Gratitude – Anuśīlana.in

yo gajendraṁ jhaṣa-grastaṁ dhyāyantaṁ caraṇāmbujam

yo gajendraṁ jhaṣa-grastaṁ dhyāyantaṁ caraṇāmbujam |
krośantīnāṁ kareṇūnāṁ kṛcchrato’mocayad drutam ||
taṁ sukhārādhyam ṛjubhir ananya-śaraṇair nṛbhiḥ |
kṛtajñaḥ ko na seveta durārādhyam asādhubhiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.19.35–36; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 153)

“What grateful person would not worship he who swiftly saved the crying lady elephants’ elephant-king [i.e., Gajendra] from danger while [the elephant-king was] meditating on his lotus feet after being seized by a crocodile, [he] who is easily propitiated by persons who are sincere and of undivided shelter yet difficult to propitiate for the unvirtuous?”

Read on →

kaḥ paṇḍitas tvad aparaṁ śaraṇaṁ samīyād

kaḥ paṇḍitas tvad aparaṁ śaraṇaṁ samīyād
bhakta-priyād ṛta-giraḥ suhṛdaḥ kṛtajñāt |
sarvān dadāti suhṛdo bhajato’bhi kāmān
ātmanam apy upacayāpacayau na yasya ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.48.26; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.678; Bhakti Sandarbha: 107; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.96)

“What paṇḍita would take full shelter in anyone other than you, to whom bhaktas are dear, whose words are truthful, who are well-wishing, who are grateful, and who bestow all thoroughly desired objects upon a well-wishing worshiper [of yourself] and even your own self [upon them] without any accumulation for, or diminution of, yourself [thereby]?”

Read on →

taṁ tvākhilātma-dayiteśvaram āśritānāṁ

taṁ tvākhilātma-dayiteśvaram āśritānāṁ
sarvārtha-daṁ sva-kṛta-vid visṛjeta ko nu |
ko vā bhajet kim api vismṛtaye’nu bhūtyai
kiṁ vā bhaven na tava pāda-rajo-juṣāṁ naḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.5; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 328)

“[Uddhava to Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] Indeed, who cognizant of what has been done for oneself [by you] would reject you, he who is the Self, Beloved, and Īśvara of all and the bestower of all ends upon those who have taken shelter? Who would adore anyone else for the sake of [worldly] well-being or even forgetfulness [of the world, i.e., mokṣa]? And what shall we who delight in the dust of your feet not have [if we simply continue to engage solely in bhakti to you with disinterest in all else]?”

Read on →

prathama-vayasi dattaṁ toyam alpaṁ smarantaḥ

prathama-vayasi dattaṁ toyam alpaṁ smarantaḥ
śirasi nihita-bhārā nārikelā narāṇām |
salilam amṛta-kalpaṁ dadyur ājīvanāntaṁ
na hi kṛtam upakāraṁ sādhavo vismaranti ||
(Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra)

“Remembering the small amount of water given [to them by human beings] in their early age, coconut trees, holding loads on their heads, can give water resembling nectar to human beings as long as they live. [Similarly,] The sādhus never forget help rendered [unto them by others].”

Read on →

guṇāyanaṁ śīla-dhanaṁ kṛtajñaṁ

guṇāyanaṁ śīla-dhanaṁ kṛtajñaṁ
vṛddhāśrayaṁ saṁvṛṇate’nu sampadaḥ |
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.21.44)

“Good fortune continuously worships in full one who is an abode of good qualities, possessed of the wealth of good conduct, grateful, and sheltered in elders [i.e., wise and well-experienced persons].”

Read on →

taṁ sukhārādhyam ṛjubhir

taṁ sukhārādhyam ṛjubhir ananya-śaraṇair nṛbhiḥ |
kṛtajñaḥ ko na seveta durārādhyam asādhubhiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.19.36′; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 153)

“What grateful person would not worship he who is easily propitiated by persons who are sincere and of undivided shelter yet difficult to propitiate for the unvirtuous [i.e., those who are the opposite]?”

Read on →