Viṣaya

bādhyamāno’pi mad-bhakto viṣayair ajitendriyaḥ

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].”

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yo ha vai kāmena kāmān

yo ha vai kāmena kāmān kāmayate sa kāmī bhavati |
yo ha vai tv akāmena kāmān kāmayate so’kāmī bhavati ||
(Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad: 2.25–26)

“One who engenders desire for objects of desire with desire [to enjoy those objects of desire] is a desirer [of those objects], but one who engenders desire for objects of desire without desire [to enjoy those objects of desire] is a non-desirer [i.e., may appear like a desirer or enjoyer of those objects but actually is not].”

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bhogā na bhuktā vayam eva bhuktāḥ

bhogā na bhuktā vayam eva bhuktāḥ
tapo na taptaṁ vayam eva taptāḥ |
kālo na yāto vayam eva yātās
tṛṣṇā na jīrṇā vayam eva jīrṇāḥ ||
(Vairāgya-śatakam of Bhartṛhari: 7)

“Pleasures [alt., foods] have not been consumed. We ourselves have been consumed [by them].
Austerities have not been practiced [lit., ‘inflamed‘]. We ourselves have been inflamed.
Time has not passed by. We ourselves have passed by.
Desires have not wasted away. We ourselves have wasted away.”

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kāmān yaḥ kāmayate manyamānaḥ

kāmān yaḥ kāmayate manyamānaḥ
sa kāmabhir jāyate tatra tatra |
paryāpta-kāmasya kṛtātmanas tu
ihaiva sarve pravilīyanti kāmāḥ ||
(Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad: 3.2.2)

“One who engenders desire for and dwells upon objects of desire is born there among them with [those] desires, but all the desires of one who is of satisfied desire and has realized the ātmā vanish even here [i.e., even while still in a material body within saṁsāra].”

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yat pṛthivyāṁ vrīhi-yavaṁ

yat pṛthivyāṁ vrīhi-yavaṁ hiraṇyaṁ paśavaḥ striyaḥ |
na duhyanti manaḥ-prītiṁ puṁsaḥ kāma-hatasya te ||
na jātu kāmaḥ kāmānām upabhogena śāṁyati |
haviṣā kṛṣṇa-vartmeva bhūya evābhivardhate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.19.13–14; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha 98)

“All the rice, barley, gold, animals, and women on earth cannot satisfy the mind of a person afflicted with desire. Desire is never extinguished by enjoyment of objects of desire. It is only again further increased [thereby] like a fire by oblations [of ghee].”

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pibanti ye bhagavata ātmanaḥ satāṁ

pibanti ye bhagavata ātmanaḥ satāṁ
kathāmṛtaṁ śravaṇa-puṭeṣu sambhṛtam |
punanti te viṣaya-vidūṣitāśayaṁ
vrajanti tac-caraṇa-saroruhāntikam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.2.37; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.441; Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.3.124; Paramātma Sandarbha: 108; Bhakti Sandarbha: 30, 86)

“Those who drink, held in the cups of their ears, the nectar of kathā about Bhagavān, the Ātmā of the sādhus, purify their hearts contaminated by viṣaya and reach the presence of his lotus feet.”

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grāmya-kathā nā śunibe, grāmya-vārtā nā kahibe

grāmya-kathā nā śunibe, grāmya-vārtā nā kahibe |
bhāla nā khāibe, āra bhāla nā paribe ||
amānī mānada kṛṣṇa-nāma sadā labe |
vraje rādhā-kṛṣṇa-sevā mānase karibe ||
(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta: Antya-līlā, 6.236–7)

“Do not listen to village talk, and do not speak of village matters. Do not eat fancy food, and do not wear fancy clothes. [Remaining] Undesirous of honor and respectful [to others], always take Kṛṣṇa’s name and within your heart engage in service to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in Vraja.”

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vairāgī karibe sadā nāma-saṅkīrtana

vairāgī karibe sadā nāma-saṅkīrtana |
māgiyā khāñā kare jīvana-rakṣaṇa ||
vairāgī ha-iyā yebā kare parāpekṣā |
kārya-siddhi nahe, kṛṣṇa karena upekṣā ||
vairāgī ha-iyā kare jihvāra lālasa |
paramārtha yāya tāra, haya rasera vaśa ||
vairāgīra kṛtya—sadā nāma-saṅkīrtana |
śāka-patra-phala-mūle udara-bharaṇa ||
jihvāra lālase yei iti-uti dhāya |
śiśnodara-parāyaṇa kṛṣṇa nāhi pāya ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: Antya-līlā, 6.223–7)

“A vairāgyī should always engage in nāma-saṅkīrtana and maintain his life begging and eating. One who as a vairāgī depends on others has no success in his endeavor, and Kṛṣṇa neglects him. One who becomes a vairāgī but indulges in the greed of the tongue—his supreme aim [i.e., his pursuit of his ultimate goal] goes [i.e., is lost], and he becomes subjugated by tastes. The duty of a vairāgī is constant nāma-saṅkīrtana and filling the belly with greens, leaves, fruits, and roots. One who runs here and there because of the tongue’s greed becomes engrossed in the genitals and stomach, and does not attain Kṛṣṇa.”

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strī-putrādi-kathāṁ jahur viṣayiṇaḥ śāstra-pravādaṁ budhā

strī-putrādi-kathāṁ jahur viṣayiṇaḥ śāstra-pravādaṁ budhā
yogīndrā vijahur marun-niyama-ja-kleśaṁ tapas tāpasāḥ |
jñānābhyāsa-vidhiṁ jahuś ca yatayaś caitanya-candre parām
āviṣkurvati bhakti-yoga-padavīṁ naivānya āsīd rasaḥ ||
(Caitanya-candrāmṛta: 113)

“The viṣayīs abandoned talk of their wives, sons, and so on; the intellectuals abandoned their debates regarding the śāstra, the masters of yoga abandoned the hardships produced by their practices of breath regulation, the ascetics abandoned their austerities, and the sannyāsīs abandoned their studies when Caitanyacandra revealed the highest path of bhakti-yoga. No other rasa remained.”

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kaivalyaṁ narakāyate tri-daśa-pūr ākāśa-puṣpāyate

kaivalyaṁ narakāyate tri-daśa-pūr ākāśa-puṣpāyate
durdāntendriya-kāla-sarpa-paṭalī protkhāta-daṁṣṭrāyate |
viśvaṁ pūrṇa-sukhāyate vidhi-mahendrādiś ca kīṭāyate
yat-kāruṇya-kaṭākṣa-vaibhavavatāṁ taṁ gauram eva stumaḥ ||
(Caitanya-candrāmṛta: 5)

“For the fortunate who have received his gracious sidelong glance, kaivalya [i.e., oneness with Brahman or Bhagavān] is seems like Naraka, the abode of the devas seems like a sky flower [i.e., phantasmagoria], the uncontrollable senses seem like defanged poisonous serpents, the world seems to be full of happiness, and Brahmā, Indra, and the other devas seem like insects. Let us glorify Śrī Gaura.”

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