icchā-vaśāt pāpam upāsakānāṁ
kṣīyeta bhogonmukham apy amuṣmāt |
prārabdha-mātraṁ bhavatītareṣāṁ
karmāvaśiṣṭaṁ tad avaśya-bhogyam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.3.169)
“Even the sin which is about to be experienced [i.e., the prārabdha-karma] of upāsakas is destroyed by this [i.e., by nāma-saṅkīrtana] according to their will. For others, prārabdha [-karma] is the only remaining karma, since that is necessary to be experienced.”
nābhuktaṁ kṣīyate karma kalpa-koṭi-śatair api |
avaśyam eva bhoktavyaṁ kṛtaṁ karma śubhāśubham ||
(Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa)
“Karma that is not experienced does not dissipate, even after hundreds of millions of kalpas. Past karma, be it auspicious or inauspicious, must certainly be experienced.”
sukhāya karmāṇi karoti loko
na taiḥ sukhaṁ vānyad upāramaṁ vā |
vindeta bhūyas tata eva duḥkhaṁ
yad atra yuktaṁ bhagavān vaden naḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.5.2)
“People engage in karma in pursuit of happiness, but by that they attain neither happiness nor the cessation of its opposite [i.e., suffering]. Rather, they attain only more suffering. O illustrious sage, please explain what is befitting [for us to do] here [i.e., in this condition in saṁsāra].”
karmaṇā manasā vācā parapīḍāṁ karoti yaḥ |
tad-bījaṁ janma phalati prabhūtaṁ tasya cāśubham ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 1827)
“He who harms others with his actions, mind, and speech—the seed produced by this [behavior] results in immense inauspiciousness for him.”
pāpaṁ kurvan pāpakīrtiḥ pāpam evāśnute phalam |
puṇyaṁ kurvan puṇyakīrtiḥ puṇyam evāśnute phalam ||
pāpaṁ prajñāṁ nāśayati kriyamāṇaṁ punaḥ punaḥ |
naṣṭa-prajñaḥ pāpam eva nityam ārabhate naraḥ ||
puṇyaṁ prajñāṁ vardhayati kriyamāṇaṁ punaḥ punaḥ |
vṛddha-prajñaḥ puṇyam eva nityam ārabhate naraḥ ||
asūyako dandaśūko niṣṭhuro vairakṛn naraḥ |
sa kṛcchraṁ mahad āpnoto nacirāt pāpam ācaran ||
anasūyaḥ kṛta-prajñaḥ śobhanāny ācaran sadā |
akṛcchrāt sukham āpnoti sarvatra ca virājate ||
(Mahābhārata: 5.35.51−6)
“By committing sin, a sinful person certainly receives the results of sin. By practicing piety, a pious person certainly receives the results of piety. Sin committed again and again destroys one’s intellect, and a person whose intellect is destroyed begins to commit sin continuously. Piety practiced again and again enhances one’s intellect, and a person of enhanced intellect starts to practice piety continuously. A persons who is envious, mordacious, cruel, and inimical, by committing sins, soon undergoes great difficulty. One who is non-envious and endowed with intellect, by always performing auspicious acts, attains happiness without difficulty and shines everywhere.”
yadākṣaiś caritān dhyāyan karmāṇy ācinute’sakṛt |
sati karmaṇy avidyāyāṁ bandhaḥ karmaṇy anātmanaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.29.78)
“[How is the mind the cause of saṁsāra?] When one repeatedly performs karmas thinking of objects attained [previously] by the senses, then, since karma [i.e., a karmic reaction] is present and thus [also] avidyā [i.e., the underlying basis of karma is also present], bondage to the karma of the non-ātmā occurs.”
tat karma hari-toṣaṁ yat sā vidyā tan-matir yayā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.29.49)
“That which satisfies Hari is karma [i.e., only action that is a cause of Hari’s satisfaction is truly action that ought to be performed], and that by which one becomes endowed with understanding of him is vidyā [i.e., only knowledge based on śāstra by which one comes to perceive Hari is true knowledge].”
jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva
jīvanti san-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtām |
sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhir
ye prāyaśo’jita jito’py asi tais trilokyām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.14.3)
[Brahmā to Kṛṣṇa:] “O you who are generally unconquerable throughout the three worlds, you are certainly conquered by those who throw away endeavor for jñāna, live situated in their position, and simply honor with their body, speech, and mind the narrations about you they hear resounded by the sādhus.”
śrī-rūpa-caraṇa-dvandva-rāginaṁ vraja-vāsinam |
śrī-jīvaṁ satataṁ vande mandeṣv ānanda-dāyinam ||
(Sādhana-dīpikā: 8)
“I offer obeisance always unto Śrī Jīva, the resident of Vraja who is lovingly attached to the feet of Śrī Rūpa and is a bestower of bliss upon the dull.”
svalpāyuṣāṁ kali-yuge’tra nṛṇāṁ śam icchan
śabdānuśāsana-mahājaladhiṁ vimathya |
nāmāmṛtaṁ samadadād ya idaṁ kṛpāluḥ
sa śrīla-jīva-caraṇaḥ śaraṇaṁ mamāstu ||
(Amṛta-ṭīkā to Hari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇam 1)
“May he,
This gracious Śrīla Jīva-caraṇa,
Who, desiring the welfare of short-lived human beings
Here in the Age of Kali,
Churned the vast ocean of grammar
And presented the Nāmāmṛta
[i.e., his Hari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇa grammar],
Be my shelter.”
