śuddha-sattva-viśeṣātmā prema-sūryāṁśu-sāmya-bhāk |
rucibhiś citta-māsṛṇya-kṛd asau bhāva ucyate ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.3.1)
“That [i.e., that aspect of uttamā-bhakti] which is constituted of a special aspect of śuddha-sattva, is a bearer of resemblance to a ray of the sun of prema, and is a melter of the heart with hankerings, is called bhāva [-bhakti].”
śrī-bhāgavate’smin bhagavat-premaiva sarva-puruṣārtha-śiromaṇitvenodghuṣyate | tasya mūla-bhūtāśrayāṇāṁ bhaktānāṁ madhye nitya-siddhatva eva tasya nitya-sthitiḥ sambhavet, teṣv api madhye gokula-vartinas tan-mātādaya eva śreṣṭhāḥ yeṣāṁ vātsalyādi-bhāva-viṣayī-bhūtaḥ kṛṣṇas tad-anugamana-bhaktimadbhir eva sulabho nānyair …|
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.9.21)
“In this Śrīmad Bhāgavatam only Bhagavat-prema is proclaimed to be the crown jewel of all puruṣārthas. Its [i.e., prema’s] eternal existence is possible within its substrata, bhaktas, only because of their being nitya-siddha. Among them, furthermore, the best are the residents of Gokula, such as his [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s] mother, the object of whose bhāvas of vātsalya and so forth—Kṛṣṇa—is easily attainable only by devotees who follow them [i.e., those residents of Gokula] and not by others [i.e., those who practice bhakti without following the residents of Gokula].”
tat-prema-śarmaṇāṁ sarvātiśayi-dharmatāyām aham api marma-vettā, yataḥ—
harir gopa-kṣauṇī-pati-mithunam anye ca vibudhā
na naḥ krūraṁ cittaṁ mṛdulayitum īśā lavam api |
aho teṣāṁ premā vilasati harau yas tu balavān
harer vā yas teṣu drutayati sa eva pratipadam ||
(Gopāla-Campū: Pūrva, 1.81; 64)
“Even I [who have a most hard heart] am able to understand the secret of the super-excellence of the bliss of that prema [found between Śrī Kṛṣṇa and his companions]: Neither Hari, nor the King and Queen of the land of the cowherds [i.e., Nanda and Yaśodā], nor any other wise persons [of Vraja] are able to soften my hard heart even one bit. But aho! The powerful prema they express for Hari and that Hari expresses for them melts my heart at every step.”
tad dhi tat-tad-vraja-krīḍā-dhyāna-gāna-pradhānayā |
bhaktyā sampadyate preṣṭha-nāma-saṅkīrtanojjvalam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.218)
“That [i.e., the prema that leads to attainment of the Beloved, one’s Iṣṭa-deva, in Goloka], bright with saṅkīrtana of the names of the Beloved, is certainly manifested through bhakti in which meditation on and singing of the [Beloved’s] various acts of play in Vraja are primary.”
nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema sādhya kabhu naya |
śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.104)
“Eternally existent Kṛṣṇa-prema is never something to be produced [i.e., created, lit., accomplished]. It [being eternal existent] manifests into a heart purified by śravaṇa and so forth [i.e., by the practices of sādhana-bhakti].”
kair api prema-vaivaśya-bhāgbhir bhāgavatavottamaiḥ |
adyāpi dṛśyate kṛṣṇaḥ krīḍan vṛndāvanāntare ||
(Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.5.392)
“Even by some highly elevated Bhāgavatas who are overwhelmed by prema, Kṛṣṇa is seen playing in Vṛndāvana still today.”
avijñātākhila-kleśāḥ sadā kṛṣṇāśrita-kriyāḥ |
siddhāḥ syuḥ santata-prema-saukhyāsvāda-parāyaṇāḥ ||
samprāpta-siddhayaḥ siddhā nitya-siddhāś ca te dvidhā ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.280–281)
“[The characteristics of siddha Kṛṣṇa-bhaktas are described:] Those to whom all affliction is unknown, whose actions are always sheltered in Kṛṣṇa, and who are constantly absorbed in relishing the happiness of prema are siddhas. These siddhās are of two types: those who have attained siddhi and those who are eternally siddha.”
visṛjati hṛdayaṁ na yasya sākṣād
dharir avaśābhihito’py aghaugha-nāśaḥ |
praṇaya-raśanayā dhṛtāṅghri-padmaḥ
sa bhavati bhāgavata-pradhāna uktaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.55; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.74, Bhakti Sandarbha: 198)
“One whose heart Hari himself, he who destroys multitudes of sins even when called unintentionally, does not leave because his lotus feet are bound [there] by a rope of love is said to be the foremost of Bhāgavatas.”
advaitaṁ sukha-duḥkhayor anuguṇaṁ sarvāsvavasthāsu yad
viśrāmo hṛdayasya yatra jarasā yasminn ahāryo rasaḥ |
kālenāvaraṇātyayāt pariṇate yat sneha-sāre sthitaṁ
bhadraṁ tasya sumānuṣasya katham apy ekaṁ hi tat prāpyate ||
(Uttara-Rāma-carita: 1.39; Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 1020)
[Rāma muses about Sītā’s love for him as she sleeps in his lap:] “That which is uniform in happiness and distress, which is congenial in all circumstances, wherein there is repose for the heart, within which rasa cannot be drawn away by old age, and which through time, with the removal of reserve, abides in the fully distilled essence of affection—the special blessedness of that [love] is somehow attained only by the most fortunate human being.”
jñāna-karma-yoga-dharme nahe kṛṣṇa vaśa |
kṛṣṇa-vaśa-hetu eka—prema-bhakti-rasa ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.17.75)
“Captivation of Kṛṣṇa does not occur through the dharmas of jñāna, karma, or yoga. The cause of captivation of Kṛṣṇa is one: the rasa of prema-bhakti.”
