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- Read on →: pūjādimaya-bhakter api tādṛśatvaṁ nānumeyam
pūjādimaya-bhakter api tādṛśatvaṁ nānumeyam | apūrvavad bhakter niṣpādyatvābhāvāt | guṇamayaṁ hi niṣpādyaṁ syāt nāguṇamayam | ‘kaivalyaṁ sāttvikaṁ jñānam’ ity ārabhya ekādaśe śrī-bhagavataivāguṇamayatvam aṅgīkṛtam | ataḥ svarūpa-śakti-vṛtti-viśeṣatvena tasyāḥ bhagavat-prasāde sati svayam āvirbhāva eva na janma | sa cāvirbhāvo’nanta eva tadīya-phalānantya-śravaṇāt | tasmāt parmeśvarānāśrayatvaṁ tatropādhir bhaviṣyati | … atra bhakteḥ sādhana-bhūtatve na tādṛśatvaṁ mantavyam | bhagavat-prema-vilāsa-rūpatayā siddhānām api tad-atyāga-śravaṇāt ||
(Prīti Sandarbha: 5)“Bhakti constituted of [acts of] worship and so forth also being such [i.e., perishable, non-eternal] is not to be inferred because of the non-existence of bhakti’s niṣpādyatva [i.e., quality of being something that needs to be effected] like apūrva [i.e., bhakti does not have niṣpādyatva like the results of performing sacrifice (yajñā), which are called apūrva]. That which is constituted of the [material] guṇas (guṇamaya) shall be niṣpādya [i.e., something that needs to be effected], and [shall] not [be] that which is not constituted of the [material] guṇas (aguṇamaya). Starting from [the statement] kaivalyaṁ sāttvikaṁ jñānam [i.e., SB 11.25.24], [bhakti’s] being not constituted of the [material] guṇas (aguṇamaya) is accepted by Śrī Bhagavān. Therefore, because of [bhakti’s] being a specific function (vṛtti-viśeṣa) of the intrinsic potency (svarūpa-śakti) [of Bhagavān], when Bhagavān is pleased [alt., when Bhagavān’s grace occurs], its [i.e., bhakti’s] appearance (āvirbhāva), and not [its] production (janma), occurs of its own accord [i.e., bhakti manifests in the heart of a living being not as something that was produced there but rather as something that was pre-existent elsewhere which has now appeared there]. That appearance [of bhakti], furthermore, is verily endless [i.e., once bhakti appears there, it remains existent there without end] because of hearing [in śāstra] of the endlessness of its result [i.e., since bhakti gives rises to results that are known to be endless, bhakti‘s presence after manifesting is also to be understood to be endless].Therefore, not being sheltered in Parameśvara shall be the condition (upādhi) in this regard [i.e., if an act that involves perishable objects, such as a yajña, is performed by one who has taken shelter in Parameśvara, then the result shall be imperishable, but if one has not taken shelter in Parameśvara, then the acts performed shall not produce imperishable results]. … In this regard [i.e., in regard to the principle that something which is perishable and a means to another goal cannot itself be the ultimate goal (paramārtha)], bhakti’s being such [i.e., being not the ultimate goal (paramārtha)] because of [its] being existent as a sādhana (means) is not be considered on account of hearing [in śāstra] of non-abandonment of it even on the part of siddhas [i.e., those in whom bhakti is established and thus is no longer a sādhana] because of [bhakti’s] being a form of the play of prema for Bhagavān [i.e., bhakti is indeed the ultimate goal (paramārtha) because it is not perishable or merely a means to attain another goal; this is proven by the fact that even siddhas never give it up, and rather, eternally foster it, in the form of prema, in the midst of the eternal līlā of Śrī Bhagavān].”
- Read on →: attuṁ vāñchati vāhanaṁ gaṇapater ākhuṁ kṣudhārttaḥ phaṇī
attuṁ vāñchati vāhanaṁ gaṇapater ākhuṁ kṣudhārttaḥ phaṇī
tañ ca krauñcharipoś śikhī ca girijā-siṁho’pi nāgānanam |
gaurī jahnu-sutām asūyati kalānāthaṁ lalāṭānalo
nirviṇṇaḥ sa papau kuṭumba-kalahād īśo’pi hālāhalam ||
(Unknown source)“His snake, stricken with hunger, tries to eat Gaṇapati’s [i.e., Gaṇeśa’s] mouse. Krauñcharipu [i.e., Kārtikeya’s] peacock tries to eat the snake, and Girijā’s [i.e., Pārvatī’s] lion tries to eat Nāgānana [i.e., Gaṇeśa, lit., “he of elephant head”] himself. Gaurī envies the daughter of Jahnu [i.e., Gaṅgā, who dwells on his head]. And the fire on his forehead envies the moon [on his crown]. Disturbed by household quarrel, Īśa [i.e., Śiva] drank poison!”
- Read on →: ekā bhāryā prakṛti-mukharā cañcalā ca dvitīyā
ekā bhāryā prakṛti-mukharā cañcalā ca dvitīyā
putro’py eko bhuvana-vijayī manmatho durnivāraḥ |
śeṣaḥ śayyā vasati-jaladhau vāhanaṁ pannagāriḥ
smāraṁ smāraṁ svagṛha-caritaṁ dārubhūto murāriḥ |
(Unknown source)“His first wife is garrulous. And the second is fickle. His only son, Pradyumna [lit., “the mind-churner,” Kāmadeva], is uncontrollable, and has conquered the world. His bed is Śeṣa [i.e., a serpent]. His residence is on the ocean. And his carrier is Pannagāri [i.e., Garuḍa; lit., “the foe of serpents”]. Mulling over the affairs in his household, Murāri [i.e., Bhagavān Viṣṇu] became wooden [i.e., Jagannātha]!”
- Read on →: sopāna-bhūtaṁ mokṣasya mānuṣyaṁ prāpya durlabham
sopāna-bhūtaṁ mokṣasya mānuṣyaṁ prāpya durlabham |
yas tārayati nātmānaṁ tasmāt pāpa-tarotra kaḥ ||
tataś cāpy uttamaṁ janma labdhvā cendriya-sauṣṭhavam |
na vettātma-hitaṁ yas tu sa bhavet ātma-ghātakaḥ ||
vinā dehena kasyāpi puruṣārtho na vidyate |
tasmād deha-dhanaṁ prāpya puṇya-karmāṇi sādhayet ||
rakṣet sarvātmanātmānam ātmā sarvasya bhājanam |
rakṣaṇe yatnam ātiṣṭhet yāvat tattvaṁ na paśyati ||
(Kulārṇava Tantra: Ullāsa 1, 16–19)“So, who is a greater sinner in this world than one who receives this rare to attain human form which is the ladder to liberation but does not deliver oneself? Moreover, one who attains this topmost birth along with the excellence of its [i.e., human] senses but does not know one’s own good is a destroyer of one’s own self. Without a [human] body, no one’s puruṣārthas are attained. Therefore, having received the fortune of this body, one should perform auspicious acts. One should protect oneself in all respects, as the self [i.e., body] is the vessel for everything. One should take care in protecting [one’s body] until one sees the truth.”