mano-madhye sthito mantro mantra-madhye sthitaṁ manaḥ |
mano-mantraṁ samāyuktam etad dhi japa-lakṣaṇam ||
(Dhyānacandra Gosvāmī’s Gaura-Govindārcana-smaraṇa-paddhatiḥ: 64)
“The mantra is fixed in the mind.
The mind is fixed in the mantra.
The mind and mantra aptly united—
This indeed is the characteristic of [successful] japa.”
smerāṁ śrī-kuṅkumābhāṁ sphurad-aruṇa-paṭa-prānta-kḷptāvaguṇṭhāṁ
ramyāṁ veśena veṇī-kṛta-cikura-śikhālambi-padmāṁ kiśorīm |
tarjjany-aṅguṣṭha-yuktyā hari-mukha-kamale yuñjatīṁ nāgavallī-
parṇaṁ karṇāyatākṣīṁ tri-jagati madhurāṁ rādhikām arcayāmi ||
(Gaurī Tantra; cited in the Gaura-Govindārcana-smaraṇa-paddhati of Gopāla Guru Gosvāmī and Dhyānacandra Gosvāmī)
“Gently smiling,
Bright with beautiful kumkum,
Veiled by the edge of her lustrous, red silken garment,
Delightful in appearance,
A lotus dangling from the peak of her braided hair,
Adolescent,
Placing a betel leaf in the lotus mouth of Hari
With her forefinger and thumb,
Her eyes extending to her ears
[i.e., her lotus eyes so wide so as to almost extend to her ears],
Charming the three worlds—
Śrī Rādhikā—
I worship.”
ekasmin vāsanā-dehe yadi cānyasya bhāvanā |
tarhi tat-sāmyam eva syād yathā vai bharate nṛpe ||
(Bhakti-tattva-kaumudī; cited in Gaura-Govindārcana-smaraṇa-paddhati (149) of Gopāla Guru Gosvāmī and Dhyānacandra Govsāmī (152))
“If thought of another [body] occurs while in one cognitional body, then likeness with that specifically shall occur [i.e., then one will attain a body like the one that was thought of], as in the case of King Bharata [who attained the body of a deer after being prolongedly absorbed in thought of a deer he had taken into his care].”
kṛpā-marandānvita-pāda-paṅkajaṁ
śvetāmbaraṁ gaura-ruciṁ sanātanam |
śandaṁ sumālyābharaṇaṁ guṇālayaṁ
smarāmi sad-bhaktimayaṁ guruṁ harim ||
(Yāmala; cited in Gaura-govindārcana-smaraṇa-paddhati: 1.15; Sādhanāmṛta-candrikā: 1.2)
“The eternal, beneficent abode of virtue filled with pure bhakti and possessed of lotus feet replete the nectar of grace, white cloth, golden luster, and the adornment of a fine garland—I meditate upon the guru, [who is] Hari.”
vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca |
patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ ||
(Unknown source; cited in Sādhanāmṛta-candrikā: 1.38)
“Unto the desire-fulfilling trees,
Unto the oceans of grace,
Unto the purifiers of the fallen,
Unto the Vaiṣṇavas—
Obeisance and obeisance.”
prema-bhaktau yadi śraddhā mat-prasādaṁ yadīcchasi |
tadā nārada bhāvena rādhāyārādhako bhava ||
(Bhaviṣyottara Purāṇa; cited in Gaura-govindārcana-smaraṇa-paddhati: 189)
[Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] “O Nārada, if you have śraddhā in prema-bhakti and you desire my grace, then with bhāva become a worshiper of Rādhā.”
phullendīvara-kāntim indu-vadanaṁ barhāvataṁsa-priyaṁ
śrīvatsāṅkam udāra-kaustubha-dharaṁ pītāmbaraṁ sundaram |
gopīnāṃ nayanotpalārcita-tanuṁ go-gopa-saṅghāvṛtaṁ
govindaṁ kala-veṇu-vādana-paraṁ divyāṅgabhūṣaṁ bhaje||
(Śāradākāra; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 1.3.114; Padyāvalī: 46; Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 106; Gaura-govindārcana-paddhati: 142)
“Blossoming blue-lotus luster,
A moon face,
A dear peacock-feather crest [atop his crown],
Marked with the śrīvatsa,
Wearing the charming Kaustubha,
Clad in yellow garments,
Charming,
His figure worshipped by the water lilies of the gopīs’ eyes,
Surrounded by a drove of cows and cowherds,
Sublime softly playing the flute,
Replete divine body ornaments,
I meditate on Govinda [in this way].”
śrīman-mauktika-dāma-baddha-cikuraṁ susmera-candrānanaṁ
śrīkhaṇḍāguru-cāru-citra-vasanaṁ srag-divya-bhūṣāñcitam |
nṛtyāveśa-rasānumoda-madhuraṁ kandarpa-veśojjvalaṁ
caitanyaṁ kanaka-dyutiṁ nija-janaiḥ saṁsevyamānaṁ bhaje ||
(Gaura-govindārcana-paddhati: 49; cited in Sādhanāmṛta-candrikā: 2.11)
“His hair bound with beautiful strings of pearls,
An excellent smile on his moon face,
Adorned with sandalwood paste, aguru, and charming, wondrous garments,
Bedecked with garlands and shining ornaments,
Mellifluous with delight
Ensuing from the rasa of absorption in dance,
And radiant in appearance more so than Kāmadeva—
I worship Śrī Caitanya of golden luster
As he is served by his personal associates.”
ye caitanya-padāravinda-madhupāḥ sat-prema-bhūṣojjvalāḥ
śuddha-svarṇa-ruco dṛg-ambu-pulaka-svedaiḥ sad-aṅga-śriyaḥ |
sevopāyana-pāṇayaḥ smita-mukhāḥ śuklāmbarāḥ sad-varāḥ
śrīvāsādi-mahāśayān sukha-mayān dhyāyema tān pārṣadān ||
(Gaura-govinda-smaraṇa-paddhati: 1.53; cited in Sādhanāmṛta-candrikā: 2.13)
“Bees [lit., nectar-drinkers] in the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya,
Radiant with the ornaments of true prema,
Their lusters pure gold,
Their fine figures adorned with tears, horripilation, and perspiration,
Their hands filled with service offerings,
Their faces smiling,
And their garments white—
We meditate upon them,
The best of the sādhus,
The great souls led by Śrīvāsa,
The joyful associates [of Śrī Gaurāṅga].”
gadādhara namas tubhyaṁ yasya gaurāṅgo jīvanam |
(Gaura-govindārcana-smaraṇa-paddhati: 23)
“O Gadādhara, obeisance unto you, whose life is Gaurāṅga.”
