kṛta-niścayino vandyās tuṅgimā nopabhujyate |
cātakaḥ ko varāko’yaṁ yasyendro vārivāhakaḥ ||
(Pañcatantra: 2.147)
“The resolute are worthy of respect. Such [status] is not enjoyed [just] by one who is tall [i.e., large in size]. Who is this low [i.e., short and apparently insignificant] cātaka for whom Indra is a water-porter?”
eka eva khago mānī cirañjīvatu cātakam |
mriyate vā pipāsārto yācate vā purandaram ||
(Pañcatantra)
“Long live the cātaka, the bird of unparalleled self-respect. When afflicted with thirst, it either dies or begs from Indra [but will never drink water from anywhere but a raincloud, that is, from anywhere beneath him on the ground].”
vrajendra-kula dugdha-sindhu kṛṣṇa tāhe pūrṇa indu
janmi kailā jagat ujora |
kānty-amṛta yebā piye nirantara piyā jiye
vraja-janera nayana-cakora ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.19.36)
“The family of Vraja’s King is an ocean of milk, and Kṛṣṇa is the full moon that has arisen from there and illuminated the world. The eyes of the people of Vraja are cakora birds who drink the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s luster and live by [only] drink it continuously.”
haṁsaḥ padma-vanaṁ samicchhati yathā nīlāmbudaṁ cātakaḥ
kokaḥ koka-nada-priyaṁ prati-dinaṁ candraṁ cakoras tathā |
ceto vāñchati mām ekaṁ paśupate cinmārga-mṛgyaṁ vibho
gaurīnātha bhavat padābja-yugalaṁ kaivalya-saukhya-pradam ||
(Śaṅkarācārya‘s Śivānanda-laharī: 59)
“As the swan longs for the lotus cluster,
The cātaka for the dark blue cloud,
The cakravāka for the sun,
The cakora for the moon, day after day,
So, my heart hankers only for your lotus feet,
Which are the goal of the spiritual path,
And which grant the joy of kaivalya,
O all-pervading One, O Lord of all beings, O husband of Gaurī!”
nāhaṁ vipro na ca nara-patir nāpi vaiśyo na śūdro
nāhaṁ varṇī na ca gṛha-patir no vanastho yatir vā |
kintu prodyan nikhila-paramānanda-pūrnāmṛtābdher
gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ ||
(Padyāvalī: 74; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.13.80)
“I am neither a brāhmaṇa, nor a kṣatriya, nor a vaiśya, nor a śūdra. I am neither a brahmacārī, nor a gṛhastha, nor a vānaprastha, nor a sannyāsī. Rather, I am an assisting servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of the gopīs’ Lord—the brimming ocean of nectar filled with complete, paramount bliss.”
tatrāsakti-kṛd anyatra prīti-saṁhāriṇī hy asau |
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.5.28)
“It [i.e., the sthāyi-bhāva known as prīti, that is, dāsya-bhāva] produces attachment to him [i.e., Bhagavān] and completely destroys affection for all else.”
santu ramyāṇi bhūrīṇi prārthyaṁ syād idam eva me |
iti yo nirṇayo dhīrair abhimānaḥ sa ucyate ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 14.19)
“‘Let many pleasing things be [i.e., let me disregard them], and let this alone be desirable to me [i.e., let me desire only this],’—such determination is called abhimāna by the wise.”
yāra yemana bhāva tāra temana lābha |
(Bengali saying)
“As is one’s bhāva, so is one’s attainment.”
yathāveśas tathā praveśaḥ |
(Sanskrit saying)
“As is [one’s] absorption, so is [one’s] entrance.”
na kāṣṭhe vidyate devo na śilāyāṁ kadācana |
bhāve hi vidyate devas tasmād bhāvaṁ samācaret ||
(Garuḍa Purāṇa: 2.38.13)
“Deva is never present in wood or in stone. Deva is present in bhāva. Therefore, cultivate bhāva.”
