kṛṣṇa-kṛpā vine nahe duḥkhera mocana |
thākila vā vidyā kula koṭi koṭi dhana ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 1.7.138)
“Without Kṛṣṇa’s grace, deliverance from suffering does not occur, even if one has learning, nobility, or crores and crores of wealth.”
yair etat paripīyate hṛdi lasat tṛṣṇātirekān muhur
brahmādyair api durgamaṁ vraja-vidhor līlāmṛtaṁ rādhayā |
vṛndāraṇya-vilāsinī-kumudinī-vṛndasya bandhur vraje
kāruṇyād acireṇa vāñchita-tamaṁ teṣāṁ tanotu svayam ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 23.96)
[Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī confers a blessing upon readers of Govinda-līlāmṛta at the end of the text and thereby illustrates the ultimate aim and result of relishing the text:]
“May the Friend of the lilies
Of the charming women
In the forest of Vṛndā in Vraja
[viz., Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Beloved of the lily-like gopīs],
Out of compassion,
Personally,
And without delay,
Bestow that which is desired most [i.e., prema-sevā]
Upon those by whom this līlāmṛta
[i.e., this text Govinda-līlāmṛta,
And alt., this nectar of the līlā]
Of [himself] the Moon of Vraja with Rādhā
Is continuously imbibed in full
Out of an abundance of thirst
Rollicking in the heart
Although [such līlāmṛta is] inaccessible even to Brahmā and others.”
aho kṛṣṇa-rasāviṣṭaḥ sadā nāmāni kīrtayet |
kṛṣṇasya tat-priyāṇāñ ca bhaiṣmyādīnāṁ gurur mama ||
gopīnāṁ vitatādbhuta-sphuṭatara-premānalārciśchaṭā-
dagdhānāṁ kila nāma-kīrtana-kṛtāt tāsāṁ viśeṣāt smṛteḥ |
tat-tīkṣṇa-jvalanocchikhāgra-kaṇikāsparśena sadyo mahā-
vaikalyaṁ sa bhajan kadāpi na mukhe nāmāni kartuṁ prabhuḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.7.157–158)
“Aho! My guru [i.e., Śukadeva Gosvāmī], absorbed in Kṛṣṇa-rasa, can continuously chant the names of Kṛṣṇa and his dear ones beginning with Rukmiṇī. [My] Prabhu [however] can never pronounce with his mouth the names of the gopīs, who are burned by the myriad of flames of the fire of their profuse, astonishing, full-blown prema because he immediately becomes greatly overwhelmed by the touch of the sparks from the tips of the high flames of that searing fire by performing kīrtan of their names and thus remembering them in particular.”
tāsāṁ nāthaṁ ballavīnāṁ sametaṁ
tābhiḥ premṇā saṁśrayantī yathoktam |
mātaḥ satyaṁ tat-prasādān mahattvaṁ
tāsāṁ jñātuṁ śakṣyasi tvaṁ ca kiñcit ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.7.159)
“By taking full shelter with prema [i.e., by becoming fully absorbed in sevā with prema] of the gopīs and their Nātha together with them as described [i.e., without transgressing the rules regarding upāsanā described in śāstra], I promise that you too will be able to understand something of their [i.e., the gopīs’] greatness by their [i.e., the gopīs’ and their Nātha’s] grace [i.e., even though their greatness is indescribable].”
atha ayauthikyaḥ—
tad-bhāva-baddha-rāgā ye janās te sādhane ratāḥ |
tad-yogyam anurāgaughaṁ prāpyotkaṇṭhānusārataḥ ||
tā ekaśo’thavā dvi-trāḥ kāle kāle vraje’bhavan |
prācīnāś ca navāś ca syur ayauthikyas tato dvidhā |
nitya-priyābhiḥ sālokyaṁ prācīnāś ciram āgatāḥ |
vraje jātā navās tv etā martyāmartyādi-yonitaḥ ||
(Ujjvala-nīlāmaṇī: 3.49; cited in Rāga-vartma-candrikā: 2.7)
“Those persons possessed of rāga [i.e., strong affinity] for that bhāva [i.e., the gopīs’ paroḍhā-bhāva] who engaged in sādhana and upon attaining in accord with their [level of] eagerness an abundance of anurāga [i.e., ardor] befitting that [i.e., that gopī-bhāva] took birth one by one or in twos and threes from time to time in Vraja are [known as] ayauthikyas [i.e., those who engaged in a sādhana and attained siddhi outside of a fixed group]. Ayauthikyas can be of two types: ancient and new. The ancient attained co-residence with the eternal beloveds [of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in his eternal dhāma] long ago [i.e., during previous kalpas], while the new have taken birth in Vraja after being born as mortals, immortals, and so on [i.e., as human beings, devas, animals, and so forth during the present kalpa].”
ṛṣibhir bahvo loke panthānaḥ prakaṭī kṛtaḥ |
śrama-sādhyāś ca te sarve prāyaḥ svarga-phala-pradāḥ ||
vaikuṇṭha-sādhakaḥ panthāḥ sa tu gopyo hi vartate |
tasyopadeṣṭā puruṣaḥ prāyo bhāgyena labhyate ||
(Padma Purāṇa: Bhāgavata-māhātmya: 2.56–57)
“Many paths have been established in this world by ṛṣis, and they are all generally laborious and givers of the result known as Svarga. The path that leads to Vaikuṇṭha, however, is confidential, and a person who is a teacher of it is generally attained [only] by good fortune.”
santuṣṭaḥ kena vā rājan na vartetāpi vāriṇā |
aupasthya-jaihvya-kārpaṇyād gṛha-pālāyate janaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.15.18)
“O King! Can a person not become satisfied with anything, even water? [Certainly. Yet] A person acts like a house pet [i.e., a dog] because of avarice for the sensation of the genitals and sensation of the tongue.”
nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati |
svargāpavarga-narakeṣv api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 6.17.28; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.190; Bhakti-rasāmṛa-sindhu: 1.2.33; Prīti Sandarbha: 21, 47)
[Śiva to Pārvatī:] “All who are devoted to Nārāyaṇa do not become afraid under any circumstances. They are seers of the same object amid Svarga, liberation, and even Naraka.”
yatnāgraha vinā bhakti nā janmāya preme |
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.24.165)
“Without earnestness and determination, bhakti does not give rise to prema.”
ajñāna-nivṛtteḥ prāk pauruṣa-tyāgo māndyam eva |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.19.13)
“Giving up exertion [alt., valor] before the cessation of ignorance is simply foolishness.”
