itihāsa-purāṇa-jñāḥ smṛti-siddhānta-vedinaḥ |
vāsudeva-priyā ye ca tad-uktaṁ vaidikaṁ bhavet ||
(Padma Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 12.416)
“The directive of one who is learned in the Itihāsas and Purāṇas, knowledgable in the siddhānta of the Smṛti, and dear to Vāsudeva shall be Vedic.”
saṁspṛṣṭvā vaiṣṇavān viprān viṣṇu-śāstra-viśāradān |
cīrṇa-vratān sadācārāṁs tad-uktaṁ yatnataś caret ||
(Kūrma Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 12.415)
“After inquiring from Vaiṣṇava brāhmaṇas who are well-verses in Viṣṇu-śāstra, who have performed vratas [themselves], and who are of proper conduct (sadācāra), carefully follow their statements.”
arcayanti sadā viṣṇuṁ mano-vāk-kāya-karmabhiḥ |
teṣāṁ hi vacanaṁ kāryaṁ te hi viṣṇu-samā matāḥ ||
(Viṣṇu Rahasya; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 12.414)
“The directives of those who constantly worship Viṣṇu with their minds, words, bodies, and actions should be followed, since they are indeed considered equal to Viṣṇu.”
atha dīkṣitasya pūjāyā nityatā |
labdhvā mantraṁ tu yo nityaṁ nārcayen mantra-devatām |
sarva-karmāphalaṁ tasyāniṣṭaṁ yacchati devatā ||
(Āgama-śāstra; cited Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 3.3)
“Now, the necessity of pūjā for one who has [received] dīkṣā [is described]: All the activities of one who receives a mantra but does not daily worship the devatā of the mantra are fruitless, and the devatā imposes disadvantage upon him.”
divyaṁ jñānaṁ yato dadyāt kuryāt pāpasya saṁkṣayam |
tasmād dīkṣeti sā proktā deśikais tattva-kovidaiḥ ||
(Viṣṇu-yāmala; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 2.9; Bhakti Sandarbha: 283)
“Therefore, that which shall grant divine knowledge and shall completely destroy sin is called dīkṣā by preceptors learned in the truth.”
pibanti ye bhagavata ātmanaḥ satāṁ
kathāmṛtaṁ śravaṇa-puṭeṣu sambhṛtam |
punanti te viṣaya-vidūṣitāśayaṁ
vrajanti tac-caraṇa-saroruhāntikam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.2.37; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.441; Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.3.124; Paramātma Sandarbha: 108; Bhakti Sandarbha: 30, 86)
“Those who drink, held in the cups of their ears, the nectar of kathā about Bhagavān, the Ātmā of the sādhus, purify their hearts contaminated by viṣaya and reach the presence of his lotus feet.”
śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam |
arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam ||
iti puṁsārpitā viṣṇau bhaktiś cen nava-lakṣaṇā |
kriyeta bhagavaty addhā tan manye’dhītam uttamam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.5.23–24; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.619–620, Bhakti Sandarbha: 169, Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.9.259–260)
[Prahlāda Mahārāja to Hiraṇyakaśipu:] “Hearing, praising, remembering, attending the feet, worshipping, offering obeisance, serving, befriending, and offering the self—if bhakti characterized by these nine [activities] is [itself first] directly offered to Bhagavān Viṣṇu and [then] performed by a person, I consider that the greatest learning.”
yāvaj jano bhajati no bhuvi viṣṇu-bhakti-
vārttā-sudhā-rasa-viśeṣa-rasaika-sāram |
tāvaj jarā-maraṇa-janma-śatābhighāta-
duḥkhāni tāni labhate bahu-dehajāni ||
(Padma Purāṇa: Pātāla-khaṇḍa, 85.33; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.607; Bhakti Sandarbha: 115)
“As long as a human being on earth does not partake of [i.e., take shelter with bhakti in] the one essence—the rasa of the exceptional nectar of the tidings of Viṣṇu-bhakti—then one undergoes the sufferings of the lashings of hundreds of infirmities, deaths, and births begotten by numerous bodies [i.e., the severe suffering of saṁsāra is extinguished only when one attains Viṣṇu-bhakti, and thus attaining it is imperative].”
bhaktis tu bhagavad-bhakta-saṅgena parijāyate |
sat-saṅgaḥ prāpyate puṁbhiḥ sukṛtaiḥ pūrva-sañcitaiḥ ||
(Bṛhan Nāradīya Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.279)
“Bhakti, however, manifests from association with bhaktas of Bhagavān, and [such] association with sādhus is attained by human beings by previously accumulated sukṛti.”
nālaṁ dvijatvaṁ devatvam ṛṣitvaṁ vāsurātmajāḥ |
prīṇanāya mukundasya na vṛttaṁ na bahu-jñatā ||
na dānaṁ na tapo nejyā na śaucaṁ na vratāni ca |
prīyate’malayā bhaktyā harir anyad viḍambanam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.7.51–52; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.590–591, Bhakti Sandarbha: 168)
[Prahlāda:] “O sons of the asuras, neither being a twice-born, being a deva, or being a ṛṣi, nor conduct [i.e., sadācāra], nor being greatly knowledgeable, nor charity, nor austerity, nor worship, nor cleanliness, nor rites are able to please Mukunda. Hari is pleased [only] by taintless bhakti. All else is a sham.”
