ānanda-rūpatvam asya mahad-dhṛdaya-sākṣikaṁ yathā śrī-vigrahasya |
(Bhagavat Sandarbha: 47)
“Its [i.e., the name of Bhagavān’s] being a form of bliss like the blessed figure [of Bhagavān] is witnessed [i.e., evidenced] by the hearts of the great ones (mahats).”
sarva-pramāṇānāṁ ca madhye’nubhava-pramāṇasya śreṣṭhayāt |
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta-ṭīkā: 2.1.110)
“Amid all pramāṇas (means of knowing), the best is the pramāṇa of experience.”
māyātīta haile haya āmāra anubhava |
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.25.118)
[Bhagavān:] “[Only] When one is beyond māyā, experience of me occurs.”
śāstrera siddhānta ei vijñera anubhava |
mūḍha-loka nāhi jāne bhāvera vaibhava ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.6.104)
“This is the śāstra’s siddhānta and the experience of the wise. Ignorant people do not understand the greatness of bhāva.”
mahad-anubhava yāte sudṛḍha-pramāṇa |
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.6.53)
“… Since the perception of the great is the strongest means of knowing (pramāṇa).”
sakṛn manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor
niveśitaṁ tad-guṇa-rāgi yair iha |
na te yamaṁ pāśa-bhṛtaś ca tad-bhaṭān
svapne’pi paśyanti hi cīrṇa-niṣkṛtāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 6.1.19; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 74)
“Those here [i.e., in this world] by whom the mind has once been placed upon the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa and been colored by his qualities do not, even in dreams, see Yama or his chain-carrying soldiers since they have [effectively] observed atonement [for their sins by having placed the mind on Bhagavān and consequently are sinless].”
munaya ūcuḥ—
kathaṁ bhaktir bhavet premnā jīvan-muktasya nārada |
jīvan-mukta-śarīrāṇāṁ cit-sattā-niḥspṛhā yataḥ |
virakteḥ kāraṇaṁ bhaktiḥ sā tu muktes tu sādhanam ||
nārada uvāca—
bhadram uktaṁ bhavadbhiś ca muktis turyā parāparā |
nirahaṁ yatra cit-sattā turyā sā muktir ucyate ||
pūrṇāhantāmayī bhaktis turyātītā nigadyate ||
kṛṣṇa-dhāma-mayaṁ brahma kvacit kutrāpi bhāsate ||
nirbījendriyagaṁ tat tu ātmasthaṁ kevalaṁ sukham |
kṛṣṇas tu paripūrṇātmā sarvatra sukha-rūpakaḥ |
bhakti-vṛtti-kṛtābhyāsāt tat-kṣaṇād gocarīkṛtaḥ ||
(Bṛhad Gautamīya Tantra; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 32)
“The sages said, ‘O Nārada, how can a jīvan-mukta have bhakti [endowed] with prema, since embodied jīvan-muktas have a conscious existence free from desire [i.e., they have no absorption, inclination, or desire related to the body or things of the world even though they are still embodied and situated within the world]. Bhakti is but a means of detachment (virakti), and that [i.e., detachment] is but a means of mukti.’ “Nārada replied: ‘You all have spoken well. Mukti is the fourth (turyā) [state of consciousness] and superior to the others [i.e., to the other three states of consciousness known as wakefulness, dreaming, and deep sleep]. That wherein there is conscious existence (cit-sattā) devoid of ‘I’ is called the fourth, mukti. Bhakti constituted of complete ‘I’-ness [i.e., the ultimate form of self-identification] is said to be beyond the fourth [i.e., greater than even mukti]. Brahman, constituted of Kṛṣṇa’s luster, sometimes manifests somewhere [i.e., Brahman is manifest only beyond the realm of prakṛti and in inside the realm of Vaikuṇṭha]. It [i.e., Brahman] is self-situated bliss alone known [only] with the seedless sense [i.e., with the potential for perception inherent in the jīva, which is not a faculty constituted of the guṇas of prakṛti, be it an bahiḥkaraṇa or antaḥkaraṇa]. Kṛṣṇa, however, is the fully complete Self (Ātmā) and embodiment of bliss [present] everywhere [i.e., pervasively present throughout the realm of prakṛti and the realm of Vaikiṇṭha who is] brought into one’s range [of perception] immediately as a result of executing repeated performance of the practice of bhakti.’”
muktiś ca pañcadhā—sālokya-sārṣṭi-sārūpya-sāmīpya-sāyujya-bhedena | tatra sālokyaṁ samāna-lokatvaṁ śrī-vaikuṇṭha-vāsaḥ | sārṣṭis tatraiva samānaiśvaryam api bhavatīti | sārūpyaṁ tatraiva samāna-rūpatādi prāpyata iti | sāmīpyaṁ samīpa-gamanādhikāritvam | sāyujyaṁ keṣāṁcit bhagavac-chrī-vigraha eva praveśo bhavatīti | sālokyādi-śabdānāṁ mukty-ādi-śabda-sāmānādikaraṇyaṁ ca sālokyāditva-prādhānyena | tatra sālokya-sārṣṭi-sārūpya-mātre prāyo’ntaḥ-karaṇa-sākṣātkāraḥ | sāmīpye prāyo bahiḥ | sāyujye cāntara eva | tathāpi prakaṭa-sphūrti-lakṣaṇaṁ tat suṣuptivad anati-prakaṭa-sphūrti-lakṣaṇāt brahma-sāyujyād bhidyate | … kvacid āvṛtti-śravaṇaṁ tu prapañcāntargata-tad-dhāmatvāpekṣayā kādācitka-tal-līlā-kautukāpekṣayā ca mantavyam | paścāt tu nitya-sālokyam eva | … sṛṣṭi-sthity-ādi-sāmarthyaṁ tasya na bhavati kuto vaikuṇṭhaiśvaryādikam | … tato bhāktam eva samānaiśvaryam | ata evāṇimādi-prāptir apy aṁśenaiva jñeyā | … sālokyādivat-svābhimatatvābhāvāt spaṣṭodāharaṇaṁ śrīmatā bhāgavatena na kṛtam iti | asya bhagaval-lakṣaṇānanda-nimagnatā-sphūrtir eva pradhānaṁ, kvacid icchayā tad-anugraheṇa tadīya-tac-chakti-leśa-prāptyaiva yathā-yuktaṁ bahis tad-dattāprākṛta-tad-bhogocchiṣṭa-leśam evānubhavatīty eke | tatra ca na tu tam eva sarvam eva cānubhavatīty abhyupagamyam | sarvathā tat-prāpter anabhyupagamatvāt | … kvacid icchayā līlārthaṁ bahir api niṣkāmayati pārṣadatvena ca saṁyojayati | yathā śiśupāla-dantavakrau labdha-sāyujyāv api punaḥ pārṣadatām eva prāptau | … tatraiṣāṁ sālokyādīnām anavacchinna-bhagavat-prāpti-rūpatayā tat-sākṣātkāra-viśeṣatvena brahma-kaivalyād ādhikyaṁ prācīna-vacanaiḥ sutarām eva siddham | … sālokyādiṣu ca sāmīpyasyādhikyam | bahiḥ sākṣātkāramayatvāt tasyaiva hy ādhikyaṁ darśitam |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 10, 13, 15–16)
“Mukti, furthermore, is fivefold in accord with the divisions of sālokya, sārṣṭi, sārūpya, sāmīpya, and sāyujya. Therein, sālokya means being on the same plane [as Bhagavān], that is, residence in Śrī Vaikuṇṭha. Sārṣṭi means specifically there [i.e., in Vaikuṇṭha] equal capability (aiśvarya) [with that of Bhagavān] also comes about. Sārūpya means specifically there [i.e., in Vaikuṇṭha] attaining the same figure and so forth [as Bhagavān]. Sāmīpya means having the privilege of going near [Bhagavān there in Vaikuṇṭha]. Sāyujya means, for some [i.e., those who attain Bhagavat-sāyujya rather than Brahma-sāyujya], entrance into the divine body of Bhagavān itself. The terms words sālokya and so forth [i.e., and the other four aforementioned terms for and types of mukti] also have synonymity with the terms mukti and so forth [i.e., and with other words with the same meaning, such as mokṣa] because of the prominent of states of sālokya and so forth [in the general state that is common called mukti, that is, the state of having attained liberation from the realm of Bhagavān’s māyā-śakti and entrance into the realm of Bhagavān’s svarūpa-śakti]. “Therein [i.e., among these five types of mukti], specifically in sālokya, sārṣṭi, and sārūpya, generally direct perception (sākṣātkāra) [of Bhagavān] through the antaḥkaraṇa [i.e., by internal means of perception excluding the senses] occurs. In sāmīpya, generally it [i.e., direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of Bhagavān] occurs externally [i.e., through the bahiḥkaraṇas, that is, the senses]. Furthermore, in sāyujya, it occurs only internally [i.e., direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of Bhagavān occurs in the self, and not through either an antaḥkaraṇa or bahiḥkaraṇas because jīvas who attain sāyujya-mukti have neither of these]. Still, that [i.e., the direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of Bhagavān that occurs in Bhagavat-sāyjuya-mukti], which is by nature a distinct manifestation (prakaṭa-sphūrti) [i.e., a perception of the Para-tattva’s distinctly manifest aspect known as Bhagavān], is distinguished from Brahma-sāyujya, which is by nature a not very distinct manifestation (anati-prakaṭa-sphūrti) [i.e., it is a perception of the Para-tattva’s indistinctly manifest aspect known as Brahman] and similar to deep sleep. … “Hearing in some cases of return [i.e., of the rebirth within saṁsāra of someone who is said to have gone to Bhagavān’s abode] is to be considered to be in reference to [a bhakta’s] having been in his abode (dhāma) within the phenomenal world (prapañca) or in reference to [a bhakta’s] occasional sport [of temporarily descending when Bhagavān does] for the sake of his līlā. Thereafter, however, eternal sālokya certainly occurs [i.e., those who are said to return certainly thereafter remain in a state of eternal sālokya]. … “[In regard to sārṣṭi-mukti, that is, possessing capability (aiśvarya) equal to that of Bhagavān], one does not [in that case] have the capability of emanation, preservation, and so forth [i.e., the capability to emanate, preserve, and dissolve material worlds], much less the capability of Vaikuṇṭha [i.e., much the capability to manifest and presiding over spiritual worlds] and so forth. … Thus, ‘equal capability’ (samānaiśvaryam) [said to be had by a jīva who attains sārṣṭi-mukti] is only in a secondary sense. Therefore, even the attainment of [the siddhi known as] minuteness (aṇimā) [i.e., the power to become infinitesimal in size] is to be understood to be only in part [i.e., a jīva who attains sārṣṭi-mukti attains siddhis such as aṇimā only partially, that is, not to the extent to which Śrī Bhagavān possesses them]. … “A clear example [of sāyujya] is not given by Śrīmad Bhāgavatam because of the non-existence of [sāyujya’s] being approved by it [i.e., by Śrīmad Bhāgavatam] like sālokya and so forth [i.e., as the other four forms of mukti are, since only in these four other forms of mukti, and not in sāyujya, is serving Bhagavān possible]. Its [i.e., sāyujya’s] principal feature is a manifestation (sphūrti) of a state of absorption in Bhagavān’s characteristic of bliss (ānanda) [i.e., in the bliss that is inherent in Bhagavān’s nature (svarūpa)]. [Although it was said in PRS 10 that in sāyujya, direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of Bhagavān occurs only internally,] Sometimes, only by receiving a trace of that potency (śakti) of his [i.e., of Bhagavān’s potency that enables his experience of supramundane objects of enjoyment] by his favor according to his wish, one [who has attained sāyujya] experiences externally a trace remnant, given by him, of his supramundane enjoyment (bhoga) as befitting [i.e., in proportion to the amount of his potency for enjoyment that he bestowed upon the recipient]. Therein [i.e., in the midst of that experience], however, one does not experience that itself [i.e., the exact experience that Bhagavān does], or all of that. Such is to be admitted because of [a recipient of sāyujya-mukti’s] attainment of him in all respects not being admitted [i.e., since a recipient of sāyujya-mukti has not attained Bhagavān in full, such a mukta’s experience cannot be equated with that of Bhagavān himself]. … Sometimes according to his wish for the sake of līlā, he also extracts [a jīva who has attained Bhagavat-sāyujya-mukti from his body] externally as an associate [i.e., he also makes one take on the status of being one of his associates (pārṣadas)], as in the case of Śiśupāla and Dantavarka, who even after attaining sāyujya again attained the definitive status of associates. … In this regard, because of sālokya and so forth’s [i.e., the other four types of mukti] being [unlike sāyujya] special types of direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of Bhagavān on account of [their] being forms of uninterrupted attainment of him, their superiority to Brahma-kaivalya [i.e., Brahma-sāyujya-mukti] is definitively established. … Among sālokya and so forth [i.e., among the four types of mukti which are superior to the two forms of sāyujya-mukti], sāmīpya has superiority. Its superiority is shown because of [its] being constituted of direct perception (sākṣātkāra) [of Bhagavān] externally [i.e., through external senses rather than only through the antaḥkaraṇa].”
paramātmatvādi-lakṣaṇa-nānāvastha-bhagavat-sākṣātkāra eva tatrāpi paramaḥ | (1) tatra saty api nirupadhi-prīty-āspadatva-svabhāvasya tasya svarūpa-dharmāntara-vṛnda-sākṣātkṛtau paramatve prīti-bhakty-ādi-saṁjñaṁ priyatva-lakṣaṇa-dharma-viśeṣa-sākṣātkāram eva paramatamatvena manyante | (2) tayā prītyaivātyantika-duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca | (3) yāṁ prītiṁ vinā tat-svarūpasya tad-dharmāntara-vṛndasya ca sāksātkāro na sampadyate | (4) yatra sā tatrāvaśyam eva sampadyate | (5) yāvaty eva prīti-sampattiḥ, tāvaty eva tat-sampattiḥ | (6) sampadyamāne sampanne ca tasmin sādhikam āvirbhavati |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 1)
“Direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of Bhagavān in various states, such as that the character of which is [his] being Paramātmā and so on, is supreme in this regard as well [i.e., in regard to the aforementioned conclusion that direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of the Supreme Entity (Parama-tattva) manifest with clear specificity as Bhagavān is superior to direct perception of the Supreme Entity manifest without clear specificity as Brahman]. (1) Although this is so and direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of other inherent qualities of his [i.e., Bhagavān’s] is [accepted to be] supreme [since direct perception of him is in general accepted to be supreme], direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of the particular quality of priyatva [i.e., ‘dearness’] of he [i.e., Bhagavān] who by nature is the object of unconditional prīti, is considered the supreme-most [i.e., although direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of the Supreme Entity (Parama-tattva) with clear specificity as Bhagavān is considered to be supreme, this is a general understanding, and more specifically, direct perception of Bhagavān’s inherent quality of priyatva, that is, the direct perception of him known by terms such as prīti, prema, bhakti, rati, and bhāva, wherein he is directly perceived specifically on the basis of his inherent nature of being the ultimate object of unconditional prīti, is the supreme-most direct perception of him]. (2) By that prīti [i.e., by such direct perception of him] alone the absolute cessation of suffering also occurs [i.e., even direct perception of him does not lead to the absolute cessation of suffering if it is devoid of the nature of prīti]. (3) Without this prītī, direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of his nature (svarūpa) [i.e., his nature in general] and his other qualities does not occur [i.e., Bhagavān’s true nature and qualities are not perceived without prīti]. (4) In whomever this [prīti] is present, that [i.e., direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of his nature (svarūpa) and other qualities] certainly occurs. (5) As far as there is attainment of prīti [alt., as far as the wealth of prīti is present], so far exactly there is attainment of that [i.e., of direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of his nature (svarūpa) and other qualities]. (6) In one in whom attainment [of prīti] is [in the process of] occurring, and in one in whom it has been attained, that [i.e., direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of his nature (svarūpa) and other qualities] manifests to a [comparatively] greater extent [respectively, i.e., that direct perception manifests somewhat in one in whom the attainment of prīti is still in the process of occurring, and it manifests more so in one in whom the attainment of prīti has already occurred].”
tad etat sarvam api yuktam eva | parama-sukhaṁ khalu bhagavatas tad-guṇa-vṛndasya ca svarūpam | sukhaṁ ca nirupādhi-prīty-āspadam | tatas tad-anubhave prīter eva mukhyatvam iti | tasmāt puruṣeṇa saiva sarvadānveṣitavyeti puruṣa-prayojanatvaṁ tatraiva paramatamam iti sthitam |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 1)
“Therefore [i.e., because of the six aforementioned characteristics of prīti], all of this too is certainly appropriate [i.e., it is certainly true that direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of the Supreme Entity (Parama-tattva) manifest with clear specificity as Bhagavān is the supreme puruṣārtha]. [Moreover,] The nature (svarūpa) of Bhagavān and his qualities is verily supreme happiness, and happiness is the object of unconditional prīti. Therefore, in experience of him [i.e., Bhagavān], prīti alone has primacy [i.e., prīti is the primary cause, means, and feature of experiencing him]. Therefore, it [i.e., prīti] alone is always to be sought out by a living being, and thus it alone is established as being the supreme-most aim of a living being [i.e., although mokṣa is generally accepted as the supreme puruṣārtha and it is mokṣa in the form of direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of the Supreme Entity (Parama-tattva) manifest with clear specificity as Bhagavān that is the actual supreme puruṣārtha, prīti for Bhagavān is the primary cause, means, and feature of such direct perception of Bhagavān and thus prīti for Bhagavān is the supreme-most puruṣārtha].”
