Sūkti Sudhākara

adhiṣṭhāna-vicāre śrīmad-arcāto’pi yaḥ pūruṣa-mātrātiśayas tatrāpi jñāninaḥ

adhiṣṭhāna-vicāre śrīmad-arcāto’pi yaḥ pūruṣa-mātrātiśayas tatrāpi jñāninaḥ, sa ca kaivalya-kāmo bhakty-āśrayaḥ | … ca bhaktasyaiva tato’py utkarṣaḥ, kim uta tad-upāsyāyāḥ śrīmad-arcāyāḥ | …
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 286)

“In deliberation upon dwelling places (adhiṣṭhānas) [of Śrī Bhagavān], a human being is [considered] greater [i.e., a greater dwelling places (adhiṣṭhānas) of Śrī Bhagavān] than even the sacred deity. Furthermore among them [i.e., among human beings], a possessor of knowledge (jñānī) [is greater]. He [i.e., a jñānī], furthermore, is [understood to be] a seeker of liberation (kaivalya) whose shelter is in [the path of] bhakti. … Furthermore, the excellence of a bhakta is indeed even greater than him [i.e., than a jñānī], so what more of the sacred deity, his object of worship? [Although it is said in general that a human being is a greater dwelling place (adhiṣṭhāna) of Bhagavān than a deity of Bhagavān because one who doesn’t recognize Bhagavān’s presence in all living beings has no eligibility (adhikāra) to perform worship of a deity of Bhagavān, the deity is also the object of worship of a bhakta, who is a greater dwelling place (adhiṣṭhāna) of Bhagavān than a common human being and a jñānī. Thus, the deity is actually the greatest dwelling place (adhiṣṭhāna) of Bhagavān and highest object of worship for all, provided one has the necessary understanding.]”

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śālagrāmādikaṁ tat-tad-bhagavad-ākārādhiṣṭhānam iti cintyam

śālagrāmādikaṁ tat-tad-bhagavad-ākārādhiṣṭhānam iti cintyam, ākāra-vailakṣaṇyāt, śālagrāma-śilā yatra tatra sannihito hariḥ ity-ādy-ukteḥ | tatra ca sveṣṭākārasyaiva bhagavato’dhiṣṭhānaṁ suṣṭhu siddhikaram, tasminn evāyatnatas tadīya-prākaṭyāt, ‘mūrtyābhimatayātmanaḥ’ ity ukteḥ |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 286)

“A Śālagrāma and so forth [e.g., a Govardhana-śilā] is to be conceived of as a dwelling place (adhiṣṭhāna) of a particular appearance (ākāra) [i.e., specific figure] of Bhagavān because of dissimilarity of appearance [i.e., because Śālagrāma-śilās, Govardhana-śilās, and other such objects of worship do not resemble Bhagavān’s personal figures of Kṛṣṇa, Nārāyaṇa, and so on], and because of statements such as, ‘Where there is a Śālagrāma stone, there Hari is present.’ Therein, furthermore, [to meditate on a Śālagrāma and so forth as] a dwelling place (adhiṣṭhāna) of one’s own desired appearance of Bhagavān [i.e., one Iṣṭa-devatā] is highly efficacious because of his [i.e., one’s Iṣṭa-devatā’s] manifestation without effort [on the part of the sādhaka] there in particular [i.e., in that Śālagrāma or other object of worship], as per the statement [in SB 11.3.48], ‘[Worship the Supreme Puruṣa] In the form wished for by oneself.’”

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atha mukhyaṁ dhyānaṁ śrī-bhagavad-dhāma-gatam eva

atha mukhyaṁ dhyānaṁ śrī-bhagavad-dhāma-gatam eva, hṛdaya-kamala-gataṁ tu yogi-matam, smared vṛndāvane ramye ity-ādy-uktatvāt | ata eva mānasa-pūjā ca tatraiva cintanīyā | … śrī-kṛṣṇādīnāṁ tu mathurādi-kṣetraṁ mahādhiṣṭhānam, ‘mathurā bhagavān yatra nityaṁ sannihito hariḥ’ ity-ādy-ukteḥ | tathā tat-tan-mantra-dhyeya-vaibhavatvena mathurā-vṛndāvanādīnāṁ śrī-gopāla-tāpany-ādau prakhyātatvāt | mathurādi-kṣetrāṇy evānyatrādhiṣṭhāne dhyānena prakāśya teṣu bhagavāṁś cintyate |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 286)

“Now, [for bhaktas] the primary [meditation] is situated in Śrī Bhagavān’s dhāma alone [i.e., Śrī Bhagavān is to be meditated upon only as situated in his own abode], whereas it is considered by yogīs to be situated in the lotus in the heart [i.e., yogīs, unlike bhaktas, meditate on Bhagavān situated in their own hearts rather than in his own abode], since it is stated [in Śāradā-tilaka], ‘Remember [Govinda] in joyful Vṛndāvana,’ and so on. Therefore, worship in the mind (mānasa-pūjā) is to be conceived there alone [i.e., when worship is performed in the mind, Bhagavān should be conceived of as situated in his own abode, e.g., Vṛndāvana, and not in the heart, in the sun, or elsewhere, as yogīs may conceive of him]. … The domains of Mathurā and so forth, however, are grand existential seats (mahādhiṣṭhānas) of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and so on, on account of statements such as [SB 1.10.28], ‘Mathurā, where Bhagavān Hari is eternally present,’ and because of Mathurā, Vṛndāvana, and so forth’s being made known in Śrī Gopāla Tāpanī and elsewhere to be the magnificence (vaibhava) of the object of meditation (dhyeya) in various mantras [i.e., to be aspects of Bhagavān’s own personal greatness]. The domains of Mathurā and so forth are to be manifested through meditation in existential seats elsewhere, and Bhagavān is to be conceived in them [i.e., if an object of worship, such as a Deity, is present in a location other than the district of Mathurā or another abode of Śrī Bhagavān, then a worshiper of that object of worship should situate that object of worship in the appropriate abode, e.g., Vṛndāvana, through meditation and then perform worship with the object of worship conceived to be situated there].”

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naiva strī na pumān eṣa na caivāyaṁ napuṁsakaḥ

naiva strī na pumān eṣa na caivāyaṁ napuṁsakaḥ |
yad yac charīram ādatte tene tene sa yujyate ||
(Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad: 5.10)

“It [i.e., the jīva] is not female and not male. It is also not of neuter gender [i.e., non-binary, lit., ‘non-male’]. Whatever body it accepts, it becomes united with that.”

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sa ya eṣo’ṇimaitadātmyam idaṁ sarvaṁ tat satyaṁ sa ātmā tat tvam asi śvetaketo

sa ya eṣo’ṇimaitadātmyam idaṁ sarvaṁ tat satyaṁ sa ātmā tat tvam asi śvetaketo … |
(Chāndogya Upaniṣad: 6.8.7)

“That which is this minuteness (aṇimā) [i.e., that which is the subtle basis of perceptible world]—this whole [perceptible world] is possessed of the nature of this [i.e., of this subtle-most existence]. That [i.e., that subtle-most existence which is the source of everything] is being (satya). That is the Self (Ātmā). You are that, O Śvetaketu.”

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yat-pādāmbuja-yugma-vicyuta-rajaḥ-sevā-prabhāvād ahaṁ

yat-pādāmbuja-yugma-vicyuta-rajaḥ-sevā-prabhāvād ahaṁ
gāndharvā-sarasī-girīndra-nikaṭe kaṣṭo’pi nityaṁ vasan |
tat-preyo-gaṇa-pālito jita-sudhā rādhā-mukundābhidhā
udgāyāmi śṛṇomi māṁ punar aho śrīmān sa rūpo’vatu ||
(Stavāvalī: Abhīṣṭa-sūcana, 13)

“Aho! May he, Śrīmān Rūpa, again protect me, I who am sustained by the circle of those dear to him, and who, although troubled, sing aloud and hear the names of Rādhā and Mukunda, by which nectar is defeated, residing continuously near the king of mountains [i.e., Govardhana] at the lake of Gāndharvā [i.e., Rādhā Kuṇḍa] by the power of service to the dust fallen from the pair of his lotus feet.”

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apūrva-premābdheḥ parimala-payaḥ-phena-nivahaiḥ

apūrva-premābdheḥ parimala-payaḥ-phena-nivahaiḥ
sadā yo jīvātur yam iha kṛpayāsiñcad atulam |
idānīṁ durdaivāt pratipada-vipad-dāva-valito
nirālambaḥ so’yaṁ kam iha tam ṛte yātu śaraṇam ||
(Stavāvalī: Prārthanāśraya-caturdaśaka, 10)

“Now, in the wake of misfortune, who shall he who is shelterless and surrounded by a forest fire of constant adversity take shelter in here besides he who is his vitality and who always graciously and matchlessly showered him here with heaps of foam from the fragrant water of the ocean of unprecedented prema?”

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śrīmad-rūpa-padāmbhoja-dhūlī-mātraika-sevinā

śrīmad-rūpa-padāmbhoja-dhūlī-mātraika-sevinā
kenacid grathitā padyair mālāghreyā tad-āśrayaiḥ ||
(Stavāvalī: Viśākhānanda-stotra, 134)

“Strung with verses by some one-pointed servitor of just the dust of the lotus feet of Śrīmad Rūpa, may this garland be smelled by those who are in his shelter [alt., by those in the shelter of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa].”

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rase sāraś camatkāraḥ sarvatrāpy anubhūyate

rase sāraś camatkāraḥ sarvatrāpy anubhūyate |
tac camatkāra-sāratve sarvatrāpy adbhuto rasaḥ ||
(Sāhitya-darpaṇa 3.3; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 110)

“In rasa, astonishment is perceived to be the essence indeed in all cases. Therefore, because of the essence being astonishment, rasa is adbhuta [i.e., wonder] indeed in all cases.”

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adatta-pūrva-svapadābja-sauhṛda

adatta-pūrva-svapadābja-sauhṛda-
pradāna-dīkṣocita-deśa-saṅgata |
sva-sevaka-brahma-sukhādhikotsava-
premākara krīḍana-kṛn namo’stu te ||
(Kṛṣṇa-līlā-stava: 63)

“O you who are [now] situated in the land [of Vraja]

Suitable to your vow (dīkṣa)

Of granting love for your own lotus feet

That has not been given before!

O Bestower of prema

And joy greater than the bliss of Brahman

Upon your own servants!

O Performer of play!

May my obeisance be offered unto you.”

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