Prema – Page 13 – Anuśīlana.in

kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā matiḥ

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.”

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anyeṣām api mahābhaktānāṁ prīter udāsīnā gatir na bhavaty eva

anyeṣām api mahābhaktānāṁ prīter udāsīnā gatir na bhavaty eva | kim uta viruddhā | tad-anukūlā sampattiś cāprārthitaiva bhavatīti sthitam | prītimatāṁ cāyam atiśayaḥ—yadi bhagavatā sa na dīyate tadā tenādānenāpi prīter ullāsa eva bhavati | yadi vā dīyate tadā tenāpīti |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 59)

“Other great bhaktas also never have a destination (gati) indifferent to prīti, much less one contrary [to it]. And it has been established [earlier in PRS 51] that attainments favorable to that [i.e., prīti] also occur unsought [i.e., without their having to be prayed for specifically]. Those [bhaktas] possessed of prītī also have this excellence: if that [i.e., some particular attainment, such as some form of wealth, status, opportunity, etc., or a particular form of mukti] is not given [to them] by Bhagavān, then even with that non-bestowal [of the attainment], there is a definitive increase in [their] prīti, and if, alternately, that [attainment] is given [by Bhagavān], then with that bestowal [of the attainment] also [there is a definitive increase in their prīti, as in the case of Sudāmā Vipra who rejoiced out of prīti after leaving Dvārakā without receiving anything from Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and rejoiced again out of prīti after arriving home and finding all the wealth given to him by Śrī Kṛṣṇa].”

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ekāntinas tāvad dvividhāḥ—ajāta-jāta-prītitva-bhedena

ekāntinas tāvad dvividhāḥ—ajāta-jāta-prītitva-bhedena | jāta-prītayaś ca trividhāḥ—(1) eke tadīyānubhava-mātra-niṣṭhāḥ śānta-bhaktādayaḥ; (2) anye tadīya-darśana-sevanādi-rasa-mayāḥ parikara-viśeṣābhimāninaḥ; (3) svayaṁ parikara-viśeṣāś ca | tatra teṣu ajāta-prītibhiḥ sarva-puruṣārthatvena tat-prītir eva prārthanīyā | atha jāta-prītiṣu śānta-bhaktādayas tu kadācid darśanādikaṁ vā prārthayante sevādikaṁ vinaiva, tad-vāsanāyā abhāvāt | sakṛd api kṛpā-dṛṣṭy-ādi-lābhena tṛptāś ca bhavanti | … ata eva tat-sāmīpyādike’pi teṣām anāgrahaḥ | ye tu tat-parikara-viśeṣābhimāninas te khalu tat-tat-prīti-viśeṣotkaṇṭhino yadā bhavanti, tadā tat-tat-sevā-viśeṣecchayā prārthayanta eva tat-sāmīpyādikam | tat-prārthanā ca prīti-vilāsa-rūpaiva | puṣṇāti ca tām iti guṇa eva | yadā ca teṣāṁ dainyena tat-prāpty-asambhāvanā jāyate, tadāpi ca tat-prīty-aviccheda-mātraṁ prārthayante | so’pi ca guṇa eva | yat tu kevala-saṁsāra-mokṣa-tat-sāmīpyānanda-viśeṣa-prārthanaṁ prīti-vikāratā-śūnyaṁ tat punaḥ sarvathā keṣāṁcid apy ekāntināṁ nābhirucitam | … tatraikatva-lakṣaṇaṁ sāyujyaṁ tu svarūpata eva tad-vinābhūtam | anyat tu vāsanā-bhedena | sārūpyasya tu sevopakāritvaṁ śobhā-viśeṣeṇa, śrī-vaikuṇṭhe’pi tadīya-nitya-sevakānāṁ tathaiva tādṛśatvam | loke’pi kiśora-vidagdha-kṣiti-pati-putraiḥ samāna-rūpa-vayaskā sevakāḥ saṅgṛhītā dṛśyante ślāghyante ca lokaiḥ | tasmād yathā tathā śrīmat-prīter eva puruṣārthatvam ity āyātam | te prīty-eka-puruṣārthino’pi bhāva-viśeṣeṇānyad vāñchantu na vāñchantu vā, sva-sva-bhakti-jāty-anurūpā bhakti-parikarāḥ padārthāḥ saṁsāra-dhvaṁsa-pūrvakam udayanta eva | na te kadācid vyabhiracanti ca |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 51)

“Ekāntīs [i.e., those who are one-pointed upon Bhagavān] are of two types as per a distinction of being (1) those in whom prīti has not manifested and (2) those in whom prīti has manifested. Those in whom prīti has manifested, furthermore, are of three types: (2a) some are śānta-bhaktas and others whose fixity is solely in experience (anubhava) of him [i.e., Bhagavān; they do not have fixity in a particular identity related to Bhagavān or in a particular form of service to Bhagavān], (2b) others are possessed of the identity (abhimāna) of [being] a particular associate [of Bhagavān] and immersed in the rasa of seeing him, serving [him], and so forth [i.e., they have a particular sense of identity in relation to Bhagavān and are immersed in serving him but they have not yet attained the state of actually being associates of Bhagavān], and (2c) some are themselves particular associates [of Bhagavān, i.e., they have attained the state of actually being associates of Bhagavān]. Therein, among them [i.e., among all the types of aforementioned ekāntīs], prīti for him [i.e., Bhagavān] is alone to be prayed for as all puruṣārthas [i.e., as the sum total of all puruṣārthas] by those [ekāntīs] in whom prīti has [yet] not manifested [i.e., the first type of ekāntīs]. Then, among those in whom prīti has [already] manifested [i.e., the second type of ekāntīs], śānta-bhaktas and others sometimes may pray for sight and so forth [of Bhagavān] but only without service and so forth [to him] because of the absence [in them] of an inclination (vāsanā) for that [i.e., for service to him]. They also become satiated by attaining even once a glance or otherwise of grace [from Bhagavān]. … Thus, they do not have any strong affinity (āgraha) even for nearness (sāmīpya) to him and so forth [i.e., for sārṣṭi-, sārūpya-, or sālokya-mukti]. When those who are possessed of the identity of [being] a particular associate of his, however, become earnestly desirous (utkaṇṭhita) of a particular type of corresponding prīti [for him], then out of desire for a particular corresponding service [to him] they pray for nearness (sāmīpya) to him and so forth [i.e., for sārṣṭi, sārūpya, and/or sālokya as befitting]. That [type of] prayer, moreover, is an expression of prīti itself. It nourishes that [i.e., prīti], and thus is verily a virtue. Furthermore, when inconceivability of attaining that [i.e., nearness (sāmīpya) to Bhagavān and so forth] arises because of their humility [i.e., when they feel as though it is impossible for them to ever attain nearness (sāmīpya) to Bhagavān or any of the other means they pray for out of their desire to serve Bhagavān as a particular associate of his with prīti], then too, furthermore, they pray just for a continuity of prīti for him [i.e., they pray only for prīti for him that never becomes interrupted]. That too, furthermore, is verily a virtue. Prayer only for liberation (mokṣa) from saṁsāra and the particular bliss of nearness (sāmīpya) to him that is devoid of being an expression of prīti, however, is not relishable under any circumstances to any ekāntīs [i.e., ekāntīs only accept varieties of mukti when they are conducive to service to Bhagavān, and they do so only out of desire to serve Bhagavān and not out of desire for becoming free from the suffering of saṁsāra or experiencing the bliss inherent in sāmīpya and so forth]. … Therein [i.e., among the five types of mukti,] sāyujya, the characteristic of which is oneness [of the jīva and Bhagavān], by its very nature is devoid of that [i.e., of service to Bhagavān, and thus is never accepted by ekāntīs]. Others, however, as per a specific type of inclination (vāsanā) [may be accepted by ekāntīs, e.g., sāmīpya, sālokya, and sāṛṣti may be accepted by ekāntī-bhaktas as means to rendering service to Bhagavān in his domain, in personal presence, and with appropriate paraphernalia]. The utility for service of sārūpya is because of its specific splendor [i.e., because it befits the elegance of the service offered to Bhagavān and thereby increases Bhagavān’s satisfaction]; in Śrī Vaikuṇṭha as well, in precisely this way [i.e., specifically because of sārūpya], his [i.e., Bhagavān’s] eternal servants have an alikeness [to him, i.e., an appearance similar to that of Bhagavān]. In the world as well, servants of equal age and appearance accepted by young, cultured princes are seen and praised by people. Therefore, howsoever [i.e., be it accompanied by subordinate desires for things conducive to it or not], blessed prīti alone being the puruṣārtha is established. Also, those whose puruṣārtha is prīti alone, because of [their] particular [personal] bhāva, may desire, or may not desire, something else [conducive to their service, e.g., a specific type of mukti]; [still,] the paraphernalia corresponding to their own personal type of bhakti that is conductive to [their] bhakti certainly manifests preceded by the dissolution of saṁsāra [i.e., such bhaktas automatically attain the paraphernalia required for and conducive to their service to Bhagavān after becoming liberated from saṁsāra], and they never fall away [i.e., and that paraphernalia is never lost to them thereafter].”

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tat-tad-bhaktānāṁ tat-prīti-manoratha evopādeyaḥ

tat-tad-bhaktānāṁ tat-prīti-manoratha evopādeyaḥ | tad anyas tu sarvo’pi heyaḥ |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 43)

“For all bhaktas [of Bhagavān], only desire (manoratha) for prīti [for Bhagavān] is to be accepted, while everything other than that is verily to be rejected.”

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atha muktibhyo bhagavat-prīter ādhikyaṁ vivriyate

atha muktibhyo bhagavat-prīter ādhikyaṁ vivriyate | tatra yadyapi tat-prītiṁ vinā tā api na santy eva tathāpi keṣāñcit teṣāṁ svasya duḥkha-hānau sāmīpyādi-lakṣaṇa-sampattāv api tātparyaṁ, na tu śrī-bhagavaty eveti teṣu nyūnatā |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 16)

“Now, the superiority of Bhagavat-prīti to the muktis [i.e., to the five aforementioned types of mukti] is to be described. Therein, although even these [i.e., these five aforementioned types of mukti] do not at all occur without prīti for him [i.e., Bhagavān], still the intention (tātparya) of some [i.e., of some muktas] is still on the cessation of their own suffering and the attainment characterized by samīpya and so forth, and not, rather, solely on Śrī Bhagavān. Thus, there is an inferiority in them [i.e., in those whose intention in not solely upon Bhagavān because of impurity in their prīti].”

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munaya ūcuḥ

munaya ūcuḥ—
kathaṁ bhaktir bhavet premnā jīvan-muktasya nārada |
jīvan-mukta-śarīrāṇāṁ cit-sattā-niḥspṛhā yataḥ |
virakteḥ kāraṇaṁ bhaktiḥ sā tu muktes tu sādhanam ||
nārada uvāca—
bhadram uktaṁ bhavadbhiś ca muktis turyā parāparā |
nirahaṁ yatra cit-sattā turyā sā muktir ucyate ||
pūrṇāhantāmayī bhaktis turyātītā nigadyate ||
kṛṣṇa-dhāma-mayaṁ brahma kvacit kutrāpi bhāsate ||
nirbījendriyagaṁ tat tu ātmasthaṁ kevalaṁ sukham |
kṛṣṇas tu paripūrṇātmā sarvatra sukha-rūpakaḥ |
bhakti-vṛtti-kṛtābhyāsāt tat-kṣaṇād gocarīkṛtaḥ ||
(Bṛhad Gautamīya Tantra; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 32)

“The sages said, ‘O Nārada, how can a jīvan-mukta have bhakti [endowed] with prema, since embodied jīvan-muktas have a conscious existence free from desire [i.e., they have no absorption, inclination, or desire related to the body or things of the world even though they are still embodied and situated within the world]. Bhakti is but a means of detachment (virakti), and that [i.e., detachment] is but a means of mukti.’ “Nārada replied: ‘You all have spoken well. Mukti is the fourth (turyā) [state of consciousness] and superior to the others [i.e., to the other three states of consciousness known as wakefulness, dreaming, and deep sleep]. That wherein there is conscious existence (cit-sattā) devoid of ‘I’ is called the fourth, mukti. Bhakti constituted of complete ‘I’-ness [i.e., the ultimate form of self-identification] is said to be beyond the fourth [i.e., greater than even mukti]. Brahman, constituted of Kṛṣṇa’s luster, sometimes manifests somewhere [i.e., Brahman is manifest only beyond the realm of prakṛti and in inside the realm of Vaikuṇṭha]. It [i.e., Brahman] is self-situated bliss alone known [only] with the seedless sense [i.e., with the potential for perception inherent in the jīva, which is not a faculty constituted of the guṇas of prakṛti, be it an bahiḥkaraṇa or antaḥkaraṇa]. Kṛṣṇa, however, is the fully complete Self (Ātmā) and embodiment of bliss [present] everywhere [i.e., pervasively present throughout the realm of prakṛti and the realm of Vaikiṇṭha who is] brought into one’s range [of perception] immediately as a result of executing repeated performance of the practice of bhakti.’”

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tad evaṁ śrīmat-prīter evāpavargatvena parama-bhagavad-anugraha-mayatvaṁ

tad evaṁ śrīmat-prīter evāpavargatvena parama-bhagavad-anugraha-mayatvaṁ śrī-bhāgavata-śravaṇa-phalatvaṁ puruṣārtheṣu tasyāḥ paramatva-sādhanāya darśitam |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 18)

“Thus, in this way, blessed prīti’s being the supreme favor of Bhagavān and the [ultimate] result of hearing Śrīmad Bhāgavatam on account of [its] being the final beatitude (apavarga) [i.e., mukti] has been shown for the sake of establishing its supremacy among the puruṣārthas.”

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etan mahākhyāna-varaṁ mahā-hareḥ

etan mahākhyāna-varaṁ mahā-hareḥ
kāruṇya-sārālaya-niścayārthakam |
yaḥ śraddhayā saṁśrayate kathañcana
prāpnoti tat-prema tathaiva so’py aram ||
(Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.7.160)

“Anyone who somehow [i.e., by śravaṇa, kīrtana, or otherwise] takes full shelter [i.e., becomes fully absorbed] with śraddhā in this most excellent narration—the purpose of which is determining the recipient of the essence of the great Hari’s grace—quickly attains that very prema for him [i.e., and so all the more so does one who engages in the process bhajana it describes].”

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puruṣa-prayojanaṁ tāvat sukha-prāptir duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca

puruṣa-prayojanaṁ tāvat sukha-prāptir duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca |
puruṣa-prayojanaṁ tāvat sukha-prāptir duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca | śrī-bhagavat-prītau tu sukhatvaṁ duḥkha-nivartakatvaṁ cātyantikam iti | etad uktaṁ bhavati—yat khalu parama-tattvaṁ śāstra-pratipādyatvena pūrvaṁ nirṇītaṁ, tad eva sad-ananta-paramānandatvena siddham | … nānā-svarūpa-dharmato’pi tasya kevalānanda-svarūpatvam eva ca darśitam | tathā-bhūta-mārtaṇḍādi-maṇḍalasya kevala-jyotiṣṭvavat |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 1)

“The aim (prayojana) of an embodied being (puruṣa), fundamentally, is the attainment of happiness and elimination of suffering, and only in prīti for Śrī Bhagavān are happiness and elimination of suffering absolute. Thus, this is said: only that Supreme Entity (Parama-tattva), who was ascertained previously [i.e., in the first four sandarbhas] as being the object to be taught by the śāstra, is established [by the śāstra] as being eternal, infinite, paramount bliss. … Although possessed of various inherent characteristics, his [i.e., that Supreme Entity’s] verily being of the nature of bliss alone is also shown [in śāstra, i.e., his fundamental nature, upon which all of his other attributes are based, is bliss (ānanda) alone], just as the sun, which has [within it] the there existent Mārtaṇḍa [i.e., the devatā Sūrya] and so forth [i.e., as well as Sūryadeva’s chariot, horses, etc.], is [fundamentally] of the nature of light alone.”

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paramātmatvādi-lakṣaṇa-nānāvastha-bhagavat-sākṣātkāra eva tatrāpi paramaḥ

paramātmatvādi-lakṣaṇa-nānāvastha-bhagavat-sākṣātkāra eva tatrāpi paramaḥ | (1) tatra saty api nirupadhi-prīty-āspadatva-svabhāvasya tasya svarūpa-dharmāntara-vṛnda-sākṣātkṛtau paramatve prīti-bhakty-ādi-saṁjñaṁ priyatva-lakṣaṇa-dharma-viśeṣa-sākṣātkāram eva paramatamatvena manyante | (2) tayā prītyaivātyantika-duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca | (3) yāṁ prītiṁ vinā tat-svarūpasya tad-dharmāntara-vṛndasya ca sāksātkāro na sampadyate | (4) yatra sā tatrāvaśyam eva sampadyate | (5) yāvaty eva prīti-sampattiḥ, tāvaty eva tat-sampattiḥ | (6) sampadyamāne sampanne ca tasmin sādhikam āvirbhavati |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 1)

“Direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of Bhagavān in various states, such as that the character of which is [his] being Paramātmā and so on, is supreme in this regard as well [i.e., in regard to the aforementioned conclusion that direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of the Supreme Entity (Parama-tattva) manifest with clear specificity as Bhagavān is superior to direct perception of the Supreme Entity manifest without clear specificity as Brahman]. (1) Although this is so and direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of other inherent qualities of his [i.e., Bhagavān’s] is [accepted to be] supreme [since direct perception of him is in general accepted to be supreme], direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of the particular quality of priyatva [i.e., ‘dearness’] of he [i.e., Bhagavān] who by nature is the object of unconditional prīti, is considered the supreme-most [i.e., although direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of the Supreme Entity (Parama-tattva) with clear specificity as Bhagavān is considered to be supreme, this is a general understanding, and more specifically, direct perception of Bhagavān’s inherent quality of priyatva, that is, the direct perception of him known by terms such as prīti, prema, bhakti, rati, and bhāva, wherein he is directly perceived specifically on the basis of his inherent nature of being the ultimate object of unconditional prīti, is the supreme-most direct perception of him]. (2) By that prīti [i.e., by such direct perception of him] alone the absolute cessation of suffering also occurs [i.e., even direct perception of him does not lead to the absolute cessation of suffering if it is devoid of the nature of prīti]. (3) Without this prītī, direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of his nature (svarūpa) [i.e., his nature in general] and his other qualities does not occur [i.e., Bhagavān’s true nature and qualities are not perceived without prīti]. (4) In whomever this [prīti] is present, that [i.e., direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of his nature (svarūpa) and other qualities] certainly occurs. (5) As far as there is attainment of prīti [alt., as far as the wealth of prīti is present], so far exactly there is attainment of that [i.e., of direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of his nature (svarūpa) and other qualities]. (6) In one in whom attainment [of prīti] is [in the process of] occurring, and in one in whom it has been attained, that [i.e., direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of his nature (svarūpa) and other qualities] manifests to a [comparatively] greater extent [respectively, i.e., that direct perception manifests somewhat in one in whom the attainment of prīti is still in the process of occurring, and it manifests more so in one in whom the attainment of prīti has already occurred].”

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