Iṣṭa-devatā

rasena yena yenānte veśākārādinā tathā

rasena yena yenānte veśākārādinā tathā |
sevitvā kṛṣṇa-pādābje yo yo vaikuṇṭham āgataḥ ||
tasya tasyākhilaṁ tat tac chrīmad-bhagavataḥ priyam |
tasmai tasmai praroceta tasmāt tat-tad-rasādikam ||
te ca sarve’tra vaikuṇṭhe śrī-nārāyaṇam īśvaram |
tat-tad-varṇādi-yuktātma-deva-rūpaṁ vicakṣate ||
pūrvavad bhajanānandaṁ prāpnuvanti navaṁ navam |
sarvadāpy aparicchinnaṁ vaikuṇṭhe’tra viśeṣataḥ ||
ye tv asādharaṇaiḥ sarvaiḥ pūrvair ātma-manoramaiḥ |
parivārādibhir yuktaṁ nijam iṣṭataraṁ prabhum ||
sampaśyanto yathā-pūrvaṁ sadaivecchanti sevitum |
te’tyanta-tat-tan-niṣṭhāntya-kaṣṭhavanto mahāśayāḥ ||
te cāsyaiva pradeśeṣu tādṛśeṣu purādiṣu |
tathaiva tādṛśaṁ nāthaṁ bhajantas tanvate sukham ||
ye caikatara-rūpasya prīti-niṣṭhā bhavanti na |
aviśeṣa-grahās tasya yat-kiñcid-rūpa-sevakāḥ ||
ye ca lakṣmī-pater aṣṭākṣarādi-manu-tat-parāḥ |
te hi sarve sva-dehānte vaikuṇṭham imam āśritāḥ ||
yathā-kāmaṁ sukhaṁ prāpuḥ sarvato’py adhikaṁ sukhāt |
teṣāṁ sva-sva-rasānaikyāt tāratamye’pi tulyatā ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.4.145–154)

“That particular beautiful rasa, as well as the garb, form, and so forth, dear to Bhagavān, with which they have worshiped the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa and finally reached Vaikuṇṭha—all of that is deeply relished by them [i.e., by bhaktas who thereafter dwell eternally in Vaikuṇṭha] because of that [i.e., because of that form, garb, rasa, and so forth being dear to Śrī Bhagavān]. Furthermore, in Vaikuṇṭha, they all behold Śrī Nārāyaṇa, the Īśvara, in the form of their own Deva [i.e., in the form of their personal Iṣṭa-devatā] replete with that particular complexion and so forth [i.e., replete with the complexion, appearance, associates, and so forth unique to their Iṣṭa-devatā]. Although always unceasing as before, they attain newer and newer bliss in worship here in Vaikuṇṭha especially [i.e., as the bliss they felt during their worship in their final body in saṁsāra was unceasing, it is felt to increase and become ever-new upon entering their Iṣṭa-devatā’s personal abode and presence]. They as previously [aspired for] behold in full their own dearmost Prabhu [i.e., their Iṣṭa-devatā] replete with all the previous extraordinary associates and so forth [i.e., characteristics, activities, and so on] pleasing to their hearts which they always desired to worship [directly while they were in saṁsāra] since these high-minded ones [i.e., these bhaktas endowed with extremely deep, imperturbable cognitive functions (parama-gambhīrākṣobhya-citta-vṛttayaḥ)] are possessed of the extremity of superlative fixity [i.e., one-pointedness] in these [i.e., in these associates, characteristics, activities, and so forth specifically of their Iṣṭa-devatā]. Furthermore, they worship the Lord as such only in that way in such domains as the city [i.e., Dvārakā] and expand their bliss [i.e., they worship the Lord only in the particular form of their Iṣṭa-devatā along with his particular associates, particular abode, and so forth that are the specific object of their superlative fixity]. [On the contrary,] All of the worshipers of any particular form of the Lord of Lakṣmī who do not have fixity in love (prīti) for one particular form [of his] because they do not have any specific inclination [towards any one particular form of his] and who are devoted to a mantra such as the eight-syllable become sheltered in this Vaikuṇṭha after the demise of their own [final sāṁsārika] bodies and attain bliss as desired [by them] greater even than all [the] bliss [previously experienced by them while performing worship in saṁsāra]. Even in the midst of a gradation [in the degree of the bliss these bhaktas of various types experience] on account of the non-singularity of their own respective rasas, there is an equality among them.”

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tvaṁ bhakti-yoga-paribhāvita-hṛt-saroja

tvaṁ bhakti-yoga-paribhāvita-hṛt-saroja
āsse śrutekṣita-patho nanu nātha puṁsām |
yad yad dhiyā ta urugāya vibhāvayanti
tat tad vapuḥ praṇayase sad-anugrahāya ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.9.11; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 7.383; Bhagavat Sandarbha: 6, 40; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.3.111)

“[Brahmā to Śrī Bhagavān:] O Nātha! You, he the path to whom is seen by hearing, dwell in the lotus-hearts of living beings that have been purified by bhakti-yoga [alt., that have been made fit (for you) by virtue of prema]. O you of highest praise! [Alt., O you who are sung of in many ways!] Out of favor upon the sat, you bring forth that very form of yours which they distinctively meditate on [alt., visualize] with the mind.”

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vācyatvaṁ vācakatvaṁ ca deva-tan-mantrayor iha

vācyatvaṁ vācakatvaṁ ca deva-tan-mantrayor iha |
abhedenocyate brahmaṁs tattvavidbhir vicāritaḥ ||
(Hayaśīrṣa Pañcarātra; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 198)

“O Brahmā, the existence as a referent and the existence as a referrer [respectively] of Deva and his mantra [i.e., the existence of Deva as the referent of his mantra and the existence of his mantra as a referrer to him] have been deliberated upon and described as non-different by knowers of the reality.”

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yasya deve ca mantre ca gurau triṣv api niścalā

yasya deve ca mantre ca gurau triṣv api niścalā |
na vyavacchidyate buddhis tasya siddhir adūrataḥ ||
mantrātmā devatā jñeyā devatā guru-rūpiṇī |
teṣāṁ bhedo na kartavyo yadīcched iṣṭam ātmanaḥ ||
(Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 17.65–66)

“Success (siddhi) is not far off for one whose unwavering intention upon Deva, the mantra, and the guru is non-deterred. The Devatā is to be known as he who has a form as the mantra [used to worship him], and the Devatā is [to be known as] he who has a form as the guru [who teaches worship of himself]. A division between them is not to be made should one desire [to attain] one’s own desired object [i.e., should one desire to attain one’s cherished Devatā].”

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tad evaṁ teṣāṁ bahu-bhedeṣu satsu teṣām eva

tad evaṁ teṣāṁ bahu-bhedeṣu satsu teṣām eva prabhāva-tāratamyena kṛpā-tāratamyena bhakti-vāsanā-bheda-tāratamyena sat-saṅgāt kāla-śaighrya-svarūpa-vaiśiṣṭyābhyāṁ bhaktir udayate | … tatra prathamaṁ tāvat tat-tat-saṅgāj jātena tat-tac-chraddhā-tat-tat-paramparā-kathā-rucy-ādinā jāta-bhagavat-sāmmukhyasya tat-tad-anuṣaṅgenaiva tat-tad-bhajanīye bhagavad-āvirbhāva-viśeṣe tat-bhajana-mārga-viśeṣe ca rucir jāyate |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 202)

“Thus, in this way, bhakti manifests with speciality in nature (svarūpa) and with swiftness or time [i.e., relative slowness] as a result of sat-saṅga in accord with a gradation in types of bhakti-vāsanās [i.e., the predilections for particular forms of bhakti fostered by the sādhus with whom one associates], [as well as] in accord with a gradation in [the degree of] grace [received by an individual from the sādhus with whom one associates], and in accord with a gradation in the potency [i.e., spiritual prowess] of those [sādhus] among the numerous types of sādhus there among [i.e., among all the sādhus who are Vaiṣṇavas]. … In this regard, taste [alt., liking] (ruci) for a specific appearance [i.e., form] of Bhagavān as one’s specific object of worship (bhajanīya), as well as for a specific path of worship (bhajana) of him, manifest in the course of ongoing specific association [i.e., association with a specific type of Vaiṣṇava sādhu] for someone in whom intentness (sāmmukhya) upon Bhagavān has manifested by means first of all of a specific form of śraddhā, a specific form of taste (ruci) for the kathā [i.e., discussion of Bhagavān] of a [specific] paramparā [i.e., lineage of Vaiṣṇava sādhus], and so forth, [which become] manifest as a result of a specific form of association [i.e., the association of a particular Vaiṣṇava sādhu].”

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gopayed devatām iṣṭāṁ gopayed gurum ātmanaḥ

gopayed devatām iṣṭāṁ gopayed gurum ātmanaḥ |
gopayec ca nijaṁ mantraṁ gopayen nija-mālikām ||

(Sammohana Tantra; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 2.147)

“One should conceal [one’s] Iṣṭa-devatā. One should conceal one’s guru. One should conceal one’s mantra. One should conceal one’s mālikā.”

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itthaṁ guror labdha-mantro

itthaṁ guror labdha-mantro guru-bhakti-parāyaṇaḥ |
sevamāno guruṁ nityaṁ tat-kṛpāṁ bhāvayet sudhīḥ ||
satāṁ dharmāṁs tataḥ śikṣet prapannānāṁ viśeṣataḥ |
sveṣṭa-deva-dhiyā nityaṁ vaiṣṇavān paritoṣayet ||
(Sanat-kumāra-saṁhitā: 110–111)

“A wise person who has thus received a mantra from a guru, is engaged in bhakti to the guru, and is regularly serving the guru should meditate on his grace. He should learn the dharmas of the sādhus, in particular, those of the surrendered, and with awareness of his own Iṣṭa-deva [i.e., with awareness of the presence of, and with the intent to please, his Iṣṭa-devata], he should always satisfy the Vaiṣṇavas.”

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tatra bhāgavatān dharmān

tatra bhāgavatān dharmān śikṣed gurv-ātma-daivataḥ |
amāyayānuvṛttyā yais tuṣyed ātmātmado hariḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.3.22; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.98; Bhakti Sandarbha: 206)

“One for whom guru is one’s ātmā and devatā should, through unaffected adherence, learn from him Bhāgavata-dharmas by which Hari, he who gives his own self, can be pleased.”

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labdhvā mantraṁ tu yo nityaṁ

atha dīkṣitasya pūjāyā nityatā |
labdhvā mantraṁ tu yo nityaṁ nārcayen mantra-devatām |
sarva-karmāphalaṁ tasyāniṣṭaṁ yacchati devatā ||
(Āgama-śāstra; cited Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 3.3)

“Now, the necessity of pūjā for one who has [received] dīkṣā [is described]: All the activities of one who receives a mantra but does not daily worship the devatā of the mantra are fruitless, and the devatā imposes disadvantage upon him.”

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