly converged on the bank of the Yamunā.”
gavāṁ hāmbā-rāvaiḥ sulalitataraṁ moha-muralī-
kalaṁ līlā-gīta-svara-madhura-rāgeṇa kalitam |
jagad-vailakṣaṇyācita-vividha-bhaṅgi-vilasitaṁ
vrajasthānāṁ teṣāṁ sapadi paramākarṣa-valitam ||
yasmāt sasrus taru-vitatito dīrgha-dhārā rasānāṁ
ghoṣa-sthānām api tanu-bhṛtāṁ netrato’śru-pravāhaḥ |
tan-mātṝṇām api vivayasāṁ kṣīra-pūraḥ stanebhyaḥ
kālindyāś ca pracala-payasāṁ te nyavartanta vegāḥ ||
na jāne sā vaṁśy udgirati garalaṁ vāmṛta-rasaṁ
na jāne tan-nādo’py aśaṇi-paruṣo vāmbu-mṛdulaḥ |
na jāne cātyuṣṇo jvalita-dahanād vendu-śiśiro
yato jātonmādā mumuhur akhilās te vraja-janāḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.46–48)
“[I heard] The soft sound of an enchanting flute,
Greatly delightful [as it blended] with the sounds of the mooing of cows,
Furnished with sweet melodies (rāgas) of sportively sung notes,
Embellished with various modalities [i.e., manners of modulation, etc.]
Filled with otherworldliness,
And instantly possessed
Of paramount attraction of those residents of Vraja.^
Because of it,
Long streams of sap
Poured out from clusters of trees,
Streams of tears [poured out] from the eyes
Of all embodied beings—
Even those situated [at a distance] in the village,
Streams of milk [poured out] from the breasts
Of all his [i.e., Kṛṣṇa’s] mothers—
Even the elderly,
And the rapids
Of the Kālindī’s swiftly flowing waters
Reverted.
I do not know
Whether that flute
Emits poison or nectar.
I do not know
Whether even the sound of it
Is as harsh as thunder
Or as soft as water.
And I do not know
Whether it is hotter than a blazing fire
Or cooler than the moon;
All those people of Vraja
Became maddened and bewildered by it.”
kṛṣṇa-bhakti-sudhā-pānād deha-daihika-vismṛteḥ |
teṣāṁ bhautika-dehe’pi sac-cid-ānanda-rūpatā ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.3.61)
“On account of non-remembrance of the body and the bodily as a result of drinking the nectar of bhakti to Kṛṣṇa, their having a form [constituted] of eternal being, consciousness, and bliss can come about even [when they are] in a body [made] of the [material] elements.”
te ca sarve janāḥ pūrva-dṛṣṭa-sarva-vilakṣaṇāḥ |
kenāpi hṛta-hṛd-vittās tad-bhāva-vyākulā iva ||
teṣāṁ darśana-mātreṇa tādṛśaṁ bhāvam āpnuvan |
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.23–24)
“[Gopa Kumāra describes his experience of first entering Goloka:] All those people [in Goloka], furthermore, were different from everyone I had seen before [elsewhere]. They were as though they had had the wealth of their hearts stolen by someone and were overcome by bhāva for him [i.e., for he who had stolen their hearts]. Just by the sight of them, I acquired a similar bhāva.”
bhaume cāsmin sapadi mathurā-maṇḍale yāna-mātrāt
sidhyeyus tāḥ sakala-samaye yasya kasyāpi naiva |
kintv etasya priya-jana-kṛpā-pūrataḥ kasyacit syus
tad bho mātaś cinu pada-rajas tat-padaika-priyāṇām ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.76)
“Those [various delightful līlās of Madana Gopāla] certainly cannot be attained by anyone at all times just by suddenly going to the district of Mathurā on this earth [i.e., only during the time of the descent of the blessed Lord of Goloka to the district of Mathurā on earth can someone simply arrive there suddenly and perceive his delightful līlās by his grace]. [At all other times,] Rather, those can be had by someone [only] as a result of a flood of grace from a person dear to him [as in the case of Janaśarmā receiving the grace of Sarūpa (Gopa Kumāra)]. Therefore, O Mother, gather dust from the feet of those to whom only his feet are dear [i.e., gather dust from the feet of his bhaktas who hold Kṛṣṇa-bhakti alone and not mokṣa or anything else dear].”
sarve nityāḥ śāśvatāś ca dehās tasya parātmanaḥ |
hānopādāna-rahitā naiva prakṛtijāḥ kvacit ||
paramānanda-sandohā jñāna-mātrāś ca sarvataḥ |
sarve sarva-guṇaiḥ pūrṇā sarva-doṣa-vivarjitāḥ ||
(Mahāvarāha Purāṇa; cited in the Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.4.160; Bhagavat Sandarbha; Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.3.28)
“All the bodies of him, the Supreme Self, are ever-present, ever-lasting, without acquisition and elimination, and never born of material energy (prakṛti). They all are possessed of the totality of the highest bliss, consciousness alone [in constitution] all throughout, replete with all qualities, and completely free from all faults.”
tatraiva sādhanaṁ satyaṁ sādhu sampadyate’cirāt |
vaikuṇṭhopari vibhrājac chrīmad-goloka-yāpakam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.253)
“[Śrī Nārada to Gopa Kumāra:] Truly, there alone [i.e., only in the land of Vraja within the district of Mathurā], the sādhana that is a cause of attainment of blessed Goloka above Vaikuṇṭha is aptly accomplished without delay.”
