The Latest
- Read on →: yukti-yuktaṁ vaco grāhyaṁ na grāhyaṁ guru-gauravāt
yukti-yuktaṁ vaco grāhyaṁ na grāhyaṁ guru-gauravāt |
sarva-śāstra-rahasyaṁ tad yājñavalkyena bhāṣitam ||
(Yājñavalkya-śikṣā: 232)“A statement that is endowed with reason is to be accepted and not to be accepted [just] because of reverence for the guru [alt., just because of the venerability of the guru, who spoke it]. This secret of all the śāstras has been stated by Yājñavalkya.”
- Read on →: ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa, āra saba bhṛtya
ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa, āra saba bhṛtya |
yāre yaiche nācāya, se taiche kare nṛtya ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.5.142)“Kṛṣṇa alone is Īśvara. Everyone else is a servant, and one whom he causes to dance dances just so.”
- Read on →: vayo-hīnāj jñāna-hīnād vidyā-hīnāt tathaiva ca
vayo-hīnāj jñāna-hīnād vidyā-hīnāt tathaiva ca |
jāti-hīnād guror mantraṁ gṛhṇīyān na kadācana ||
aśāstrārthaṁ kṣataṁ mantraṁ ca gṛhṇīyāt kadācana |
mūrkhād āśrama-hīnāc ca pituḥ sannyāsinas tathā ||
rogiṇo vaṁśa-hīnāc ca bhāryā-hīnāt tathaiva ca |
mantra-kṣiptāt tathā mantraṁ na gṛhṇīyāt kadācana |
viṣṇu-mantraṁ na gṛhṇīyād viṣṇu-bhakti-vihīnataḥ |
na ca śaivān śāktāc ca gṛhṇīyād vaiṣṇavād dvijāt ||
(Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa: Kṛṣṇa-janma-khaṇḍa, 83.42–45)“One should never accept a mantra from someone of lesser age, lesser knowledge, lesser learning, or lesser caste. One should never accept a mantra that has a meaning contrary to śāstra or is diminished [i.e., not given in full form]. One should never accept a mantra from a fool, from one of lesser āśrama, from a father, from a sannyāsī, from a sickly person, from someone without a family [i.e., children], from someone without a wife, or someone who has disregarded the mantra [i.e., forgotten it or neglected to meditate on it each day]. One should not accept a Viṣṇu-mantra from someone devoid of bhakti to Viṣṇu, or from a Śaiva or Śākta. One should accept [a Viṣṇu-mantra] from a twice-born Vaiṣṇava.”
- Read on →: īkṣate karmaṇā yena tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padam
īkṣate karmaṇā yena tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padam |
dyati saṁsāram akhilaṁ tena dīkṣeti bhaṇyate ||
(Praśna-saṁhitā: 16.18–19)“Dīkṣā is described by [i.e., as] that rite by which the supreme abode of Viṣṇu is seen and the totality of transmigration (saṁsāra) is cut away.”
- Read on →: yad dyati kleśa-karmādīn īkṣayaty akhilam padam
yad dyati kleśa-karmādīn īkṣayaty akhilam padam |
kṣapayitvā malaṁ sarvaṁ dadāti ca paraṁ padam |
dīkṣeti tena tattvajñair varṇayate veda-pāragaiḥ ||
(Lakṣmī Tantra: 41.5–6)“Dīkṣā is described by those cognizant of essence (tattva) and adept in the Veda by [i.e., as] that which destroys all contamination, cuts away afflictions and karmas, causes perception of the entire abode [i.e., world], and bestows the supreme abode.”