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kṛṣṇasyānugraho’py ebhyo nānumīyeta sattamaiḥ

kṛṣṇasyānugraho’py ebhyo nānumīyeta sattamaiḥ |
sa cāvirbhavati śrīmann adhikṛtyaiva sevakam ||
hanūmad-ādivat tasya kāpi sevā kṛtāsti na |
paraṁ vighnākule citte smaraṇaṁ kriyate mayā ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.4.19–20)

“Even Kṛṣṇa’s favor shall not be inferred from these [i.e., from someone’s overcoming impediments, teaching children, acting like a sādhu, being compassionate to living beings in distress, not accepting mokṣa, pleasing people in general, and other characteristics spoken of in the previous verse] by the best of the sat. O blessed one, furthermore that [i.e., Kṛṣṇa’s favor] appears only towards a servant [i.e., it is not bestowed upon someone like me who does not engage in service to Bhagavān]. Not sort of service to him like Hanumān [performs] has been performed by me. Only remembrance [of him] with a mind beset with disturbances is performed by me.”

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mat-sevayā pratītaṁ te sālokyādi-catuṣṭayam

mat-sevayā pratītaṁ te sālokyādi-catuṣṭayam |
necchanti sevayā pūrṇāḥ kuto’nyat kāla-viplutam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.4.67)

“Being fulfilled by service [to me], they do not desire the four [types of mukti] beginning with sālokya [that can be] attained by service to me, much less anything else that is dissipated in time.”

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mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes

mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes
tamo-dvāraṁ yoṣitāṁ saṅgi-saṅgam |
mahāntas te sama-cittāḥ praśāntā
vimanyavaḥ suhṛdaḥ sādhavo ye |
ye vā mayīśe kṛta-sauhṛdārthā
janeṣu dehambhara-vārtikeṣu ||
gṛheṣu jāyātmaja-rātimatsu
na prīti-yuktā yāvad-arthāś ca loke ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.5.2–3; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.17, 69; Bhakti Sandarbha: 186; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.82)

“Service to the mahats is said to be the door to ultimate mukti, and attachment to those who are attached to women [is said to be] the door to darkness. The mahāntas are they who are of equal mind, tranquil, free from anger, friendly, and virtuous, or, they who (1) have made affection [i.e., prema] for me, Īśa, their aim, (2) are unpossessed of affinity for persons fixated upon affairs related to bodily maintenance and houses accompanied by wives, children, and friends, and (3) are possessed of only so much wealth [as is necessary] in this world.”

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īhā yasya harer dāsye karmaṇā manasā girā

īhā yasya harer dāsye karmaṇā manasā girā |
nikhilāsv apy avasthāsu jīvan-muktaḥ sa ucyate ||
(Nāradīya Purāṇa; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.187)

“One who has the desire for servitude to Hari in deed, mind, and speech even in all circumstances is called a jīvan-mukta [i.e., one who is liberated while living].”

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na hy acyutaṁ prīṇayato bahv-āyāso’surātmajāḥ

na hy acyutaṁ prīṇayato bahv-āyāso’surātmajāḥ |
ātmatvāt sarva-bhūtānāṁ siddhatvād iha sarvataḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.6.19)

“[Prahlāda Mahārāja:] O sons of asuras! On account of [his] being the Self of all beings and [his] being present everywhere here [in this world], there is certainly no huge endeavor [required] for the sake of pleasing Acyuta.”

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vaiṣṇave prītir āstāṁ me prītir āstāṁ prabhor guṇe

vaiṣṇave prītir āstāṁ me prītir āstāṁ prabhor guṇe |
sevāyāṁ prītir āstāṁ prītir ārtiś ca kīrtane ||
āśrite prītir āstāṁ me prītiś ca bhajanonmukhe |
ātmani prītir āstāṁ me kṛṣṇe bhaktir yathā bhavet ||
(Śrī Kṛṣṇa-bhajanāmṛta: 1.35–36)

“May I have love (prīti) for the Vaiṣṇavas;
May I have love for Prabhu’s qualities;
May I have love for service [to Bhagavān, Vaiṣṇavas, and so on];
May I have love and heart-ache for kīrtana;
May I have love for those who have taken shelter [in Bhagavān];
May I have love for those intent upon
bhajana [of Bhagavān];
And may I have love for my self,
So that I may have bhakti to Kṛṣṇa.”

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śrī-guro paramānanda premānanda-phala-prada

śrī-guro paramānanda premānanda-phala-prada |
vrajānanda-pradānanda-sevāyāṁ māṁ niyojaya ||
(Sādhanāmṛta-candrikā: 1.51)

“O śrī guru!
O supreme bliss!
O bestower of the fruit of the bliss of prema!
O bestower of the bliss of Vraja!
Please engage me in the bliss of service.”

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viṣṇu-bhaktiṁ pravakṣyāmi yayā sarvam avāpyate

viṣṇu-bhaktiṁ pravakṣyāmi yayā sarvam avāpyate |
yathā bhaktyā haris tuṣyet tathā nānyena kenacit ||
bhaja ity eṣa vai dhātuḥ sevāyāṁ parikīrtitaḥ |
tasmāt sevā budhaiḥ proktā bhaktiḥ sādhana-bhūyasī ||
(Garuḍa Purāṇa: 1.227.1, 3; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 216)

“I shall now describe Viṣṇu-bhakti, by which everything is attained. Hari is not as satisfied by anything else as he can be by bhakti. The dhātu √bhaj [i.e., the verbal root from which the word bhakti is made] is widely said to mean service (sevā). Therefore the great sādhana [known as] bhakti is said to be service (sevā) by the wise.”

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aśeṣa-saṅkleśa-śamaṁ vidhatte

aśeṣa-saṅkleśa-śamaṁ vidhatte
guṇānuvāda-śravaṇaṁ murāreḥ |
kiṁ vā punas tac-caraṇāravinda-
parāga-sevā-ratir ātma-labdhā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.7.14)

“Hearing and recounting the qualities of Murāri produces destruction of suffering completely, so how much more does attachment (rati), attained of its own accord, to service to the pollen of his lotus feet [produce]?”

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na karma-bandhanaṁ janma vaiṣṇavānāṁ ca vidyate

na karma-bandhanaṁ janma vaiṣṇavānāṁ ca vidyate |
viṣṇor anucaratvaṁ hi mokṣam āhur manīṣiṇaḥ ||
na dāsyam amareśasya bandhanaṁ parikīrtitam |
sarva-bandhana-nirmuktā hari-dāsā nirāmayāḥ ||
(Padma Purāṇa: 6.229.58-59; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.169–170; Prīti Sandarbha: 16, 45; Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā and Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.9.29)

“The birth of Vaiṣṇavas is not [produced by] bondage in karma, since the wise call being an attendant of Viṣṇu mokṣa. Servitude to the immortal Lord is not described as bondage, since Hari’s servants are completely free from all bondage [i.e., that which causes entanglement in saṁsāra] and unmarred [i.e., faultless, alt., free from disease].”

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