yathā kāṣṭhaṁ ca kāṣṭhaṁ ca sameyātāṁ mahodadhau |
sametya ca vyapeyātāṁ tadvad-bhūta-samāgamaḥ ||
(Mahābhārata: 12.28.36; Hitopadeśa: 4.75)
“As a piece of wood may meet another piece of wood atop a vast sea, and after meeting may also become separated—such is the conjunction of living beings.”
hetuvādo na kartavyo hetunā patate naraḥ ||
(Nāradīya Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 12.280)
“Disputation should not be done, as by argument a person falls down.”
pūrvāparāvirodhena ko nv artho’bhimato bhavet |
ity ādyam ūhanaṁ tarkaḥ śuṣka-tarkaṁ ca varjayet ||
(Kūrma Purāṇa; cited in Sarva-saṁvādinī, Govinda-bhāṣya, Prameya-ratnāvalī)
“‘What is the intended meaning [of a particular expression] free from contradiction to preceding and succeeding statements?” Reasoning such as this is the best form of deliberation. Dry reasoning, however, should be abandoned.”
anukūlo matas tarkaḥ śuṣkas tu parivarjitaḥ |
(Prameya-ratnāvalī: 9.4)
“Reasoning that is favorable is desired. Dry reasoning, however, is rejected.”
vedāntārthānuguṇo’sau na nivāryate |
(Siddhānta-ratna: 1.14)
“Reasoning that conforms to the meaning of the Veda is not prohibited.”
tat-poṣa-kārī tarkas tv apekṣata eva |
(Govinda-bhāṣya on Vedānta-sūtra: 2.1.11)
“Reasoning which supports that [i.e., Śruti] is certainly necessary.”
bhakti-nirdhūta-doṣāṇāṁ prasannojjvala-cetasām |
śrī-bhāgavata-raktānāṁ rasikāsaṅga-raṅgiṇām ||
jīvanī-bhūta-govinda-pāda-bhakti-sukha-śriyām |
premāntaraṅga-bhūtāni kṛtyāny evānutiṣṭhatām ||
bhaktānāṁ hṛdi rājantī saṁskāra-yugalojjvalā |
ratir ānanda-rūpaiva nīyamānā tu rasyatām ||
kṛṣṇādibhir vibhāvādyair gatair anubhavādhvani |
prauḍhānanda-camatkāra-kāṣṭhām āpadyate parām ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.7–10)
“In the hearts of bhaktas who have been purified by bhakti of all faults [e.g., attachment, aversion, delusion, etc.], whose hearts are clear [i.e., fit for the manifestation of higher pure existence (śuddha-sattva-viśeṣa)] and bright [i.e., all knowing by virtue of this manifestation], who cherish [tasting] Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, who rejoice in the company relishers of rasa, whose life is the wealth of the bliss of bhakti to the feet of Govinda, and who engage in all of prema’s natural activities—rati, which is bliss itself, appears bright as a result of the two types of saṁskāras [i.e., impressions in the citta made by pure bhakti in one’s previous births and one’s present birth], reaches the state of being relishable [i.e., of being rasa] on the pathway of perception on account of present vibhāvas and so forth [i.e., anubhāvas, sāttvika-bhāvas, vyabhichārī-bhāvas], beginning with Kṛṣṇa, and reaches the highest pinnacle of intense bliss and wonder [i.e., transforms into sneha, māna, praṇaya, anurāga, bhāva, and mahābhāva].”
mahāśakti-vilāsātmā bhāvo’cintya-svarūpa-bhāk |
raty-ākhyā ity ayaṁ yukto na hi tarkeṇa bādhitum |
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.5.92)
“This bhāva, known as rati, by constitution an expression of the supreme potency [i.e., the hlādinī-śakti], and [thus] possessed of an inconceivable nature, is not fit to be assailed with argument.”
bhagavān api tā rātṛīḥ śāradotphulla-mallikāḥ |
vīkṣya rantuṁ manaś cakre yogamāyām upāśritaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.29.1)
“Seeing those nights in the autumn blooming with jasmine flowers, even Bhagavān made up his mind to enjoy and took recourse to yogamāyā.”
parisphuratu sundaraṁ caritram atra lakṣmī-pates
tathā bhuvana-nandinas tad-avatāra-vṛndasya ca |
harer api camatkṛti-prakara-vardhanaḥ kintu me
bibharti hṛdi vismayaṁ kam api rāsa-līlā-rasaḥ ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.210)
[Uddhava:] “The beautiful feats of Lakṣmīpati and his avatāras who delight the world may manifest in full here [i.e., throughout the universe], but the rasa of the rāsa-līlā, which increases the abundance of even Hari’s astonishment, continually produces some sort of [indescribable] wonder in my heart.”
