Bhakti

kṛṣṇehitānām akhilottamaṁ yas

kṛṣṇehitānām akhilottamaṁ yas
tarkaiḥ prakarṣaṁ tanute sa dhanyaḥ |
teṣāṁ darākārṇana-mātrato yaḥ
syāt prema-pūrṇas tam ahaṁ namāmi ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.139)

“One who disseminates the supereminent among all of Kṛṣṇa’s activities with rationale is blessed [i.e., highly fortunate, or, highly praiseworthy]. To someone who can become filled with prema as a result just of hearing of them a little [i.e., without even requiring deliberation based on rationale], I offer obeisance [i.e., such a person is most worshipable].”

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tathā na te mādhava tāvakāḥ kvacid

tathā na te mādhava tāvakāḥ kvacid
bhraśyanti mārgāt tvayi baddha-sauhṛdāḥ |
tvayābhiguptā vicaranti nirbhayā
vināyakānīkapa-mūrdhasu prabho ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.2.33; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.201; Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.14; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.4.46; Paramātma Sandarbha: 17; Bhakti Sandarbha: 121; Prīti Sandarbha: 7)

“O Mādhava, those who are your own, who are bound to you by cordiality, never fall down from the path in that way. Protected by you on all sides and [thus] fearless, O Prabhu, they roam atop the heads of those who proffer protection from arrays of impediments.”

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dharmaḥ satya-dayopeto vidyā vā tapasānvitā

dharmaḥ satya-dayopeto vidyā vā tapasānvitā |
mad-bhaktyāpetam ātmānaṁ na samyak prapunāti hi ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.22; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.557; Bhakti Sandarbha: 79, 111, 147)

“Devoid of bhakti to me, dharma endowed with truthfulness and compassion, or knowledge accompanied by austerity, certainly do not fully purify the mind.”

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śreyaḥ-sṛtiṁ bhaktim udasya te vibho

śreyaḥ-sṛtiṁ bhaktim udasya te vibho
kliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye |
teṣām asau kleśala eva śiṣyate
nānyad yathā sthūla-tuṣāvaghātinām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.14.4; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.608; Bhagavat Sandarbha: 95; Bhakti Sandarbha: 5, 67, 71, 105, 176; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.22, 2.24.170, 2.25.31)

“O Lord, for those who abandon [the path of] bhakti to you, that from which there is a flow of auspiciousnesses [alt., that which is the path to auspiciousness], and struggle to attain awareness of oneness, only this hardship remains and nothing else, as is the case for those who thresh thick chaff.”

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ye’nye’ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas

ye’nye’ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas
tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ |
āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ
patanty adho’nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.2.42; cited in Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.14; Bhakti Sandarbha: 111, 121; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.30, 2.24.131, 141, 2.25.32)

“[The devas address Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the womb of Mother Devakī:] O Lotus-eyed One, others, who consider themselves fully liberated yet are of not fully purified intellect because of having forsaken bhāva for you, ascend with hardship to the highest position but fall down from there because of their having disregarded your feet.”

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rāgātmika-bhaktimatāṁ durabhisandhināpy anukaraṇa-mātreṇa

rāgātmika-bhaktimatāṁ durabhisandhināpy anukaraṇa-mātreṇa tādṛśatva-prāptiḥ śrūyate, yathā dhātrītvānukaraṇena pūtanāyāḥ | tad uktam—‘sad-veśād iva pūtanāpi sakulā’ iti | kim uta tadīya-rucimadbhis tādṛśa-nirantara-samyag-bhakty-anuṣṭhānena |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 312)

“Attainment of being such [i.e., of being a rāgātmikā-bhakta] is heard of [occurring] just by means of emulation of those possessed of rāgātmikā-bhakti even [when done] out of ill-intent, as in the case of Pūtanā’s emulation of a nursemaid. This is stated [in SB 10.14.35], ‘Even Pūtanā along with her family was caused to attain you just because of [her wearing] fine dress [i.e., just because of her having donned the beautiful garb of a cowherd woman which is very dear to Śrī Kṛṣṇa as a disguise in an attempt to murder him].’ So how much more so [must the attainment of being a rāgātmikā-bhakta occur] as a result of continuous, genuine [alt., pleasing] engagement in bhakti of such nature by those possessed of taste (ruci) for that [i.e., for a particular type of rāgātmikā-bhakti]?”

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ato vai kavayo nityaṁ bhaktiṁ paramayā mudā

ato vai kavayo nityaṁ bhaktiṁ paramayā mudā |
vāsudeve bhagavati kurvanty ātma-prasādanīm ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.2.22)

“Therefore, indeed with paramount delight, the wise always perform bhakti to Bhagavān, Vāsudeva, which is purifying of the self.”

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bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ

bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ |
tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā viśate tad-anantaram ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 18.55)

“By bhakti, one knows me truly, as far as, and as to who, I am. Then, having known me truly, thereafter one enters [me].”

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brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati

brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati |
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 18.54; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 7; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.8.65)

“Situated in Brahman and being of clear mind, one neither laments nor hankers. Equal to all beings, one attains supreme bhakti to me.”

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bhaktis tvayi sthiratarā bhagavan yadi syād

bhaktis tvayi sthiratarā bhagavan yadi syād
daivena naḥ phalati divya-kiśora-mūrtiḥ |
muktiḥ svayaṁ mukulitāñjaliḥ sevate’smān
dharmārtha-kāma-gatayaḥ samaya-pratīkṣāḥ ||
(Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta: 107)

“O Bhagavān, if our bhakti to you would become more steadfast, [then] your divine adolescent figure will manifest [before us], mukti herself will serve us with joined palms, and the attainments of dharma, artha, and kāma will await their chance [to serve].”

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