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.”
dāna-vrata-tapas-tīrtha-yātrādīnāṁ ca yāḥ sthitāḥ |
śaktayo deva-mahatāṁ sarva-pāpa-harāḥ śubhāḥ ||
rājasūyāśvamedhānāṁ jñānasyādhyātma-vastunaḥ |
ākṛṣya hariṇā sarvāḥ sthāpitāḥ sveṣu nāmasu ||
(Skanda Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.398–399)
“All the auspicious śaktis dispelling of all sin which are present in charity, rites, austerity, pilgrimages to tīrthas, and so forth, as well as in devas and mahats, and in coronations, horse sacrifices, knowledge, and spiritual objects, have been extracted by Hari and established in his own names.”
dharmaḥ satya-dayopeto vidyā vā tapasānvitā |
mad-bhaktyāpetam ātmānaṁ na samyak prapunāti hi ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.22; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.557; Bhakti Sandarbha: 79, 111, 147)
“Devoid of bhakti to me, dharma endowed with truthfulness and compassion, or knowledge accompanied by austerity, certainly do not fully purify the mind.”
śreyaḥ-sṛtiṁ bhaktim udasya te vibho
kliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye |
teṣām asau kleśala eva śiṣyate
nānyad yathā sthūla-tuṣāvaghātinām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.14.4; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.608; Bhagavat Sandarbha: 95; Bhakti Sandarbha: 5, 67, 71, 105, 176; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.22, 2.24.170, 2.25.31)
“O Lord, for those who abandon [the path of] bhakti to you, that from which there is a flow of auspiciousnesses [alt., that which is the path to auspiciousness], and struggle to attain awareness of oneness, only this hardship remains and nothing else, as is the case for those who thresh thick chaff.”
ye’nye’ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas
tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ |
āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ
patanty adho’nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.2.42; cited in Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.14; Bhakti Sandarbha: 111, 121; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.30, 2.24.131, 141, 2.25.32)
“[The devas address Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the womb of Mother Devakī:] O Lotus-eyed One, others, who consider themselves fully liberated yet are of not fully purified intellect because of having forsaken bhāva for you, ascend with hardship to the highest position but fall down from there because of their having disregarded your feet.”
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.”
tais tāny aghāni pūyante tapo-dāna-vratādibhiḥ |
nādharmajaṁ tad-dhṛdayaṁ tad apīśāṅghri-sevayā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 6.2.17)
“Those sins [i.e., sins both mild and severe] are destroyed by those austerities, charities, rites, and so forth [i.e., conventional forms of austerities, etc.]. The heart thereof, produced by adharma, is not. That too [i.e., the heart of those sins, however,] is [destroyed] by service to the feet of Īśa.”
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.”
gokarṇa uvāca
atraiva bahavaḥ santi śrotāro mama nirmalāḥ |
ānītāni vimanāni na teṣāṁ yugapat kutaḥ ||
śravaṇaṁ sama-bhāgena sarveṣāṁ iha dṛśyate |
phala-bhedaḥ kuto jātaḥ prabruvantu hari-priyāḥ ||
hari-dāsā ūcuḥ
śravaṇasya vibhedena phala-bhedo’pi saṁsthitaḥ |
śravaṇaṁ tu kṛtaṁ sarvair na tathā mananaṁ kṛtam ||
phala-bhedas tato jāto bhajanād api mānada |
sapta-rātram upoṣyaiva pretena śravaṇaṁ kṛtam ||
mananādi tathā tena sthira-citte kṛtaṁ bhṛśam |
adṛḍhaṁ ca hataṁ jñānaṁ pramādena hataṁ śrutam ||
sandigdho hi hato mantro vyagra-citto hato japaḥ |
avaiṣṇavo hato deśo hataṁ śrāddham apātrakam ||
hatam aśrotriye dānam anācāraṁ hataṁ kulam |
viśvāso guru-vākyeṣu svasmin dīnatva-bhāvanā ||
mano-doṣa-jayaś caiva kathāyāṁ niścalā matiḥ |
evam ādi kṛtaṁ cet syāt tadā vai śravaṇe phalam ||
punaḥ-śravānte sarveṣāṁ vaikuṇṭhe vasatir dhruvam |
(Padma Purāṇa: Bhāgavata-māhātmya, 5.69–77)
“[After completing his week-long recitation of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam,] Gokarṇa says [to the servants of Hari who have arrived to lead him in a chariot to Vaikuṇṭha]: ‘Here [i.e., at this weeklong recitation of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam] everyone’s hearing [of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam] in equal measure is observable [i.e., everyone who was present this week heard the same content for the same amount of time]. [So,] May those who are dear to Hari explain why a difference in result arises [among such listeners, such that one has been taken to Vaikuṇṭha but the rest have not].’
“The servants of Hari say: ‘Even the present difference in result is because of a disparity in [manner of] listening. Hearing has certainly been done by all but contemplation (manana) has not been done likewise. O respectful one [i.e., O Gokarṇa], the difference in result arises because of that [i.e., because of the difference in the degree of contemplation, or lack thereof], and because of [a difference in the quality and intensity of] worship [than ensues from the relative depth of one’s hearing and contemplation, or lack thereof] as well. Listening was done by the preta [i.e., by Dhundhukārī, who was in the body of a preta] while entirely fasting for seven nights. Contemplation and so forth [i.e., and deep meditation (nididhyāsa), as described in BAU 2.4.5], likewise, was done by him in depth with a steady mind [whereas such was not done by the other listeners]. Infirm knowledge becomes useless [i.e., knowledge that is not clearly and firmly understood proves useless], and that which is heard becomes useless because of negligence (pramāda) [i.e., inattention, because one does not remember it]. A doubtful mantra [i.e., a dīkṣā-mantra or an advice received from a doubtful guru or sampradāya, or one not received from any guru or sampradāya] becomes useless, japa [performed] with a distracted mind becomes useless, a region devoid of Vaiṣṇavas becomes useless, and a śrāddha devoid of a worthy recipient [of honor] becomes useless. Charity to someone not versed in the śāstra becomes useless, and a noble family devoid of proper conduct becomes useless. Conviction in the words of the guru, an attitude of humility [i.e., an absence of crookedness, arrogance, and so forth] within oneself, victory over faults of the mind [i.e., lust, anger, and so forth], an unwavering mind [fixed] on the discourse [i.e., on the content being heard], and so forth—if done in this way, then certainly the result of listening comes about. After listening again [in this way], everyone‘s [attaining] residence in Vaikuṇṭha is certain.’”
naiṣa jñānavatā śakyas tapasā naiva cejyayā |
saṁprāptum indriyāṇāṁ tu saṁyamenaiva śakyate ||
bāhye cābhyantare caiva karmaṇi manasi sthitaḥ |
nirmalī-kurute buddhyā so’mutrānantyam aśnute ||
yathā hiraṇyakartā vai rūpyam agnau viśodhayet |
bahuśo’tiprayatnena mahatātma-kṛtena ha ||
tadvaj jāti-śatair jīvaḥ śudhyate’nena karmaṇā |
yatnena mahatā caivāpy eka-jātau viśudhyate ||
līlayālpaṁ yathā gātrāt pramṛjyād ātmano rajaḥ |
bahu-yatnena mahatā doṣa-nirharanaṁ tathā ||
(Mahābhārata: Śānti-parva, 280.9–14)
“He [i.e., Śrī Bhagavān] is attainable neither by possessing knowledge (jñāna), nor by austerity (tapas), nor by sacrifice. He is able to be attained in full, rather, only by control of the senses. Remaining steadfast in the mind in the midst of external and internal acts [i.e., perseveringly engaging in external acts that are means of purifying the mind, such as sacrifices and austerities, and internal acts that are means of purifying the mind, such as non-attachment and meditation], one purifies [the mind] by means of the intellect (buddhi) and in the hereafter tastes the Infinite [i.e., attains mokṣa and experiences Śrī Bhagavān]. As a goldsmith should highly purify wrought gold with persevering effort performed repeatedly indeed by he himself, so a jīva is purified by these acts over the course of hundreds of births, and someone may indeed be highly purified in one birth as a result of great effort. As one should sportively wipe a small amount of dust away from the body [before it creates a difficult to remove stain], so the complete removal of faults [from the mind] should be accomplished with great persevering effort [lest those faults become even more deeply ingrained in the psyche].”
