Vṛndāvana Dāsa Ṭhākura

śikṣā-guru īśvarera śikṣā ye nā māne

śikṣā-guru īśvarera śikṣā ye nā māne |
nija-doṣe duḥkha pāya sei saba jane ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 3.2.400)

“All those persons who do not follow the teachings of Īśvara, the śikṣā-guru, undergo suffering as a result of their own fault.”

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bhūmau skhalita-pādānāṁ bhūmir evāvalambanam

bhūmau skhalita-pādānāṁ bhūmir evāvalambanam |
tvayi jātāparādhānāṁ tvam eva śaraṇaṁ prabho ||
(Skanda Purāṇa: 2.2.38.70; cited in Sādhanāmṛta-candrikā: 2.26)

“The ground is the only support for those whose feet have tripped on the ground. [Similarly,] You are the only shelter for those who have committed offense to you, O Master!”

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ye sabhāya vaiṣṇavera nindā-mātra haya

ye sabhāya vaiṣṇavera nindā-mātra haya |
sarva-dharma thākileo tabhu haya kṣaya ||
sannyāsi-sabhāya yadi haya nindā-karma |
madyapero sabhā haite se sabhā adharmya ||
madyapera niṣkṛti āchaye kono kāle |
para-carcakera gati nahe kabhu bhāle ||
śāstra paḍhiyāo kāro kāro buddhi-nāśa |
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 2.13.41–44)

“Even if the totality of dharma is [otherwise] present, still an assembly in which defamation (nindā) of a Vaiṣṇava occurs is ruined. If an act of defamation occurs [even] in an assembly of sannyāsīs, then that assembly is adharmic more so than an assembly of drunkards. There is deliverance for a drunkard some day. A gossiper [however] never has progress on their forehead [i.e., never has a bright future]. Even after studying śāstra, the intelligence of many is ruined [by engaging in defamation].”

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visṛjya smayamānān svān dṛśaṁ vrīḍāṁ ca daihikīm

visṛjya smayamānān svān dṛśaṁ vrīḍāṁ ca daihikīm |
praṇamed daṇḍavad bhūmāv ā-śva-cāṇḍāla-go-kharam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.29.16; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 332; Caitanya-bhāgavata: 3.3.27)

“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Uddhava:] Disregarding the laughing of friends, bodily vision, and embarrassment, one should offer obeisance like a stick on the ground even to dogs, outcasts, cows, and donkeys.”

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anāyāsena maraṇaṁ vinā dainyena jīvanam

anāyāsena maraṇaṁ vinā dainyena jīvanam |
anārādhita-govinda-caraṇasya kathaṁ bhavet ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 1.7.136, 2.1.237)

“How can one by whom Govinda’s feet are not worshiped have a death without distress and a life without destitution?”

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garhito karaye yadi mahā-adhikārī

garhito karaye yadi mahā-adhikārī |
nindāra ki dāya, tā̐re hāsilei mari ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 3.6.35)

“[Śrīman Mahāprabhu:] If a highly qualified person does something forbidden, [then] what [to speak] of the lot of a defamer—if one even laughs at him one is ruined.”

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aninduka ha-i ye sakṛt ‘kṛṣṇa’ bale

aninduka ha-i ye sakṛt ‘kṛṣṇa’ bale |
satya satya kṛṣṇa tāre uddhāriba hele ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 2.9.246)

“Truly truly Kṛṣṇa will deliver with ease anyone who, being a non-defamer, once chants, ‘Kṛṣṇa.’”

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ābrahma-stambādi saba kṛṣṇera vaibhava

ābrahma-stambādi saba kṛṣṇera vaibhava |
‘nindā-mātra kṛṣṇa ruṣṭa’ kahe śāstra saba ||
anindaka ha-i ye sakṛt kṛṣṇa bale |
satya satya kṛṣṇa tāre uddhāriba hele ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 2.20.147–148)

“From Brahmā to a clump of grass and so forth—everything is a manifestation of Kṛṣṇa. [Therefore,] All the śāstras say, ‘Kṛṣṇa becomes angry at any defamation at all.’ Truly, truly, Kṛṣṇa will easily deliver anyone who, being non-defaming, once chants, ‘Kṛṣṇa.’”

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viṣaya thākite kṛṣṇa-prema nāhi haya

viṣaya thākite kṛṣṇa-prema nāhi haya |
viṣayīra dūre kṛṣṇa jāniha niścaya ||
viṣaye āviṣṭa mana baḍai jañjāla |
strī-putra māyā-jāla, ei saba kāla ||
daive kona bhāgyavān sādhu-saṅga pāya |
viṣaye āveśa chāḍi kṛṣṇere bhajaya ||
sei saba aparādha habe punar-bāra |
viṣayera dharma ei śuna kathā-sāra ||
‘viṣaya pāsara ahar-niśa bala hari’ ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 1.16.59–63)

“[Hari Dāsa Ṭhākura to inmates in jail:] “Kṛṣṇa-prema does not manifest in the presence of viṣaya [i.e., objects of the senses and mental inclinations for them]. Know for certain that Kṛṣṇa is far from viṣayīs. A mind absorbed in viṣaya is a great disturbance. Wife and sons are the net of māyā. They are all death [i.e., the bewilderment produced attachment related to them effectively terminates one’s endeavor to transcend the realm of saṁsāra and perpetuates only absorption in worldly ends]. If by destiny some fortunate person attains association with a sādhu, then one gives up absorption in viṣaya and serves Kṛṣṇa. All that offense [i.e., all the offenses in the form of violence towards, and disturbance of, other living beings that you have committed and thus wound up in jail] will happen again [if you do not follow my advice]. This is the nature of viṣaya [i.e., the nature of worldly objects and the mental inclinations they produce, that is, vāsanās, is that they cause one to perpetually engage in the same behaviors]. Listen to the essence of my message …: ‘Forget viṣaya and day and night chant, “Hari!”’”

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yena rūpa matsya-kūrma-ādi avatāra

yena rūpa matsya-kūrma-ādi avatāra |
āvirbhāva-tirobhāva yena tā’-sabāra ||
ei mata bhāgavata kāro kṛta naya |
āvirbhāva tirobhāva āpanei haya ||
bhakti-yoge bhāgavata vyāsera jihvāya |
sphūrti se haila mātra kṛṣṇera kṛpāya ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 3.3.510–512)

“As the forms of all the avatāras beginning with Matsya and Kūrma appear and disappear [i.e., are not created and destroyed], so too the Bhāgavata is not composed by anyone and rather appears and disappears of its own accord. By virtue of bhakti-yoga, the Bhāgavata appeared on Vyāsa’s tongue, and this happened only by Kṛṣṇa’s grace.”

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