tasmād asad-abhidhyānaṁ yathā svapna-manoratham |
hitvā mayi samādhatsva mano mad-bhāva-bhāvitam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.28)
“Therefore, one should reject desire for [alt., meditation upon] the asat, which is like the illusion in a dream, and upon me fully fix the mind imbued with bhāva by way of contemplation of me.”
kadācid darśanaṁ vā syād vaikuṇṭhādi-nivāsinām |
śrī-kṛṣṇa-viraheṇārtān iva paśyāmi tān api ||
kadāpi teṣu vraja-vāsi-loka-
sādṛśya-bhāvānavalokanān me |
jātānutāpena bhavet tato’pi
prema-prakāśāt paramaṁ sukhaṁ tat ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.378–379)
“Sometimes sight of the residents of Vaikuṇṭha and elsewhere [e.g., Ayodhyā] can occur. [When it does,] I see even them to be as though distressed by separation from Śrī Kṛṣṇa. As a result of a manifestation of prema [within me] because of the sorrow produced by sometimes not seeing the bhāva similar to the people residing in Vraja in them [i.e., in the residents of Vaikuṇṭha and elsewhere], I feel that paramount joy [which is experienced in the company of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in Goloka and Bhauma Vraja] to be [present] even there [i.e., in those residents of Vaikuṇṭha and elsewhere].”
yayā hṛt-kṣobha-rāhityān mahākautukato’pi te |
vṛttaṁ bhāva-viśeṣena tat-tal-loke’cyutekṣaṇaṁ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.251)
“Because of which [i.e., because of being unknowing], your sight of Acyuta occurred on those various lokas [i.e., in Svarga, Mahar, and so on] by means of your special bhāva [in relation to Bhagavān] on account of your absence of agitation of mind and your great curiosity.”
vyatītya bhāvanā-vartma yaś camatkāra-bhāra-bhūḥ |
hṛdi sattvojjvale bāḍhaṁ svadate sa raso mataḥ ||
bhāvanāyāḥ pade yas tu budhenānanya-buddhinā |
bhāvyate gāḍha-saṁskāraiś citte bhāvaḥ sa kathyate ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.5.132–133)
“That which completely surpasses the scope of bhāvanā (meditation), is a cause of an abundance of wonder, and is relished in a heart bright with [śuddha-] sattva [i.e., a sthāyi-bhāva] is known as rasa. That which is meditated on (bhāvyate) by a wise person (budha) of one-pointed (ananya) mind (buddhi) in a heart (citta) which is a seat of meditation (bhāvanā) [on the vibhāvas, vyabhicāri-bhāvas, and so forth] by virtue of deep saṁskāras is called bhāva.”
janma-trayānuguṇita-vaira-saṁrabdhayā dhiyā |
dhyāyaṁs tan-mayatāṁ yāto bhāvo hi bhava-kāraṇam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.74.46)
“Meditating [on Bhagavān] with a mind enflamed with enmity over the course of three births, he [i.e., Śiśupāla] reached [after giving up his body] a state of absorption [in him, i.e., he again became his pārṣada, personal associate], as bhāva [i.e., one’s continuous meditation, contemplation, and focus] is the cause of [one’s future] birth [be it within saṁsāra or beyond].”
yāra yemana bhāva tāra temana lābha |
(Bengali saying)
“As is one’s bhāva, so is one’s attainment.”
yathāveśas tathā praveśaḥ |
(Sanskrit saying)
“As is [one’s] absorption, so is [one’s] entrance.”
mantre tīrthe dvije deve daivajñe bheṣaje gurau |
yādṛśī bhāvanā yasya siddhir bhavati tādṛśī ||
(Skanda Purāṇga: 5.3.227.38–9; cited in Pañcatantra: 5.96)
“In regard to a mantra, tīrtha, brāhmaṇa, deva, astrologer, medicine, or guru—as is one’s attitude (bhāvanā), so is one’s attainment.”
yad ubhe citta-kāṭhinya-hetū prāyaḥ satāṁ mate |
sukumāra-svabhāveyaṁ bhaktis tad-dhetur īritā ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.249)
“Because in the view of sādhus both [i.e., jñāna and vairāgya] are generally causes of hardness of heart, this bhakti, which is of very tender nature, is said to be the cause of that [i.e., of entering into bhakti].”
