mārabi rākhabi yo iccha tohārā
mārabi rākhabi yo iccha tohārā |
nitya-dāse prati tuyā adhikārā ||
(Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s Śaraṇāgati: 11.3)
“You may kill me or protect me as you wish. You have [full] authority over your eternal servant.”
Bhakti-rasa
vairāgya-yug-bhakti-rasa-prayatnair
vairāgya-yug-bhakti-rasa-prayatnair
apāyayan mām anabhīpsum andham |
kṛpāmbudhir yaḥ para-duḥkha-duḥkhī
sanātanaṁ taṁ prabhum āśrayāmi ||
(Vilāpa-kusumañjali: 6)
“The ocean of grace,
Sorrowful [only] because of others’ sorrow,
Who induced me,
[Although I was] Blind and unwilling,
To drink the rasa of bhakti
Combined with non-attachment (vairāgya)—
I take shelter in him,
My master
Sanātana.”
bhakti-nirdhūta-doṣāṇāṁ prasannojjvala-cetasām
bhakti-nirdhūta-doṣāṇāṁ prasannojjvala-cetasām |
śrī-bhāgavata-raktānāṁ rasikāsaṅga-raṅgiṇām ||
jīvanī-bhūta-govinda-pāda-bhakti-sukha-śriyām |
premāntaraṅga-bhūtāni kṛtyāny evānutiṣṭhatām ||
bhaktānāṁ hṛdi rājantī saṁskāra-yugalojjvalā |
ratir ānanda-rūpaiva nīyamānā tu rasyatām ||
kṛṣṇādibhir vibhāvādyair gatair anubhavādhvani |
prauḍhānanda-camatkāra-kāṣṭhām āpadyate parām ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.7–10)
“In the hearts of bhaktas who have been purified by bhakti of all faults [e.g., attachment, aversion, delusion, etc.], whose hearts are clear [i.e., fit for the manifestation of higher pure existence (śuddha-sattva-viśeṣa)] and bright [i.e., all knowing by virtue of this manifestation], who cherish [tasting] Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, who rejoice in the company relishers of rasa, whose life is the wealth of the bliss of bhakti to the feet of Govinda, and who engage in all of prema’s natural activities—rati, which is bliss itself, appears bright as a result of the two types of saṁskāras [i.e., impressions in the citta made by pure bhakti in one’s previous births and one’s present birth], reaches the state of being relishable [i.e., of being rasa] on the pathway of perception on account of present vibhāvas and so forth [i.e., anubhāvas, sāttvika-bhāvas, vyabhichārī-bhāvas], beginning with Kṛṣṇa, and reaches the highest pinnacle of intense bliss and wonder [i.e., transforms into sneha, māna, praṇaya, anurāga, bhāva, and mahābhāva].”
rasānubhavino hy atra dvividhāḥ—pibatety upadeśyāḥ
rasānubhavino hy atra dvividhāḥ—pibatety upadeśyāḥ, svatas tad-anubhavi-līlā-parikarāś ca | tatra līlā-parikarā eva rasa-sāram anubhavanti antaraṅgatvāt; pare tu yat kiñcid eva bahiraṅgatvāt | yadyapy evaṁ, tathāpi tad-anubhava-maya-rasa-sāraṁ svānubhava-mayena rasenaikatayā vibhāvya pibata; yatas tādṛśatayā tādṛśa-śuka-mukhād vigalitaṁ pravāha-rūpeṇa vahantam ity arthaḥ |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.3)
“Experiencers of rasa here are of two types: (1) those who are to be instructed, ‘drink (pibata) [that Bhāgavata-rasa],’ and (2) līlā-companions (parikaras) who naturally experience that [i.e., Bhāgavata-rasa, by virtue of their being direct participants in Bhagavān’s līlā]. In this regard, only līlā-companions experience the essence of rasa, on account of their being intimate, whereas the others [i.e., sādhakas who have reached the level of bhāva-bhakti, experience] only something [i.e., a small amount of that rasa], on account of their being peripheral [i.e., their still being sādhakas and situated within physical bodies in saṁsāra rather in the immediate midst of Bhagavān’s līlā]. Although this is such, still [i.e., the intention of the phrase ‘pibata Bhāgavatam rasam’ is as follows,] considering the essence of rasa within their [i.e., the līlā-companions’] experience to be one with the rasa within one’s own experience, drink [Bhāgavata-rasa], since, on account of uniformity [i.e., the ‘oneness’ of rasa that comes about through identification with the experience of rasa of a līlā-parikara], that [i.e., Bhāgavata-rasa] flowed out, that is, flowed forth in the form of a stream, from the mouth of Śuka, who was [in this way also] uniform [i.e., Śukadeva in this way identified his experience with the experience companions of Bhagavān in the līlās he described and this facilitated rasa flowing through him to the listeners of the Bhāgavatam, so if listeners also identify with the experience of rasa of līlā-companions, then they too will experience this flowing stream of Bhāgavata-rasa].”
alaukikyā prakṛtyeyaṁ sudurūhā rasa-sthitiḥ
alaukikyā prakṛtyeyaṁ sudurūhā rasa-sthitiḥ |
yatra sādhāraṇatayā bhāvāḥ sādhu sphuranty amī ||
eṣāṁ sva-para-sambandha-niyamānirṇayo hi yaḥ |
sādhāraṇyaṁ tad evoktaṁ bhāvānāṁ pūrva-sūribhiḥ ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.5.101–102)
“This occurrence of rasa, with its extraordinary nature, is extremely difficult to comprehend, wherein these bhāvas [i.e., the vibhāvas, anubhāvas, and so forth, as well as rati and so forth] genuinely manifest through sādhāraṇatā [i.e., “generalization”]. The non-determination of limitation between self and other in regard to these [i.e., these bhāvas, that is, modern bhaktas sharing in the experience of the bhāvas of ancient bhaktas by ceasing to make a distinction between the bhāvas of the ancient bhakta and themselves, that is, by wholeheartedly identifying with bhāvas of ancient bhaktas] is called generality (sādhāraṇya) of bhāvas by earlier luminaries.”
rasikā ity anena prācīnārvācīna-saṁskārāṇām eva tad-vijñatvaṁ darśitam
rasikā ity anena prācīnārvācīna-saṁskārāṇām eva tad-vijñatvaṁ darśitam |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.3)
“‘Relishers of rasa’ (rasikāḥ)—hereby it is shown that only those who have prior and present saṁskāras are knowers of that [i.e., of rasa].”
atulatvād apāratvād āpto’sau durvigāhatām
atulatvād apāratvād āpto’sau durvigāhatām |
spṛṣṭaḥ paraṁ taṭasthena rasābdhir madhuro mayā ||
(Ujjvala-nīlāmaṇi: 15.259)
“This ocean of madhura-rasa, difficult to fully plunge into [i.e., difficult to fully grasp, even for great prema-bhaktas and rasika-kavis, such as Śukadeva, Līlāśuka, and Jayadeva] because of its being bottomless and boundless [i.e., superior to all other rasas in quality and quantity], has only been touched by me, who am situated on the shore [i.e., who am unable to enter into it, and so, I, from the shore, have just collected a drop of it with my finger and placed it on my tongue].”
mukhya-raseṣu purā yaḥ saṁkṣepeṇodito rahasyatvāt
mukhya-raseṣu purā yaḥ saṁkṣepeṇodito rahasyatvāt |
pṛthag eva bhakti-rasa-rāṭ sa vistareṇocyate madhuraḥ ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 1.2)
“Madhura [i.e., madhura-rasa], the king of bhakti-rasas, which was described [only] briefly [in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu] among the principal rasas because of its being confidential, is separately described elaborately [here in Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi].”
nivṛttānupayogitvād durūhatvād ayaṁ rasaḥ
nivṛttānupayogitvād durūhatvād ayaṁ rasaḥ |
rahasyatvāc ca saṁkṣipya vitatāṅgo‘pi likhyate ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 3.5.2)
“This rasa [i.e., madhura-rasa], although it’s components are extensive, is described [only] briefly [here in this text (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu)] because of its being unsuitable for the abstinent, difficult to comprehend, and confidential.”
eteṣāṁ tu tathā-bhāve bhagavat-kāvya-nāṭyayoḥ
eteṣāṁ tu tathā-bhāve bhagavat-kāvya-nāṭyayoḥ |
sevām āhuḥ paraṁ hetuṁ kecit tat-pakṣa-rāgiṇaḥ ||
kintu tatra sudustarka-mādhuryādbhuta-sampadaḥ |
rater asyāḥ prabhāvo’yaṁ bhavet kāraṇam uttamam ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.5.90–91)
“Some [paṇḍitas] who are fond of that view [i.e., the view of conventional kāvya (poetics) and nāṭya (dramaturgy)] say that honoring kāvya and nāṭya related to Bhagavān [i.e., listening to recitations of kāvya, watching performances of nāṭya, and so on] is the primary cause in their being such [i.e., of vibhāvas, anubhāvas, etc. manifesting], but therein [i.e., in regard to vibhāvas, anubhāvas, etc.] this [present] influence of rati for him [i.e., Bhagavān], which is endowed with the wondrous excellence of highly incomprehensible sweetness, is the ultimate cause.”