Vaiṣṇavas

titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām

titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām |
ajāta-śatravaḥ śāntāḥ sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ ||
mayy ananyena bhāvena bhaktiṁ kurvanti ye dṛḍhām |
mat-kṛte tyakta-karmāṇas tyakta-svajana-bāndhavāḥ ||
mad-āśrayāḥ kathā mṛṣṭāḥ śṛṇvanti kathayanti ca |
tapanti vividhās tāpā naitān mad-gata-cetasaḥ ||
ta ete sādhavaḥ sādhvi sarva-saṅga-vivarjitāḥ |
saṅgas teṣv atha te prārthyaḥ saṅga-doṣa-harā hi te ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.25.21–24; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.81)

“[Bhagavān Kapila:] Those who are forbearing, compassionate, well-wishing of all embodied beings, without enemies, peaceful, and possessed of the adornment of good disposition are the sādhus. They who with unalloyed bhāva engage in resolute bhakti to me, they who have given up karmas and given up relatives and friends for me, they who hear and recount pure narrations about me, they of mind given over to me whom the various miseries do not trouble—O Sādhvī [i.e., O pure Mother], they are the sādhus, and [they] are completely free from all attachment. Therefore, attachment to them is to be desired by you, as they are removers of the fault of attachment.”

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gṛhīta-viṣṇu-dīkṣāko viṣṇu-pūjā-paro naraḥ

gṛhīta-viṣṇu-dīkṣāko viṣṇu-pūjā-paro naraḥ |
vaiṣṇavo’bhihito’bhijñair itaro’smād avaiṣṇavaḥ ||
(Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 1.55)

“A person who has accepted Viṣṇu-dīkṣā [i.e., initiation into a Viṣṇu-mantra] and engages in worship of Viṣṇu is known as a Vaiṣṇava by the wise. One other than him is a non-Vaiṣṇava.”

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na kāma-karma-bījānāṁ yasya cetasi sambhavaḥ

na kāma-karma-bījānāṁ yasya cetasi sambhavaḥ |
vāsudevaika-nilayaḥ sa vai bhāgavatottamaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.50; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.61; Bhakti Sandarbha: 193)

“One whose sole shelter is Vāsudeva—in whose mind there is no appearance of kāmas, karmas, or [their] causes—is verily the best of Bhāgavatas.”

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satāṁ kṛpā mahat-sevā śraddhā guru-padāśrayaḥ

satāṁ kṛpā mahat-sevā śraddhā guru-padāśrayaḥ |
bhajaneṣu spṛhā bhaktir anarthāpagamas tataḥ ||
niṣṭhā rucir athāsaktī ratiḥ premātha darśanam |
harer mādhuryānubhava ity arthāḥ syuś caturdaśe ||
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.2.21)

“There are fourteen steps [mentioned in SB 1.2.16–21 to describe how a jīva in saṁsāra reaches the highest attainment]: (1) the grace of sādhus, (2) service to a great person, (3) śraddhā, (4) taking shelter at the feet of a guru, (5) desire for [engagement in] practices of bhakti (bhajana), (6) bhakti [i.e., engagement in sādhana-bhakti], (7) disappearance of anarthas, (8) niṣṭhā [i.e., fixity in the practice of bhakti], (9) ruci (taste), (10) āsakti (affinity), (11) rati [i.e., bhāva-bhakti], (12) prema (divine love), (13) darśana [i.e., direct perception of Bhagavān], and then (14) experience of his mādhurya (mellifluousness).”

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maryādāṁ ca kṛtāṁ tena yo bhinatti sa mānavaḥ

maryādāṁ ca kṛtāṁ tena yo bhinatti sa mānavaḥ |
na viṣṇu-bhakto vijñeyaḥ sādhu-dharmārcito hariḥ ||
(Viṣṇu-dharma Purāṇa; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 172, 173)

“A human being who transgresses the code of conduct established by him [i.e., by Bhagavān Viṣṇu] should not be recognized as a bhakta of Viṣṇu; Hari is worshipped by virtuous conduct [i.e., the dharma of the sādhus, and not by transgressions thereof].”

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sadhrīcīno hy ayaṁ loke panthāḥ kṣemo’kuto-bhayaḥ

sadhrīcīno hy ayaṁ loke panthāḥ kṣemo’kuto-bhayaḥ |
suśīlāḥ sādhavo yatra nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 6.1.17; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.565; Bhakti Sandarbha: 93, 121; Bṛhad and Laghu Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.3)

“In this world, this path [i.e., the path of bhakti to Śrī Nārāyaṇa], whereupon there are those of high character [i.e., gracious], virtue [i.e., non-desirousness], and devotion to Nārāyaṇa, is certainly well-directed [i.e., the most appropriate], since it is [supremely] beneficial and completely free from fear [i.e., any cause of obstruction or danger].”

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na karma-bandhanaṁ janma vaiṣṇavānāṁ ca vidyate

na karma-bandhanaṁ janma vaiṣṇavānāṁ ca vidyate |
viṣṇor anucaratvaṁ hi mokṣam āhur manīṣiṇaḥ ||
na dāsyam amareśasya bandhanaṁ parikīrtitam |
sarva-bandhana-nirmuktā hari-dāsā nirāmayāḥ ||
(Padma Purāṇa: 6.229.58-59; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.169–170; Prīti Sandarbha: 16, 45; Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā and Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.9.29)

“The birth of Vaiṣṇavas is not [produced by] bondage in karma, since the wise call being an attendant of Viṣṇu mokṣa. Servitude to the immortal Lord is not described as bondage, since Hari’s servants are completely free from all bondage [i.e., that which causes entanglement in saṁsāra] and unmarred [i.e., faultless, alt., free from disease].”

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gaura-bhakta-gaṇān vande svānanda-rasa-vigrahān

gaura-bhakta-gaṇān vande svānanda-rasa-vigrahān |
nāma-mudrā-lasad-dhastān āśritāśraya-vatsalān ||
nāma-saṅkīrtanādyaiś ca kampāśru-pulakānvitān |
caitanya-caraṇāmbhoja-makaranda-madhu-vratān ||
(Unknown source)

“I worship Gaura’s bhaktas,
[Their] Hands shining with the name and mudras
[i.e., counting repetitions of the name and displaying mudrās],
[Who are] Embodiments of the rasa of their own bliss,
Affectionate shelters of those who have sought shelter,
Imbued with trembling, tears, and horripilation
By virtue of nāma-saṅkīrtana and so forth,
[And] Bees in the nectar of the lotus of Caitanya’s feet.”

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caitanyacandra-caritāmṛta-śuddha-sindhu

caitanyacandra-caritāmṛta-śuddha-sindhu-
vṛndāvanīya-surasormi-samun-nimagnāḥ |
ye vai jagan nija-guṇaiḥ svayam āpunanti
tān vaiṣṇavāṁś ca hari-nāma-parān namāmi ||
(Sādhanāmṛta-candrikā: 1.38)

“I offer obeisance to them,
The Vaiṣṇavas,
Who are devoted to Hari’s name,
Who personally purify the universe
With their own qualities,
And who are joyfully immersed
In the waves of the excellent rasa of Vṛndāvana
Within the pure ocean of the nectar
Of Caitanyacandra’s līlā.”

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