yat tūttamaḥ-śloka-guṇānuvādaḥ
saṅgīyate’bhīkṣṇam amaṅgala-ghnaḥ |
tam eva nityaṁ śṛṇuyād abhīkṣṇaṁ
kṛṣṇe’malāṁ bhaktim abhīpsamānaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.3.15)
“… Whereas one who is desirous of pure bhakti to Kṛṣṇa should always repeatedly hear only narration of the qualities of he of highest praise [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣnā], which is sung repeatedly and destroys all inauspiciousness.”
yat pītaṁ śruti-vāṅ-manobhir aniśaṁ tṛṣṇā-pradam adbhutaṁ
saṁsārāmaya-hāry api praṇayajonmādāndhya-mohādi-kṛt |
śaśvac carvitam apy analpa-rasadaṁ dehādi-hṛt-puṣṭidaṁ
taj jīyād amṛta-spṛhā-haram idaṁ govinda-līlāmṛtam ||
(Govinda Līlāmṛta: 1.5)
“May this wonderful Govinda-līlāmṛtam triumph! [Why is it wonderful?] Even when it is drunk with the ears, tongue, and mind, it incessantly produces thirst [for more of itself] and [simultaneously] gives nourishment to the body, heart, and so forth; even though it cures the disease of saṁsāra, it gives rise to the madness, blindness, delusion, and so forth manifest by love (praṇāya) [i.e., the “disease” of Kṛṣṇa-prema]; even when it is chewed constantly [as it wonderfully can continually be both drunk and chewed], it produces no small amount of rasa [i.e., as sugarcane does, but rather again and again produces an abundance of sweet prema-rasa]; and even though it is itself amṛta (nectar), it removes all desire for amṛta [i.e., be it the nectarean beverage drunk by the devas to remain ever-youthful sought by the karmīs or the various forms of liberation from māyā sought by the jñānīs and yogīs].”
vayaṁ dhanyatamā loke guro’pi kṣatra-bandhavaḥ |
vayaṁ pibāmo muhus tvattaḥ puṇyaṁ kṛṣṇa-kathāmṛtam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.12.43)
[Parīkṣit Mahārāja to Śukadeva Gosvāmī:] “O guru, although we are [just] relatives of kṣatriyas [i.e., we are the lowest of kṣatriyas], we are the most fortunate in the world, for we are drinking repeatedly the pure nectar of Kṛṣṇa-kathā from you.”
bhavatīm abhivādya cāṭubhir
varam ūrjeśvari varyam arthaye |
bhavadīyatayā kṛpāṁ yathā
mayi kuryād adhikāṁ bakāntakaḥ ||
(Stava-mālā: Utkalikā-vallariḥ, 20)
“O Ūrjeśvarī [i.e., O Rādhā, presiding goddess over Kārtika], I salute you, and with endearing words I pray for this finest benediction: may Bakāntaka [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the killer of Bakāsura], bestow greater grace upon me on account of [my] being your own.”
karmaṇā jāyate jantuḥ karmaṇeva vilīyate |
sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ bhayaṁ kṣemaṁ karmaṇevābhipadyate ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha)
“A living being is born because of his karma and dies because of his karma. Happiness, distress, fear, and well-being [all] arise only because of karma.”
icchā-vaśāt pāpam upāsakānāṁ
kṣīyeta bhogonmukham apy amuṣmāt |
prārabdha-mātraṁ bhavatītareṣāṁ
karmāvaśiṣṭaṁ tad avaśya-bhogyam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.3.169)
“Even the sin which is about to be experienced [i.e., the prārabdha-karma] of upāsakas is destroyed by this [i.e., by nāma-saṅkīrtana] according to their will. For others, prārabdha [-karma] is the only remaining karma, since that is necessary to be experienced.”
nābhuktaṁ kṣīyate karma kalpa-koṭi-śatair api |
avaśyam eva bhoktavyaṁ kṛtaṁ karma śubhāśubham ||
(Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa)
“Karma that is not experienced does not dissipate, even after hundreds of millions of kalpas. Past karma, be it auspicious or inauspicious, must certainly be experienced.”
sukhāya karmāṇi karoti loko
na taiḥ sukhaṁ vānyad upāramaṁ vā |
vindeta bhūyas tata eva duḥkhaṁ
yad atra yuktaṁ bhagavān vaden naḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.5.2)
“People engage in karma in pursuit of happiness, but by that they attain neither happiness nor the cessation of its opposite [i.e., suffering]. Rather, they attain only more suffering. O illustrious sage, please explain what is befitting [for us to do] here [i.e., in this condition in saṁsāra].”
karmaṇā manasā vācā parapīḍāṁ karoti yaḥ |
tad-bījaṁ janma phalati prabhūtaṁ tasya cāśubham ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 1827)
“He who harms others with his actions, mind, and speech—the seed produced by this [behavior] results in immense inauspiciousness for him.”
pāpaṁ kurvan pāpakīrtiḥ pāpam evāśnute phalam |
puṇyaṁ kurvan puṇyakīrtiḥ puṇyam evāśnute phalam ||
pāpaṁ prajñāṁ nāśayati kriyamāṇaṁ punaḥ punaḥ |
naṣṭa-prajñaḥ pāpam eva nityam ārabhate naraḥ ||
puṇyaṁ prajñāṁ vardhayati kriyamāṇaṁ punaḥ punaḥ |
vṛddha-prajñaḥ puṇyam eva nityam ārabhate naraḥ ||
asūyako dandaśūko niṣṭhuro vairakṛn naraḥ |
sa kṛcchraṁ mahad āpnoto nacirāt pāpam ācaran ||
anasūyaḥ kṛta-prajñaḥ śobhanāny ācaran sadā |
akṛcchrāt sukham āpnoti sarvatra ca virājate ||
(Mahābhārata: 5.35.51−6)
“By committing sin, a sinful person certainly receives the results of sin. By practicing piety, a pious person certainly receives the results of piety. Sin committed again and again destroys one’s intellect, and a person whose intellect is destroyed begins to commit sin continuously. Piety practiced again and again enhances one’s intellect, and a person of enhanced intellect starts to practice piety continuously. A persons who is envious, mordacious, cruel, and inimical, by committing sins, soon undergoes great difficulty. One who is non-envious and endowed with intellect, by always performing auspicious acts, attains happiness without difficulty and shines everywhere.”
