paraṁ bhagavatā sākaṁ sākṣāt-krīḍā-paramparāḥ |
sadānubhavituṁ tair hi vaikuṇṭho’pekṣyate kvacit ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.3.62)
“Vaikuṇṭha is sometimes desired by them [i.e., bhaktas sometimes desire to enter Vaikuṇṭha] only specifically to continuously and directly experience a succession of play with Bhagavān.”
na me priyaś caturvedī mad-bhaktaḥ śvapacaḥ priyaḥ |
tasmai deyaṁ tato grāhyaṁ sa ca pūjyo yathā hy aham ||
(Itihāsa-samuccaya; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.127; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.19.50, 2.20.58)
“[Śrī Bhagavān:] A caturvedī [i.e., a brāhmaṇa versed in the four Vedas] is not dear to me [if they are not my bhakta]. [Even] A dog-cooker who is my bhakta [however] is dear [to me]. Give [charity, etc.] to him [i.e., such a bhakta] and accept [prasāda, etc.] from him since he is also worshipable as I am.”
kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā
ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ |
ye’nye ca pāpā yad-apāśrayāśrayāḥ
śudhyanti tasmai prabhaviṣṇave namaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.4.18; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.667)
“Kirātas, Hūṇas, Andhras, Pulindas, Pulkaśas, Ābhīras, Śumbhas, Yavanas, Khasas, and so forth, as well as other sinners, become purified upon taking shelter in those who have taken shelter in whom—obeisance unto him, the Almighty.”
taj janma tāni karmāṇi tad āyus tan mano vacaḥ |
nṝṇāṁ yena hi viśvātmā sevyate harir īśvaraḥ ||
kiṁ janmabhis tribhir veha śaukra-sāvitra-yājñikaiḥ |
karmabhir vā trayī-proktaiḥ puṁso’pi vibudhāyuṣā ||
śrutena tapasā vā kiṁ vacobhiś citta-vṛttibhiḥ |
buddhyā vā kiṁ nipuṇayā balenendriya-rādhasā ||
kiṁ vā yogena sāṅkhyena nyāsa-svādhyāyayor api |
kiṁ vā śreyobhir anyaiś ca na yatrātma-prado hariḥ ||
śreyasām api sarveṣām ātmā hy avadhir arthataḥ |
sarveṣām api bhūtānāṁ harir ātmātmadaḥ priyaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.31.9–13; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 51, 101)
“That is a birth, those are actions, that is a life, that is mind and [that is] is speech on the part of human beings whereby Hari, Īśvara, the Self of the universe, is worshiped. Here [in this world], what [is the use] of the three births—the seminal (śaukra), the sāvitra [i.e., the second birth brought about by dīkṣā into the sāvitra-mantra and investiture with the sacred thread, viz., the upanayana-saṁskāra], and the sacrificial (yājñika) [i.e., the third birth brought about by dīkṣā into the performance of a particular Vedic sacrifice (yajña)], what [is the use] of the rites prescribed in the three [Vedas], what [is the use] of even the lifespan of a deva for a human being, what [is the use] of hearing, austerity, words, and states of mind, what [is the use] of sharp intellect, [physical] strength, and acuity of the senses, what [is the use] of yoga [i.e., aṣṭāṅga-yoga], sāṅkhya [i.e., discrimination between the body and self], sannyāsa, and even study, and what [is the use] of any other means of benefit (śreyas) [e.g., vows (vratas), non-attachment (vairāgya), etc.] whereby Hari does not become a bestower of the Self [alt., himself]? In reality, the Self specifically is the culmination even of all means of benefit, and Hari is the Self, the Bestower of the Self, and the Beloved even of all beings.”
brahmaṇya-devaḥ puruṣaḥ purātano
nityaṁ harir yac-caraṇābhivandanāt |
avāpa lakṣmīm anapāyinīṁ yaśo
jagat-pavitraṁ ca mahattamāgraṇīḥ ||
yat-sevayāśeṣa-guhāśayaḥ svarāḍ
vipra-priyas tuṣyati kāmam īśvaraḥ |
tad eva tad-dharma-parair vinītaiḥ
sarvātmanā brahma-kulaṁ niṣevyatām ||
pumān labhetānativelam ātmanaḥ
prasīdato’tyanta-śamaṁ svataḥ svayam |
yan-nitya-sambandha-niṣevayā tataḥ
paraṁ kim atrāsti mukhaṁ havir-bhujām ||
aśnāty anantaḥ khalu tattva-kovidaiḥ
śraddhā-hutaṁ yan-mukha ijya-nāmabhiḥ |
na vai tathā cetanayā bahiṣ-kṛte
hutāśane pāramahaṁsya-paryaguḥ ||
yad brahma nityaṁ virajaṁ sanātanaṁ
śraddhā-tapo-maṅgala-mauna-saṁyamaiḥ |
samādhinā bibhrati hārtha-dṛṣṭaye
yatredam ādarśa ivāvabhāsate ||
teṣām ahaṁ pāda-saroja-reṇum
āryā vaheyādhi-kirīṭam āyuḥ |
yaṁ nityadā bibhrata āśu pāpaṁ
naśyaty amuṁ sarva-guṇā bhajanti ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.21.38–43)
“[Pṛthu Mahārāja addresses an assembly of devas, brāhmaṇas, and kings:] By respectfully bowing to whose feet the Deva [i.e., the Best] of those supportive of brāhmaṇas, the Primeval Puruṣa, the Foremost of the greatest of the mahats—Hari [himself]—attains imperishable Lakṣmī and glory purifying of the [entire] world, and by worshiping whom he who dwells in the hearts of all, he who is self-manifest, he to whom the brāhmaṇas are dear [alt., he who is dear to the brāhmaṇas], Īśvara [viz., again, Hari himself], is satisfied as desired—that brāhmaṇa caste specifically is to be worshiped in all respects by cultured persons devoted to his [viz., Śrī Hari’s] dharma. Through whose mouth, and indeed not so through a fire devoid of consciousness, the Infinite One [viz., Hari]—he whose words are graspable [only] by paramahaṁsas—eats an oblation [offered] with reverence and obeisances unto the objects of worship [i.e., the devas] by persons cognizant of the reality, and by means of worship in regular connection with whom a person on their own [i.e., without engaging in cultivation of jñāna] without any great delay can, by virtue of [thereby acquiring] a purified mind, attain absolute equanimity [i.e., mokṣa]—what greater mouth of the devas exists in this world than that [i.e., than the mouth of a brāhmaṇa]? O honorable people! All my life may I carry atop my crown the dust of the lotus feet of they who by means of faith, austerity, well-being, silence, restraint, and samādhi [i.e., steadiness of mind] perpetually carry the pure, eternal Veda, in which this [world] appears as though in a mirror, for the sake of sight [i.e., understanding] of its [i.e., the Veda’s] object, [those brāhmaṇas’ foot dust] which quickly destroys the sin of one who always carries it [atop the head]. All qualities take shelter in him [i.e., in one who honors the foot dust of brāhmaṇas].”
yasyāmṛtāmala-yaśaḥ-śravaṇāvagāhaḥ
sadyaḥ punāti jagad āśvapacād vikuṇṭhaḥ |
so’haṁ bhavadbhya upalabdha-sutīrtha-kīrtiś
chindyāṁ sva-bāhum api vaḥ pratikūla-vṛttim ||
yat-sevayā caraṇa-padma-pavitra-reṇuṁ
sadyaḥ kṣatākhila-malaṁ pratilabdha-śīlam |
na śrīr viraktam api māṁ vijahāti yasyāḥ
prekṣā-lavārtham itare niyamān vahanti ||
nāhaṁ tathādmi yajamāna-havir vitāne
ścyotad-ghṛta-plutam adan huta-bhuṅ-mukhena |
yad brāhmaṇasya mukhataś carato’nughāsaṁ
tuṣṭasya mayy avahitair nija-karma-pākaiḥ ||
yeṣāṁ bibharmy aham akhaṇḍa-vikuṇṭha-yoga-
māyā-vibhūtir amalāṅghri-rajaḥ kirīṭaiḥ |
viprāṁs tu ko na viṣaheta yad-arhaṇāmbhaḥ
sadyaḥ punāti saha-candra-lalāma-lokān ||
ye me tanūr dvija-varān duhatīr madīyā
bhūtāny alabdha-śaraṇāni ca bheda-buddhyā |
drakṣyanty agha-kṣata-dṛśo hy ahi-manyavas tān
gṛdhrā ruṣā mama kuṣanty adhidaṇḍa-netuḥ ||
ye brāhmaṇān mayi dhiyā kṣipato’rcayantas
tuṣyad-dhṛdaḥ smita-sudhokṣita-padma-vaktrāḥ |
vāṇyānurāga-kalayātmajavad gṛṇantaḥ
sambodhayanty aham ivāham upāhṛtas taiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.16.6–11)
“[Śrī Bhagavān addresses the four Kumāras:] He upon plunging into the nectar of hearing about whose untainted glory the [whole] world is immediately purified, including [even] dog-cookers—[that is,] I, Vikuṇṭha [i.e., Bhagavān]—who have attained the fame of being an excellent tīrtha [i.e., source of purification] because of you all [i.e., because of all of you brāhmaṇas], by the worship of whom I am (1) endowed with purifying dust on my lotus feet, (2) purged of all contamination instantly, (3) possessed of good character, and (4) such that Śrī—for the sake of [attaining] an instant of whose attention others [viz., the devas led by Brahmā] observe restraints (niyamas) [i.e., austerities, etc.]—does not abandon me although [I am] detached—[I who am such] shall cut off even my own arm [if it is] unfavorably engaged [towards you brāhmaṇas]. I do not eat an oblation from a performer of yajña in a sacrifice through the mouth of the fire [in the sacrifice] as I eat each morsel covered with dripping ghee through the mouth of an eating brāhmaṇa who is satisfied with the results of his own actions offered to me [i.e., I am more satisfied with offerings made to brāhmaṇas than I am with offerings made to me directly in the fire of a yajña]. Who would not forgive [even misbehaved] brāhmaṇas, whose taintless foot dust I carry on my crown—I who am possessed of the undivided and unchecked magnificence of [my] yogamāyā [potency] and whose worship water [i.e., the water used to worship whose feet] immediately purifies all planes along with Śiva? [i.e., everyone should forgive brāhmaṇas if they commit some transgression since even I do so and carry the foot dust of brāhmaṇas atop my head]. The principal administrator of justice’s [viz., Yamarāja’s] vultures [i.e., emissaries in vulture of form], wrathful like snakes, angrily tear apart they of vision impaired by sin who see the best of the twice-born, cows, and living beings devoid of shelter—[who are] forms of me [i.e., who are dwelling places (adhiṣṭhānas) of mine] and [who are] my own—with thought of distinction [from me, i.e., without recognizing that brāhmaṇas are objects of my sense of ‘I,’ cows are objects of my sense of ‘my,’ and the shelterless are objects of my compassion]. I am captivated by they of satisfied heart and lotus faces moistened with the nectar of gentle smiles who assuage [even] insulting brāhmaṇas just as I do [in the case of Bhṛgu and others], worshiping [them] with mind upon me [i.e., with vision of me within them] and praising [them] with speech replete with the art of affection like a son [who similarly pacifies his angry father].”
nāham ijyā-prajātibhyāṁ tapasopaśamena vā |
tuṣyeyaṁ sarva-bhūtātmā guru-śuśrūṣayā yathā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.80.34)
“I [Bhagavān], the Self of all beings, shall not be satisfied by sacrifice, higher birth [alt., procreation], austerity, or equilibrium as [I am] by service to the guru.”
yeṣāṁ sa eṣa bhagavān dayayed anantaḥ
sarvātmanāśrita-pado yadi nirvyalīkam |
te dustarām atitaranti ca deva-māyāṁ
naiṣāṁ mamāham iti dhīḥ śva-śṛgāla-bhakṣye ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.7.42; cited in Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.4.86; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.6.235)
“If those whom he, this Bhagavān, the Unlimited, may grace take shelter in his feet in all respects without duplicity, they will cross beyond his difficult to surmount, divine māyā [and come to know him], and they will have no notion of ‘my’ or ‘I’ in regard to that which is food for dogs and jackals [i.e., the material body].”
etat sarvaṁ gurau bhaktyā puruṣo hy añjasā jayet ||
yasya sākṣād bhagavati jñāna-dīpa-prade gurau |
martyāsad-dhīḥ śrutaṁ tasya sarvaṁ kuñjara-śaucavat ||
eṣa vai bhagavān sākṣāt pradhāna-puruṣeśvaraḥ |
yogeśvarair vimṛgyāṅghrir loko yaṁ manyate naram ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.15.25–27)
“A person certainly can quickly conquer all of these by means of bhakti to the guru. All the hearing of one who has the misconception of a mortal in relation to the guru, who is the giver of the lamp of knowledge and Bhagavān in person, is like the bathing of an elephant. He whom a [worldly] person considers [to be merely] a [ordinary] human being is verily Bhagavān in person, the Īśvara of pradhāna and the puruṣa [i.e., of māyā and the jīvas], he whose feet are sought by masters of yoga.”
sa vai priyatamaś cātmā yato na bhayam aṇv api |
iti veda sa vai vidvān yo vidvān sa gurur hariḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.29.51; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 202)
“He [viz., Hari] is indeed the dearmost Self (Ātmā), [he] on account of whom not even a trace of fear arises. One who understands this is verily knowledgeable, and one who is knowledgeable is a guru and Hari.”
