kāmād dveṣād bhayāt snehād yathā bhaktyeśvare manaḥ |
āveśya tad-aghaṁ hitvā bahavas tad-gatiṁ gatāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.1.29)
“[Nārada Ṛṣi to Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja:] Having absorbed the mind in Īśvara out of amorous desire (kāma), enmity, fear, or affection, and [thereby] given up their sin, many have attained a destination related to him [i.e., Īśvara] as [some do so] by means of bhakti.”
kīṭaḥ peśaskṛtā ruddhaḥ kuḍyāyāṁ tam anusmaran |
saṁrambha-bhaya-yogena vindate tat-svarūpatām ||
evaṁ kṛṣṇe bhagavati māyā-manuja īśvare |
vaireṇa pūta-pāpmānas tam āpur anucintayā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.1.27–28)
“[Nārada Ṛṣi to Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja:] An insect captured by a potter wasp in its nest, constantly thinking of it by means of fury and fear, [eventually by virtue of being so absorbed in thought of it] attains an identity of form with it. Similarly, those who have been purified of sin by continuously thinking out of enmity of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, [he who is] Īśvara manifest by means of [his] māyā as a human, attain him.”
yathā vairānubandhena martyas tan-mayatām iyāt |
na tathā bhakti-yogena iti me niścitā matiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.1.26)
“[Nārada Ṛṣi to Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja:] As a mortal being can attain absorption in him [i.e., Bhagavān] through constant enmity, not so [can one] through bhakti-yoga. This is my certain opinion.”
tasmād vairānubandhena nirvaireṇa bhayena vā |
snehāt kāmena vā yuñjyāt kathañcin nekṣate pṛthak ||
(Śrīmad Bhaṅavatam: 7.1.25)
“[Nārada Ṛṣi to Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja:] Therefore, by constant enmity, by non-enmity, by fear, by affection, or by amorous desire, one can connect [the mind to Bhagavān] such that one does not see [anything] apart [from Bhagavān] by any means.”
ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā |
cakṣur unmilitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ ||
(Cited in Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.1; Prema-bhakti-candrikā: 1)
“Obeisance unto śrī-guru, he by whom my eyes, which were blinded by the cataract of ignorance, have been opened with the collyrium-wand of knowledge.”
tatra bhāgavatān dharmān śikṣed gurv-ātma-daivataḥ |
amāyayānuvṛttyā yais tuṣyed ātmātmado hariḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.3.22; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.98; Bhakti Sandarbha: 206)
“One for whom the guru is the Self (ātmā) and the Devatā should, through unaffected adherence, learn from him [viz., the guru] Bhāgavata-dharmas by which Hari, he who is the Self and the Bestower of himself, can be pleased.”
gurv-īśvarayor maheśvarayoś cābhedāpadeśe’pīttham eva taiḥ śuddha-bhaktair matam |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.30.38)
“The non-difference between guru and Īśvara, and between the two maheśvaras [i.e., Śiva and Bhagavān], even when pointed out in this way [i.e., even when non-difference between Śiva and Bhagavān is pointed out by a description (in SB 4.30.28) of Śiva’s being Bhagavān’s dear friend], is accepted by pure bhaktas.”
naivopayanty apacitiṁ kavayas taveśa
brahmāyuṣāpi kṛtam ṛddha-mudaḥ smarantaḥ |
yo’ntar bahis tanu-bhṛtām aśubhaṁ vidhunvann
ācārya-caittya-vapuṣā sva-gatiṁ vyanakti ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.6)
“[Uddhava to Kṛṣṇa:] O Lord, abounding with joy in remembering the feats [i.e., the unconditional favor] of you who with your external form as the ācārya and internal [form] situated in the citta dispel inauspiciousness and manifest your own shelter for embodied beings, the wise cannot proffer remuneration [i.e., clear their debt to you] even within the life-span of Brahmā [i.e., they can never sufficiently reciprocate with you even by serving you til the end of time].”
tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam
śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.3.21; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 1.32; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.97; Bhakti Sandarbha: 202, 238)
“Therefore [i.e., because there is no lasting fulfillment in saṁsāra and bhakti is the only means of crossing over saṁsāra], one who wishes to know the highest good should take shelter in a guru who is adept in śabda-brahman and Parabrahman, and is an abode of tranquility.”
bādhyamāno’pi mad-bhakto viṣayair ajitendriyaḥ |
prāyaḥ pragalbhayā bhaktyā viṣayair nābhibhūyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.18; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.552; Bhakti Sandarbha: 115)
“Although obstructed [i.e., attracted] by objects of the senses (viṣayas), a bhakta of mine who has not [yet] conquered the senses is generally not overwhelmed by objects of the senses (viṣayas) by virtue of vigorous bhakti [i.e., by virtue of bhakti, which possesses the capability to overcome the influence of residual affinities (vāsanās) for varieties of sensory experience].”
