Sādhana-bhakti
tad vai tasya priya-krīḍā-vana-bhūmau sadā rahaḥ
tad vai tasya priya-krīḍā-vana-bhūmau sadā rahaḥ |
nivasaṁs tanuyād evaṁ sampadyetācirād dhruvam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.220)
“Always residing in seclusion in the land of his dear play forests, one should develop that [i.e., prema]. In this way, it certainly and without delay becomes manifest.”
vaikuṇṭhasya bhagavato jyotir-aṁśa-bhūtā vaikuṇṭhaloka-śobhā-rūpā
vaikuṇṭhasya bhagavato jyotir-aṁśa-bhūtā vaikuṇṭhaloka-śobhā-rūpā yā anantā mūrtayas tatra vartante tāsām ekayā saha muktasyaikasya mūrtiḥ bhagavatā kriyata iti vaikuṇṭhasya mūrtir iva mūrtir yeṣām ity uktam |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 10)
“The figure of one liberated jīva is made by Bhagavān with one of those unlimited figures existing there which is a form of Vaikuṇṭhaloka’s splendor and consists of a portion of the luster of Vaikuṇṭha, that is, of Bhagavān, and thus it has been stated [by Śrīdhara Svāmī in his commentary on SB 3.15.14 in relation to those who reside in Vaikuṇṭha], “whose figure is like the figure of Vaikuṇṭha [i.e., Bhagavān].”
siddhasya lakṣaṇaṁ yat syāt sādhanaṁ sādhakasya tat
siddhasya lakṣaṇaṁ yat syāt sādhanaṁ sādhakasya tat |
(Unknown source; cited in Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta-ṭīkā 2.3.167)
“The characteristics [i.e., conduct, etc.] of a siddha [i.e., a prema-bhakta] should be the sādhana [i.e., means of attainment] of a sādhaka.”
tasmāt sarvātmanā rājan hariḥ sarvatra sarvadā
tasmāt sarvātmanā rājan hariḥ sarvatra sarvadā |
śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca smartavyo bhagavān nṛṇām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.2.36)
“Therefore, O King, Bhagavān Hari is to be heard about, to be praised, and to be remembered by human beings always and everywhere with the full self [i.e., with full attention].”
tac ca śrī-ballavī-prāṇanātha-pāda-sarojayoḥ
tac ca śrī-ballavī-prāṇanātha-pāda-sarojayoḥ |
premaiva tad-vraja-prema-sājātīyaṁ na cetarat ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.214)
“That [i.e., your sādhana to attain your Iṣṭadeva], moreover, is simply prema for the lotus feet of the beautiful ballavī’s Beloved [lit., the Lord of the gopīs’ prāṇas, that is, hearts, lives, or vital airs] which resembles the [highly celebrated] prema for him [found] in Vraja, and is not otherwise.”
rāgānugāmi-bhajanollāsa-mānasānāṁ
rāgānugāmi-bhajanollāsa-mānasānāṁ
śrī-rādhayā saha sadā smaratāṁ vrajendum |
śrī-rūpa-pāda-kamalāśrita-cetasāṁ me
cittaṁ satāṁ madhukarīyatu pāda-padme ||
(Mukunda Dāsa Gosvāmī in his Artha-ratnālpa-dīpikā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.1.1)
“May my mind become a bee [lit., “a nectar-gatherer”] in the lotuses of the feet of the sādhus whose minds are filled with the joy of rāgānugā-bhajana, who are ever-engaged in remembrance of the Moon of Vraja [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa] with Śrī Rādhā, and whose hearts are sheltered at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa.”
devo bhūtvā yajed devaṁ nādevo devam arcayet
devo bhūtvā yajed devaṁ nādevo devam arcayet |
(Tantra-śāstra; cited in Tattva Sandarbha: 22, Bhagavat Sandarbha: 64, and Bhakti Sandarbha: 306)
“Becoming a deva, worship the deva. A non-deva cannot worship a deva.”
nidānaṁ tu paraṁ premṇaḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-karuṇā-bharaḥ
nidānaṁ tu paraṁ premṇaḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-karuṇā-bharaḥ |
kasyāpy udety akasmād vā kasyacit sādhana-kramāt ||
yathodārān milaty annaṁ pākvaṁ vā pāka-sādhanam |
sādhakasyocyate śāstra-gatyāyaṁ sādhana-kramaḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.215–216)
“But the primary cause of [such] prema is an abundance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s grace. That manifests for some without cause and for some through a course of sādhanas, just as either cooked food or the ingredients for cooking come [to someone] from a generous person. This course of sādhanas for a sādhaka [through which an abundance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s grace manifests] is [now going to be] described [by me] in accord with śāstra.”
janma-trayānuguṇita-vaira-saṁrabdhayā dhiyā
janma-trayānuguṇita-vaira-saṁrabdhayā dhiyā |
dhyāyaṁs tan-mayatāṁ yāto bhāvo hi bhava-kāraṇam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.74.46)
“Meditating [on Bhagavān] with a mind enflamed with enmity over the course of three births, he [i.e., Śiśupāla] reached [after giving up his body] a state of absorption [in him, i.e., he again became his pārṣada, personal associate], as bhāva [i.e., one’s continuous meditation, contemplation, and focus] is the cause of [one’s future] birth [be it within saṁsāra or beyond].”