samyaṅ-masṛṇita-svānto mamatvātiśayāṅkitaḥ |
bhāvaḥ sa eva sāndrātmā budhaiḥ premā nigadyate ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.4.1)
“That particular bhāva, intense in nature, because of which the heart is completely melted, and [thus] marked by a profusion of my-ness (mamatva) [i.e., loving attachment to Kṛṣṇa], is called prema by the wise.”
sādhanābhiniveśena kṛṣṇa-tad-bhaktayos tathā |
prasādenātidhanyānāṁ bhāvo dvedhābhijāyate |
ādyas tu prāyikas tatra dvitīyo viralodayaḥ ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.3.6)
“Bhāva manifests in the greatly fortunate in two ways: (1) by absorption in sādhana and (2) by the grace of Kṛṣṇa or his devotee. In this regard, the first is common, and the second is a rare occurrence.”
na hy anyatra spṛhā anyatra ratiḥ |
(Durgama-saṅgaminī-ṭīkā to Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.3.41)
“It is not that there can be desire elsewhere and rati elsewhere.
tad-eka-spṛhatvam eva rater lakṣaṇaṁ mukhyam ity uktam |
(Durgama-saṅgamī-ṭīkā to Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhi: 1.3.41)
“It is stated that desirousness only of him [i.e., Bhagavān] is truly the primary characteristic of rati [i.e., merely inner softness that manifests sāttvika-bhāvas, such as crying and trembling, is not the primary characteristic, since this can also be observed in persons engaged in impure forms of bhakti].”
kṣāntir avyartha-kālatvaṁ viraktir māna-śūnyatā |
āśā-bandhaḥ samutkaṇṭhā nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ ||
āsaktis tad-guṇākhyāne prītis tad-vasati-sthale |
ity ādayo’nubhāvāḥ syur jāta-bhāvāṅkure jane ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: Pūrva-vibhāga, 3.25–26)
“(1) Forbearance, (2) not wasting time, (3) non-attachment, (4) pridelessness, (5) hopefulness, (6) longing, (7) constant taste for chanting the name, (8) attachment to discussion of his [i.e., Bhagavān’s] qualities, and (9) fondness for his abode—these and other indications shall manifest in a person in whom the sprout of bhāva has arisen.”
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.”
purāṇe nāṭya-śāstre ca dvayos tu rati-bhāvayoḥ |
samānārthatayā hy atra dvayam aikyena lakṣitam ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.3.13)
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“In the Purāṇas and in the śāstras on dramaturgy the words rati and bhāva have the same meaning. Here also [i.e., in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu], the two words are seen to be synonymous.”
śuddha-sattva-viśeṣātmā prema-sūryāṁśu-sāmya-bhāk |
rucibhiś citta-māsṛṇya-kṛd asau bhāva ucyate ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.3.1)
“That [i.e., that aspect of uttamā-bhakti] which is constituted of a special aspect of śuddha-sattva, is a bearer of resemblance to a ray of the sun of prema, and is a melter of the heart with hankerings, is called bhāva [-bhakti].”
tena gopikādy-anugatimaya-sva-nyūnatā-duḥkhāṅgīkāras tu viriñca-bhava-lakṣmy-ādibhir īśvarābhimānibhiḥ sva-sva-loka-sthitair duḥśaka eva, anyeṣāṁ tu tādṛśopadeśasyālābhād arocakatvād vā tad-anugaty-abhāva eva … |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.9.21)
“Acceptance of the hardship of their own inferiority in following the gopikās and others [i.e., other residents of Gokula], is not possible for Brahmā, Śiva, Lakṣmī, and others who are situated in their own domains and have the mentality of being īśvaras. In the case of others, however, an absence of following them [i.e., the residents of Gokula] is because of not having received such instruction [to do so] or having no taste for it.”
śrī-bhāgavate’smin bhagavat-premaiva sarva-puruṣārtha-śiromaṇitvenodghuṣyate | tasya mūla-bhūtāśrayāṇāṁ bhaktānāṁ madhye nitya-siddhatva eva tasya nitya-sthitiḥ sambhavet, teṣv api madhye gokula-vartinas tan-mātādaya eva śreṣṭhāḥ yeṣāṁ vātsalyādi-bhāva-viṣayī-bhūtaḥ kṛṣṇas tad-anugamana-bhaktimadbhir eva sulabho nānyair …|
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.9.21)
“In this Śrīmad Bhāgavatam only Bhagavat-prema is proclaimed to be the crown jewel of all puruṣārthas. Its [i.e., prema’s] eternal existence is possible within its substrata, bhaktas, only because of their being nitya-siddha. Among them, furthermore, the best are the residents of Gokula, such as his [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s] mother, the object of whose bhāvas of vātsalya and so forth—Kṛṣṇa—is easily attainable only by devotees who follow them [i.e., those residents of Gokula] and not by others [i.e., those who practice bhakti without following the residents of Gokula].”
