The Latest

  • jāyate’sti vardhate vipariṇamate’pakṣīyate naśyati |
    (Nirukti: 1.2; cited in the Gītā-bhūṣaṇa-ṭīkā on BG 2.20)

    “One [i.e., a living being in saṁsāra] is born, exists, grows, changes, decays, and is destroyed.”

    Read on →: jāyate’sti vardhate vipariṇamate’pakṣīyate naśyati

  • taṁ tvākhilātma-dayiteśvaram āśritānāṁ
    sarvārtha-daṁ sva-kṛta-vid visṛjeta ko nu |
    ko vā bhajet kim api vismṛtaye’nu bhūtyai
    kiṁ vā bhaven na tava pāda-rajo-juṣāṁ naḥ ||
    (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.5; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 328)

    “[Uddhava to Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] Indeed, who cognizant of what has been done for oneself [by you] would reject you, he who is the Self, Beloved, and Īśvara of all and the bestower of all ends upon those who have taken shelter? Who would adore anyone else for the sake of [worldly] well-being or even forgetfulness [of the world, i.e., mokṣa]? And what shall we who delight in the dust of your feet not have [if we simply continue to engage solely in bhakti to you with disinterest in all else]?”

    Read on →: taṁ tvākhilātma-dayiteśvaram āśritānāṁ

  • śailī dāru-mayī lauhī lepyā lekhyā ca saikatī |
    mano-mayī maṇi-mayī pratimāṣṭa-vidhā smṛtā ||
    calācaleti dvi-vidhā pratiṣṭhā jīva-mandiram |
    udvāsāvāhane na staḥ sthirāyām uddhavārcane ||
    asthirāyāṁ vikalpaḥ syāt sthaṇḍile tu bhaved dvayam |
    snapanaṁ tv avilepyāyām anyatra parimārjanam ||
    (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.27.12–14; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 5.257–259; Bhakti Sandarbha: 286)

    “[Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Uddhava:] An image (pratimā) [i.e., deity] is known to be of eight types: stonen, wooden, metallic, moulded [i.e., made of earthen or wooden paste, etc.], drawn [alt., painted], arenaceous [i.e., made of sand], mental, or jewelled. An establishment [i.e., a deity] (pratiṣṭhā), that is, a dwelling place of Life (Jīva) [i.e., Bhagavān, alt., the dwelling place of jīvas], is of two types: permanent and impermanent. O Uddhava, in worship of a fixed [i.e., permanent] one, there is no calling and sending away [of the deity]. In worship of an unfixed [i.e., impermanent] one, there will be an option [to call and then send away the deity or not]. When [a deity is made] on the ground, however, both [i.e., calling and sending away] should be done. Bathing is only for the non-moulded [deity forms, i.e., those not made of earthen materials, e.g., clay, wood, or paint]. [Instead of bathing,] Thorough cleansing should be done elsewhere [i.e., in the case of deities made of earthen materials which cannot be bathed because they will be disfigured by liquids].”

    Read on →: śailī dāru-mayī lauhī lepyā lekhyā ca saikatī

  • asāre khalu saṁsāre sukha-bhrāntiḥ śarīriṇām |
    lālāpānam ivāṅguṣṭhe bālānāṁ stanya-vibhramaḥ ||
    (Samayocita-padya-mālikā; Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 3742)

    “In verily essenceless saṁsāra, the embodied have a false impression of happiness (sukha), just as a child sucking its thumb has the misperception of a breast.”

    Read on →: asāre khalu saṁsāre sukha-bhrāntiḥ śarīriṇām

  • pañcīkṛta-mahābhūta-sambhavaṁ karma-sañcitam |
    śarīraṁ sukha-duḥkhānāṁ bhogāyatanam ucyate ||
    pañca-prāṇa-mano-buddhi-daśendriya-samanvitam |
    apañcīkṛta-bhūtotthaṁ sūkṣmāṅgaṁ bhoga-sādhanam ||
    (Śaṅkarācārya’s Ātma-bodha: 11–12)

    “Constituted of fivefold gross matter (mahābhūta) [i.e., the five fundamental elements of space, air, fire, water, and earth] and amassed by karma, the [gross] body is the site of the experience (bhoga) of happiness and suffering. The subtle body, not born of fivefold [gross] matter and replete with the five prāṇas, mind (manas), intellect (buddhi), and ten senses, is the means of [that] experience (bhoga) [of happiness and suffering].”

    Read on →: pañcīkṛta-mahābhūta-sambhavaṁ karma-sañcitam

  • nareṣv abhīkṣṇaṁ mad-bhāvaṁ puṁso bhāvayato’cirāt |
    spardhāsūyā-tiraskārāḥ sāhaṅkārā viyanti hi ||
    (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.15)

    “The rivalry [with peers], envy [towards superiors], and disdain [towards juniors], along with the egotism [i.e., pride in oneself], of a person who meditates on my constant presence in all human beings certainly vanishes before long.”

    Read on →: nareṣv abhīkṣṇaṁ mad-bhāvaṁ puṁso bhāvayato’cirāt

Scroll to Top