Hankering

bhagavad-bhakti-rasikā namasyā mādṛśāṁ sadā

bhagavad-bhakti-rasikā namasyā mādṛśāṁ sadā ||
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caraṇāmbhojārpitātmāno hi ye kila |
tad-eka-prema-lābhāśā tyaktārtha-jana-jīvanāḥ ||
aihikāmuṣmikāśeṣa-sādhya-sādhana-nispṛhāḥ |
jāti-varṇāśramācāra-dharmādhīnatva-pāragāḥ ||
ṛṇa-trayād anirmuktā veda-mārgātigā api |
hari-bhakti-balāvegād akutaścid-bhayāḥ sadā ||
nānyat kim api vāñchanti tad-bhakti-rasa-lampaṭāḥ |
svargāpavarga-narakeṣv api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ ||
bhagavān iva satyaṁ me ta eva parama-priyāḥ |
parama-prārthanīyaś ca mama taiḥ saṅgamaḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.3.54–59)

“[Parīkṣit Mahārāja to Nārada Ṛṣi:] Bhagavad-bhakti-rasikas are always to be offered obeisance to for those such as myself. Of self offered to the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa; of desire for excellent prema thereto; having relinquished wealth, people [i.e., relatives and others], and livelihood; desireless of all objects to be attained and [all] means of attainment [of those objects] existent in this life and the next; having crossed beyond subjection to the conduct (ācāra) and duties (dhama) of class, varṇa, and āśrama; being ever free from fear from anywhere by virtue of the driving force of the power of bhakti to Hari even though [they are] not fully liberated from the three debts [to the devas, sages, and ancestors] and transgressors of the path of the Vedas, they, who are filled with hankering for bhakti-rasa, desire nothing else whatsoever, and are seers of the same object amid Svarga, liberation, and even Naraka, truly are supremely dear to me just as Bhagavān is, and association with them is the supreme object to be prayed for by me.”

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aṭati yad bhavān ahni kānanaṁ

aṭati yad bhavān ahni kānanaṁ
truṭir yugāyate tvām apaśyatām |
kuṭila-kuntalaṁ śrī-mukhaṁ ca te
jaḍa udīkṣatāṁ pakṣma-kṛt dṛśām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.31.15)

“[The gopīs to Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] ‘When you go out to the forest during the day, a truṭi [i.e., half a milisecond] seems like a yuga for we who do not see you [all day], and the creator of lids for the eyes of we who eagerly behold your wavy locks and beautiful face [when you return in the late afternoon] is [considered by us to be] a fool.”

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yasyānanaṁ makara-kuṇḍala-cāru-karṇa

yasyānanaṁ makara-kuṇḍala-cāru-karṇa-
bhrājat-kapola-subhagaṁ savilāsa-hāsam |
nityotsavaṁ na tatṛpur dṛśibhiḥ pibantyo
nāryo narāś ca muditāḥ kupitā nimeś ca ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.24.65; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 82, 111; Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.1.1; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.21.123)

“Drinking with their eyes whose [i.e., his, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s] face, which is a constant festival, filled with a charming smile, and lovely with shining cheeks and adorable ears [decorated] with makara earrings, delighted women and men were not satiated and became angry at Nimi.”

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tat-tad-vinodāmṛta-sāgarāntaraṁ

tat-tad-vinodāmṛta-sāgarāntaraṁ
bibhety alaṁ me rasanāvagāhitum |
sadaiva tat-tan-madhura-priyāpi yat
karmaṇy aśakye na janaḥ pravartate ||
pītaṁ sakṛt karṇa-puṭena tat-tal-
līlāmṛtaṁ kasya haren na cetaḥ |
pravartituṁ vāñchati tatra tasmāl
lajjāṁ na rakṣet kila lolatā hi ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.114–115)

“My tongue is extremely afraid of plunging into the ocean of the nectar of those pastimes [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes in Vraja] even though those sweets [i.e., those pastimes] are indeed always dear [alt., pleasing] to it because a person does not engage in an impossible task. [But] Whose heart shall the nectar of those līlās, drunk once through hollows of the ears, not steal? Therefore, [my tongue] desires to engage in that since intense desire (lolatā, syn., laulya) certainly cannot hold to shyness.”

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gopyas tapaḥ kim acaran yad amuṣya rūpaṁ

gopyas tapaḥ kim acaran yad amuṣya rūpaṁ
lāvaṇya-sāram asamorddhvam ananya-siddham |
dṛgbhiḥ pibanty anusavābhinavaṁ durāpam
ekānta-dhāma yaśasaḥ śriya aiśvarasya ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.44.14; cited in Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.135; Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 101, 183; Prīti Sandarbha: 99, 111; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.21.112)

“What austerity did the gopīs perform as a result of which they drink through their eyes his form which is the essence of loveliness, unequalled and unsurpassed, not accomplished otherwise, new at every moment, difficult to attain, and the ultimate reservoir of fame, splendor, and mastery?”

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vraja-bhūmāv ayaṁ jātas tasyāṁ gopatvam ācarat

vraja-bhūmāv ayaṁ jātas tasyāṁ gopatvam ācarat |
gopālopāsanā-niṣṭho viśiṣṭo’sman mahāśayaḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.62)

“[Śrī Uddhava along with Śrī Nārada to Gopa Kumāra:] He was born in the land of Vraja, he has engaged in cowherding (gopatva) there, and he has fixity in worship (upāsanā) of Gopāla. This great soul is superior to us.”

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uddhavāyam aho gopa-putro govardhanodbhavaḥ

uddhavāyam aho gopa-putro govardhanodbhavaḥ |
mādṛśāṁ tvādṛśānāṁ ca mṛgyan vastu sudurlabham ||
itas tato bhraman vyagraḥ kadācid api kutracit |
nātikramati cittāntarlagnaṁ taṁ śokam ārtidam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.58–59)

“[Śrī Nārada of Gopa Kumāra:] Aho! Uddhava! This son of a cowherd born in Govardhana, restless and wandering here and there searching for an object most difficult to attain [i.e., completely unattainable] for those like me [i.e., bhaktas of Śrī Bhagavān] and those like you [i.e., friends of Śrī Bhagavān], never anywhere overcomes that sorrow fixed in his heart that causes it to ache.”

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evaṁ-vrataḥ sva-priya-nāma-kīrtyā

evaṁ-vrataḥ sva-priya-nāma-kīrtyā
jātānurāgo druta-citta uccaiḥ |
hasaty atho roditi rauti gāyaty
unmādavan nṛtyati loka-bāhyaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.40; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.641; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.4.6 Bhakti Sandarbha: 188, 263; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.7.94, 2.9.260, 2.23.41, 2.25.141, 3.3.179)

“One whose rite is so, in whom anurāga [i.e., prema] has manifest by chanting the name of one’s Beloved, and who is [thus] of melted heart, loudly laughs, cries, shouts, sings, and dances as though mad, oblivious to society.”

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athāsmin tṛtīye’dhyāye tat-prāpakāṇi sādhanāni nirūpyante

athāsmin tṛtīye’dhyāye tat-prāpakāṇi sādhanāni nirūpyante | teṣu mukhyaṁ tāvat prāpyetara-vaitṛṣṇyaṁ prāpya-tṛṣṇā ceti tat-siddhaye pūrva-pāda-dvayam ārabhyate | tatra prathame pāde pañcāgni-vidyām āśritya nānāvasthasya jīvasya loka-gatyā gati-rūpā doṣāḥ prakāśyante loka-virāgāya | dvitīye tu prāpyānurāga-hetavaḥ tan-mahimādayo guṇā vakṣyante | … tad itthaṁ janma-maraṇādi-duḥkhālayatva-rūpa-prapañca-doṣoktyā nikhila-nirdoṣa-kīrtanena ca nikhila-niyāmakatva-viśuddha-cid-vigrahatvādi-paramātma-guṇa-gaṇa-nirūpaṇena ca brahma-tṛṣṇaiva tad-itara-vitṛṣṇā-pūrvikā tat-prāpti-hetur iti pādābhyāṁ darśitaṁ bhavati |
(Excerpt from Govinda-bhāṣya: 3.1.1, 3.2.42)

“Now, in this third chapter, the means (sādhanas) of attaining him [i.e., he who is the sole Cause of the world, the faultless Ocean of qualities constituted of eternal being, consciousness, and bliss, Śrī Puruṣottama (Viśvaika-hetuṁ Nirdoṣa-guṇa-ratnākaraṁ Sac-cid-ānandātmakaṁ Puruṣottamaṁ)] are determined. Among them, the primary are, specifically, non-desirousness of all that is other than the object be attained (prāpya) and desire for the objected to be attained (prāpya). The first two sections [of this third chapter] are undertaken for the purpose of establishing them [i.e., these two primary sādhanas]. In this regard, in the first section, the faults in the forms of the movements as a result of the movement through [various] planes (lokas) of a jīva subject to various conditions after taking shelter in knowledge of the five fires are shown for the purpose of detachment from those planes, whereas in the the second [section], the qualities [of the object to be attained], beginning with his greatness, which are the causes of deep attachment (anurāga) to the object of attainment, will be discussed.” …
“Thus, in this way, it is shown by [these] two sections that desire for Brahman [i.e., Paramātmā, viz., Śrī Puruṣottama] preceded by the absence of desire for anything other than him as a result of (1) discussion of the faults of phenomenal existence in the form of [its] being an abode of the sufferings of birth, death, and so forth, (2) praise of [his being] completely faultless, and (3) ascertainment of the qualities of Paramātmā [i.e., Brahman, viz., Śrī Puruṣotama] beginning with [his] being the regulator of all and being possessed of a completely pure, conscious figure, is the cause of attainment of him.”

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