Bhagavān

sā vāg yayā tasya guṇān gṛṇīte

sā vāg yayā tasya guṇān gṛṇīte
karau ca tat-karma-karau manaś ca |
smared vasantaṁ sthira-jaṅgameṣu
śṛṇoti tat-puṇya-kathāḥ sa karṇaḥ ||
śiras tu tasyobhaya-liṅgam ānamet
tad eva yat paśyati tad dhi cakṣuḥ |
aṅgāni viṣṇor atha taj-janānāṁ
pādodakaṁ yāni bhajanti nityam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.80.3–4)

“That by which his qualities are praised is speech. Further, those which perform actions for him are hands. Further, that which shall remember [his] dwelling in the stationary and the moving is a mind. That which listens to purifying narrations of him is an ear. Indeed that which shall bow to both images of him is a head. That which beholds specifically those [i.e., images of him] is certainly an eye. Likewise, those which regularly honor the foot-wash of Viṣṇu and his devotees are limbs.”

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kathaṁ vinā romaharṣaṁ dravatā cetasā vinā

kathaṁ vinā romaharṣaṁ dravatā cetasā vinā |
vinānandāśru-kalayā śudhyed bhaktyā vināśayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.23)

“How without horripilation, without meltedness of the heart, without a teardrop of bliss—without bhakti—could the heart be purified?”

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naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā

naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā |
bhagavaty uttama-śloke bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī ||
tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye |
ceta etair anāviddhaṁ sthitaṁ sattve prasīdati ||
evaṁ prasanna-manaso bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ |
bhagavat-tattva-vijñānaṁ mukta-saṅgasya jāyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.2.18–20)

“When [all] ills are nearly destroyed by service to Bhāgavatas [alt., to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam] continually, bhakti to Bhagavān, he of highest praise, becomes fixed. Then, the mind, situated in sattva and unassailed by states of rajas and tamas—desire, greed, and so forth—becomes satisfied. Realized knowledge [i.e., direct experience] of the essential nature of Bhagavān arises for one who in this way is of satisfied mind and [thus] freed from attachment as a result of the practice of bhakti to Bhagavān.”

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ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa, āra saba bhṛtya

ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa, āra saba bhṛtya |
yāre yaiche nācāya, se taiche kare nṛtya ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.5.142)

“Kṛṣṇa alone is Īśvara. Everyone else is a servant, and one whom he causes to dance dances just so.”

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na tasya kaścit patir asti loke

na tasya kaścit patir asti loke
na ceśitā naiva ca tasya liṅgam |
sa kāraṇaṁ karaṇādhipādhipo
na cāsya kaścij janitā na cādhipaḥ ||
(Padma Purāṇa: 6.227.22-23; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 178)

“Neither is anyone his ruler in this world, nor [is anyone his] controller, nor indeed does he have an indicator [i.e., a indicative sign by which his existence can be proven by inference]. He is the Cause [of everything] and the Ruler of the ruler of the means of action [i.e., the Ruler of the jīva, who is the ruler of the senses in their bodies]. Neither is anyone his progenitor, nor [his] Ruler.”

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eka kṛṣṇa sarva-sevya jagat-īśvara

eka kṛṣṇa sarva-sevya jagat-īśvara |
āra yata saba tā̐ra sevakānucara || …
keho māne, keho nā māne, saba tā̐ra dāsa |
ye nā māne tāra haya sei pāpe nāśa ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.6.83, 85)

“One Kṛṣṇa, the Īśvara of the world, is to be served by everyone. Everyone else is his servant and follower. … Someone accepts [this]. Someone does not accept [this]. [Nevertheless,] Everyone is his servant. One who does not accept [this] is ruined by that sin [of non-acceptance].”

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a-kāraś cāpy u-kāraś ca ma-kāraś ca tataḥ param

a-kāraś cāpy u-kāraś ca ma-kāraś ca tataḥ param |
veda-trayātmakaṁ proktaṁ praṇavaṁ brahmaṇaḥ padam ||
a-kāreṇocyate viṣṇuḥ śrīr u-kāreṇa cocyate |
ma-kāras tu tayor dāsaḥ pañcaviṁśaḥ prakīrtitaḥ ||
(Padma Purāṇa: 6.227.22-23; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 178)

“The letter a along with the letter u and the letter m after that—praṇava [i.e., the word Aum]—is declared to be the basis of the three Vedas and the word for [alt., dwelling place] of Brahman. Viṣṇu is referred to by the letter a, and Śrī is referred to by the letter u. The servant of the two [i.e., of Viṣṇu and Śrī], the twenty-fifth [element in the universe, viz., the jīva], is declared to indeed be the letter m.”

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ye vai bhagavatā proktā

ye vai bhagavatā proktā upāyā hy ātma-labdhaye |
añjaḥ puṁsām aviduṣāṁ viddhi bhāgavatān hi tān ||
yān āsthāya naro rājan na pramādyeta karhicit |
dhāvan nimīlya vā netre na skhalen na pated iha ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.34–35; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.497, 524; Bhakti Sandarbha: 125, 216, 218; Mādhurya-kādambinī: 3.3)

“Know to be Bhāgavatas [i.e., Bhāgavata-dharmas—limbs of bhakti to Bhagavān] those well known means of realization (1) which are stated by Bhagavān for unlearned persons for the sake of [their] easy attainment of the Self (Ātmā) and (2) by taking shelter in which a human being, O King, shall never be hindered. [Even by] Running or keeping the eyes closed, one shall not stumble and shall not fall here.”

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atha bhakta-niṣṭhām aiśvarya-jñānam

atha bhakta-niṣṭhām aiśvarya-jñānam | īśvaro’yam ity anusandhāne sati hṛt-kampā-janaka-sambhrameṇa svīya-bhāvasyātiśaithilyaṁ yat pratipādayati tad aiśvarya-jñānam, ata eva ‘yuvāṁ na naḥ sutau sākṣāt pradhāna-puruṣeśvarau’ ity ādi vasudevokteḥ, ‘sakheti matvā prasabhaṁ yad uktam’ ity arjunokteś ca | īśvaro’yam ity anusandhāne’pi hṛt-kampā-janaka-sambhrama-gandhasyānudgamāt svīya-bhāvasyātisthairyam eva yad utpādayati tan mādhurya-jñānam, yathā—‘vandinas tam upadeva-gaṇā ye vādya-gīta-balibhiḥ parivavruḥ | vatsalo vraja-gavāṁ yad aga-dhro vandyamāna-caraṇaḥ pathi vṛddhaiḥ ||’ iti ca yugala-gītokteḥ |
(Rāga-vartma-candrikā: 2.5)

“Now, awareness of Godhood (Aiśvarya-jñāna) present in bhaktas [will be discussed]. That [awareness] which produces a great slackening of one’s own bhāva [for Kṛṣṇa] by means of reverential excitement (sambhrama) productive of trembling of the heart when the thought is present, ‘He is Īśvara,’ is [called] ‘awareness of Godhood’ (Aiśvarya-jñāna), thus in accord with the statement of Vasudeva [in SB 10.85.15], ‘You two are not our sons; you two are directly the Īśvaras of material existence (pradhāna) and [all] embodied beings (puruṣa),’ and the statement of Arjuna [in BG 11.41–42], ‘O Acyuta, I beg you, the Immeasureable, for forgiveness for what was importunately said by me out of inattention or because of uninhibited affection—‘Hey Kṛṣṇa! Hey Yādava! Hey Sakhā!’—considering you a friend and not knowing this greatness of yours, and for your not being honored [by me] while sporting, resting, sitting, and eating alone or in the presence of others for the sake of jesting.’ That [awareness] which causes only great steadiness of one’s own bhāva [for Kṛṣṇa] as a result of the non-production of [even] a trace of reverential excitement (sambhrama) productive of trembling of the heart even in the presence of the thought, ‘He is Īśvara,’ is [called] ‘awareness of sweetness’ (mādhurya-jñāna), as per the statement by the gopīs in the Yugala-gīta [in SB 10.35.21–22], ‘Praisers, who are minor devas, worship him all around with music, songs, and tributes; [he is] affectionate to the cows of Vraja since he is the lifter of the mountain [viz., Govardhana], and his feet are being worshiped by the elders [i.e., the devatās] along the path.’”

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