Uttama-bhakti

śuddha-bhaktimatāṁ svata eva

śuddha-bhaktimatāṁ svata eva śuddhāntaḥ-karaṇatvāt prāṇi-mātrāvajñā prāyo na sambhavet | karma-miśra-bhaktimatāṁ tu sā sambhaved eva yāvad antaḥ-karaṇasyāśuddhiḥ, tasya śuddhau satyāṁ tu sā na tiṣṭhet … |
(Excerpt from the Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭikā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.29.25)

“Because the antaḥkaraṇas of those engaged in pure bhakti are pure of their own accord, disrespecting any living being is generally not possible [for them]. For those engaged in karma-miśra-bhakti, however, this [i.e., disrespecting others] is certainly possible as long as impurity of the antaḥkaraṇa remains. When it becomes pure, however, this [i.e., disrespecting others] does not remain.”

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na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ

na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ
kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye |
mama janmani janmanīśvare
bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi ||
(Śikṣāṣṭakam: 4; cited in Padyāvalī 94; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.20.29)

“O Master of the universe,
I desire neither wealth,
Nor men [i.e., assistants, followers, relatives, etc.],
Nor beautiful women [i.e., an excellent wife],
Nor erudition [i.e., intellectual prowess or recognition thereof],
Or otherwise [i.e., mukti].
In birth after birth, O Īśvara,
Let me have unconditional bhakti to you.”

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avabodhitavān imāṁ yathā

avabodhitavān imāṁ yathā
mayi nityāṁ bhavadīyatāṁ svayam |
kṛpayaivam ananya-bhogyatāṁ
bhagavan bhaktim api prayaccha me ||
(Stotra-ratna: 54)

“As you yourself have made known this state of being eternally your own in me, O Bhagavān, so by your grace please also bestow upon me bhakti which has no other enjoyer [than you, i.e., bhakti which is performed solely for your enjoyment].”

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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].”

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dhana-śiṣyādibhir dvārair

dhana-śiṣyādibhir dvārair yā bhaktir upapādyate |
vidūratvād uttamatā-hānyā tasyāś ca nāṅgatā ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.259)

“Bhakti that is accomplished through wealth, disciples, and so forth is not a limb [of uttama-bhakti] because it loses the quality of being uttama since it is very far from it.”

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nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema sādhya kabhu naya

nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema sādhya kabhu naya |
śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.104)

“Eternally existent Kṛṣṇa-prema is never something to be produced [i.e., created, lit., accomplished]. It [being eternal existent] manifests into a heart purified by śravaṇa and so forth [i.e., by the practices of sādhana-bhakti].”

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kṛti-sādhyā bhavet sādhya

kṛti-sādhyā bhavet sādhya-bhāvā sā sādhanābhidhā |
nitya-siddhasya bhāvasya prākaṭyaṁ hṛdi sādhyatā ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.2)

“[When it is] To be accomplished by activity and that by which bhāva is to be accomplished, that [viz., uttama-bhakti] shall be known as sādhana [-bhakti]. Eternally accomplished bhāva’s manifestation into the heart is [the intended sense of] its being to be accomplished.”

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sā bhaktiḥ sādhanaṁ bhāvaḥ

sā bhaktiḥ sādhanaṁ bhāvaḥ premā ceti tridhoditā |
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.1)

“That bhakti [i.e., uttama-bhakti] is said to have three stages: sādhana-bhakti, bhāva-bhakti, and prema-bhakti.”

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nālaṁ dvijatvaṁ devatvam

nālaṁ dvijatvaṁ devatvam ṛṣitvaṁ vāsurātmajāḥ |
prīṇanāya mukundasya na vṛttaṁ na bahu-jñatā ||
na dānaṁ na tapo nejyā na śaucaṁ na vratāni ca |
prīyate’malayā bhaktyā harir anyad viḍambanam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.7.51–52; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.590–591, Bhakti Sandarbha: 168)

[Prahlāda:] “O sons of the asuras, neither being a twice-born, being a deva, or being a ṛṣi, nor conduct [i.e., sadācāra], nor being greatly knowledgeable, nor charity, nor austerity, nor worship, nor cleanliness, nor rites are able to please Mukunda. Hari is pleased [only] by taintless bhakti. All else is a sham.”

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brahmānando bhaved eṣa

brahmānando bhaved eṣa cet parārddha-guṇīkṛtaḥ |
naiti bhakti-sukhāmbhodheḥ paramāṇu-tulām api ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.1.38)

“If this bliss of Brahman [i.e., the bliss of samādhi in nirviśeṣa Brahman] accumulated for a parārddha [i.e., half of the life of Brahmā, fifty quadrillion years], it would not equal even an atom in the ocean of the joy of bhakti.”

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