saṁsāra-viṣa-vṛkṣasya dve phale hy amṛtopame |
mayi kṛṣṇe parā bhaktir mad-bhaktaiś ca samāgamaḥ ||
(Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa-saṁhitā: 3.56.72)
“On the poisonous tree of saṁsāra only two fruits are like nectar: pure bhakti to me, Kṛṣṇa, and association with my bhaktas.”
rasāyanamayī śītā paramānanda-dāyinī |
nānandayati kaṁ nāma sādhu-saṅgati-candrikā ||
(Padma Purāṇa: 5.98.58)
“Being enriched with elixir [to cure the disease of saṁsāra], cooling [so as to relieve the three miseries], and yielding of the highest bliss [i.e., the bliss of prema], indeed who does the moonlight of association with a sādhu not delight?”
hari-bhakti-parāṇāṁ tu saṅgināṁ saṅga-mātrataḥ |
mucyate sarva-pāpebhyo mahā-pātakavān api ||
(Bṛhan Nāradīya Purāṇa: 1.36.61; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.252 Bhakti Sandarbha: 148)
“Even a great sinner is liberated from all sins just by the association of those who associate with those who are engaged in Hari-bhakti.”
kalpāgā amṛtāmbudher jhaṣa-varāḥ premāmbudheś cātakā
meghasyāmṛta-pāyino vara-vidhoḥ padmāni caṇḍa-tviṣaḥ |
bhṛṅgāḥ padma-vanasya nāka-sadanā viṣṇor mahānto hi te
bhaktā gaurahareḥ paraṁ mayi kṛpāṁ kurvantv ananya-gatau ||
(Sādhanāmṛta-candrikā: 2.16)
“O desire-trees along the ocean of nectar! O topmost fish in the ocean of prema! O cātakās of the cloud [of mādhurya]! O drinkers of nectar from the best of moons [of prema]! O lotuses under the hot sun [of saṅkīrtana]! O bees in the lotus cluster [of bhāva]! O [you who resemble] sky-abodes of Viṣṇu! O great ones! O bhaktas of Gaurahari! Please bestow your abundant grace upon me. I have no other shelter.”
mahāprasāde govinde nāma-brahmaṇi vaiṣṇave |
svalpa-puṇya-vatāṁ rājan viśvāso naiva jāyate ||
(Attributed to Mahābhārata)
“O King, faith in mahāprasāda, Govinda, the name [i.e., Bhagavān‘s name], the Veda, and the Vaiṣṇava certainly does not arise in those possessed of little piety.”
bhavanti puruṣā loke mad-bhaktās tvām anuvratāḥ |
bhavān me khalu bhaktānāṁ sarveṣāṁ pratirūpa-dhṛk ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.10.21)
[Nṛsiṁhadeva to Prahlāda Mahārāja:] “People in the world who follow you become my bhaktas, for you are indeed the paragon for all of my bhaktas.”
atha bhaktābhimāna-viśeṣa-hetavo guṇās tat-kṛtāḥ prīter bhaktānāṁ ca bhedās tāratamyaṁ ca yathā—saiva khalu prītir bhagavat-svabhāva-viśeṣāvirbhāva-yogam upalabhya kañcid anugrāhyatvenābhimānayati kañcid anukampitvena kañcin mitratvena, kañcit priyātvena ca | bhagavat-svabhāva-viśeṣāvirbhāva-hetuś ca yasya bhagavat-priya-viśeṣasya saṅgādinā labdhā prītis tasya prīter eva guṇa-viśeṣo boddhavyaḥ | nitya-parikarāṇāṁ nityam eva tad dvayam |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 84)
“Now, the qualities [of prīti] the causes of which are the particular identities (abhimānas) of bhaktas, and the divisions and gradation of prīti and bhaktas made by them [i.e., by these qualities of prīti which give rise to particular identities], are [explained] as follows: prīti itself alone, upon acquiring connection with the manifestation of a particular nature (svabhāva) [i.e., persona] of Bhagavān [e.g., Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Śrī Rāma, Śrī Viṣṇu, or otherwise], produces the identity (abhimāna) of being an object of favor [i.e., a junior, servant, or child of Bhagavān] in someone, of being a bestower of compassion [i.e., a senior or parent of Bhagavān] in someone, of being a friend [of Bhagavān] in someone, and of being a beloved [of Bhagavān] in someone. The cause of the manifestation of a particular nature (svabhāva) of Bhagavān [in relation to which prīti manifests a particular identity in a bhakta] is furthermore to be understood as a particular quality of the prīti of the particular dear one of Bhagavān by whose association and so forth prīti was attained [i.e., prīti is attained only from a bhakta who has it, and the prīti that will be attained from a particular bhakta will possess the same particular sense of identity related to the same particular nature of Bhagavān that the prīti of the bhakta from whom it was attained possesses]. In the case of eternal associates [of Bhagavān], the two of these [i.e., a bhakta’s particular identity and the particular nature of Bhagavān that it relates to] are eternal [i.e., eternal associates of Bhagavān have beginninglessly had a particular identity related to a particular nature of Bhagavān].”
sarvātmanā na hiṁsanti bhūta-grāmeṣu kiñcana |
uccāvaceṣu daityendra mad-bhāva-vigata-spṛhāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.10.20)
“O King of the Daityas, free from [material] desire because of their bhāva for me, my bhaktas by any means do not commit violence towards any living being, high or low.”
nāyaṁ mārgo hi sādhūnāṁ hṛṣīkeśānuvartinām |
yad ātmānaṁ parāg gṛhya paśuvad bhūta-vaiśasam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.11.10)
“Identifying with the external self [i.e., the body] and killing other living beings is animal-like; it is not the path of the sādhus who follow Hṛṣīkeśa [i.e., the Master of the senses, Bhagavān].”
ahiṁsā-yama-niyamādi bule kṛṣṇa-bhakta-saṅga |
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.140)
“Non-violence, restraints, regulations, and so forth [naturally] accompany a bhakta of Kṛṣṇa.”
