Hankering
Grantha-kartuḥ prārthanā
The author [of Stavāvalī’s] earnest prayer to Śrī Kṛṣṇa
By Śrīmad Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmīpāda
śrīmad-govinda-padāravinda-makaranda-lubdha-cetobhiḥ
śrīmad-govinda-padāravinda-makaranda-lubdha-cetobhiḥ |
govinda-bhāṣyam etat pāṭhyaṁ śapatho’rpito’nyebhyaḥ ||
(Govinda-bhāṣya: Upasaṁhāra, 2)
“This Govinda-bhāṣya is to be studied by those whose minds are desirous of the nectar of the lotus feet of Śrīmad Govinda. A curse [i.e., a prohibition on studying it] is cast upon others [i.e., those devoid of such desire, who read it].”
Svāmī Vivekānanda in Bhakti-rahasya
(Svāmī Vivekānanda in Bhakti-rahasya)
“A great soul would say, ‘Imagine there is a thief in this house. Somehow, he came to know that there is a tāla of gold in the next room, and between these two rooms there is a very thin wall. In such a case, what will be the condition of the thief? He will have no sleep. He will not be able to eat. He will not be able to do anything. “How can I obtain that tāla of gold?” His mind will remain fixed only on that. He will only think, “How can I make a hole in that wall and take the tāla of gold?” “‘What do you all want to say [i.e., so, what do I mean by this]? If human beings truly had faith that the source of happiness, bliss, and glory, Svayaṁ Bhagavān, exists, then would they be able to engage in ordinary worldly (sāṁsārika) work and not try to attain him?’ “As soon as human beings have faith that someone known as Bhagavān exists, then they become mad with intense desire to attain him. … This frenzy, this thirst, this earnest propensity, is called the awakening of a life of dharma. Only when people reach this state has their spiritual (ādhyātmika) life begun.”
kāla-yāpanāyām asamarthatvam autsukyam
kāla-yāpanāyām asamarthatvam autsukyam | … utkaṇṭhā ca tasyaiva sūkṣmāvasthā |
(Durgama-saṅgamanī-tīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.4.194)
“‘Eagerness’ (autsukya) is incapability to pass time [i.e., being so eager for something that it becomes difficult to pass time unless and until one attains that object], … and ‘longing’ (utkaṇṭhā) is a subtle state of that itself [i.e., of eagerness].”
śrī-rādhā-prāṇa-bandhoś caraṇa-kamalayoḥ keśa-śeṣādy-agamyā
śrī-rādhā-prāṇa-bandhoś caraṇa-kamalayoḥ keśa-śeṣādy-agamyā
yā sādhyā prema-sevā vraja-carita-parair gāḍha-laulyaika-labhyā |
sā syāt prāptā yayā tāṁ prathayitum adhunā mānasīm asya sevāṁ
bhāvyāṁ rāgādhva-pānthair vrajam anucaritaṁ naityikaṁ tasya naumi ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 1.3)
“The attainment of prema-sevā to the lotus feet of Śrī Rādhā’s Prāṇa-bandhu [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa], which is incomprehensible to Brahmā, Śiva, Śeṣa, and others, and attainable only through intense hankering by those who are devoted to the conduct of [the gopīs’ of] Vraja—to now expound mental sevā to him, [which is] to be meditated upon by the followers of the path of rāga, by which this [attainment of prema-sevā] can be attained, I offer obeisance to his daily activity in Vraja.”
yat kiñcit tṛṇa-gulma-kīkaṭa-mukhaṁ goṣṭhe samastaṁ hi tat
yat kiñcit tṛṇa-gulma-kīkaṭa-mukhaṁ goṣṭhe samastaṁ hi tat
sarvānandamayaṁ mukunda-dayitaṁ līlānukūlaṁ param |
śāstrair eva muhur muhuḥ sphuṭam idaṁ niṣṭaṅkitaṁ yāchñayā
brahmāder api saspṛheṇa tad idaṁ sarvaṁ mayā vandyate ||
(Stavāvalī: Vraja-vilāsa-stava, 102)
“Everything beginning with the grass, shrubs, and insects in Vraja is indeed constituted of all bliss, beloved to Mukunda, and completely favorable to [his] līlā; this is declared by the śāstras again and again by means of the prayers of Brahmā and others [e.g., Uddhava], and all of this [i.e., everything in Vraja] is [thus] bowed to by me with longing.”
yo dustyajān dāra-sutān suhṛd-rājyaṁ hṛdi-spṛśaḥ
yo dustyajān dāra-sutān suhṛd-rājyaṁ hṛdi-spṛśaḥ |
jahau yuvaiva mala-vad uttama-śloka-lālasaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.14.43; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.3.31; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.23.25, 3.6.137)
“Longing for he of highest praise [i.e., Bhagavān], Bharata Mahārāja even in his youth abandoned like stool his most difficult to give up and heart-touching wife, sons, friends, and kingdom ”
āruhya paramāṁ kāṣṭhāṁ premā cid-dīpa-dīpanaḥ
āruhya paramāṁ kāṣṭhāṁ premā cid-dīpa-dīpanaḥ |
hṛdayaṁ drāvayann eṣa sneha ity abhidhīyate |
atrodite bhavej jātu na tṛptir darśanādiṣu ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 14.79)
“Prema which reaches its ultimate limit, illuminates the lamp of perception [i.e., produces perception of the object of prema—Kṛṣṇa], and melts the heart is called sneha. When it arises, no satiation can ever come about by darśana and so forth [i.e., by hearing of Kṛṣṇa, remembering Him, etc.; when sneha manifests, desire for Kṛṣṇa becomes insatiable even by direct interaction with him, much less seeing him, thinking of him, and so on].”
apāra-karuṇā-pūra-pūritāntar-mano-hrade
apāra-karuṇā-pūra-pūritāntar-mano-hrade |
prasīdāsmin jane devi nija-dāsya-spṛhā-juṣi ||
(Stava-mālā: Cāṭu-puṣpāñjali, 17)
“O you the deep lake of whose inner heart is filled with a boundless flood of compassion! O Devī! Please be gracious to this person, who cherishes longing for your service.”