Texts
pañcāṅgopāsanaṁ bhaktaiḥ puraścaraṇam ucyate
pañcāṅgopāsanaṁ bhaktaiḥ puraścaraṇam ucyate |
pūjā traikālikī nityaṁ japas tarpaṇam eva ca |
homo brāhmaṇa-bhuktiś ca puraścaraṇam ucyate ||
guror labdhasya mantrasya prasādena yathāvidhi |
pañcāṅgopāsanaṁ siddhyai puraś caitad vidhīyate ||
niṣkāmāṇām anenaiva sākṣātkāro bhaviṣyati |
(Agastya-saṁhitā; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 17.9, 11–13)
“Worship (upāsana) [consisting] of five parts [performed] by bhaktas is called puraścaraṇa. … Daily (1) adoration (pūjā) three times a day, (2) [daily] japa, (3) [daily] oblations (tarpaṇa), (4) [daily] fire sacrifice (homa), and (5) [daily] feeding of brāhmaṇas is called puraścaraṇa. For the purpose of sanctification (siddhi) of the mantra received by the grace of guru [at the time of dīkṣā], this worship (upāsana) [consisting] of five parts is performed beforehand according to rule [i.e., because performance (caraṇa) of this upāsanā containing five parts is done before (puras) receiving one’s desired mantra by the grace of one’s guru at the time of dīkṣā, it is called puraścaraṇa (lit., ‘that which is performed before’).] Those free from [extraneous] desire (niṣkāma) will have direct perception (sākṣātkāra) [of their mantra’s Iṣṭa-devatā] only by this [i.e, only if they properly perform puraścaraṇa].”
na yasya janma-karmabhyāṁ na varṇāśrama-jātibhiḥ
na yasya janma-karmabhyāṁ na varṇāśrama-jātibhiḥ |
sajjate’sminn aham-bhāvo dehe vai sa hareḥ priyaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.51; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.28)
“One whose sense of ‘I’ does not adhere to this body along with [its] birth [i.e., nobility] and karma [i.e., performance of austerities, japa, meditation, etc.], or [its] varṇa [e.g., being a brāhmaṇa], āśrama [e.g., being a brahmacārī], and jāti [e.g., being born to a particular set of parents, in a particular country, in a particular region, etc.], is dear to Hari.”
viṣaya-vairāgye’pi gūḍhaṁ saṁskāravanto’pi sambhavanti
viṣaya-vairāgye’pi gūḍhaṁ saṁskāravanto’pi sambhavanti |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 187)
“Even in the midst of detachment from the sense objects, also possessing invisible [i.e., latent] saṁskāras [for varieties of sensual experience] is possible [for a mahānta, i.e., one who has attained success on the path of bhakti].”
sākṣātkāra-mātrasyāpi yadyapi puruṣa-prayojanatvaṁ
sākṣātkāra-mātrasyāpi yadyapi puruṣa-prayojanatvaṁ, tathāpi tasminn api sākṣātkāre yāvān yāvān śrī-bhagavataḥ priyatva-dharmānubhavaḥ, tāvāṁs tāvān utkarṣaḥ | nirupādhi-prīty-āspadatā-svabhāvasya priyatva-dharmānubhavaṁ vinā tu sākṣātkāro’py asākṣātkāra eva, mādhuryaṁ vinā duṣṭa-jihvayā khaṇḍasyeva | … tataḥ prema-tāratamyenaiva bhakta-mahattva-tāratamyaṁ mukhyam | … yatra tu premādhikyaṁ sākṣātkāraḥ, kaṣāyādi-rāhityādikam apy asti, sa paramo mukhyaḥ | tatraikaikāṅga-vaikalye nyūna-nyūna iti jñeyam |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 187)
“Despite only direct perception (sākṣātkāra) [of Bhagavān] being the aim (prayojana) of an embodied being, even in that respect there is [a gradation of] excellence in that direct perception in so far as there is experience of Śrī Bhagavān’s quality of being dear (priyatva). Without experience of the quality of being dear in [Bhagavān,] he who is by nature the [true, worthy] object of unconditional love (prīti) [for all living beings], however, even direct perception (sākṣātkāra) [of him] is verily non-perception (asākṣātkāra), and just like a sugar candy [tasted to be] without sweetness by a diseased tongue [i.e., as someone with jaundice does not experience the sweet taste of sugar candy even after eating the candy, so direct perception of Bhagavān without experience of his quality of being dear, that is, experience of him without prema or at least rati for him, is akin to having had no perception of him at all]. … Therefore, gradation in the greatness of bhaktas based specifically on a gradation in [their] prema is principal [i.e., is the primary means by which the relative stature of bhaktas is to be determined]. … One in whom, however, there is superiority in prema, direct perception [of Bhagavān], and the absence of impurities and so forth, is foremost. When there is deficiency in [these] aspects, one by one, there is [relative] inferiority and [further] inferiority [in the stature of a mahānta]. This is to be understood.”
bhajanti ye yathā devān devā api tathaiva tān
bhajanti ye yathā devān devā api tathaiva tān |
chāyeva karma-sacivāḥ sādhavo dīna-vatsalāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.6; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.209; Bhakti Sandarbha: 183)
“As they [i.e., living beings] honor the devas, so too the devas, ministers of karma, honor them like a shadow [i.e., the devas merely reciprocate the worship they receive from livings beings in a fixed corresponding manner]. The sādhus [on the contrary] are affectionate to the distressed [i.e., the sādhus can favor living beings independent of one’s karmic circumstances].”
bhūtānāṁ deva-caritaṁ duḥkhāya ca sukhāya ca
bhūtānāṁ deva-caritaṁ duḥkhāya ca sukhāya ca |
sukhāyaiva hi sādhūnāṁ tvādṛśām acyutātmanām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.5; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.208)
“[Vasudeva to Nārada Ṛṣi:] The actions of the devas lead to both suffering and happiness for living beings, while those of sādhus like you, whose hearts are fixed on Acyuta, lead only to happiness.”
sat-saṅga-hetuś ca satāṁ svaira-cāritaiva, nānyaḥ
sat-saṅga-hetuś ca satāṁ svaira-cāritaiva, nānyaḥ | … satāṁ kṛpā ca duravasthā-darśana-mātrodbhavā, na svopāsanādy-apekṣā, yathā śrī-nāradasya nalakūvara-maṇigrīvayoḥ |
(Excerpt from Bhakti Sandarbha: 181, 183)
“The cause of sat-saṅga, furthermore, is the independent action of the sat, and not anything else. … The grace of the sat, furthermore, is produced only by [their] sight of plight [in a living being], and is not dependent on their own upāsanā [i.e., on receiving respect, service, and so forth that is offered to them], as was Śrī Nārada’s [grace] upon Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva. … ”
svayaṁ samuttīrya sudustaraṁ dyuman
svayaṁ samuttīrya sudustaraṁ dyuman
bhavārṇavaṁ bhīmam adabhra-sauhṛdāḥ |
bhavat-padāmbhoruha-nāvam atra te
nidhāya yātāḥ sad-anugraho bhavān ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.2.31; cited in Paramātma Sandarbha: 93; Bhakti Sandarbha: 180)
“O luminous One, after having fully crossed over the fearsome and difficult to traverse ocean of material existence and reached [the shore] themselves, they of abundant affection [alt., friendliness, i.e., the sat] have left the boat of your lotus feet here [for others of the future to take shelter in and so also reach the shore], since you are he whose grace is the sat [alt., he whose grace comes to those in the ocean of material existence only through the sat].”
tvayy ambujākṣākhila-sattva-dhāmni
tvayy ambujākṣākhila-sattva-dhāmni
samādhināveśita-cetasaike |
tvat-pāda-potena mahat-kṛtena
kurvanti govatsa-padaṁ bhavābdhim ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.2.30)
“O you of lotus eyes, with the boat of your feet made by the great through the mind being absorbed in meditation (samādhi) upon you, the abode of pure existence, the exalted turn the ocean of material existence into the hoofprint of a calf.”