Purity

asmil loke vartamānaḥ svadharmastho’naghaḥ śuciḥ

asmil̐ loke vartamānaḥ svadharmastho’naghaḥ śuciḥ |
jñānaṁ viśuddham āpnoti mad-bhaktiṁ vā yadṛcchayā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.20.11)

“While existing in this world, one who is situated in one’s own dharma, sinless, and pure attains pure jñāna, or, bhakti to me independently.”

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yadā na kurute bhāvaṁ sarva-bhūteṣv amaṅgalam

yadā na kurute bhāvaṁ sarva-bhūteṣv amaṅgalam |
sama-dṛṣṭes tadā puṁsaḥ sarvāḥ sukhamayā diśaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.19.15)

“When a person does not foster an attitude of inauspiciousness towards all living beings, then, because of [one’s] equal vision, all directions are filled with happiness.”

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sa ca tad-vraja-lokānāṁ śrīmat-premānuvartinā

sa ca tad-vraja-lokānāṁ śrīmat-premānuvartinā |
kṛṣṇe śuddhatareṇaiva bhāvenaikena labhyate ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.81)

“And that [i.e., Goloka] is attained only through one-pointed, exceedingly pure bhāva for Kṛṣṇa which follows the beautiful prema of those residents of Vraja.”

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tomāra bhajana-phala—tomāte prema-dhana

tomāra bhajana-phala—tomāte prema-dhana |
viṣaya lāgi tomāya bhaje sei mūrkha-jana ||
sei śuddha-bhakta—ye tomā bhaje tomā lāgi |
āpanāra sukha-duḥkhe haya bhoga-bhogī ||
tomāra anukampā cāhe, bhaje anukṣaṇa |
acirāte mile tāre tomāra caraṇa ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.9.69, 75–76)

“[Śrī Kāśī Miśra to Śrīman Mahāprabhu:] The result of worship of you is the wealth of prema for you. A person who worships you for the sake of objects of the senses (viṣaya) is a fool. … He is a pure bhakta who worships you for your sake and is an endurer of the experience of his own happiness and suffering [i.e., he does not worship you for the sake of attaining personal happiness or removing personal suffering]. He desires [only] your grace and worships [you] at every moment. Your feet reach him before long.”

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na kāma-karma-bījānāṁ yasya cetasi sambhavaḥ

na kāma-karma-bījānāṁ yasya cetasi sambhavaḥ |
vāsudevaika-nilayaḥ sa vai bhāgavatottamaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.50; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.61; Bhakti Sandarbha: 193)

“One whose sole shelter is Vāsudeva—in whose mind there is no appearance of kāmas, karmas, or [their] causes—is verily the best of Bhāgavatas.”

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bhagavad-bhakti-hīnasya jātiḥ śāstraṁ japas tapaḥ

bhagavad-bhakti-hīnasya jātiḥ śāstraṁ japas tapaḥ |
aprāṇasyaiva dehasya maṇḍanaṁ loka-rañjanam ||
śuciḥ sad-bhakti-dīptāgni-dagdha-durjāti-kalmaṣaḥ |
śvapāko’pi budhaiḥ ślāghyo na veda-jño’pi nāstikaḥ ||
(Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya: 3.11–12; cited in Mādhurya-kādambinī: 1.10; alluded to in Prārthanā: 21.2)

“The nobility, [knowledge of] śāstra, japa, and austerity of someone devoid of bhakti to Bhagavān are [like] decorations on a lifeless body [which are merely] pleasing to the world [i.e., to the public in general, but not to Bhagavān himself]. Even a purified dog-eater [i.e., an outcaste, however], the contamination of whose low-birth has been burned away by the blazing fire of pure bhakti, is praiseworthy by the wise; [whereas] even an unbelieving knower of the Veda is not [i.e., regardless of the level of one’s knowledge and the like (nobility, austerity, etc.), anyone devoid of bhakti is unworthy of praise from the wise, since their character and conduct are of no real significance to Bhagavān].”

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idaṁ bhagavatā pūrvaṁ brahmaṇe nābhi-paṅkaje

idaṁ bhagavatā pūrvaṁ brahmaṇe nābhi-paṅkaje |
sthitāya bhava-bhītāya kāruṇyāt samprakāśitam ||
ādi-madhyāvasāneṣu vairāgyākhyāna-saṁyutam |
hari-līlā-kathā-vrātāmṛtānandita-sat-suram ||
sarva-vedānta-sāraṁ yad brahmātmaikatva-lakṣaṇam |
vastv advitīyaṁ tan-niṣṭhaṁ kaivalyaika-prayojanam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.13.10–12)

“At the beginning, middle, and end replete with narrations productive of non-attachment (vairāgya); filled with the amṛta of discussion of Hari’s līlā by which the sādhu suras [i.e., Hari’s bhaktas, or, the self-satisfied (ātmārāmas)] become blissful; focused on that non-dual Reality (advitīya Vastu) which is the essence of the entire Vedānta [i.e., of the Upaniṣads] and has the characteristic of oneness of [i.e., the characteristic of non-excessive non-difference between] the ātmā with Brahman; and possessed of the singular aim of kaivalya [i.e., purity, meaning, pure bhakti, Bhagavat-prema, or, direct perception of Supreme Entity]—this [i.e., Śrīmad Bhāgavatam] was previously manifested in full [i.e., taught] out of compassion by Bhagavān [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa] to Brahmā, who was situated on the navel-lotus [of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu] and frightened of material existence.”

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bhakti-siddhās trividhāḥ—prāpta-bhagavat-pārṣada-dehāḥ

bhakti-siddhās trividhāḥ—prāpta-bhagavat-pārṣada-dehāḥ, nirdhūta-kaṣāyāḥ, mūrcchita-kaṣāyāś ca | yathā śrī-nāradādayaḥ, śrī-śukadevādayaḥ, prāg-janma-gata-nāradādayaś ca … | … tad evaṁ samāna-premṇi trividhe pūrva-pūrvādhikyaṁ jñeyam | kvacit sthite’pi prākṛta-dehāditve yadi premṇaḥ parimāṇataḥ svarūpato vādhikyaṁ dṛśyate, tadā premādhikyenaivādhikyaṁ jñeyam | tac ca bhajanīyasya bhagavato’ṁśāṁśitva-bhedena bhajataś ca dāsya-sakhyādi-bhedena svarūpādhikyaṁ, premāṅkura-premādi-bhedena parimāṇādhikyaṁ ca prīti-sandarbhe vivṛtya darśayiṣyāmaḥ | 
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.44; Bhakti Sandarbha: 187)

“Siddhas in bhakti [i.e., those who have achieved success on the path of bhakti] are of three types: (1) those who have attained the forms of associates of Bhagavān, (2) those who have been completely purged of impurities, and (3) those whose impurities are ineffective [lit., ‘fainted’], as in the case of (1) Śrī Nārada and others, (2) Śrī Śukadeva and others, and (3) Nārada in his previous life and others. … Thus, in this way, the superiority of the former and the former [thereof] is to be understood in regard to these three types [of siddha-bhaktas] similar with respect to their possessing prema [i.e., the three types of siddha-bhaktas, all endowed with prema for Bhagavān, have been listed in order from greater to lesser]. If sometimes, even while the material body and so forth remain, a superiority in the measure or nature of [a bhakta’s] prema is seen, then superiority [of that bhakta in whom it is seen] based solely on [that] superiority in prema is to be understood. Furthermore, this superiority in nature [i.e., in the nature of prema], based on a distinction in regard to Bhagavān, the object of worship, being [manifest in reciprocation with the prema of a particular bhakta in either] a partial manifestation (aṁśa) or [his] complete manifestation (aṁśī), and based on a distinction in regard to the worshipper’s [particular type of rati, namely,] dāsya, sakhya, and so forth, and [the] superiority in measure [of a bhakta’s prema] based on a distinction between a sprout of prema [i.e., rati], prema, and so forth [i.e., on which stage of prema is manifest in the bhakta, that is, the initial stage of rati, the general stage of prema, or any of the further advanced stages of prema beginning with sneha], will be shown and described in detail in Prīti Sandarbha [Anucchedas 98–104].”

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