visṛjati hṛdayaṁ na yasya sākṣād
dharir avaśābhihito’py aghaugha-nāśaḥ |
praṇaya-raśanayā dhṛtāṅghri-padmaḥ
sa bhavati bhāgavata-pradhāna uktaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.55; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.74, Bhakti Sandarbha: 198)
“One whose heart Hari himself, he who destroys multitudes of sins even when called unintentionally, does not leave because his lotus feet are bound [there] by a rope of love is said to be the foremost of Bhāgavatas.”
na kaścin mat-paraṁ loke tejasā yaśasā śriyā |
vibhūtibhir vābhibhaved devo’pi kim u pārthivaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.72.11)
[Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] “No one in this world, [not] even a deva, much less a king, with power, fame, beauty, or resources, can subjugate one who is given over to me [i.e., one who has nothing in the world except me, so there is certainly no way anyone can subjugate you, Yudhiṣṭhira].”
na me‘bhaktaś catur-vedī mad-bhaktaḥ śva-pacaḥ priyaḥ |
tasmai deyaṁ tato grāhyaṁ sa ca pūjyo yathā hy aham ||
(Itihāsa-samuccaya; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.127 and Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.19.50, 2.20.58)
“One who knows the four Vedas but is not my bhakta is not dear to me, whereas my bhakta, even if he is a dog-cooker [i.e., an outcaste], is [dear to me]. To him, things are fit to be given, and from him, things are fit to be accepted. He is indeed as worshippable as I am.”
sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ paśyed bhagavad-bhāvam ātmanaḥ |
bhūtāni bhagavaty ātmany eṣa bhāgavatottamaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.45)
“One who can see the presence of one’s own Bhagavān [i.e., one’s Iṣṭadevatā] within all entities and [all] entities within the Bhagavān within oneself [i.e., within one’s Iṣṭadevatā] is a topmost bhāgavata.”
man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru |
mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te pratijāne priyo’si me ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 18.65)
“Be of mind fixed on me, [be] my bhakta, [be] my worshipper. Offer obeisance to me. You will come to me alone. Truly, I promise you this, for you are dear to me.”
pratiṣṭhāśā dhṛṣṭā śvapaca-ramaṇī me hṛdi naṭet
kathaṁ sādhu-premā spṛśati śucir etan nanu manaḥ |
sadā tvaṁ sevasva prabhu-dayita-sāmantam atulaṁ
yathā tāṁ niṣkāsya tvaritam iha taṁ veśayati saḥ ||
(Stavāvalī: Manaḥ-śikṣā, 7)
“The low-class shrew of desire for pratiṣṭhā is dancing in my heart, so how will the pure prema of the sādhus ever touch it? O mind! You should always serve the unrivaled chieftain of Prabhu’s devotee so that he will immediately banish this shrew and instill pure prema therein [i.e., within your heart].”
pratiṣṭhā-rajjūbhir baddhaṁ kāmādyair vartma-pātibhiḥ |
chittvā tāḥ saṁharantas tān aghāreḥ pāntu māṁ bhaṭāḥ ||
(Vraja-vilāsa-stava: 1)
“I have been bound with the ropes of pratiṣṭhā by the highwaymen of kāma and so forth. May the soldiers of Agha’s Foe [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s bhaktas] protect me by cutting away these ropes and routing these highwaymen.”
