Sādhana-bhakti – Page 4

mayy eva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṁ niveśaya

mayy eva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṁ niveśaya |
nivasiṣyasi mayy eva ata ūrdhvaṁ na saṁśayaḥ ||
atha cittaṁ samādhātuṁ na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram |
abhyāsa-yogena tato mām icchāptuṁ dhanañjaya ||
abhyāse’py asamartho’si mat-karma-paramo bhava |
mad-artham api karmāṇi kurvan siddhim avāpsyasi ||
athaitad apy aśakto’si kartuṁ mad-yogam āśritaḥ |
sarva-karma-phala-tyāgaṁ tataḥ kuru yatātmavān ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 12.8–11)

“Fix the mind only on me. Absorb the intellect in me. Thereafter, you will dwell in me alone. There is no doubt. If you are unable to fully fix the mind on me steadily, O Dhanañjaya, then try to attain me by means of the practice of repeated concentration. If you are incapable of repeated concentration as well, then be one for whom actions related to me are paramount. By performing actions just for my sake, you will attain success (siddhi). If you are unable to do even this, then, taking shelter in connection with me and being possessed of self-regulation, relinquish the results of all your actions.”

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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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na hy acyutaṁ prīṇayato bahv-āyāso’surātmajāḥ

na hy acyutaṁ prīṇayato bahv-āyāso’surātmajāḥ |
ātmatvāt sarva-bhūtānāṁ siddhatvād iha sarvataḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.6.19)

“[Prahlāda Mahārāja:] O sons of asuras! On account of [his] being the Self of all beings and [his] being present everywhere here [in this world], there is certainly no huge endeavor [required] for the sake of pleasing Acyuta.”

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tvaṁ bhakti-yoga-paribhāvita-hṛt-saroja

tvaṁ bhakti-yoga-paribhāvita-hṛt-saroja
āsse śrutekṣita-patho nanu nātha puṁsām |
yad yad dhiyā ta urugāya vibhāvayanti
tat tad vapuḥ praṇayase sad-anugrahāya ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.9.11; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 7.383; Bhagavat Sandarbha: 6, 40; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.3.111)

“[Brahmā to Śrī Bhagavān:] O Nātha! You, he the path to whom is seen by hearing, dwell in the lotus-hearts of living beings that have been purified by bhakti-yoga [alt., that have been made fit (for you) by virtue of prema]. O you of highest praise! [Alt., O you who are sung of in many ways!] Out of favor upon the sat, you bring forth that very form of yours which they distinctively meditate on [alt., visualize] with the mind.”

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tat-tad-vinodāmṛta-sāgarāntaraṁ

tat-tad-vinodāmṛta-sāgarāntaraṁ
bibhety alaṁ me rasanāvagāhitum |
sadaiva tat-tan-madhura-priyāpi yat
karmaṇy aśakye na janaḥ pravartate ||
pītaṁ sakṛt karṇa-puṭena tat-tal-
līlāmṛtaṁ kasya haren na cetaḥ |
pravartituṁ vāñchati tatra tasmāl
lajjāṁ na rakṣet kila lolatā hi ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.114–115)

“My tongue is extremely afraid of plunging into the ocean of the nectar of those pastimes [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes in Vraja] even though those sweets [i.e., those pastimes] are indeed always dear [alt., pleasing] to it because a person does not engage in an impossible task. [But] Whose heart shall the nectar of those līlās, drunk once through hollows of the ears, not steal? Therefore, [my tongue] desires to engage in that since intense desire (lolatā, syn., laulya) certainly cannot hold to shyness.”

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rājño jīvatu deho’yaṁ prasannāḥ prabhavo yadi

rājño jīvatu deho’yaṁ prasannāḥ prabhavo yadi |
tathety ukte nimiḥ prāha mā bhūn me deha-bandhanam ||
yasya yogaṁ na vāñchanti viyoga-bhaya-kātarāḥ |
bhajanti caraṇāmbhojaṁ munayo hari-medhasaḥ ||
dehaṁ nāvarurutse’haṁ duḥkha-śoka-bhayāvaham |
sarvatrāsya yato mṛtyur matsyānām udake yathā ||
devā ūcuḥ—
videha uṣyatāṁ kāmaṁ locaneṣu śarīriṇām |
unmeṣaṇa-nimeṣābhyāṁ lakṣito’dhyātma-saṁsthitaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.13.8–11)

“[The sages pray to the devas for the sake of Mahārāja Nimi:] ‘May this body of the king live if you all are satisfied [with the sacrifice initiated by the king] and capable [of bringing the king’s body back to life].’ When, ‘So be it’ was said [by the devas in response to the sages’ prayer], Nimi [being situated then only in a subtle body] said, ‘Let me not be subject to the bondage of a [gross] body [again]. Sages who are agitated by fear of disconnection [from a gross body], who are endowed with wisdom related to Hari, and who worship the lotus feet [of Hari], do not desire connection with that [i.e. with a gross body]. [Thus,] I do not wish to don a [gross] body, which is a cause of suffering, sorrow, and fear, since its death, like that of fish [even] in water, can occur everywhere.’ [In reply to the sages] The devas said [with regard to Mahārāja Nimi]: ‘Bodiless [i.e., free from a gross body] and situated in a subtle body, at will let him be observed in the opening and closing [i.e., blinking] in the eyes of the embodied.’”

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aho laukika-sad-bandhu-bhāvaṁ ca staumi yena hi

aho laukika-sad-bandhu-bhāvaṁ ca staumi yena hi |
gauravāder vilopena kṛṣṇe sat-prema tanyate ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.76)

“[Śrī Nārada along with Uddhava to Gopa Kumāra:] Aho! And certainly I praise that attitude (bhāva) [on the part of bhaktas] of [Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s being] an excellent worldly kinsman by which excellent prema for Kṛṣṇa is expanded as a result of the removal of reverence and so forth [in regard to him].”

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padaṁ dūrataraṁ tad vai tat-sukhānubhavas tathā

padaṁ dūrataraṁ tad vai tat-sukhānubhavas tathā |
tat-sādhanam api prārthyam asmākam api durghaṭam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.61)

“[Śrī Nārada along with Uddhava to Gopa Kumāra:] Indeed that very far off abode [i.e., Goloka], the experience of the bliss there, and even the means of attainment (sādhana) of that, is to be prayed for and [is] difficult to attain even for us.”

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yathā sakāma-bhaktā hi bhuktvā tat-kāmitaṁ phalam

yathā sakāma-bhaktā hi bhuktvā tat-kāmitaṁ phalam |
kāle bhakti-prabhāvena yogyaṁ vindanti tat-phalam ||
yathā ca tatra tat-kālaṁ bhakter yogyaṁ na sat-phalam |
sañjātam iti tac chuddha-bhaktimadbhir vinindyate ||
te hi bhakteḥ phalaṁ mūlaṁ bhagavac-caraṇābjayoḥ |
sadā sandarśana-krīḍānanda-lābhādi manvate ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.4.221–223)

“As desirous (sakāma) bhaktas, indeed after partaking of their desired result, in time by the influence of bhakti attain the befitting result thereof [i.e., of their practice of bhakti], and as the befitting, true result of bhakti is not manifested to them [i.e., to those desirous (sakāma) bhaktas] at that time [i.e., so long as they still remain desirous of an object other than bhakti]—so that [i.e., any object that is attained by means of sakāma-bhakti] is condemned by those possessed of pure bhakti since they consider the primary result of bhakti to be the attainment of the bliss of constant direct sight of Bhagavān’s lotus feet, sporting [in their midst], and so forth [i.e., as well as the favor of attaining the bliss of direct service to those lotus feet and the like, on account of those attainments alone being dear to bhaktas by virtue of their prema-bhakti for Śrī Bhagavān].”

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