Purāṇas

itthaṁ guror labdha-mantro

itthaṁ guror labdha-mantro guru-bhakti-parāyaṇaḥ |
sevamāno guruṁ nityaṁ tat-kṛpāṁ bhāvayet sudhīḥ ||
satāṁ dharmāṁs tataḥ śikṣet prapannānāṁ viśeṣataḥ |
sveṣṭa-deva-dhiyā nityaṁ vaiṣṇavān paritoṣayet ||
(Sanat-kumāra-saṁhitā: 110–111)

“A wise person who has thus received a mantra from a guru, is engaged in bhakti to the guru, and is regularly serving the guru should meditate on his grace. He should learn the dharmas of the sādhus, in particular, those of the surrendered, and with awareness of his own Iṣṭa-deva [i.e., with awareness of the presence of, and with the intent to please, his Iṣṭa-devata], he should always satisfy the Vaiṣṇavas.”

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saṅketāvasare cyute praṇayataḥ saṁsajjayā rādhayā

saṅketāvasare cyute praṇayataḥ saṁsajjayā rādhayā
prārabhya bhrū-kuṭiṁ hiraṇya-raśanā-dāmnā nibaddhodaram |
kārttikyāṁ jananī-kṛtotsava-vara-prastāvanā-pūrvakaṁ
cāṭūni prathayan tam ātta-pulakaṁ dhyāyema dāmodaram ||
(Bhaviṣya Purāṇa: Uttara-khaṇḍa; cited in the Sāraṅga-raṅgadā-ṭīkā on Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta: 110)

“When he missed the time of a tryst [planned for the full moon night in the month of Kārttika, and arrived late], fully prepared Rādhā, out of praṇaya [lsy., intimate love], first furrowed her brows and then bound him around the belly with the band of her golden girdle. When he coaxed her, explaining he had been at the commencement of the grand festival conducted by his mother for Kārttika, she released him. Let us meditate on Dāmodara, seized by horripilation [upon being bound and released by his beloved Rādhā].”

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kṛṣṇo vai dāma-bandhanāt

… kṛṣṇo vai dāma-bandhanāt |
goṣṭhe dāmodara iti gopībhiḥ parigīyate ||
(Hari-vaṁśa Purāṇa; cited in Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.10.17)

“Because of being bound by a rope [around the belly], Kṛṣṇa is sung of by the gopīs in Vraja as ‘Dāmodara’ [lit. “rope-belly”].”

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yadi māṁ prāptum icchanti

yadi māṁ prāptum icchanti prāpnuvanty eva nānyathā |
kalau kaluṣa-cittānāṁ vṛthāyuḥ-prabhṛtīni ca |
bhavanti varṇāśramiṇāṁ na tu mac-charaṇārthinām ||
(Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa: cited in Bhakti Sandarbha 99)

“If anyone desires to attain me, they certainly attain me. This cannot be otherwise. In [the Age of] Kali, the life and so forth [i.e., the present actions and future destiny] of those of polluted heart who adhere to varṇāśrama are fruitless, but such is not so for those who seek my shelter.”

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dve vidye veditavye tu

dve vidye veditavye tu śabda-brahma paraṁ ca yat |
śabda-brahmaṇi niṣṇātaḥ paraṁ brahmādhigacchati ||
(Amṛta-bindu Upaniṣad: 17; Brahma-bindu Upaniṣad: 17; Maitrāyaṇi Upaniṣad: 6.22)

“Two types of knowledge, however, are to be known: śabda-brahman and Parabrahman. One who is adept in śabda-brahman attains Parabrahman.”

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haṁsasya corddhva-gamane

haṁsasya corddhva-gamane gatir bhavati niścalā |
tattvātattva-viveko’sti jala-dugdha-vibhāgavat |
ajñāna-jñānayos tattvaṁ vivecayati haṁsakaḥ ||
(Śiva Purāṇa: Rudra-saṁhitā, Sṛṣti-khaṇḍa, 15.10–11)

“A haṁsa’s [i.e., a swan-like sādhu’s] upward movement is unwavering [like a swan’s flight], and he has the ability to discriminate between the real and the unreal as though separating milk from water [like a swan]. A haṁsa ascertains the nature of ignorance and knowledge.”

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mantre tīrthe dvije deve

mantre tīrthe dvije deve daivajñe bheṣaje gurau |
yādṛśī bhāvanā yasya siddhir bhavati tādṛśī ||
(Skanda Purāṇga: 5.3.227.38–9; cited in Pañcatantra: 5.96)

“In regard to a mantra, tīrtha, brāhmaṇa, deva, astrologer, medicine, or guru—as is one’s attitude (bhāvanā), so is one’s attainment.”

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na kāṣṭhe vidyate devo

na kāṣṭhe vidyate devo na śilāyāṁ kadācana |
bhāve hi vidyate devas tasmād bhāvaṁ samācaret ||
(Garuḍa Purāṇa: 2.38.13)

“Deva is never present in wood or in stone. Deva is present in bhāva. Therefore, cultivate bhāva.”

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sarvopāya-parityāgaḥ

sarvopāya-parityāgaḥ kṛṣṇopāyanam arcanam |
suciraṁ proṣite kānte yathā pati-parāyaṇā ||
priyānurāgiṇī dīnā tasya saṅgaika-kāṅkṣiṇī |
tad-guṇān bhāvayen nityaṁ gāyaty api śṛṇoti ca ||
śrī-kṛṣṇa-guṇa-līlādi-smaraṇādi tathā caret |
na punaḥ sādhanatvena kāryaṁ tat tu kadācana ||
(Sanat-kumāra-saṁhitā: 115–117)

“One [then] gives up all other processes and engages in worship of Kṛṣṇa just as a wife devoted to her husband worships her beloved while he is abroad for a long time. Filled with loving attachment for her husband, humble, desirous only of his company, she always meditates on, sings, and hears of his qualities. Similarly, one should engage in remembrance and so forth of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s qualities, līlās, and so forth. This is never to be done, however, with it being a means of attainment [of something else, i.e., it should be done simply for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa and not to obtain any other result].”

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sūryakānter raver yogād

sūryakānter raver yogād vahnis tatra prajāyate |
evaṁ vai sādhu-saṁyogād dharau bhaktiḥ prajāyate ||
(Padma Purāṇa: 6.132.13)

“Fire manifests there from the combination of a sun-crystal [lsy., a magnifying class] and the sun. Similarly, bhakti to Hari verily manifests from association with a sādhu.”

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