Bhakti Sandarbha – Page 28

athāta ānanda-dughaṁ padāmbujaṁ

athāta ānanda-dughaṁ padāmbujaṁ
haṁsāḥ śrayerann aravinda-locana |
sukhaṁ nu viśveśvara yoga-karmabhis
tvan-māyayāmī vihatā na māninaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.3; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha 326)

[Translation as per Śrīdhara Svāmī’s ṭīkā:] “Therefore, O lotus-eyed One, O Lord of the universe, swans [i.e., those who are expert in discriminating between the essential and non-essential] take shelter in your bliss-exuding lotus feet happily and certainly, as they [i.e., your bhatkas] are not impeded by your māyā and thus are not proud on account of yoga or karma [i.e., they do not, like yogīs and karmīs, neglect to take shelter in your feet].”

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bhagavad-bhakti-svabhāva-kṛta-sarva-viṣayaka-vinaya

kuberād api śrī-dhruveṇa bhagavad-bhakti-svabhāva-kṛta-sarva-viṣayaka-vinaya-punaḥ-punar-bhakty-abhilāṣābhyāṁ yuktena satā kṛtaṁ bhagavad-bhakti-vara-prārthanam … |

(Bhakti Sandarbha: 106)

“A prayer for the boon of bhakti to Bhagavān was made by Śrī Dhruva even from Kubera [i.e., even from he whose followers Śrī Dhruva had previously attacked] on account of [Śrī Dhruva’s] being endowed with constant desire for bhakti and humility regarding everything produced [in him] by the [very] nature (svabhāva) of bhakti to Bhagavān.”

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sama-darśanād bhagavad-adhiṣṭhānatā-sāmyenātmavat pareṣv api hitam āśaṁsamānāt

sama-darśanād bhagavad-adhiṣṭhānatā-sāmyenātmavat pareṣv api hitam āśaṁsamānāt |
(Excerpt from the Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.29.33, and Bhakti Sandarbha: 106)

“‘One of equal vision’ (sama-darśana) means one who wishes the well-being of others just like oneself on account of the equality of [others and oneself in] being adhiṣṭhānas (dwelling places) of Bhagavān.”

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ātmanaś ca parasyāpi yaḥ karoty antarodaram

ātmanaś ca parasyāpi yaḥ karoty antarodaram |
tasya bhinna-dṛśo mṛtyur vidadhe bhayam ulbaṇam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.29.26; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha 106)

[Kapiladeva:] “I, Death, cause tremendous fear for [i.e., subject to saṁsāra] one of disunited vision who differentiates between one’s own belly and another’s.”

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satāṁ kṛpā ca duravasthā-darśana-mātrodbhavā

satāṁ kṛpā ca duravasthā-darśana-mātrodbhavā, na svopāsanādy-apekṣā, yathā śrī-nāradasya nalakūvara-maṇigrīvayoḥ | tad āha—bhajanti ye yathā devān devā api tathaiva tān | chāyeva karma-sacivāḥ sādhavo dīna-vatsalāḥ |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 183)

“The grace of sādhus arises just by [them] seeing someone in an adverse condition. It is not dependent on one’s worship or otherwise, as in the case of Śrī Nārada’s grace upon Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva. Thus it is said (in SB 11.2.6), “As one serves the devas, so too do the devās, the administers of karma, serve him, like a refection. Sādhus [however] are affectionate to the poor [i.e., sādhus bestow grace upon jīvas out of compassion rather than out of reciprocal obligation, and they may bless jīvas with something far superior to what such fortunate jīvas may presently understand or desire].”

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aho bakī yaṁ stana-kāla-kūṭaṁ

aho bakī yaṁ stana-kāla-kūṭaṁ
jighāṁsayāpāyayad apy asādhvī |
lebhe gatiṁ dhātry-ucitāṁ tato’nyaṁ
kaṁ vā dayāluṁ śaraṇaṁ vrajema ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.2.23; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.679; Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.5.29, 2.5.106; Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 103; Bhakti Sandarbha: 337; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.98)

“Aho! In what compassionate person could we possibly take shelter other than he whom Bakī [i.e., Pūtanā] fed lethal poison on her breast with the intent to kill [him] and [yet still], although she was wicked, attained a position appropriate for a nurse?”

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vikrīḍitaṁ vraja-vadhūbhir idaṁ ca viṣṇoḥ

vikrīḍitaṁ vraja-vadhūbhir idaṁ ca viṣṇoḥ
śraddhānvito’nuśṛṇuyād atha varṇayed yaḥ |
bhaktiṁ parāṁ bhagavati pratilabhya kāmaṁ
hṛd-rogam āśv apahinoty acireṇa dhīraḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.33.39)

“One endowed with śraddhā who shall hear about or describe this extraordinary play and so forth of Viṣṇu with the ladies of Vraja attains superlative bhakti to Bhagavān, quickly casts off the heart disease of kāma, and without delay becomes steadfast.”

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mauna-vrata-śruta-tapo-’dhyayana-sva-dharma

mauna-vrata-śruta-tapo-’dhyayana-sva-dharma-
vyākhyā-raho-japa-samādhaya āpavargyāḥ |
prāyaḥ paraṁ puruṣa te tv ajitendriyāṇāṁ
vārtā bhavanty uta na vātra tu dāmbhikānām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.9.46; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha 168)

“O Puruṣa [i.e., O indwelling Regulator], the means to apavarga [i.e., mokṣa]—silence, rites, hearing [i.e. learning the Vedas], austerities, studying, [observing one’s] svadharma, explaining [i.e., teaching the Vedas to others], [residing in] solitude, japa, and samādhi [i.e., meditation]—generally here [i.e., in saṁsāra], however, become mere livelihoods of those of uncontrolled senses, and sometimes, however, not even that for the deceitful [since the fruitfulness of deceitfulness is uncertain].”

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dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītaṁ

dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītaṁ
na vai vidur ṛṣayo nāpi devāḥ |
na siddha-mukhyā asurā manuṣyāḥ
kuto nu vidyādhara-cāraṇādayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 6.3.19; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 110, 165)

“Indeed, neither the ṛṣis, nor even the devas, nor the principal siddhas understand the dharma directly enjoined by Bhagavān [alt., the dharma performed purely to attain Bhagavān], so how would asuras, human beings, vidyādharas, cāraṇas, and others [understand it]?”

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śruti-smṛti-sadācāraḥ svasya

śruti-smṛti-sadācāraḥ svasya ca priyam ātmanaḥ |
samyak saṅkalpajaḥ kāmo dharma-mūlam idaṁ smṛtam ||
(Yājñavalkya-smṛti: 1.7; cited in the Bhāvārtha-dīpikā, Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā, and Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.11.7 and Bhakti Sandarbha: 58)

“The Śruti, the Smṛti, proper conduct (sadācāra), the satisfaction of one’s own mind, and desire arising from proper resolve—these are known as the basis [i.e., the pramāṇa, the means of knowing] of dharma.”

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