kṛṣṇa-bhakti-sudhā-pānād deha-daihika-vismṛteḥ |
teṣāṁ bhautika-dehe’pi sac-cid-ānanda-rūpatā ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.3.61)
“On account of non-remembrance of the body and the bodily as a result of drinking the nectar of bhakti to Kṛṣṇa, their having a form [constituted] of eternal being, consciousness, and bliss can come about even [when they are] in a body [made] of the [material] elements.”
bhaume cāsmin sapadi mathurā-maṇḍale yāna-mātrāt
sidhyeyus tāḥ sakala-samaye yasya kasyāpi naiva |
kintv etasya priya-jana-kṛpā-pūrataḥ kasyacit syus
tad bho mātaś cinu pada-rajas tat-padaika-priyāṇām ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.76)
“Those [various delightful līlās of Madana Gopāla] certainly cannot be attained by anyone at all times just by suddenly going to the district of Mathurā on this earth [i.e., only during the time of the descent of the blessed Lord of Goloka to the district of Mathurā on earth can someone simply arrive there suddenly and perceive his delightful līlās by his grace]. [At all other times,] Rather, those can be had by someone [only] as a result of a flood of grace from a person dear to him [as in the case of Janaśarmā receiving the grace of Sarūpa (Gopa Kumāra)]. Therefore, O Mother, gather dust from the feet of those to whom only his feet are dear [i.e., gather dust from the feet of his bhaktas who hold Kṛṣṇa-bhakti alone and not mokṣa or anything else dear].”
yaḥ kenāpy atibhāgyena jāta-śraddho’sya sevane |
nātisakto na vairāgya-bhāg asyām adhikāry asau ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.14)
“One who by some sort of great fortune is possessed of śraddhā in his [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s] service and is neither excessively attached nor possessed of non-attachment is a bearer of eligibility (adhikārī) for this [i.e., for vaidhī-bhakti].”
tatraiva sādhanaṁ satyaṁ sādhu sampadyate’cirāt |
vaikuṇṭhopari vibhrājac chrīmad-goloka-yāpakam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.253)
“[Śrī Nārada to Gopa Kumāra:] Truly, there alone [i.e., only in the land of Vraja within the district of Mathurā], the sādhana that is a cause of attainment of blessed Goloka above Vaikuṇṭha is aptly accomplished without delay.”
sarvāṇi mad-dhiṣṇyatayā bhavadbhiś
carāṇi bhūtāni sutā dhruvāṇi |
sambhāvitavyāni pade pade vo
vivikta-dṛgbhis tad uhārhaṇaṁ me ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.5.26)
“[Ṛṣabhadeva:] O sons! All beings, moving and stationary, are to be honored from moment to moment by you all possessed of prowess and pure vision [i.e., vision free from observation of envy and the like] as being abodes of me. That itself is worship of me.”
svasyoddhavasya te’py eṣa kṛtvāhaṁ śapathaṁ bruve |
duḥsādhyaṁ tat-padaṁ hy atra tat-sādhanam api druvam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.208)
“Taking this oath before myself, Uddhava, and yourself, I say that here that domain [i.e., Goloka] is difficult to attain, and the means of attaining (sādhana) that certainly is as well.”
yadyapi śrī-nanda-yaśodādi-sadṛśa-bhāvenāpi śrī-goloko labhyate, tathāpi prāyo gopī-sadṛśa-bhāvenaiva tatra sarvathā manoratha-sampūrtyā phala-viśeṣaḥ sampadyata iti gopīnām utkarṣa-viśeṣo’tra varṇitaḥ |
(Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.203)
“Although Śrī Goloka is attainable also by means of bhāva akin to that of blessed Nanda, Yaśodā, and others, still because of the fulfillment of desires in all respects there [i.e., in Śrī Goloka] only by means of bhāva akin to that of the gopīs, a special result is manifested [by bhāva akin to that of the gopīs specifically]. Thus, a special excellence of the gopīs is described here.”
proktena bhakti-yogena bhajato māsakṛn muneḥ |
kāmā hṛdayyā naśyanti sarve mayi hṛdi sthite ||
bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiś chidyante sarva-saṁśayāḥ |
kṣīyante cāsya karmāṇi mayi dṛṣṭe’khilātmani ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.20.29–30)
“All desires situated in the heart are destroyed when the heart of a devotee worshiping me continuously by means of the [afore-] stated practice of bhakti becomes fixed upon me. The knot of the heart is rent, all doubts are cut away, and one’s karmas are eliminated when I, the Self of all, am seen.”
yadṛcchayā mat-kathādau jāta-śraddhas tu yaḥ pumān |
na nirviṇṇo nātisakto bhakti-yogo’sya siddhidaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.20.8)
“The practice of bhakti of a person who independently becomes possessed of śraddhā in discussion and so forth of me yet is neither disinterested nor excessively attached is a granter of success.”
tāṁ nāradīyām anusṛtya śikṣāṁ
śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmāni nija-priyāṇi |
saṅkīrtayan susvaram atra līlās
tasya pragāyann anucintayaṁś ca ||
tādīya-līlā-sthala-jātam etad
vilokayan bhāva-daśe gato ye |
tayoḥ sva-citte karaṇena lajje
kathaṁ parasminn kathayāny ahaṁ te ||
sadā mahārtyā karuṇā-svarai rudan
nayāmi rātrīr divasāṁś ca kātaraḥ |
na vedmi yad yat sucirād anuṣṭhitaṁ
sukhāya vā tat tad utārti-sindhave ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.1–3)
“Following that instruction of Nārada, here [in Vraja] melodiously chanting names of Śrī Kṛṣṇa dear to myself, singing aloud of and meditating upon his līlās, and beholding the sites of his līlās, this bhāva and state which arose [in me]—I feel embarrassed [just] by thinking of them in my own heart. [So,] How can I describe them to someone else? Crying continuously in pitiful tones out of great distress (ārti), I spent nights and days disconcerted. I did not know whether all that I had practiced for so long would lead to joy or an ocean of distress.”
