saṅkīrṇa-yonayaḥ pūtā ye bhaktā madhusūdane |
mleccha-tulyāḥ kulīnās te ye na bhaktā janārdane ||
(Skanda Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.129)
“Those of mixed caste who are bhaktas of Madhusūdana are pure. Those who are of noble family but not bhaktas of Janārdana are equal to mlecchas [i.e., those of the very lowest caste].”
brāhmaṇaḥ kṣatriyaḥ vaiśyaḥ śūdro vā yadi vetaraḥ |
viṣṇu-bhakti-samāyukto jñeyaḥ sarvottamottamaḥ ||
(Skanda Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.106; Bhakti Sandarbha: 100)
“If a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, or anyone otherwise is fully endowed with Viṣṇu-bhakti, they are to be known as the best of the best of all.”
śvapaco’pi mahī-pāla viṣṇu-bhakto dvijādhikaḥ |
viṣṇu-bhakti-vihīnas tu dvijo’pi śvapacādhikaḥ ||
(Nāradīya Purāṇa: 2.10.37; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.87; Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 5.455; Bhakti Sandarbha: 100)
“O King, even a dog-cooker who is a Viṣṇu-bhakta is more [exalted] than a twice-born, whereas even a twice-born devoid of Viṣṇu-bhakti is more [inferior] than a dog-cooker.”
viprād dvi-ṣaḍ-guṇa-yutād aravinda-nābha-
pādāravinda-vimukhāt śvapacaṁ variṣṭham |
manye tad-arpita-mano-vacanehitārtha-
prāṇaṁ punāti sa kulaṁ na tu bhūri-mānaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.9.10; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.192; Bhakti Sandarbha: 100; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.20.59)
“[Prahlāda Mahārāja:] I consider a dog-cooker whose mind, words, actions, wealth, and life are dedicated to him [viz., Śrī Bhagavān] superior to a brāhmaṇa possessed of [all] twelve [brahminical] qualities who is averse to the lotus feet of he of lotus navel. He [i.e., a dog-cooker who is a bhakta of Śrī Bhagavān] purifies his family, whereas one of great pride does not.”
jāti kula kriyā dhane kichu nāhi kare |
prema-dhana ārti vine nā pāi kṛṣṇere ||
ye te kule vaiṣṇavera janma kene nahe |
tathāpiha sarvottama sarva-śāstre kahe ||
ei tāra pramāṇa—yavana hari-dāsa |
brahmādira durlabha dekhila parakāśa ||
ye pāpiṣṭha vaiṣṇavera jāti-buddhi kare |
janma janma adhama-yonite ḍubi mare ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 2.10.99–102)
“Caste [i.e., birth in a high caste], family [i.e., birth in a noble family], accomplishment [i.e., performing great worldly works], and wealth do not do anything [i.e., cannot enable anyone to attain Kṛṣṇa]. Without the wealth of prema and heartache (ārti), one does not attain Kṛṣṇa. A Vaiṣṇava’s birth may be in any family. Why not? Still, all the śāstras say the Vaiṣṇava is the most exalted of all [i.e., exalted above and beyond all who neglect to engage in bhakti to Śrī Bhagavān, regardless of their caste, family, accomplishments, and wealth]. The evidence of this is Yavana Hari Dāsa, who saw a manifestation [of Śrī Bhagavān] difficult to attain [even] for Brahmā and others. A sinner who considers a Vaiṣṇava to belong to a caste [i.e., be no different than others in the caste of his birth] sinks to a lowly form of life and dies birth after birth.”
te vai vidanty atitaranti ca deva-māyāṁ
strī-śūdra-hūṇa-śabarā api pāpa-jīvāḥ |
yady adbhuta-krama-parāyaṇa-śīla-śikṣās
tiryag-janā api kim u śruta-dhāraṇā ye ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.7.46; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 115)
“If they become educated about the character of those whose ultimate shelter is he of astonishing step, [then] women, śūdras, Hūṇas, and Śabaras—even sinful living beings—and even animals, can certainly know and cross beyond Deva’s māyā, so how much more so can those who grasp what they have heard?”
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].”
jayati jayati kṛṣṇa-prema-bhaktir yad-aṅghriṁ
nikhila-nigama-tattvaṁ gūḍham ājñāya muktiḥ |
bhajati śaraṇa-kāmā vaiṣṇavais tyajyamānā
japa-yajana-tapasya-nyāsa-niṣṭhāṁ vihāya ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.1.8)
“Kṛṣṇa-prema-bhakti—
Whose foot
Mukti,
Being shunned by the Vaiṣṇavas
And [thus] desirous of shelter,
Worships
Having determined [it] to be the esoteric essence
Of all the Vedas
And utterly rejected perfection in japa, yajña, tapasya, and sannyāsa—
Triumphs!
Triumphs!”
jayati jayati vṛndāraṇyam etan murāreḥ
priyatamam ati-sādhu-svānta-vaikuṇṭha-vāsāt |
ramayati sa sadā gāḥ pālayan yatra gopīḥ
svarita-madhura-veṇur vardhayan prema rāse ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.1.5)
“This Vṛndāvana—
Which is dearmost to Murāri,
More so than the hearts of great sādhus
And [more so than even] residence in Vaikuṇṭha,
And in which he,
Tending the cows,
Sweetly playing the flute,
And increasing prema for rāsa,
Ever delights the gopīs—
Triumphs!
Triumphs!”
jñānaṁ tad etad amalaṁ duravāpam āha
nārāyaṇo nara-sakhaḥ kila nāradāya |
ekāntināṁ bhagavatas tad akiñcanānāṁ
pādāravinda-rajasāpluta-dehināṁ syāt ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.6.27)
“Thus, Nārāyaṇa, the Friend of Nara, formerly explained this taintless, difficult to grasp knowledge to Nārada. It can [also] be had by the bearers of bodies that have been bathed in the dust of the lotus feet of the disinterested (akiñcanas) who are one-pointed upon Bhagavān.”
