ekā bhūr ubhayor aikyam ubhayor dala-kāṇḍayoḥ |
śāli-śyāmākayor bhedaḥ phalena paricīyate ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 7630)
“The two have [i.e., grow in] the same ground, and the two have the same leaves and stalks. The difference between rice and millet is known [only] by the result [i.e., the type of grain the two plants produce].”
atha śrī-bhagavan-nāma-japasya smaraṇasya ca |
śravaṇasyāpi māhātmyam īṣad bhedād vilikhyate ||
(Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.472)
“Now [i.e., now that the greatness of chanting (kīrtana) of Śrī Bhagavān’s names has been described], the greatness of japa, as well as remembrance and hearing, of Śrī Bhagavān’s names is delineated because of a slight distinction [between these and chanting (kīrtana) of Śrī Bhagavān’s names].”
atha japa-bhedāḥ tal-lakṣaṇādi ca—
trividho japa-yajñaḥ syāt tasya bhedān nibodhata |
vācikaś ca upāṁśuś ca mānasaś ca tridhā mataḥ |
trayāṇāṁ japa-yajñānāṁ śreyān syād uttarottaraḥ ||
yad ucca-nīca-svaritaiḥ spaṣṭa-śabdavad-akṣaraiḥ |
mantram uccārayed vyaktaṁ japa-yajñaḥ sa vācikaḥ ||
śanair uccārayen mantram īṣad auṣṭhau pracālayet |
kiñcic chabdaṁ svayaṁ vidyād upāṁśuḥ sa japaḥ smṛtaḥ ||
dhiyā yad akṣara-śreṇyā varṇād varṇaṁ padāt padam |
śabdārtha-cintanābhyāsaḥ sa ukto mānaso japaḥ ||
(Nṛsiṁha Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 17.155–158)
“Now, the divisions of japa and their characteristics [are described]—‘Japa-sacrifice (yajña) shall be [known to be] of three types. Hear of the [three] divisions of this. The three types are known as verbal (vācika), sotto voce (upāṁśu) and mental (mānasa). There shall be successive superiority amid these three [types of] japa-sacrifices [i.e., they are listed in order from lesser to greater]. That which shall pronounce the mantra distinctly with clear, audible syllables and high and low pitches is [called] verbal (vācika) japa-sacrifice. That which shall pronounce the mantra [only] softly, move the lips [only] slightly, and make known [i.e., heard] some sound [only] to oneself is known as sotto voce (upāṁśu) japa. That which is a repetition of contemplation of the meaning of the words [in the mantra] with the mind [moving] from one phoneme to another phoneme in the series of syllables [within each word] and from one word to another word [throughout the mantra] is called mental (mānasa) japa.”
atha bhakta-niṣṭhām aiśvarya-jñānam | īśvaro’yam ity anusandhāne sati hṛt-kampā-janaka-sambhrameṇa svīya-bhāvasyātiśaithilyaṁ yat pratipādayati tad aiśvarya-jñānam, ata eva ‘yuvāṁ na naḥ sutau sākṣāt pradhāna-puruṣeśvarau’ ity ādi vasudevokteḥ, ‘sakheti matvā prasabhaṁ yad uktam’ ity arjunokteś ca | īśvaro’yam ity anusandhāne’pi hṛt-kampā-janaka-sambhrama-gandhasyānudgamāt svīya-bhāvasyātisthairyam eva yad utpādayati tan mādhurya-jñānam, yathā—‘vandinas tam upadeva-gaṇā ye vādya-gīta-balibhiḥ parivavruḥ | vatsalo vraja-gavāṁ yad aga-dhro vandyamāna-caraṇaḥ pathi vṛddhaiḥ ||’ iti ca yugala-gītokteḥ |
(Rāga-vartma-candrikā: 2.5)
“Now, awareness of Godhood (Aiśvarya-jñāna) present in bhaktas [will be discussed]. That [awareness] which produces a great slackening of one’s own bhāva [for Kṛṣṇa] by means of reverential excitement (sambhrama) productive of trembling of the heart when the thought is present, ‘He is Īśvara,’ is [called] ‘awareness of Godhood’ (Aiśvarya-jñāna), thus in accord with the statement of Vasudeva [in SB 10.85.15], ‘You two are not our sons; you two are directly the Īśvaras of material existence (pradhāna) and [all] embodied beings (puruṣa),’ and the statement of Arjuna [in BG 11.41–42], ‘O Acyuta, I beg you, the Immeasureable, for forgiveness for what was importunately said by me out of inattention or because of uninhibited affection—‘Hey Kṛṣṇa! Hey Yādava! Hey Sakhā!’—considering you a friend and not knowing this greatness of yours, and for your not being honored [by me] while sporting, resting, sitting, and eating alone or in the presence of others for the sake of jesting.’ That [awareness] which causes only great steadiness of one’s own bhāva [for Kṛṣṇa] as a result of the non-production of [even] a trace of reverential excitement (sambhrama) productive of trembling of the heart even in the presence of the thought, ‘He is Īśvara,’ is [called] ‘awareness of sweetness’ (mādhurya-jñāna), as per the statement by the gopīs in the Yugala-gīta [in SB 10.35.21–22], ‘Praisers, who are minor devas, worship him all around with music, songs, and tributes; [he is] affectionate to the cows of Vraja since he is the lifter of the mountain [viz., Govardhana], and his feet are being worshiped by the elders [i.e., the devatās] along the path.’”
atra vidhi-mārgeṇa rādhā-kṛṣṇayor bhajane mahāvaikuṇṭhastha-goloke khalv avivikta-svakīyā-parakīyā-bhāvam aiśvarya-jñānaṁ prāpnoti | madhura-bhāva-lobhitve sati vidhi-mārgeṇa bhajane dvārakāyāṁ śrī-rādhā-satyabhāmayor aikyāt satyabhāmā-parikaratvena svakīyā-bhāvam aiśvarya-jñāna-miśra-mādhurya-jñānaṁ prāpnoti | raga-mārgeṇa bhajane vraja-bhūmau śrī-rādhā-parikaratvena parakīyā-bhāvaṁ śuddha-mādhurya-jñānaṁ prāpnoti |
(Rāga-vartma-candrikā: 2.6)
“In this regard, from worship of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa by means of the path of injunction (vidhi) one attains in the Goloka situated in Mahāvaikuṇṭha awareness of [Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s] Godhood (Aiśvarya-jñāna) and a bhāva that is indiscriminate between svakīyā and parakīyā [i.e., a bhāva that possesses no specificity as to whether Kṛṣṇa’s beloveds are ‘his own’ (svakīyā), meaning, his wives, or ‘another’s’ (parakīyā), meaning, the wives of others]. When one [i.e., a sādhaka] is desirous of madhura-bhāva, from worship by means of the path of injunction (vidhi) one attains awareness of [Kṛṣṇa’s] sweetness (mādhurya) mixed with awareness of [his] Godhood (Aiśvarya-jñāna) and svakīyā-bhāva [i.e., the perception that Kṛṣṇa’s beloveds are his own wives] by virtue of [one’s then] being a companion of Satyabhāmā on account of the oneness between Śrī Rādhā and Satyabhāmā in Dvārakā. From worship by means of the path of attachment (rāga) one attains pure awareness of [Kṛṣṇa’s] sweetness (mādhurya) [i.e., awareness that is free from awareness of his Godhood (Aiśvarya)] and parakīyā-bhāva [i.e., the perception that Kṛṣṇa’s beloveds are ‘another’s’] by virtue of [one’s then] being a companion of Śrī Rādhā in the land of Vraja.”
rāga-bhakti vidhi-bhakti haya dui-rūpa |
svayaṁ-bhagavattve bhagavattve prakāśa dvi-rūpa ||
rāga-bhaktye vraje svayaṁ-bhagavāne pāya |
vidhi-bhaktye pārṣada-dehe vaikuṇṭhete yāya ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.24.84–85, 87)
“There are two forms [of bhakti]: rāga-bhakti and vidhi-bhakti. There are two forms of manifestation [of Brahman in response to these two forms of bhakti]: as Svayam Bhagavān [i.e., as Śrī Kṛṣṇa in Gokula] and as Bhagavān [i.e., as the various forms of Bhagavān found elsewhere]. By rāga-bhakti, one attains Svayaṁ Bhagavān in Vraja. By vidhi-bhakti, one reaches Vaikuṇṭha in the body of a companion (pārṣada) [of Bhagavān].”
atha vaidhī-lakṣanaṁ—śravaṇa-kīrtanādīni śāstra-śāsana-bhayena yadi kriyante tadā vaidhī bhaktiḥ |
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu-bindu: 8)
“Now, the characteristic of vaidhī [-bhakti is stated]: when hearing, praising, and so forth are done out of fear of the ruling of śāstra, then vaidhī-bhakti [is being practiced].”
vaidhī-bhaktir bhavet śāstraṁ bhaktau cet syāt pravartakam |
rāgānugā syāc ced bhaktau lobha eva pravartakaḥ ||
bhaktau pravṛttir atra syāt tac-cikīrṣā suniścayā |
śāstrāl lobhāt tac-cikīrṣū syātāṁ tad-adhikāriṇau ||
(Rāga-vartma-candrikā: 1.3–4)
“Vaidhī-bhakti shall be when the motivator for bhakti shall be śāstra [i.e., injunctions in the śāstra]. Rāgānugā [-bhakti] shall be when the motivator for bhakti shall be intense desire (lobha) specifically. In this regard, an inclination (pravṛtti) towards bhakti [which may be of either of the two aforementioned types] shall be [understood as] a firmly resolved desire to enact that [viz., bhakti]. Those possessed of desire to enact that [viz., bhakti] because of śāstra [i.e., injunctions in the śāstra] or because of intense desire (lobha) shall be the two bearers of eligibility (adhikārīs) for that [i.e., for bhakti, meaning, for vaidhī-bhakti and rāgānugā-bhakti respectively].”
gavāṁ keva kathā kṛṣṇa te te’pi bhavataḥ priyāḥ |
mṛgā vihaṅgā bhāṇḍīra-kadambādyāś ca pādapāḥ ||
latāni kuñja-puñjāni śādvalāny api jīvanam |
bhavaty evārpayāmāsuḥ kṣīṇāś ca sarito’drayaḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.6.116–117)
“[Baladeva to Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā:] Why talk like this [only] of the cows, O Kṛṣṇa? The animals, birds, and trees like the bhāṇḍīras and kadambas—they all too are dear to you. The creepers, multitudes of bowers, and greenswards have all offered their lives to you alone. The rivers and hills too are emaciated [in your absence].”
apīpalad dharma-rājaḥ pitṛvad rañjayan prajāḥ |
niḥspṛhaḥ sarva-kāmebhyaḥ kṛṣṇa-pādānusevayā ||
sampadaḥ kratavo lokā mahiṣī bhrātaro mahī |
jambūdvīpādhipatyaṁ ca yaśaś ca tridivaṁ gatam ||
kiṁ te kāmāḥ sura-spārhā mukunda-manaso dvijāḥ |
adhijahrur mudaṁ rājñaḥ kṣudhitasya yathetare ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.12.4–6)
“Free from covetousness for all objects of desire by way of continuous service to the feet of Kṛṣṇa, Dharmarāja [viz., Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja], like his father, pleased and protected the citizens [of his kingdom]. Riches, sacrifices, planes [attained by the performance of sacrifices], queens, brothers, the earth, rulership over Jambūdvīpa, and fame situated in Svarga—O twice-born ones, like other objects [i.e., things other than food, like garlands and sandalwood paste] for one who is hungry, could these objects of desire, coveted by the devas, cause delight for the king, whose mind was given over to Mukunda? [Certainly not].”
