Tag Archives: Srimad Bhagavatam

vāṇī guṇānukathane śravaṇau kathāyāṁ
hastau ca karmasu manas tava pādayor naḥ
smṛtyāṁ śiras tava nivāsa-jagat-praṇāme
dṛṣṭiḥ satāṁ darśane ’stu bhavat-tanūnām

Henceforward, may all our words describe Your pastimes, may our ears engage in aural reception of Your glories, may our hands, legs and other senses engage in actions pleasing to You, and may our minds always think of Your lotus feet. May our heads offer our obeisances to everything within this world, because all things are also Your different forms, and may our eyes see the forms of Vaishnavas, who are nondifferent from You.

Glories of Lord Sri Krishna

aśeṣa-saṅkleśa-śamaṁ vidhatte
guṇānuvāda-śravaṇaṁ murāreḥ
kiṁ vā punas tac-caraṇāravinda-
parāga-sevā-ratir ātma-labdhā

Synonyms:

aśeṣa — unlimited; saṅkleśa — miserable conditions; śamam — cessation; vidhatte — can perform; guṇa-anuvāda — of the transcendental name, form, qualities, pastimes, entourage and paraphernalia, etc.; śravaṇam — hearing and chanting; murāreḥ — of Murāri (Śrī Kṛṣṇa), the Personality of Godhead; kim vā — what to speak of; punaḥ — again; tat — His; caraṇa-aravinda — lotus feet; parāga-sevā — to the service of the flavorful dust; ratiḥ — attraction; ātma-labdhā — those who have gained such self-achievement.

Simply by chanting and hearing of the transcendental name, form, etc., of the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Krishna, one can achieve the cessation of unlimited miserable conditions. Therefore what to speak of those who have attained attraction for serving the flavor of the dust of the Lord’s lotus feet?

(SB 3.7.14)

na bhajati kumanīṣiṇāṁ sa ijyāṁ
harir adhanātma-dhana-priyo rasa-jñaḥ
śruta-dhana-kula-karmaṇāṁ madair ye
vidadhati pāpam akiñcaneṣu satsu

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes very dear to those devotees who have no material possessions but are fully happy in possessing the devotional service of the Lord.

Indeed, the Lord relishes the devotional activities of such devotees.

Those who are puffed up with material education, wealth, aristocracy and fruitive activity are very proud of possessing material things, and they often deride the devotees.

Even if such people offer the Lord worship, the Lord never accepts them.

(Nârada Instructs the Pracetâs)

tad-vag-visargo janatagha-viplavo
yasmin prati-slokam abaddhavaty api
namany anantasya yaso “nkitani yat
srnvanti gayanti grnanti sadhavah
[ SB 1.5.11]

On the other hand, that literature which is full of descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, forms, pastimes, etc., of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a different creation, full of transcendental words directed toward bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this world’s misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literatures, even though imperfectly composed, are heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest.

And then against this:

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Firm faith in the blissful narrations of My pastimes, constant chanting of My glories, unwavering attachment to ceremonial worship of Me, praising Me through beautiful hymns, great respect for My devotional service, offering obeisances with the entire body, performing first-class worship of My devotees, consciousness of Me in all living entities, offering of ordinary, bodily activities in My devotional service, use of words to describe My qualities, offering the mind to Me, rejection of all material desires, giving up wealth for My devotional service, renouncing material sense gratification and happiness, and performing all desirable activities such as charity, sacrifice, chanting, vows and austerities with the purpose of achieving Me — these constitute actual religious principles, by which those human beings who have actually surrendered themselves to Me automatically develop love for Me.

What other purpose or goal could remain for My devotee?

SB 11.3.20: One cannot find permanent happiness even on the heavenly planets, which one can attain in the next life by ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices. Even in material heaven the living entity is disturbed by rivalry with his equals and envy of those superior to him. And since one’s residence in heaven is finished with the exhaustion of pious fruitive activities, the denizens of heaven are afflicted by fear, anticipating the destruction of their heavenly life. Thus they resemble kings who, though enviously admired by ordinary citizens, are constantly harassed by enemy kings and who therefore never attain actual happiness.

SB 11.3.21: Therefore any person who seriously desires real happiness must seek a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation. The qualification of the bona fide guru is that he has realized the conclusions of the scriptures by deliberation and is able to convince others of these conclusions. Such great personalities, who have taken shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, should be understood to be bona fide spiritual masters.

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ahaṁ hare tava pādaika-mūla-
dāsānudāso bhavitāsmi bhūyaḥ
manaḥ smaretāsu-pater guṇāṁs te
gṛṇīta vāk karma karotu kāyaḥ

TRANSLATION

O my Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, will I again be; able to be a servant of Your eternal servants who find shelter only at Your lotus feet? O Lord of my life, may I again become their servant so that my mind may always think of Your transcendental attributes, my words always glorify those attributes, and my body always engage in the loving service of Your Lordship?

(Srimad Bhagavatam 6.11.24)

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.2.42

भक्ति: परेशानुभवो विरक्ति-
रन्यत्र चैष त्रिक एककाल: ।
प्रपद्यमानस्य यथाश्न‍त: स्यु-
स्तुष्टि: पुष्टि: क्षुदपायोऽनुघासम् ॥ ४२ ॥

bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir
anyatra caiṣa trika eka-kālaḥ
prapadyamānasya yathāśnataḥ syus
tuṣṭiḥ puṣṭiḥ kṣud-apāyo ’nu-ghāsam

When we are weak, dissatisfied, and hungry, we have the tendency, we have earnestness, to eat. Similarly, by our bhajan, after the surrender, the transaction that will go on will give us three things.

1. Bhaktiḥ: the tendency for divine service will increase with accelerated motion.

2. Pareśānubhavo: we will come to some conception of what is reality proper—what is Brahma, what is Paramātma, what is Nārāyaṇ, what is Kṛṣṇa, what is sat, what is chit, what is ānandam. We will have some sort of conception of all these principles and feel that we are advancing.

3. Viraktir anyatra: our indifference for other things than what is holy will increase.

Our withdrawal from the mundane world, from non-God and non-holy things, will also increase.
Just as when we take food, with every morsel our hankering for eating, and our weakness, decrease, and we feel satisfaction, so too we shall experience in our heart our progress towards our holy object…

prema namadbhutarthah sravanapathagatah kasya namnam mahimnah
ko vetta kasya vrndavanavipina-mahamadhurisu pravesah
ko va janati radham paramrasacamatkarmadhuryasimam
ekascaitanyacandrah paramkarunayah sarvvamaviscakara

Translation:

Had anyone ever heard of something known as Prema, as the ultimate aim of mankind?
Did anyone know of the divine power of the holy name?
Had anyone entered the sweet, charming forest of Vrindavana?
Did anyone know of Sri Radha as the embodiment of the highest transcendental ecstasy, worthy of loving adoration?
Only due to the absolute compassion of Sri Caitanyacandra were these rarest gems discovered, found shimmering in the darkness of Kaliyuga, lit by the moonlight of his benevolence.

From Caitanya Candramritam