Respect

pātraṁ tv atra niruktaṁ vai kavibhiḥ pātra-vittamaiḥ

pātraṁ tv atra niruktaṁ vai kavibhiḥ pātra-vittamaiḥ |
harir evaika urvīśa yan-mayaṁ vai carācaram ||
devarṣy-arhatsu vai satsu tatra brahmātmajādiṣu |
rājan yad agra-pūjāyāṁ mataḥ pātratayācyutaḥ ||
jīva-rāśibhir ākīrṇa aṇḍa-kośāṅghripo mahān |
tan-mūlatvād acyutejyā sarva-jīvātma-tarpaṇam ||
purāṇy anena sṛṣṭāni nṛ-tiryag-ṛṣi-devatāḥ |
śete jīvena rūpeṇa pureṣu puruṣo hy asau ||
teṣv eva bhagavān rājaṁs tāratamyena vartate |
tasmāt pātraṁ hi puruṣo yāvān ātmā yatheyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.14.34–38)

“[Śrī Nārada to Śrī Yudhiṣṭhira:] O Ruler of the earth! The one Hari alone, of whom the universe [lit., the moving and the unmoving] is constituted, has been declared the [most] fit recipient of honor (pātram) here [i.e., on the earth] by the learned most knowledgable in regard to fit recipients of honor since, O King, Acyuta [i.e., Hari] was accepted as being the fit recipient of the first worship there [i.e., at your Rājasūya sacrifice] even when the devas, ṛṣis, ascetics, sons of Brahmā [i.e., Sanat, Sanandana, and so on], and others were present. Worship of Acyuta is satisfying to all jīvas and oneself because of [his] being the root of the vast tree of the universe filled with the multitudes of jīvas. The abodes [i.e., bodies] of human beings, animals, sages, and devatās [i.e., all living beings] were emanated by him. He, the Puruṣa, [then] lies in those abodes in the form of life [i.e., in the form of he who is the cause of life in those abodes, i.e., the Inner Regulator (Antaryāmī)]. O King, Bhagavān is present in these [abodes, i.e., bodies] verily in a gradation. Therefore, a person [i.e., a human being] is a fit recipient of honor as and to the extent the Self [i.e., Bhagavān] is perceived.”

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na tena vṛddho bhavati yenāsya palitaṁ śiraḥ

na tena vṛddho bhavati yenāsya palitaṁ śiraḥ |
yo vai yuvāpy adhīyānaḥ taṁ devās sthaviram viduḥ ||
(Manu-smṛti: 2.156)

“One does not become wise [i.e., venerable, lit., ‘an elder’] just because one has grey hair on one’s head. The devas recognize as an elder one who, although young, remains engaged in studying.”

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tṛṇād api sunīcena

tṛṇād api sunīcena taror iva sahiṣṇunā |
amāninā mānadena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ ||
(Padyāvalī: 32; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 269; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.17.31, 3.6.239, 3.20.21)

“Hari is to be praised always
By one who is far lower than even grass,
Tolerant like a tree,
Undesirous of respect,
And respectful [to all as appropriate].”

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ayaṁ hi sarva-kalpānāṁ sadhrīcīno mato mama

ayaṁ hi sarva-kalpānāṁ sadhrīcīno mato mama |
mad-bhāvaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu mano-vāk-kāya-vṛttibhiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.19; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 332)

“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Uddhava:] Indeed, this thought of me in all beings [performed] with the functions of the mind, speech, and body is considered by me to be the proper one among all processes.”

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visṛjya smayamānān svān dṛśaṁ vrīḍāṁ ca daihikīm

visṛjya smayamānān svān dṛśaṁ vrīḍāṁ ca daihikīm |
praṇamed daṇḍavad bhūmāv ā-śva-cāṇḍāla-go-kharam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.29.16; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 332; Caitanya-bhāgavata: 3.3.27)

“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Uddhava:] Disregarding the laughing of friends, bodily vision, and embarrassment, one should offer obeisance like a stick on the ground even to dogs, outcasts, cows, and donkeys.”

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iti sarvāṇi bhūtāni mad-bhāvena mahādyute

iti sarvāṇi bhūtāni mad-bhāvena mahādyute |
sabhājayan manyamāno jñānaṁ kevalam āśritaḥ ||
brāhmaṇe pukkase stene brahmaṇye’rke sphuliṅgake |
akrūre krūrake caiva sama-dṛk paṇḍito mataḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.13–14; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 331)

“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] O most brilliant one [i.e., O Uddhava], having taken to pure awareness (kevala-jñāna), and in this way honoring and regarding all beings with thought of me, a person of equal vision in relation to a brāhmaṇa, an outcaste, a thief, a respecter of brāhmaṇas, the sun, a spark, a non-cruel person, and a cruel person, is considered a wise person.”

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vaiṣṇave bandhu-sat-kṛtyā

vaiṣṇave bandhu-sat-kṛtyā |
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.11.44; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 295)

“[Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa: Worship me] In a Vaiṣṇava with a proper reception for a kinsmen [alt., friend].”

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tat saṁrakṣya satām āgaḥ kuñjarāt sat-prasādajā

tat saṁrakṣya satām āgaḥ kuñjarāt sat-prasādajā |
dīnatā-mānadatvādi-śilākḷpta-mahāvṛtiḥ ||
bhakti-vallī nṛbhiḥ pālyā śravaṇādy-ambu-secanaiḥ |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.1.1)

“Therefore, the creeper of bhakti, born of the grace of the sādhus, and set within the great stone-built enclosure of humility, respectfulness, and so forth, is to be protected by human beings from the elephant of offenses against sādhus, and to be nurtured with sprinklings of the water of hearing and so forth.”

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vande’haṁ durjanān pūrvaṁ sajjanāś ca tataḥ param

vande’haṁ durjanān pūrvaṁ sajjanāś ca tataḥ param |
mukha-prakṣālanāt pūrvaṁ pāyu-prakṣālanaṁ yathā ||
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā-prakāśa on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.1)

“I offer obeisance to the wicked first, and thereafter to the virtuous, just as one washes one’s rear before washing one’s mouth.”

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