sarvathaiva durūho’yam abhaktair bhagavad-rasaḥ |
tat-pādāmbuja-sarvasvair bhaktair evānurasyate ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.5.131; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.23.100)
“This Bhagavad-rasa is in all cases difficult to comprehend for non-bhaktas. It is relished only by bhaktas whose all is his [i.e., Bhagavān’s] lotus feet.”
prāktany ādhunikī cāsti yasya sad-bhakti-vāsanā |
eṣa bhakti-rasāsvādas tasyaiva hṛdi jāyate ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.6)
“The taste of bhakti-rasa arises only in the heart of one who has a prior and a present vāsanā (affinity) for pure bhakti [i.e., saṁskāras for bhakti that were formed in one’s previous life (or lives) and one’s present life].”
kṛṣṇa-sambandhibhiḥ sākṣāt kiñcid vā vyavadhānataḥ |
bhāvaiś cittam ihākrāntaṁ sattvam ity ucyate budhaiḥ ||
sattvād asmāt samutpannā ye ye bhāvās te tu sāttvikāḥ |
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.3.1–2)
“The citta imbued with bhāvas related to Kṛṣṇa [i.e., any one of the five primary ratis (sthāyi-bhāvas) and any of the secondary ratis] either directly or somewhat indirectly is called sattva by the wise. Those bhāvas which manifest from this sattva [i.e., which manifest directly and involuntarily from the citta in this state] are [called] sāttvikas.”
vyatītya bhāvanā-vartma yaś camatkāra-bhāra-bhūḥ |
hṛdi sattvojjvale bāḍhaṁ svadate sa raso mataḥ ||
bhāvanāyāḥ pade yas tu budhenānanya-buddhinā |
bhāvyate gāḍha-saṁskāraiś citte bhāvaḥ sa kathyate ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.5.132–133)
“That which completely surpasses the scope of bhāvanā (meditation), is a cause of an abundance of wonder, and is relished in a heart bright with [śuddha-] sattva [i.e., a sthāyi-bhāva] is known as rasa. That which is meditated on (bhāvyate) by a wise person (budha) of one-pointed (ananya) mind (buddhi) in a heart (citta) which is a seat of meditation (bhāvanā) [on the vibhāvas, vyabhicāri-bhāvas, and so forth] by virtue of deep saṁskāras is called bhāva.”
rāma—priye, kim etat |
viniścetuṁ śakyo na sukham iti vā duḥkham iti vā
pramoho nidrā vā kim u viṣa-visarpaḥ kim u madaḥ |
tava sparśe sparśe mama hi parimūḍhendriya-gaṇo
vikāraś caitanyaṁ bhramayati ca saṁmīlayati ca ||
sītā—sthira-prasādā yūyam ita idānīṁ kim aparam |
(Uttara-rāma-carita: 1.36)
[As Rāma takes Sītā into his arms to rest for some time:] “Rāma: ’My dear, what is this? I am not able to ascertain whether this is joy or sorrow. Is it stupor or sleep? Is it a diffusion of poison or inebriety? At your every touch, some feeling which bewilders my senses causes my consciousness to reel and fall faint.’ Sītā [replies]: ‘This is your everlasting graciousness [upon me]. What else could it be?’”
rāmaṁ rājīva-locanaṁ raghu-varaṁ sīta-patiṁ sundaraṁ
kākuthsaṁ karuṇāmayaṁ guṇa-nidhiṁ vipra-priyaṁ dhārmikam |
rājendraṁ satya-sandhaṁ daśaratha-tanayaṁ śyāmalaṁ śānta-mūrtiṁ
vande lokābhirāmaṁ raghu-kula-tilakaṁ rāghavaṁ rāvaṇārim ||
(Unknown Source)
“I offer obeisance
Unto Rāma,
He of lotus eyes,
The best of the Raghus,
The husband of Sītā,
[Most] Beautiful,
A descendant of Kākuthsa,
Full of compassion,
A reservoir of virtue,
Dear to brāhmaṇas,
Dharmic,
An emperor among kings,
Truthful,
The Son of Daśartha,
Of dark complexion,
An embodiment of peace,
The joy of the people,
The ornament of the Raghu dynasty,
A descendant of Raghu,
The enemy of Rāvaṇa.”
gurau goṣṭhe goṣṭhālayiṣu sujane bhū-sura-gaṇe
sva-mantre śrī-nāmni vraja-nava-yuva-dvandva-śaraṇe |
sadā dambhaṁ hitvā kuru ratim apūrvām atitarāṁ
aye svāntar bhrātaś caṭubhir abhiyāce dhṛta-padaḥ ||
(Stavāvalī: Manaḥ-śikṣā, 1)
“Give up your pride and constantly cultivate intense, unparalleled rati to guru, Vraja, the residents of Vraja, the Vaiṣṇavas, the brāhmaṇas, your mantra, the divine names, and the shelter of the Youthful Couple of Vraja. O mind! O brother! I implore you with kind words, grasping your feet.”
caitanyacandrera kṛpā hañāche i̐hāre |
caitanyacandrera ‘vātula’ ke rākhite pāre? ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.6.41)
[Śrī Dāsa Gosvāmī’s father tells his mother:] “Śrī Caitanyacandra’s grace has come upon him. Who can detain a man mad for Caitanyacandra?”
yaḥ sarva-lokaika-mano-‘bhirucyā
saubhāgya-bhūḥ kācid akṛṣṭa-pacyā |
yatrāyam āropaṇa-tulya-kālaṁ
tat-prema-śākhī phalavān atulyaḥ ||
(Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka: 10.4; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.6.264)
“Since he [i.e., Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī] is unanimously a delight to everyone, he is [like] an untilled fertile field of some [indescribable] good fortune wherein this tree of prema for him [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa], from the very moment it was planted, has become incomparably fruitful.”
vinā rādhāṁ kṛṣṇo na khalu sukhadaḥ sā na sukhadā
vinā kṛṣṇaṁ dvābhyām api vinānyā na sarasāḥ |
vinā rātriṁ nendus tam api na vinā sā’pi ruci-bhāk
vinā tābhyāṁ jṛmbhāṁ dadhati kumudinyo’pi na tarām ||
(Alaṅkāra-kaustubha: 8.193)
“Certainly, without Rādhā, Kṛṣṇa is not delightful, and she is not delightful without Kṛṣṇa. And alas, without both of them, others [i.e., the sakhīs] are not beautiful [alt., impassioned, lit., imbued with rasa]. Neither the moon without the night, nor it without that [i.e., nor the night without the moon] are resplendent. And without them both, white water lillies do not fully blossom.”
