bhagavān brahma kārtsnyena trir anvīkṣya manīṣayā |
tad adhyavasyat kūṭa-stho ratir ātman yato bhavet ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.2.34; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.567; Bhakti Sandarbha: 7, 29, 94)
“After thrice one-pointedly deliberating over the entirety of the Veda (Brahma), Bhagavān [i.e., Brahmā] determined with his discernment that because of which rati for the Ātmā [i.e., Śrī Hari] can come about.”
kṛṣṇaś ca kṛṣṇa-bhaktāś ca budhair ālambanā matāḥ |
raty-āder viṣayatvena tathādhāratayāpi ca ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.16)
“Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s bhaktas are known by the wise to be the ālambanas (supports) by virtue of [their] being the object (viṣaya) and the vessel (ādhāra) of rati and so forth [i.e., and the secondary rasas of laughter and so on].”
aśeṣa-saṅkleśa-śamaṁ vidhatte
guṇānuvāda-śravaṇaṁ murāreḥ |
kiṁ vā punas tac-caraṇāravinda-
parāga-sevā-ratir ātma-labdhā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.7.14)
“Hearing and recounting the qualities of Murāri produces destruction of suffering completely, so how much more does attachment (rati), attained of its own accord, to service to the pollen of his lotus feet [produce]?”
siktāpy aśru-jalotkareṇa bhagavad-vārttā-nadī-janmanā
tiṣṭhaty eva bhavāgni-hetir iti te dhīmann alaṁ cintayā |
hṛd-vyomany amṛta-spṛhā-hara-kṛpā-vṛṣṭeḥ sphuṭaṁ lakṣyate
nediṣṭhaḥ pṛthu-roma-tāṇḍava-bharāt kṛṣṇāmbudhasyodgamaḥ ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.278)
“O wise one, enough with your worry that the flame of the fire of saṁsāra still remains even after you have been drenched by a profusion of tears produced by the river of discussion of Bhagavān, since the rising in the sky of your heart of the cloud Kṛṣṇa, filled with the rain of grace that removes desire [even] for amṛta, is clearly recognized to be very near on account of the abundance of the plentiful dancing of your bodily hairs [alt., as the rising in the sky of a dark cloud filled with gracious rain that removes desire for water is known to be very near on account of the abundance of dancing fish (that can be seen in nearby bodies of water)].”
kiṁ varṇaye tava vibho yad-udīrito’suḥ
saṁspandate tam anu vāṅ-mana-indriyāṇi |
spandanti vai tanu-bhṛtām aja-śarvayoś ca
svasyāpy athāpi bhajatām asi bhāva-bandhuḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.8.40)
“O Vibhu [i.e., O omnipresent, omnipotent, eternal Master], how can I describe you? The prāṇa [i.e., vital air] of all embodied beings, of Brahmā and Śiva, and of myself as well, moves propelled by you, and following that [prāṇa], the speech, the mind, and the senses [of all] attain functionality. Still, you are the bhāva-bandhu [i.e., the affectionate friend, by virtue of bhāva,] of those who serve [you].”
tan naḥ prabho tvaṁ kukalevarārpitāṁ
tvan-māyayāhaṁ-mamatām adhokṣaja |
bhindyāma yenāśu vayaṁ sudurbhidāṁ
vidhehi yogaṁ tvayi naḥ svabhāvam iti ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.19.15)
“Therefore, O Prabhu! O Adhokṣaja! May you please grant us yoga with you, that is, a natural disposition [towards you], whereby we can quickly cut away this most difficult to sever sense of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ [i.e., identification and affectionate possessiveness] invested in the repulsive [material] body because of your māyā.”
yena sarvātmanā viṣṇu-bhaktyā bhāvo niveśitaḥ |
vaiṣṇaveṣu kṛtātmatvān mahābhāgavato hi saḥ ||
(Garuḍa Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.37)
“One by whom one’s being (bhāva) is completely absorbed in Viṣṇu-bhakti by virtue of being dedicated to the Vaiṣṇavas is certainly a Mahābhāgavata.”
ya etat pūtanā-mokṣaṁ kṛṣṇasyārbhakam adbhutam |
śṛṇuyāc chraddhayā martyo govinde labhate ratim ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.6.44)
“A mortal who is able to hear with śraddhā of this wonderful childhood act of Kṛṣṇa—the liberation of Pūtanā—attains rati for Govinda.”
satām ayaṁ sāra-bhṛtāṁ nisargo
yad-artha-vāṇī-śruti-cetasām api |
prati-kṣaṇaṁ navyavad acyutasya yat
striyā viṭānām iva sādhu vārtā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.13.2)
[Śukadeva Gosvāmī to Parīkṣit Mahārāja:] “This is the nature of sādhus who grasp the essence, they for whom discussion of Acyuta is truly as though ever-new at every moment even though it is [already and always] the object of their speech, hearing, and mind, just as discussion of women is [as though ever-new] for sensualists.”
satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido
bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ |
taj-joṣaṇād āśv apavarga-vartmani
śraddhā ratir bhaktir anukramiṣyati ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.25.25; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.273; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.3.12; Tattva Sandarbha: 33; Bhakti Sandarbha: 11, 172, 202, 340; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.1.60, 2.22.83, 2.23.16)
“As a result of extensive association with sādhus, discussions [of me] become full perceptions of my potency and elixirs for the heart and the ears. By cherishing them, swiftly śraddhā, rati (bhāva), and bhakti (prema) to I who am the path to liberation will manifest in succession.”
