yat tv ahaṁ bhavatīnāṁ vai dūre varte priyo dṛśām |
manasaḥ sannikarṣārthaṁ mad-anudhyāna-kāmyayā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.47.34; cited in Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 161)
“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa to the gopīs:] I, your beloved, however, remain afar from your eyes for the sake of nearness of mind [i.e., for the sake of drawing your minds near to me] out of desire for [you all to engage in] continuous meditation upon me.”
vanaṁ gṛhaṁ no’bhavad ālayo vanaṁ
dviṣat suhṛd bandhu-gaṇaś ca vairiṇaḥ |
viṣaṁ ca pīyūṣam utāmṛtaṁ viṣaṁ
yad-artham asmāt tvād ṛte mriyāmahe ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.292)
“[The gopīs to Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] Without you, for the sake of whom the forest has become our home and our abode the forest, our enemies well-wishers, and our friends enemies, poison ambrosia and even nectar poison, we are dying.”
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.”
yayā vācehayā dainyaṁ matyā ca sthairyam eti tat |
taṁ yatnena bhajed vidvāṁs tad-viruddhāni varjayet ||
dainyaṁ tu paramaṁ premṇaḥ parīpākeṇa janyate |
tāsāṁ gokula-nārīṇām iva kṛṣṇa-viyogataḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.223–224)
“One who is wise should carefully cultivate speech, activity, and thought by which that [i.e., humility] attains steadfastness and should avoid contrarieties [i.e., all speech, activity, and thought contrary] to that. Paramount humility, however, manifests with the full maturation of prema like that of them—the ladies of Gokula—as a result of separation from Kṛṣṇa.”
gopīnāṁ paramānanda āsīd govinda-darśane |
kṣaṇaṁ yuga-śatam iva yāsāṁ yena vinābhavat ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.19.16)
“The gopīs felt the highest bliss at the darśana of Govinda, as for them, a moment without him had become like a hundred yugas.”
didṛkṣus tad ahaṁ bhūyaḥ praṇidhāya mano hṛdi |
vīkṣamāṇo’pi nāpaśyam avitṛpta ivāturaḥ ||
evaṁ yatantaṁ vijane mām āhāgocaro girām |
gambhīra-ślakṣṇayā vācā śucaḥ praśamayann iva ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.6.20–21)
[Nārada:] “Desiring to see that [form of Bhagavān] again, I fixed my mind in my heart. Though I looked intently, I did not see [him]. Not fully satiated, I became as though diseased. As I endeavored in this way in seclusion, he who is inexpressible by words then spoke to me with deep, gentle words which somewhat alleviated my distress.”
tatratyaṁ yac ca tad duḥkhaṁ tat sarva-sukha-mūrdhasu |
sa narīnarti śokaś ca kṛtsnānanda-bharopari ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.367)
“The sorrow existing there [i.e., in Goloka] dances vigorously atop the heads of all forms of happiness, and the grief [existing there] dances vigorously above the multitude of all forms of bliss.”
nāmnāṁ tu saṅkīrtanam ārti-bhārān
meghaṁ vinā prāvṛṣi cātakānām |
rātrau viyogāt sva-pate rathāṅgi-
vargasya cākroṣaṇavat pratīhi ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.3.167)
“Know saṅkīrtana of the names [of Bhagavān] to arise from a profusion of heartache like the loud cries of cātakas during a monsoon devoid of clouds or [the loud cries] of cakravākīs at night separated from their husbands.”
