sakṛt tvad-ākāra-vilokanāśayā
tṛṇī-kṛtānuttama-bhukti-muktibhiḥ |
mahātmabhir mām avalokyatāṁ naya
kṣaṇe’pi te yad viraho’ti-duḥsahaḥ ||
(Stotra-ratna: 56)
“Please bring me into the sight of those great souls who out of longing to once behold your figure consider unparalleled enjoyment and mukti to be straw, [those great souls] whose separation is extremely difficult to bear for a moment even for you.”
yasya sphūrti-lavāṅkureṇa laghunāpy antar munīnāṁ manaḥ
spṛṣṭaṁ mokṣa-sukhād virajyati jhaṭity āsvādyamānād api |
premṇas tasya mukunda sāhasitayā śaknotu kaḥ prārthane
bhūyāj janmani janmani pracayinī kintu spṛhāpy atra me ||
(Stava-mālā: Aṣṭādaśa-cchanda, Vastra-haraṇa, 2)
“O Mukunda, who could have the capability to boldly pray for that prema upon being touched by even a tiny sprout of a minute manifestation of which the inner minds of sages immediately become disaffected from even the satisfaction of mokṣa they are relishing? [No one.] Birth after birth, however, let me just have [ever-] increasing desire for that [i.e., that prema].”
viceyāni vicāryāṇi vicintyāni punaḥ punaḥ |
kṛpaṇasya dhanānīva tvan-nāmāni bhavantu naḥ ||
(Bhavānanda; cited in Padyāvalī: 30)
“Like riches for a miser, may your names be our object of pursuit, object of deliberation, and object of meditation again and again.”
e-tine lāgila mana, lobhe kare āsvādana … |
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.21.135)
“His [i.e., Mahāprabhu’s] mind became fixed upon these three [i.e., the mādhurya of Kṛṣṇa’s figure, Kṛṣṇa’s face, and Kṛṣṇa’s smile], and out of intense desire (lobha) he tasted them.”
prema-sevā sādhya yei, gāḍha-lobhe mile sei,
varaja-vāsi-carita tatpara ||
(Yadunandana Ṭhākura’s rendering of Govinda-līlāmṛta: 1.3)
“One devoted to the ways of the residents of Vraja attains prema-sevā, the sādhya [i.e., the goal], [only] with intense hankering.”
ābhīra-pallī-pati-putra-kāntā-
dāsyābhilāṣātibalāśvavāraḥ |
śrī-rūpa-cintāmala-sapti-saṁstho
mat-svānta-durdānta-hayecchur āstām ||
(Stavāvalī: Abhīṣṭa-sūcana: 1)
“May the very strong horseman of longing for servitude unto the Beloved of the Son of the cowherd village’s headman [i.e., Śrī Rādhikā, the beloved of Śrī Kṛṣṇa] that is mounted on the spotless horse of Śrī Rūpa’s thoughts become desirous of [mounting, and riding] the difficult to tame horse of my mind [i.e., may Śrī Rūpa’s line of thought regarding Śrī Rādhikā and the longing it inspires take hold in my mind and forever engage me in the service of Śrī Rādhikā].”
kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā matiḥ
krīyatāṁ yadi kuto’pi labhyate |
tatra laulyam api mūlyam ekalaṁ
janma-koṭi-sukṛtair na labhyate ||
(Unknown sounce; cited in Padyāvalī: 14; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.8.70; attributed by some to Rāmānanda Rāya)
“Purchase awareness imbued with Kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa if it is attainable [anywhere] by any means at all. Hankering is verily the only price for it, but that [hankering] is not attainable even by ten million lives of meritorious deeds.”
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-prabhura dāsera anudāsa |
sevā abhilāṣa kare narottama-dāsa ||
(Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura’s Prārthanā)
“Narottama Dāsa, an assisting servant of the servants of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Prabhu, longs for service.”
tat te’nukampāṁ susamīkṣamāṇo
bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam |
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.14.8)
“One who can perceive your grace fully and properly, endure the reactions to one’s own past actions, and live on offering obeisance unto you with mind, body, and words is an heir to the plane of mukti [i.e., freedom from ignorance and engagement in your eternal service].”
