Remembrance

caitanyacandra mama hṛt-kumudaṁ vikāśya

caitanyacandra mama hṛt-kumudaṁ vikāśya
hṛdyaṁ vidhehi nija-cintana-bhṛṅga-raṅgaiḥ |
kiṁ cāparādha-timiraṁ niviḍaṁ vidhūya
pādāmṛtaṁ sadaya pāyaya durgataṁ mām ||
(Stavāvalī: Abhīṣṭa-sūcana, 11)

“O Caitanyacandra! Please cause the lily of my heart to bloom and make it adorable with the merriments of the bumblebee of thought of you. Furthermore, O gracious One, please dispel the dense darkness [that has engulfed me as a result] of my aparādhas and make my unfortunate self drink the nectar of your rays [alt., feet].”

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tri-bhuvana-vibhava-hetave’py akuṇṭha

tri-bhuvana-vibhava-hetave’py akuṇṭha-
smṛtir ajitātma-surādibhir vimṛgyāt |
na calati bhagavat-padāravindāl
lava-nimiṣārdham api yaḥ sa vaiṣṇavāgryaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.53; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.53; Bhakti Sandarbha: 14, 196, 198, 278)

“One of unchecked remembrance who does not even for the sake of dominion over the three worlds diverge for even half a blink of an eye or half of a sixth of that from Bhagavān’s lotus feet, which are to be sought after [even] by the suras and others whose self is Ajita [i.e., the Unconquerable One, viz., Bhagavān], is the foremost Vaiṣṇava.”

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ekasminn apy atikrānte muhūrte dhyāna-varjito

ekasminn apy atikrānte muhūrte dhyāna-varjito |
dasyubhir mūṣitenaiva yuktam ākrandituṁ bhṛśam ||
(Garuḍa Purāṇa, cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 277)

“It is befitting to weep intensely like someone who has been robbed by bandits for even one moment that has passed devoid of meditation [on Śrī Hari].”

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alabdhe vā vinaṣṭe vā bhakṣyācchādana-sādhane

alabdhe vā vinaṣṭe vā bhakṣyācchādana-sādhane |
aviklava-matir bhūtvā harim eva dhiyā smaret ||
(Padma Purāṇa; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.114)

“Whether food and clothing are attained, not attained, or lost, one should remain undisturbed in mind and with understanding remember Hari alone.”

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smartavyaṁ satataṁ viṣṇor vismartavyo na jātucit

smartavyaṁ satataṁ viṣṇor vismartavyo na jātucit |
sarve vidhi-niṣedhāḥ syur etayor eva kiṅkarāḥ ||
(Padma Purāṇa; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.8; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.113)

“Viṣṇu is to be remembered always and is never to be forgotten. All injunctions and prohibitions should be servants of these two [principles].”

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ratnākaras tava gṛhaṁ gṛhinī ca padmā

ratnākaras tava gṛhaṁ gṛhinī ca padmā
kiṁ deyam asti bhavate jagadīśvarāya |
ābhīra-vāma-nayanāhṛta-mānasāya
dattaṁ mano yadupate tad idaṁ gṛhāna ||
(Rahīma-ratnāvalī)

“Your home is the ocean [lit., the source of jewels], and your wife is Padmā [i.e., Lakṣmī Devī, the goddess of wealth]. What can be given to you, the Lord of the universe [i.e., you who possess everything]? Therefore, to you whose mind has been stolen by the charming eyes of the gopīs, I have given my mind. O King of the Yadus, please accept it.”

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yatraikāgrato tatrāviśeṣāt

yatraikāgrato tatrāviśeṣāt |
(Vedānta-sūtra: 4.1.11)

“[Where should one perform upāsana?] Where one-pointedness [of mind] occurs, because of [there being] no particulars in that regard [i.e., because śāstra gives no injunctions regarding where upāsana should be performed other than where the mind can become one-pointed].”

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ānanda-cinmaya-rasātmatayā manaḥsu

ānanda-cinmaya-rasātmatayā manaḥsu
yaḥ prāṇināṁ pratiphalan smaratām upetya |
līlāyitena bhuvanāni jayaty ajasraṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi ||
(Brahma-saṁhitā: 42)

“I worship Govinda, the Original Person, who, by virtue of being constituted of blissful spiritual rasa, appears to living beings engaged in remembrance [of Him] by reflecting into their minds and thus perpetually conquers the worlds with his play.”

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sā hānis tan mahac chidraṁ sa mohaḥ sa ca vibhramaḥ

sā hānis tan mahac chidraṁ sa mohaḥ sa ca vibhramaḥ |
yan muhūrtaṁ kṣaṇaṁ vāpi vāsudevaṁ na kīrtayet ||
(Kātyāyana Saṁhitā; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.508; Bhakti Sandarbha: 115; Sarva-samvādinī on Bhagavat Sandarbha, Durgama-saṅgaminī to Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.247; Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.9.35)

“That moment or even instant in which Vāsudeva is not praised is a loss, a great fault, a delusion, and a fiasco.”

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dūrasthe’pi na dūrastho yo yasya manasi sthitaḥ

dūrasthe’pi na dūrastho yo yasya manasi sthitaḥ |
yo yasya hṛdaye nāsti samīpasthō’pi dūrataḥ ||
(Cāṇakya-nīti-sāra)

“Even if situated far away, one who is present in one’s heart is not situated far away. One who is not present in one’s heart is far away [however] even if situated nearby.”

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