yadaivam etena viveka-hetinā
māyāmayāhaṅkaraṇātma-bandhanam |
chittvācyutātmānubhavo’vatiṣṭhate
tam āhur ātyantikam aṅga samplavam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.4.34; cited in Paramātma Sandarbha: 84)
“O King! When in this way the ātma’s [i.e., the self’s] bondage—the notion of ‘I’ constituted of māyā—is cut away with the sword of discernment and one is situated in unwavering experience of the Ātmā, then that is called absolute dissolution [i.e., mukti].”
vyarthayārthehayā vittaṁ pramattasya vayo balam |
kuśalā yena sidhyanti jaraṭhaḥ kiṁ nu sādhaye ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.23.25)
“Wealth, youth, and strength, by which the wise attain perfection—my bewildered self has lost these because of meaningless endeavors for wealth. Now, in old age, what can I attain?”
tvaṁ tu sarvaṁ parityajya snehaṁ svajana-bandhuṣu |
mayy āveśya manaḥ samyak sama-dṛg vicarasva gām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.7.6; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 66)
[Kṛṣṇa:] “But you [i.e., O Uddhava] should completely forsake all affection for relatives and friends, fully absorb your mind in me, and, being of equal vision, wander the earth.”
atha viśveśa viśvātman viśva-mūrte svakeṣu me |
sneha-pāśam imaṁ chindhi dṛḍhaṁ pāṇḍuṣu vṛṣṇiṣu ||
tvayi me’nanya-viṣayā matir madhu-pate’sakṛt |
ratim udvahatād addhā gaṅgevaugham udanvati ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.8.41–42)
[Kuntī Devī to Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] “Now, O Lord of the universe, O Giver of consciousness to the universe, O Form of the universe, please cut these strong bonds of affection of mine for my relatives, the Pāṇḍavas and Vṛṣṇis [i.e., not my affection for them based on their endearment to you, but that affection which is based on bodily relationships and causes bondage; you are always attentive to their welfare, so why should I unnecessarily spend my life worrying about them?] O Madhupati, may my mind, having no other object [i.e., no thought of anything except you and your bhaktas], continuously [i.e., without cessation, or, without regard for obstacles] carry forth rati for you, just as the Gaṅgā carries forth its stream [i.e., its water, towards the ocean, disregarding all obstacles in its path].”
darśane sparśane vāpi śravaṇe bhāṣaṇe’pi vā |
yatra dravaty antaraṅgaṁ sa sneha iti kathyate ||
(Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāram)
“That wherein the inner self melts upon seeing, touching, hearing, or conversing [with someone] is called sneha (affection).”
mitraṁ prīti-rasāyanaṁ nayanayor ānandanaṁ cetasaḥ
pātraṁ yat sukha-duḥkhayoḥ saha bhaven mitreṇa tad durlabham |
ye cānye suhṛdaḥ samṛddhi-samaye dravyābhilāṣākulās
te sarvatra milanti tattva-nikaṣa-grāvā tu teṣāṁ vipat ||
(Hitopadeśa: 1.224)
“A friend is a pleasing elixir for the eyes and a joy to the heart. A friend who is a sharer with us in happiness and distress is rare to find. Others who are well-wishes in times of prosperity and full of desire for wealth can be found everywhere. Adversity is the touchstone test of their nature.”
nirdhanatva-mahārogo mad-anugraha-lakṣaṇam |
(Unknown source; cited in Mādhurya-kādambinī: 3)
“Poverty and severe disease are signs of my grace.”
deśa-tyāgo mahān vyādhiḥ virodho bandhubhiḥ saha |
dhana-hāni apamānaṁ ca mad-anugraha-lakṣaṇam ||
(Nārada Pañcarātra)
“Leaving one’s homeland, a severe disease, a dispute between friends, loss of wealth, and disrespect are signs of my grace.”
he hema-kāra para-duḥkha-vicāra-mūḍha
kiṁ māṁ muhuḥ kṣipasi vāra-śatāni vahnau |
sandīpyate mayi suvarṇa-guṇātireko
lābhaḥ paraṁ tava mukhe khalu bhasma-pātaḥ ||
(Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Suvarṇa-kāraḥ, 23)
[A golden ornament says to a goldsmith:] “O goldsmith incapable of understanding others’ suffering! Why do you repeatedly cast me into the fire hundreds of times? An abundance of golden hue is shining brightly in me, while you have attained the opposite: soot has fallen all over your face.”
vipadaḥ santu tāḥ śaśvat tatra tatra jagad-guro |
bhavato darśanaṁ yat syād apunar bhava-darśanam ||
janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrībhir edhamāna-madaḥ pumān |
naivārhaty abhidhātuṁ vai tvām akiñcana-gocaram ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.8.25–26)
“[Kuntī Devī to Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] O Guru of the universe, let those dangers occur constantly everywhere in the midst of which shall occur the sight of you, by virtue of which the sight of material existence again does not! A person swelling with conceit as a result of birth, capability, learning, or beauty is never fit to speak of you, who are attainable [only] by the disinterested [i.e., those who foster no attachment to anything of the world].”
