Smaraṇa

yo yo viśeṣo’pekṣyaḥ syād anyo’pi likhiteṣv iha

athopasaṁhāraḥ |
yo yo viśeṣo’pekṣyaḥ syād anyo’pi likhiteṣv iha |
tat-tac-chāstrāt sa sa jñeyo nitarāṁ ca guror mukhāt ||
santy anye’pi sadācārā bahavaḥ śāstra-darśitāḥ |
na likhyante’tra te sarve grāhakābhāvato’dhunā ||
kṛtyāny etāni tu prāyo gṛhiṇāṁ dhanināṁ satām |
likhitāni na tu tyakta-parigraha-mahātmanām ||
avaśyaṁ tāni sarvāṇi teṣāṁ tādṛktva-siddhaye |
prāg apekṣyāṇi bhaktir hi sadācāraika-sādhanā ||
teṣāṁ ca pūrva-likhitāt kṛtyāny ekānti-lakṣaṇāt |
vyaktiṁ yātāny athāpy ante likhyante’lpāni kānicit ||
athaikānti-kṛtyam
prāk prema-bhakti-sampatteś cihnāni likhitāni hi |
tāny evaikāntināṁ prāyo jñāpakāni vidur budhāḥ ||
sarva-tyāge’py aheyāyāḥ sarvānartha-bhuvaś ca te |
kuryuḥ pratiṣṭhā-viṣṭhāyā yatnam asparśane varam ||
ata evoktam ekādaśe śrī-bhagavatā—
jñāna-niṣṭho virakto vā mad-bhakto vānapekṣakaḥ |
sa-liṅgān āśramāṁs tyaktvā cared avidhi-gocaraḥ ||
ekāntināṁ gatānāṁ tu śrī-kṛṣṇa-caraṇābjayoḥ |
bhaktiḥ svataḥ pravarteta tad-vighnaiḥ kiṁ vratādibhiḥ ||
tathā brahma-vaivarte—
yathā katham api śrīmān śrīkāntaṁ samupāśritaḥ |
kurute’khila-pāpānāṁ pralayaṁ kiṁ punar vrataiḥ ||
viṣṇu-rahasye brahma-nārada-saṁvāde māsopavāsa-kathanānte—
indriyārtheṣv asaktānāṁ sadaiva vimalā matiḥ |
paritoṣayate viṣṇuṁ nopavāso’jitātmanaḥ ||375||
kiṁ tasya bahubhis tīrthaiḥ snāna-homa-japa-vrataiḥ |
yenendriya-gaṇo ghoro nirjito’duṣṭa-cetasā ||376||
jitendriyaḥ sadā śāntaḥ sarva-bhūta-hite rataḥ |
vāsudeva-paro nityaṁ na kleśaṁ kartum arhati ||377||
ye smaranti sadā viṣṇuṁ viśuddhenāntarātmanā |
te prayānti bhayaṁ tyaktvā viṣṇu-lokam anāmayam ||378||
prabhāte cārdha-rātre ce madhyāhne diva-saṅkṣaye |
kīrtayanti hariṁ ye vai na te taranti bhavārṇavam ||379||
ānandito’thavā cārtaḥ kruddhaḥ śānto’thavā harim |
yo’nukīrtayate bhaktyā sa gacched vaiṣṇavīṁ purīm ||380||
garbha-janma-jarā-roga-duḥkha-saṁsāra-bandhanaiḥ |
na bādhyate naro nityaṁ vāsudevam anusmaran ||381||
evam ekāntināṁ prāyaḥ kīrtanaṁ smaraṇaṁ prabhoḥ |
kurvatāṁ parama-prītyā kṛtyam anyan na rocate ||382||
bhāvena kenacit preṣṭha-śrī-mūrter aṅghri-sevane |
syād icchaiṣāṁ sva-mantreṇa sva-rasenaiva tad-vidhiḥ ||383||
vihiteṣv eva nityeṣu pravartante svayaṁ hi te |
ity ādy ekāntināṁ bhāti māhātmyaṁ likhitaṁ hi tat ||384||
(Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 20.364–383; 371 cited from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.18.28, 373 cited from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.20.36; 374 cited from Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa; 375–381 cited from Viṣṇu-rahasya)

“Now, the conclusion [of this text, viz., Hari-bhakti-vilāsa:] Should particular matters of consideration arise in addition even to those described here [in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa], those are to be learned from the appropriate śāstra [that addresses those matters] and expressly from the mouth of guru. ||364|| There are many additional forms of sadācāra shown in the śāstra. Not all of these are described here [in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa] because of the absence of [suitable] recipients at present. ||365|| These activities (kṛtyas) [i.e., the activities described in this text], however, for the most part, have been described for wealthy and virtuous householders, and not rather for great souls who have forsaken acquisition [i.e., for those who have renounced household life]. ||366|| All of those [activities] are certainly to be observed beforehand [i.e., before one becomes a renunciant] in order to attain that state of theirs [i.e., to attain the position of a renunciant, meaning, the qualifications required to live a life of renunciation], since bhakti is that the only means of attainment of which is sadācāra (sadācāraika-sādhanā) [i.e., bhakti is attained only by observance of sadācāra in the sense that it is attained only by means of a purified mind and sādācāra is a primary means of bringing that about]. ||367|| Their [i.e., renunciants’] activities were also made evident by the aforementioned characteristics of the one-pointed [i.e., of the ekānti-bhaktas, as discussed in HBV 10.59–76 and elsewhere]. Now as well at the end [of this text], a few of them will be described. ||368||
“Now, the activities of the one-pointed (ekāntis)—the wise know the signs of the attainment of prema-bhakti aforementioned [in HBV 11.633–645] to be, for the most part, indications [i.e., characteristics] of the one-pointed. ||369|| It is best that they shall try to be untouched by the stool of pratiṣṭhā, which is the cause of all anarthas and difficult to abandon even after the renunciation of all else. ||370|| Therefore, it is said in the Eleventh Canto [i.e., SB 11.18.28] by Śrī Bhagavān: ‘One who is detached and fixed in jñāna, or, one who is disinterested and my bhakta, shall relinquish the duties of one’s āśrama along with their paraphernalia and proceed outside the scope of injunctions.’ ||371|| The bhakti of those who have attained one-pointedness (ekāntitā) upon the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa shall proceed [i.e., be continuous conducted] of its own accord [i.e., it shall remain continuously engaged in without the need of any external impetus in the form of injunctions or otherwise]. What [is the use] of rites (vratas) and so forth that are [simply] obstructions to it? [i.e., There is no necessity of one-pointed bhaktas observing the many of the various types of rites (vratas), codes of conduct (sadācāra), and so on aforementioned in this text because the purpose of these things is prompting engagement in bhakti and one-pointed bhaktas are already automatically engaged in bhakti by the bhakti ever-present in their hearts; observation of rites and so on is thus redundant for them and furthermore shall even be an obstruction to the flow of their expression of bhakti]. ||372|| [Thus Śrī Bhagavān further states in SB 11.20.26:] ‘Bhaktas who are one-pointed upon me have no qualities [i.e., merits, sins, or otherwise] produced by qualities and faults [i.e., by observance of injunctions and neglect of prohibitions].’ ||373||
“Similarly, [it is stated] in Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa: ‘One who is fully sheltered howsoever in Śrīkānta becomes fortunate and causes the dissolution of all [their] sins. [So,] What further [is the use] of vratas [for such a person]? [There is no need for them at all.]’ ||374||
“At the end of the discussion of fasts related to months [throughout the year] in the conversation of Brahmā and Nārada in Viṣṇu-rahasya [it is also stated]: ‘The ever-pure mind [alt., desire, understanding, perception, or devotion] of those who are unattached to the objects of the senses is pleasing to Viṣṇu, and not the fasting of those of uncontrolled mind. ||375|| What [is the use] of so many tīrthas, or baths, fire sacrifices, japa, and rites (vratas), for one of unpolluted mind by whom the fearsome senses have been completely conquered? ||376|| One who has controlled the senses is always tranquil and given to the welfare of all beings. One who is dedicated to Vāsudeva is never required [alt., fit] to suffer. ||377|| Those who always remember Visṇu with a pure inner self leave behind fear and attain the plane of Viṣṇu free from suffering. ||378|| Those who praise Hari in the morning, at midnight, at midday, and at the end of the day certainly cross over the ocean of material existence. ||379|| [Whether] Blissful or distressed, angry or peaceful, one who continuously praises Hari with bhakti shall attain the abode of Viṣṇu. ||380|| A person who always continuously remembers Vāsudeva is not disturbed by the fetters of saṁsāra in the form of the sufferings of the womb, birth, old age, and disease.’ ||381||
“In this way, the one-pointed, who engage for the most part in praising (kīrtana) and remembrance (smaraṇa) of Prabhu with paramount prīti, have no taste for other activities. ||382|| Should they, because of some bhāva, have a desire for [engaging in] worship of the feet of the Śrī-mūrti [i.e., Deity] of their Beloved [i.e., their Iṣṭa-devatā], that act [i.e., their acting upon that desire to render such worship] is only because of their own mantra and their own rasa [i.e., that desire and the action based upon it are not motivated by any injunction but rather are inspired by the influence of their mantra, that is, the influence of the Iṣṭa-devatā of their mantra, and their own taste (rasa) for serving him]. ||383|| They proceed of their own accord in their regular prescribed activities [i.e., they perform their regular activities out of natural inclination and liking, and not merely out of any sense of obedience to injunction]. Such greatness of the one-pointed as this [i.e., as has been thus discussed, along with numerous other additional exalted characteristics not mentioned here] shines, and that indeed has been described [here in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa]. ||384||”

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kathayasva mahābhāga yathāham akhilātmani

kathayasva mahābhāga yathāham akhilātmani |
kṛṣṇe niveśya niḥsaṅgaṁ manas tyakṣye kalevaram ||
śṛṇvataḥ śraddhayā nityaṁ gṛṇataś ca svaceṣṭitam |
kālena nātidīrgheṇa bhagavān viśate hṛdi ||
praviṣṭaḥ karṇa-randhreṇa svānāṁ bhāva-saroruham |
dhunoti śamalaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ salilasya yathā śarat ||
dhautātmā puruṣaḥ kṛṣṇa-pāda-mūlaṁ na muñcati |
mukta-sarva-parikleśaḥ pānthaḥ sva-śaraṇaṁ yathā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.8.3–6; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 268; Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.1.36)

“[Parīkṣit Mahārāja to Śukadeva Gosvāmī:] O you of great fortune, please speak so that I shall give up the body absorbing the mind free from attachment in Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Self of all. Within not a very long time, Bhagavān enters the heart of one who hears and speaks about his own activities continuously with śraddhā. Having entered through the holes of the ears into the lotus of the bhāva of those who are his own, Kṛṣṇa cleanses away contamination [of the heart] just as the autumn [cleans away contamination] of water. A person of cleansed heart does not leave the base of Kṛṣṇa’s feet just as a traveller by whom all hardship has been given up does not leave his own home [after having returned there].”

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gaura-prabhoḥ prema-vilāsa-bhūmau

gaura-prabhoḥ prema-vilāsa-bhūmau
niṣkiñcano bhaktivinoda-nāma |
ko’pi sthito bhakti-kuṭīra-koṣṭhe
smṛtvāniśaṁ nāma-guṇaṁ murāreḥ ||
(Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura; a verse of his own engraved in the wall of his “Bhakti-kuṭī” in Śrī Purī Dhāma)

“In the land of the prema-līlā of Gaura Prabhu,
Some possessionless person (niṣkiñcana) named Bhaktivinoda
Is situated in the inner room of this ‘Bhakti-cottage’ (kuṭī),
Continuously remembering
The names and qualities of Murarī.”

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tasmād bhārata sarvātmā bhagavān īśvaro hariḥ

tasmād bhārata sarvātmā bhagavān īśvaro hariḥ |
śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca smartavyaś cechatābhayam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.1.5; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.7; Bhakti Sandarbha: 25, 125; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.110)

“[Śukadeva Gosvāmī to Mahārāja Parīkṣit:] O descendant of Bharata! The Self of all, Bhagavān, Īśvara, Hari, is to be heard about, to be praised, and to be remembered by one desirous of fearlessness.”

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mānasādi-pūjāyāṁ bhūta-pūrva-tat-parikara-līlā-saṁvalitatvam api na kalpanā-mayaṁ

mānasādi-pūjāyāṁ bhūta-pūrva-tat-parikara-līlā-saṁvalitatvam api na kalpanā-mayaṁ, kintu yathārtham eva | yatas tasya prākaṭya-samaye līlās tat-parikarāś ca ye prādurbabhūvuḥ, te tādṛśāś cāprakaṭam api nityaṁ tadīye dhāmni saṅkhyātītā eva vartante |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 286)

“In worship [performed] in the mind and elsewhere, although the content of the meditation is possessed of līlās and associates of his [i.e., Bhagavān’s] that were existent in the past, it is not [merely] imaginary but rather real since his associates and the līlās that appeared at the time of his manifestation (prākaṭya) [which one meditates upon] exist eternally beyond enumeration even unmanifestly as such [i.e., in an equally real form] in his abode [as well].”

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kuñjād goṣṭhaṁ niśānte praviśati kurute dohanānnāśanādyāṁ

kuñjād goṣṭhaṁ niśānte praviśati kurute dohanānnāśanādyāṁ
prātaḥ sāyaṁ ca līlāṁ viharati sakhibhiḥ saṅgave cārayan gāḥ |
madhyāhne cātha naktaṁ vilasati vipine rādhayāddhāparāhne
goṣṭhaṁ yāti pradoṣe ramayati suhṛdo yaḥ sa kṛṣṇo’vatān naḥ ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 1.4)

“At the end of night, from the kuñja he enters his homestead. In the early morning and evening, he performs līlās of milking [cows], eating food, and so forth. In the forenoon, he sports with friends while herding the cows. At midday and [mid-] night, he plays in full directly with Rādhā in the forest. In the afternoon, he returns to his homestead. In the evening, he delights his well-wishers. May he, Kṛṣṇa, protect us.”

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śrī-rādhā-prāṇa-bandhoś caraṇa-kamalayoḥ keśa-śeṣādy-agamyā

śrī-rādhā-prāṇa-bandhoś caraṇa-kamalayoḥ keśa-śeṣādy-agamyā
yā sādhyā prema-sevā vraja-carita-parair gāḍha-laulyaika-labhyā |
sā syāt prāptā yayā tāṁ prathayitum adhunā mānasīm asya sevāṁ
bhāvyāṁ rāgādhva-pānthair vrajam anucaritaṁ naityikaṁ tasya naumi ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 1.3)

“The attainment of prema-sevā to the lotus feet of Śrī Rādhā’s Prāṇa-bandhu [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa], which is incomprehensible to Brahmā, Śiva, Śeṣa, and others, and attainable only through intense hankering by those who are devoted to the conduct of [the gopīs’ of] Vraja—to now expound mental sevā to him, [which is] to be meditated upon by the followers of the path of rāga, by which this [attainment of prema-sevā] can be attained, I offer obeisance to his daily activity in Vraja.”

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divi vā bhuvi vā mamāstu vāso

divi vā bhuvi vā mamāstu vāso
narake vā narakāntaka prakāmam |
avadhīrita-śāradāravindau
caraṇau te maraṇe’pi cintayāmi ||
(Mukunda-mālā-stotram: 8; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.5.29)

“O Destroyer of Naraka! Let my residence be in the sky [i.e., Svarga], or on earth, or in Naraka, as so willed. Even at death, I shall think of your feet, by which [even] autumnal lotuses are surpassed.”

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