sevanaṁ cittānuvṛttiḥ |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.16.17, cited in the Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā and Sārātha-darśinī-ṭīkā and Prīti Sandarbha: 129)
“Service (sevanam) means acting in accord with the mind [of the person to be served].”
naikatra priya-saṁvāsaḥ suhṛdāṁ citra-karmaṇām |
oghena vyūhyamānānāṁ plavānāṁ srotaso yathā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.5.25)
“Living together with dear companions of variegated karma is not [always] possible, just as floating objects are [inevitably] separated by the current of a river.”
yathā dūracare preṣṭhe mana āviśya vartate |
strīṇāṁ ca na tathā cetaḥ sannikṛṣṭe’kṣi-gocare ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.47.35; cited in Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 162)
“The minds of women do not remain as absorbed in their beloved when he is nearby in the range of the eyes as they do when he is far away.”
yat tv ahaṁ bhavatīnāṁ vai dūre varte priyo dṛśām |
manasaḥ sannikarṣārthaṁ mad-anudhyāna-kāmyayā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.47.34; cited in Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 161)
“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa to the gopīs:] I, your beloved, however, remain afar from your eyes for the sake of nearness of mind [i.e., for the sake of drawing your minds near to me] out of desire for [you all to engage in] continuous meditation upon me.”
aiśvaraṁ śāstram utsṛjya bandha-mokṣānudarśanam |
vivikta-padam ajñāya kim asat-karmabhir bhavet ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 6.5.18)
“What can be the use of the meaningless acts here [i.e., in this world] of one who rejects śāstra, which is expressive of Īśvara and portrays bondage and liberation, and [who thus] remains unaware of the distinguished subject therein [i.e., the reality constituted of spirit and matter]?”
kiṁ durāpādanaṁ teṣāṁ puṁsām uddāma-cetasām |
yair āśritas tīrtha-padaś caraṇo vyasanātyayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.23.42)
“What is difficult to attain for those persons of unfettered mind [i.e., of strong mind, or, even alternately, of uncontrolled mind] who take shelter in the feet of he whose feet are the origin of all tīrthas, the feet which bring about the cessation of [all] plight [i.e., saṁsāra itself]?”
devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāṁ pitṝṇāṁ
na kiṅkaro nāyam ṛṇī ca rājan |
sarvātmanā yaḥ śaraṇaṁ śaraṇyaṁ
gato mukundaṁ parihṛtya kartam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.5.41)
“O King, one who has forsaken one’s duties and taken shelter completely in the ultimate shelterer, Mukunda, is neither a servant of, nor a debtor to, the devas, the ṛṣis, [other] living beings, relatives, humanity, or ancestors.”
tasmāt tvam uddhavotsṛjya codanāṁ praticodanām |
pravṛttiñ ca nivṛttiñ ca śrotavyaṁ śrutam eva ca ||
mām ekam eva śaraṇam ātmānaṁ sarva-dehinām |
yāhi sarvātma-bhāvena mayā syā hy akuto-bhayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.12.14–5)
“Therefore, O Uddhava, abandoning injunctions and prohibitions [i.e., the injunctions and prohibitions given in the Śruti and the Smṛti], engagement and resignation [i.e., the dharmas of a gṛhastha and of a sannyāsī], and that which is to be heard and that which has been heard [i.e., all that pertains to such dharmas and the injunctions and prohibitions related to them in śāstra; alt., all else that is to be heard from śāstra, that is, all that is said in śāstra related to the jñāna-mārga], you should take shelter exclusively in me alone, the Ātmā of all embodied beings, with the full existence of your self. With me [i.e., thus becoming situated in my shelter], be completely fearless.”
ājñāyaivaṁ guṇān doṣān mayādiṣṭān api svakān |
dharmān santyajya yaḥ sarvān māṁ bhajet sa ca sattamaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.11.32)
“[Kṛṣṇa to Uddhava:] One who fully understands the merits [of following] and transgressions [caused by neglect] related to one’s own [varṇa and āśrama] dharmas and, although they are instituted by me, completely gives up all of them and serves me is also the best of sādhus.”
manye’kutaścid-bhayam acyutasya
pādāmbujopāsanam atra nityam |
udvigna-buddher asad-ātma-bhāvād
viśātmanā yatra nivartate bhīḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.33; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.258; Bhakti Sandarbha: 59)
“I affirm that here [i.e., in saṁsāra], worship of the lotus feet of Acyuta, wherein fear ceases in all respects, is complete fearlessness [i.e., is the ultimate safety and well-being] for those whose minds are perpetually disturbed because of identification with the unreal [i.e., the non-self: the material body and mind].”
