yatnāgraha vinā bhakti nā janmāya preme
yatnāgraha vinā bhakti nā janmāya preme |
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.24.165)
“Without earnestness and determination, bhakti does not give rise to prema.”
Sādhana-bhakti
sā ca bhaktiḥ śāstra-jñāna-pūrvikaivānuṣṭheyā
sā ca bhaktiḥ śāstra-jñāna-pūrvikaivānuṣṭheyā tam eva dhīro vijñāya prajñāṁ kurvīta brāhmaṇaḥ iti śravaṇāt |
(Vedānta-syamantaka: 3.13)
“That bhakti [i.e., the bhakti learned from śrī-guru by which one attains the fulfillment of life (puruṣārtha)] is to be performed preceded by [i.e., after having properly acquired] knowledge of śāstra, since it is heard [in Bṛhadārayaṇka Upaniṣad: 4.4.21], ‘After verily understanding that [i.e., the Ātmā], a sagacious seeker of Brahman should engage in contemplation [of the Ātmā].”
kṛṣṇa-tad-bhakta-vidveṣa-vinindādy-asahiṣṇutā
kṛṣṇa-tad-bhakta-vidveṣa-vinindādy-asahiṣṇutā |
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.82)
“Non-tolerance of enmity, defamation, and so forth of Kṛṣṇa and his bhaktas [is one of the sixty-four limbs of bhakti].”
līlānukūleṣu janeṣu
līlānukūleṣu janeṣu citte-
ṣūtpanna-bhāveṣu ca sādhakānām |
evaṁ-vidhaṁ sarvam idaṁ cakāsti
svarūpataḥ prākṛtavat pareṣu ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 7.119)
“[Why do Rādhā Kuṇḍa and Śyāma Kuṇḍa appear to someone just like ordinary ponds and not as described here in Govinda-līlāmṛta?] All of this [i.e., the entire environment of and around Rādhā Kuṇḍa and Śyāma Kuṇḍa] shines as such [i.e., as has just been elaborately described in Govinda-līlāmṛta] in reality to persons favorable to the līlā [i.e., to nitya-siddha parikaras] and to the minds of sādhakas of manifest bhāva [i.e., to sādhakas who have attained bhāva-bhakti] but as though mundane (prākṛta) to others [i.e., to those in whom bhāva has not manifest].”
sarvopāya-parityāgaḥ
sarvopāya-parityāgaḥ kṛṣṇopāyanam arcanam |
suciraṁ proṣite kānte yathā pati-parāyaṇā ||
priyānurāgiṇī dīnā tasya saṅgaika-kāṅkṣiṇī |
tad-guṇān bhāvayen nityaṁ gāyaty api śṛṇoti ca ||
śrī-kṛṣṇa-guṇa-līlādi-smaraṇādi tathā caret |
na punaḥ sādhanatvena kāryaṁ tat tu kadācana ||
(Sanat-kumāra-saṁhitā: 115–117)
“One [then] gives up all other processes and engages in worship of Kṛṣṇa just as a wife devoted to her husband worships her beloved while he is abroad for a long time. Filled with loving attachment for her husband, humble, desirous only of his company, she always meditates on, sings, and hears of his qualities. Similarly, one should engage in remembrance and so forth of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s qualities, līlās, and so forth. This is never to be done, however, with it being a means of attainment [of something else, i.e., it should be done simply for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa and not to obtain any other result].”
bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir
bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir
anyatra caiṣa trika eka-kālaḥ |
prapadyamānasya yathāśnataḥ syus
tuṣṭiḥ puṣṭiḥ kṣud-apāyo’nughāsam ||
ity acyutāṅghriṁ bhajato’nuvṛttyā
bhaktir viraktir bhagavat-prabodhaḥ |
bhavanti vai bhāgavatasya rājaṁs
tataḥ parāṁ śāntim upaiti sākṣāt ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.42–43; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 262, 340; Prīti Sandarbha: 1)
“Bhakti, experience of the Supreme Lord, and detachment from all else—this triad shall occur at one time for one who has taken shelter just as satisfaction, nourishment, and relief from hunger shall for one who eats with each mouthful. Thus, O King, bhakti, detachment, and understanding of Bhagavān occur for a bhāgavata [i.e., a bhakta] engaged in bhajana continuously to the feet of Acyuta, and thereafter one attains complete peace directly.”
atha saiva bhajana-viṣayā ruciḥ
atha saiva bhajana-viṣayā ruciḥ parama-prauḍhitamā satī yadā bhajanīyaṁ bhagavantaṁ viṣayīkaroti tadeyam āsaktir ity ākhyāyate |
(Mādhurya-kādambinī: 6.1)
“When ruci related to bhajana reaches its full-blown development and makes worshippable Bhagavān its focus, then it becomes known as āsakti.”
āsaktis tu svārasikī
āsaktis tu svārasikī |
(Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.4.16)
“Āsakti, however, is natural [i.e., nature desire that is not directed by the intellect].”
śravaṇa-kīrtanādīnām anyato
śravaṇa-kīrtanādīnām anyato vailakṣaṇyena rocakatvaṁ ruciḥ |
(Mādhurya-kādambinī: 5.1)
“Ruci means special tastefulness for śravaṇa, kīrtana, and so forth respectively [i.e., for each individually].”
rucir abhilāṣaḥ kintu buddhi-pūrvikeyam
rucir abhilāṣaḥ kintu buddhi-pūrvikeyam |
(Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.4.15)
“Ruci is desire, but this [desire is] directed by the intellect.”