Bhakti-rasa

tad evaṁ prīter lakṣaṇaṁ citta-dravas

tad evaṁ prīter lakṣaṇaṁ citta-dravas tasya ca romaharṣādikam | kathañcij-jāte’pi citta-drave romaharṣādike vā na ced āśaya-śuddhis tadāpi na bhakteḥ samyag-āvirbhāva iti jñāpitam | āśaya-śuddhir nāma cānya-tātparya-parityāgaḥ prīti-tātparyaṁ ca |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.23; Prīti Sandarbha: 69)

“Thus, in this way, the [extrinsic (taṭastha)] characteristic of prīti is melting of the heart, and [the extrinsic characteristic] of that is horripilation and so forth [i.e., the other sāttvika-bhāvas]. Even when melting of the heart or horripilation and so forth occur to some extent, if purity of the heart (āśaya) has not come about, then still bhakti’s complete manifestation has not occurred. Such has been made known. Purity of the heart (āśaya) [i.e., citta] means abandonment of [all] other intentions [i.e., all desires and aims other than prīti], and intention upon [i.e., desire for and pursuit of] prīti.”

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hṛd-vapre nava-bhakti-śasya-vitateḥ sañjīvanī svāgamā

hṛd-vapre nava-bhakti-śasya-vitateḥ sañjīvanī svāgamā-
rambhe kāma-tapa-rtu-dāha-damanī viśvāpagollāsinī |
dūrān me maru-śākhino’pi sarasī-bhāvāya bhūyāt prabhu-
śrī-caitanya-kṛpā-niraṅkuśa-mahā-mādhurya-kādambinī ||
(Mādhurya-kādambinī: 1.1)

“The revitalizer of the grains of young bhakti in the field of the heart, the subduer from its outset of the burning of the hot season of kāma, the delighter of the rivers of the world—may that great, unrestrained cloud bank (kādambinī) of the mellifluousness (mādhurya) of Prabhu Śrī Caitanya’s grace from afar fill even me, a [dry] tree in the desert, with rasa [i.e., water, alt., bhakti-rasa].”

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strī-putrādi-kathāṁ jahur viṣayiṇaḥ śāstra-pravādaṁ budhā

strī-putrādi-kathāṁ jahur viṣayiṇaḥ śāstra-pravādaṁ budhā
yogīndrā vijahur marun-niyama-ja-kleśaṁ tapas tāpasāḥ |
jñānābhyāsa-vidhiṁ jahuś ca yatayaś caitanya-candre parām
āviṣkurvati bhakti-yoga-padavīṁ naivānya āsīd rasaḥ ||
(Caitanya-candrāmṛta: 113)

“The viṣayīs abandoned talk of their wives, sons, and so on; the intellectuals abandoned their debates regarding the śāstra, the masters of yoga abandoned the hardships produced by their practices of breath regulation, the ascetics abandoned their austerities, and the sannyāsīs abandoned their studies when Caitanyacandra revealed the highest path of bhakti-yoga. No other rasa remained.”

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nāhaṁ vipro na ca nara-patir nāpi vaiśyo na śūdro

nāhaṁ vipro na ca nara-patir nāpi vaiśyo na śūdro
nāhaṁ varṇī na ca gṛha-patir no vanastho yatir vā |
kintu prodyan nikhila-paramānanda-pūrnāmṛtābdher
gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ ||
(Padyāvalī: 74; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.13.80)

“I am neither a brāhmaṇa, nor a kṣatriya, nor a vaiśya, nor a śūdra. I am neither a brahmacārī, nor a gṛhastha, nor a vānaprastha, nor a sannyāsī. Rather, I am an assisting servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of the gopīs’ Lord—the brimming ocean of nectar filled with complete, paramount bliss.”

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tatrāsakti-kṛd anyatra

tatrāsakti-kṛd anyatra prīti-saṁhāriṇī hy asau |
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.5.28)

“It [i.e., the sthāyi-bhāva known as prīti, that is, dāsya-bhāva] produces attachment to him [i.e., Bhagavān] and completely destroys affection for all else.”

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santu ramyāṇi bhūrīṇi

santu ramyāṇi bhūrīṇi prārthyaṁ syād idam eva me |
iti yo nirṇayo dhīrair abhimānaḥ sa ucyate ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 14.19)

“‘Let many pleasing things be [i.e., let me disregard them], and let this alone be desirable to me [i.e., let me desire only this],’—such determination is called abhimāna by the wise.”

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tad-eka-spṛhatvam eva rater lakṣaṇaṁ

tad-eka-spṛhatvam eva rater lakṣaṇaṁ mukhyam ity uktam |
(Durgama-saṅgamī-ṭīkā to Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhi: 1.3.41)

“It is stated that desirousness only of him [i.e., Bhagavān] is truly the primary characteristic of rati [i.e., merely inner softness that manifests sāttvika-bhāvas, such as crying and trembling, is not the primary characteristic, since this can also be observed in persons engaged in impure forms of bhakti].”

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tad dhi tat-tad-vraja-krīḍā

tad dhi tat-tad-vraja-krīḍā-dhyāna-gāna-pradhānayā |
bhaktyā sampadyate preṣṭha-nāma-saṅkīrtanojjvalam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.218)

“That [i.e., the prema that leads to attainment of the Beloved, one’s Iṣṭa-deva, in Goloka], bright with saṅkīrtana of the names of the Beloved, is certainly manifested through bhakti in which meditation on and singing of the [Beloved’s] various acts of play in Vraja are primary.”

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jñāna-karma-yoga-dharme nahe kṛṣṇa vaśa

jñāna-karma-yoga-dharme nahe kṛṣṇa vaśa |
kṛṣṇa-vaśa-hetu eka—prema-bhakti-rasa ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.17.75)

“Captivation of Kṛṣṇa does not occur through the dharmas of jñāna, karma, or yoga. The cause of captivation of Kṛṣṇa is one: the rasa of prema-bhakti.”

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