kṛṣṇa-bhakti-sudhā-pānād deha-daihika-vismṛteḥ |
teṣāṁ bhautika-dehe’pi sac-cid-ānanda-rūpatā ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.3.61)
“On account of non-remembrance of the body and the bodily as a result of drinking the nectar of bhakti to Kṛṣṇa, their having a form [constituted] of eternal being, consciousness, and bliss can come about even [when they are] in a body [made] of the [material] elements.”
saric-chaila-vanoddeśān mukunda-pada-bhūṣitān |
ākrīḍān īkṣyamāṇānāṁ mano yāti tad-ātmatām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.46.22)
“The mind of those who behold the rivers, hills, forests, spots, and pleasure-grounds decorated by the feet of Mukunda enter a state of absorption in him.”
kṛpā kari kahe śuna nityānanda dāsa |
yei yei sthāne sadā kṛṣṇera vilāsa ||
padma-prāya yena vṛndāvanera ghaṭana |
śāstra vākye āche mahāprabhura sthāpana ||
mudita prakāśa haila dui ta prakāra |
vilāse mudita hana līlāya vistāra ||
ei-rūpe haya saba gamanāgamana |
tad-āśrita yei tāra haya ei mana ||
yogamāyā bale ihā ghaṭanā āchaya |
yāhāra gamana sei kichu nā jānaya ||
(Prema-vilāsa: 16)
“Graciously, he [i.e., Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī, in response to a question as to how Rādhā, Kṛṣṇa, and the sakhīs can walk between sites in Vraja that are numerous miles apart in less than half an hour] said, ‘Listen, Nityānanda Dāsa. The formation of Vṛndāvana, that is, all the places in which Kṛṣṇa’s play continues forever, is nearly like a lotus. Mahāprabhu’s establishment [of this conclusion] is in accord with the statements of the śāstra. It [i.e., the lotus of Vṛndāvana] has two states: contracted and open. It becomes contracted in the case of pleasure (vilāsa) [i.e., when Kṛṣṇa has intimate exchanges with Rādhā and the sakhīs that require seclusion] and expansion [of it] occurs in the case of līlā [i.e., when they engage in their various other līlās in general]. In this way everyone’s [i.e., Rādhā, Kṛṣṇa, and their sakhīs’] coming and going occurs. One who is sheltered in them has this understanding. This phenomenon occurs by the power of yogamāyā, she who does not make known her movements at all [i.e., she who causes this expansion and contraction of Vṛndāvana without anyone noticing it].”
ataḥ prabhoḥ priyāṇāṁ ca dhāmnaś ca samayasya ca |
avicintya-prabhāvatvād atra kiṁ ca na durghaṭam ||
(Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.5.515)
“Therefore, because of the utterly inconceivable power of Prabhu’s dear ones, abode, and time, nothing is impossible in this regard [i.e., it is not impossible for time and space to expand and contract to accommodate innumerable participants in Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s līlās in Vraja and their having simultaneously distinct perceptions of those līlās and their environs].”
deśān puṇyān āśrayeta mad-bhaktaiḥ sādhubhiḥ śritān |
devāsura-manuṣyeṣu mad-bhaktācaritāni ca ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.10; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.519)
“One should take shelter of sacred places where the sādhus, my bhaktas, reside, and [one should take shelter] of the activities of my bhaktas among the devas, asuras, and human beings.”
atha mukhyaṁ dhyānaṁ śrī-bhagavad-dhāma-gatam eva, hṛdaya-kamala-gataṁ tu yogi-matam, smared vṛndāvane ramye ity-ādy-uktatvāt | ata eva mānasa-pūjā ca tatraiva cintanīyā | … śrī-kṛṣṇādīnāṁ tu mathurādi-kṣetraṁ mahādhiṣṭhānam, ‘mathurā bhagavān yatra nityaṁ sannihito hariḥ’ ity-ādy-ukteḥ | tathā tat-tan-mantra-dhyeya-vaibhavatvena mathurā-vṛndāvanādīnāṁ śrī-gopāla-tāpany-ādau prakhyātatvāt | mathurādi-kṣetrāṇy evānyatrādhiṣṭhāne dhyānena prakāśya teṣu bhagavāṁś cintyate |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 286)
“Now, [for bhaktas] the primary [meditation] is situated in Śrī Bhagavān’s dhāma alone [i.e., Śrī Bhagavān is to be meditated upon only as situated in his own abode], whereas it is considered by yogīs to be situated in the lotus in the heart [i.e., yogīs, unlike bhaktas, meditate on Bhagavān situated in their own hearts rather than in his own abode], since it is stated [in Śāradā-tilaka], ‘Remember [Govinda] in joyful Vṛndāvana,’ and so on. Therefore, worship in the mind (mānasa-pūjā) is to be conceived there alone [i.e., when worship is performed in the mind, Bhagavān should be conceived of as situated in his own abode, e.g., Vṛndāvana, and not in the heart, in the sun, or elsewhere, as yogīs may conceive of him]. … The domains of Mathurā and so forth, however, are grand existential seats (mahādhiṣṭhānas) of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and so on, on account of statements such as [SB 1.10.28], ‘Mathurā, where Bhagavān Hari is eternally present,’ and because of Mathurā, Vṛndāvana, and so forth’s being made known in Śrī Gopāla Tāpanī and elsewhere to be the magnificence (vaibhava) of the object of meditation (dhyeya) in various mantras [i.e., to be aspects of Bhagavān’s own personal greatness]. The domains of Mathurā and so forth are to be manifested through meditation in existential seats elsewhere, and Bhagavān is to be conceived in them [i.e., if an object of worship, such as a Deity, is present in a location other than the district of Mathurā or another abode of Śrī Bhagavān, then a worshiper of that object of worship should situate that object of worship in the appropriate abode, e.g., Vṛndāvana, through meditation and then perform worship with the object of worship conceived to be situated there].”
kair api prema-vaivaśya-bhāgbhir bhāgavatavottamaiḥ |
adyāpi dṛśyate kṛṣṇaḥ krīḍan vṛndāvanāntare ||
(Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.5.392)
“Even by some highly elevated Bhāgavatas who are overwhelmed by prema, Kṛṣṇa is seen playing in Vṛndāvana still today.”
tad evaṁ tad-dhāmnām upary-adhaḥ prakāśa-mātratvenobhaya-vidhatvaṁ prasaktam | vastutas tu śrī-bhagavan-nityādhiṣṭhānatvena tac-chrī-vigrahavad ubhayatra prakāśāvirodhāt, samāna-guṇa-nāma-rūpatvenāmnātatvāt, lāghavāc ca, eka-vidhatvam eva mantavyam |
(Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha 106.8)
“ln this way, only because of his [i.e., Bhagavān’s] dhāmas being manifest above and below [i.e., in Vaikuṇṭha and in the midst of prakṛti] are they described as being of both types [i.e., as being of two different varieties and not simply one]. In reality, however, as these dhāmas are Śrī Bhagavān’s eternal residence [i.e., his invariable locus of being], they are to be understood as being of only one type (1) because like his divine form there is no contradiction in their being manifest in both places [i.e., simultaneously above in Vaikunṭha and below in the midst of prakṛti], (2) because they are said to have the same qualities, names, and forms, and (3) because of conciseness [in conception].”
śraddhā viśeṣataḥ prītiḥ śrī-mūrter aṅghri-sevane |
śrīmad-bhāgavatārthānām āsvādo rasikaiḥ saha ||
sajātīyāśaye snigdhe sādhau saṅgaḥ svato vare |
nāma-saṅkīrtanaṁ śrīman-mathurā-maṇḍale sthitiḥ ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.90–2)
“(60) Śraddhā and special affinity (prīti) for serving the feet of the śrī-mūrti, (61) tasting the meanings of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam with relishers of rasa (rasikas), (62) associating with sādhus who are of like aspiration, affectionate, and superior to oneself, (63) saṅkīrtana of the name, and (64) residing in the beautiful district of Mathurā.”
