Ātma-jñāna

eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā

eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā | parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis tathedam akhilaṁ jagat || iti śrī-parāśaroktyā | tathā—‘brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham amṛtasyāvyayasya ca’ iti śrī-bhagavad-gītādi-vacanena ca ghana-maṇḍala-candra-tejo-ghana-maṇḍala-sūrya-sthānīyasya bhagavac-caraṇāravinda-dvandasya sac-cid-ānanda-ghanasya bhakti-dvārānubhavena sukhaṁ ghanaṁ syād eva | sarva-vyāpi-jyotsnā-tejaḥ-sthānīyasya jīva-svarūpa-bhūtasya jagan-mayasya sac-cid-ānanda-brahmaṇo’nubhavena sukham api tad-anurūpaṁ svalpam eva syāt, na ca māyikaṁ prapañca-jātam idaṁ jyotsnā-sthānīyam iti vācyam | yathā candra-sūryayor jyotsnā-tejaḥ-paramāṇavaḥ prakāśakatvādi-tat-tad-guṇa-yogāt tat-tad-aṁśās tathā jagataḥ sac-cid-ānandatvādy-abhāvena para-brahmaṇo’ṁśatvāsambhavāt śakti-śabda-prayogāc ceti dik |
(Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.2.180)

“As per the statement of Śrī Parāśara [in VP 1.22.54], ‘As the light of a fire situated in one place is spread out [all around], so the śakti of the Supreme Brahman is [spread out] throughout this entire universe,’ and the statement [of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa] in Śrī Bhagavad-gītā [14.27], ‘Since I am the basis of Brahman, of the imperishable nectar, of the eternal dharma, and of the bliss of the one-pointed,’ the bliss (sukham) [felt by the jīva] as a result of experience by means of bhakti to the two lotus feet of Bhagavān, which are constituted of condensed eternal being, consciousness, and bliss and comparable to the condensed orb of the moon and the illuminating condensed orb of the sun, shall verily be condensed [i.e., intense], whereas the bliss as a result of experience of [the aspect of] brahman constituted of [non-condensed] eternal being, consciousness, and bliss, constitutive of the world (jaganmaya), existent as the nature (svarūpa) of a jīva, and comparable to all-pervading light [rather than to the condensed luminous orb of the sun or the moon itself], shall verily be meager in accord with that [i.e., in accord with how it is of less condensed nature, just as a perception of diffused light is far less intense than a perception of the sun or moon directly]. And it is not that this [world] which is māyika and generated by [mere] appearance (prapañca) should be said to be comparable to light [as brahman, i.e., the jīva, has just been compared] because of the impossibility of the world’s being a part (aṁśa) of Parabrahman [as brahman, i.e., the jīva, is] on account of the non-existence of [its, i.e., the world’s] being constituted of eternal being, consciousness, and bliss, and so forth, and because of the usage of the word śakti [to describe it, rather than the world ‘part’ (aṁśa)], just as the minute particles of the light of the moon and the sun are parts thereof respectively [i.e., are parts of the moon and the sun] because of the presence of various qualities beginning with being illuminating [i.e., because they share the same qualities as the wholes of which they are said to be parts, unlike the material world, which does not share the same qualities as the whole, viz., Parabrahman, that it is said to be a śakti, but not a ‘part’ (aṁśa), of]. This is the direction.”

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tat sasarja tadā brahmā bhagavān ādi-kṛt prabhuḥ

tat sasarja tadā brahmā bhagavān ādi-kṛt prabhuḥ |
teṣāṃ ye yāni karmāṇi prāk-sṛṣṭyāṁ pratipedire |
tāny eva te prapadyante sṛjyamānāḥ punaḥ punaḥ ||
hiṁsrāhiṁsre mṛdu-krūre dharmadharmāv ṛtānṛte |
tad-bhāvitāḥ prapadyante tasmāt tat tasya rocate ||
(Viṣṇu Purāṇa: 1.5.60–61)

“Then Lord Bramā, the original maker and master, emanated them [i.e., all the living beings throughout the universe]. Being emanated again and again [in this way in each cyclic emanation of the universe], they acquired [in this present cyclic emanation] only those karmas of theirs which were acquired [by them] in the previous emanation [of the universe]. They acquired [dispositions and actions constituted of combinations of] violence and non-violence, gentleness and cruelty, dharma and adharma, truthfulness and untruthfulness, being steeped in [various combinations of] these [in accord with their previous karmas]. Thus, they liked them [i.e., thus they felt affinity for the dispositions and actions they adopted because they naturally gravitated to them as a result of their previous karmas, meaning, as a result of the vāsanās they were beset with in accord with their previous karmas].”

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bodho’nya-sādhanebhyo hi sākṣān mokṣaika-sādhanam

bodho’nya-sādhanebhyo hi sākṣān mokṣaika-sādhanam |
pākasya vahnivaj jñānaṁ vinā mokṣo na sidhyati ||
(Ātma-bodha: 2)

“In comparison to other means (sādhanas), certainly understanding is directly the sole means to mokṣa. Mokṣa is not attained without knowledge, which is like fire for cooking [i.e., as cooking cannot be accomplished without fire, so mokṣa cannot be attained without knowledge].”

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nāsac-chāstreṣu sajjeta nopajīveta jīvikām

nāsac-chāstreṣu sajjeta nopajīveta jīvikām |
vādavādāṁs tyajet tarkān pakṣaṁ kañca na saṁśrayet ||
na śiṣyān anubadhnīta granthān naivābhyased bahūn |
na vyākhyām upayuñjīta nārambhān ārabhet kvacit ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.13.7–8; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.113)

“[Śrī Nārada to Śrī Yudhiṣṭhira regarding rules for a sannyāsī:] One should not foster attachment to texts related to the unreal (asat-śāstra), one should not subsist on a vocation, one should avoid arguments based on assertions regarding propositions, and one should not take any particular side [in such arguments]. One should not be followed by [many] disciples, one should not study many texts, one should not engage in teaching [many texts], and one should never start undertakings.”

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anādy-avidyā-yuktasya puruṣasyātma-vedanam

anādy-avidyā-yuktasya puruṣasyātma-vedanam |
svato na sambhavād anyas tattvajño jñānado bhavet ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.22.10)

“Knowledge of self shall not come about on its own for a living being beset with beginningless ignorance. [Therefore,] Another, a Knower of the reality and Bestower of [that] knowledge, shall be [i.e., must exist and also bestow that knowledge upon the jīva].”

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ātmāparijñānamayo vivādo

ātmāparijñānamayo vivādo
hy astīti nāstīti bhidārtha-niṣṭhaḥ |
vyartho’pi naivoparameta puṁsāṁ
mattaḥ parāvṛtta-dhiyāṁ sva-lokāt ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.22.34; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 1)

“[Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Śrī Uddhava:] The disputation on the part of people of mind turned away from me, [their] own domain [i.e., their own shelter], which is fixed [only] on the object of a difference [between their own view and another’s], ‘It is [so]; [no,] it is not,’ and based on incomplete knowledge of the self (ātmā), shall never cease even though it is useless.”

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śrutau ca jīvo nāmāto’nyaḥ svayaṁ siddho nāsti

śrutau ca jīvo nāmāto’nyaḥ svayaṁ siddho nāsti, parantu tad-ātmaka evety arthaḥ |
(Bhagavat Sandarbha: 19)

“In the Śruti also [i.e., in the statement in Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: 3.7.23, ‘There is no seer other than him [i.e., than the Para-tattva]’ (nānyo’to’sti draṣṭā), it is shown that], the jīva definitively is not another [entity] self-existent (svayaṁ siddha) apart from him, and rather, is verily constituted of him. This is the meaning.”

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nṛṣu tava māyayā bhramam amīṣv avagatya bhṛśaṁ

nṛṣu tava māyayā bhramam amīṣv avagatya bhṛśaṁ
tvayi sudhiyo’bhave dadhati bhāvam anuprabhavam |
katham anuvartatāṁ bhava-bhayaṁ tava yad bhrū-kuṭiḥ
sṛjati muhus trinemir abhavac-charaṇeṣu bhayam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.32)

[Translated according to Śrī Śrīdhara Svāmīpāda’s commentary:] “Understanding the ignorance as a consequence of your māyā among these human beings wherefrom repeated birth ensues, the wise foster bhāva [i.e., render service] profusely for you, Non-existence [i.e., you who are the cause of liberation from material existence]. How could your followers have any distress on account of [material] existence, since the furrowing of your brows—time (trinemi)—creates distress perpetually for those who are not in your shelter?”

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saty api bhedāpagame nātha tavāhaṁ na māmakīnas tvam

saty api bhedāpagame nātha tavāhaṁ na māmakīnas tvam |
sāmudro hi taraṅgaḥ kvacana samudro na tāraṅgaḥ ||
(Śrī Śaṅkarācārya’s Viṣṇu-ṣaṭpadī-stotram: 3; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 8.419; Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmārta: 2.2.196)

“Even once the cessation of distinction (bheda) [between you and I] occurs, O Nātha, I am yours, [but] you are not mine. A wave certainly belongs to the ocean, [but] nowhere does the ocean belong to a wave.”

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tad-aṁśatvāt tad-abhinnatvena tadīyatvena vā svātmānaṁ vijānīyād

tad-aṁśatvāt tad-abhinnatvena tadīyatvena vā svātmānaṁ vijānīyād ity arthaḥ | evaṁ ca sati so’ham iti—saḥ śrī-bhagavad-aṁśaḥ śuddha-buddha-mukta-svabhāvo’ham; yad vā, tad-aṁśatvena tad-adhīno nitya-sevako’smīty arthaḥ |
(Excerpt from the Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 5.65)

“One should understand one’s self (ātmā) as being non-different from him [i.e., Paramātmā] or as being his own, on account of [the ātmā’s] being a part (aṁśa) of him. This is the meaning [of the aforementioned bhūta-śuddhi meditation]. Since this is such, ‘I am he’ (so’ham) means, ‘I, who am of pure, conscious, and liberated nature, am he, meaning, [I am] a part (aṁśa) of Śrī Bhagavān,’ or alternately, ‘because of [my] being a part of him, I am dependent on him and an eternal servant [of him].’”

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