Prahlāda Mahārāja

viprād dvi-ṣaḍ-‌guṇa-yutād aravinda-nābha-

viprād dvi-ṣaḍ-‌guṇa-yutād aravinda-nābha-
pādāravinda-vimukhāt śvapacaṁ variṣṭham |
manye tad-arpita-mano-vacanehitārtha-
prāṇaṁ punāti sa kulaṁ na tu bhūri-mānaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.9.10; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.192; Bhakti Sandarbha: 100; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.20.59)

“[Prahlāda Mahārāja:] I consider a dog-cooker whose mind, words, actions, wealth, and life are dedicated to him [viz., Śrī Bhagavān] superior to a brāhmaṇa possessed of [all] twelve [brahminical] qualities who is averse to the lotus feet of he of lotus navel. He [i.e., a dog-cooker who is a bhakta of Śrī Bhagavān] purifies his family, whereas one of great pride does not.”

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kṛṣṇasyānugraho’py ebhyo nānumīyeta sattamaiḥ

kṛṣṇasyānugraho’py ebhyo nānumīyeta sattamaiḥ |
sa cāvirbhavati śrīmann adhikṛtyaiva sevakam ||
hanūmad-ādivat tasya kāpi sevā kṛtāsti na |
paraṁ vighnākule citte smaraṇaṁ kriyate mayā ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.4.19–20)

“Even Kṛṣṇa’s favor shall not be inferred from these [i.e., from someone’s overcoming impediments, teaching children, acting like a sādhu, being compassionate to living beings in distress, not accepting mokṣa, pleasing people in general, and other characteristics spoken of in the previous verse] by the best of the sat. O blessed one, furthermore that [i.e., Kṛṣṇa’s favor] appears only towards a servant [i.e., it is not bestowed upon someone like me who does not engage in service to Bhagavān]. Not sort of service to him like Hanumān [performs] has been performed by me. Only remembrance [of him] with a mind beset with disturbances is performed by me.”

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jñānaṁ tad etad amalaṁ duravāpam āha

jñānaṁ tad etad amalaṁ duravāpam āha
nārāyaṇo nara-sakhaḥ kila nāradāya |
ekāntināṁ bhagavatas tad akiñcanānāṁ
pādāravinda-rajasāpluta-dehināṁ syāt ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.6.27)

“Thus, Nārāyaṇa, the Friend of Nara, formerly explained this taintless, difficult to grasp knowledge to Nārada. It can [also] be had by the bearers of bodies that have been bathed in the dust of the lotus feet of the disinterested (akiñcanas) who are one-pointed upon Bhagavān.”

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jahyād yad-arthe svān prāṇān hanyād vā pitaraṁ gurum

jahyād yad-arthe svān prāṇān hanyād vā pitaraṁ gurum |
tasyāṁ svatvaṁ striyāṁ jahyād yas tena hy ajito jitaḥ ||
kṛmi-viḍ-bhasma-niṣṭhāntaṁ kvedaṁ tucchaṁ kalevaram |
kva tadīya-ratir bhāryā kvāyam ātmā nabhaś-chadiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.14.12–13)

“The Unconquerable One [i.e., Śrī Bhagavān] becomes conquered by one who can relinquish possessiveness of one’s wife, for the sake of whom one [who is attached to one‘s wife] may relinquish [even] one’s vital airs [i.e., give up one’s life] or may kill [even] one’s father or guru [if a circumstance arises in which one’s wife’s life is in danger]. Where is this insignificant body, the end-state of which is in insects, excrement, or ashes? Where is a wife, whose attachment is to that [i.e., to that insignificant body]? And where is this Self, he who eclipses [even] the sky?”

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yuvatīnāṁ yathā yūni yūnāṁ ca yuvatau yathā

yuvatīnāṁ yathā yūni yūnāṁ ca yuvatau yathā |
mano’bhiramate tadvan mano’bhiramatāṁ tvayi ||
(Padma Purāṇa: 6.128.258; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 8.437; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.153; Bhakti Sandarbha: 217)

“As the minds of young ladies delight in a young man, and the minds of young men delight in a young lady, so may my mind delight in you.”

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adhokṣajālambham ihāśubhātmanaḥ

adhokṣajālambham ihāśubhātmanaḥ
śarīriṇaḥ saṁsṛti-cakra-śātanam |
tad brahma-nirvāṇa-sukhaṁ vidur budhās
tato bhajadhvaṁ hṛdaye hṛd-īśvaram ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.7.37)

“The wise know the impure mind’s contact with Adhokṣaja [i.e., Bhagavān] to be destructive of the cycle of saṁsāra for an embodied being in this world and to be [inclusive of] the bliss of immersion (nirvāṇa) in Brahman. Therefore, you all should worship the Lord of the heart in the heart.”

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tāvad rāgādayaḥ stenāḥ tāvat kārāgṛhaṁ gṛham

tāvad rāgādayaḥ stenāḥ tāvat kārāgṛhaṁ gṛham |
tāvan moho’ṅghri-nigaḍo yāvat kṛṣṇa na te janāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.14.36)

“For that long attachment (rāga) and so forth are thieves, for that long one’s house is a prison, and for that long affection is a foot-shackle—so long as people do not become yours, O Kṛṣṇa!”

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vimuñcati yadā kāmān mānavo manasi sthitān

vimuñcati yadā kāmān mānavo manasi sthitān |
tarhy eva puṇḍarīkākṣa bhagavattvāya kalpate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.10.9)

“O you of lotus eyes! When a human being completely casts away desires situated in the mind, only then does one become fit for Bhagavattva.”

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indriyāṇi manaḥ prāṇa ātmā dharmo dhṛtir matiḥ

indriyāṇi manaḥ prāṇa ātmā dharmo dhṛtir matiḥ |
hrīḥ śrīs tejaḥ smṛtiḥ satyaṁ yasya naśyanti janmanā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.10.8)

“By the appearance of which [i.e., of desire], the senses, the mind, the vital air, the body, dharma, composure, intelligence, modesty, beauty, strength, remembrance, and truthfulness are lost.”

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naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaraṇyās

naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaraṇyās
tvad-vīrya-gāyana-mahāmṛta-magna-cittaḥ |
śoce tato vimukha-cetasa indriyārtha-
māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.9.43)

“Of mind absorbed in the great nectar
Of [songs sung by] the singers of your feats,
I am certainly not afraid,
O Supreme One,
Of the insurmountable Vaitaraṇī.
[Still,] I pity the fools,
Whose minds are averse to that [great nectar],
Bearing the burden [of worldly life]
For the sake of the illusory pleasure
Produced by objects of the senses.”

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