atas tasmād abhinnās te bhinnā api satāṁ matāḥ |
muktau satyam api prāyo bhedas tiṣṭhed ato hi saḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.2.186)
“Therefore, they [i.e., the jīvas] are considered by the sat non-distinct from him and also distinct [from him], and therefore even when mukti occurs, that distinction shall certainly remain in most cases.”
anādi-siddhayā śaktyā cid-vilāsa-svarūpayā |
mahāyogākhyayā tasya sadā te bheditās tataḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.2.185)
“They [i.e., the jīvas] are eternally distinguished from him [i.e., Parabrahman] by means of his beginninglessly existent śakti by the name of mahāyoga the nature of which is a manifestation of consciousness.”
nitya-siddhās tato jīvā bhinnā eva yathā raveḥ |
aṁśavo visphuliṅgāś ca vahner bhaṅgāś ca vāridheḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.2.184)
“The jīvas are certainly eternally existent (nitya-siddha) as distinct from him [i.e., Parabrahman] like the [light-] particles of the sun, sparks of a fire, and waves of the ocean [i.e., just as these are distinct from their sources].”
jīva-svarūpaṁ yad vastu paraṁ brahma tad eva cet |
tad eva sac-cid-ānanda-ghanaṁ śrī-bhagavāṁś ca tat ||
tathāpi jīva-tattvāni tasyāṁsā eva san-matāḥ |
ghana-tejaḥ-samūhasya tejo-jālaṁ yathā raveḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.2.182–183)
“‘The existent (vastu) the essential nature (svarūpa) of which is [called] the jīva—if that specifically were [considered] Parabrahman, [then] that specifically would be constituted of condensed eternal being, consciousness, and bliss, and would be Śrī Bhagavān [himself].’ Still, the essential nature (tattva) of the jīvas would be considered by the sat only his [i.e., Parabrahman’s] parts (aṁśas) like the multiplicity of the light [i.e., the light particles] of the sun, which is an aggregate of condensed light.”
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.”
tad evaṁ māyāśrayatva-māyā-mohitatvābhyāṁ sthite dvayor bhede tad-bhajanasyaivābhidheyatvam āyātam |
(Tattva Sandarbha: 44)
“Thus, in this way, given the distinction between the two [i.e., between Śrī Bhagavān and the jīva] existent because of [their respectively] being the shelter of māyā and deluded by māyā, solely worship (bhajana) of him [i.e., of Śrī Bhagavān] being the abhidheya is understood.”
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].”
prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva viddhy anādī ubhāv api |
vikārāṁś ca guṇāṁś caiva viddhi prakṛti-saṁbhavān ||
kārya-kāraṇa-kartṛtve hetuḥ prakṛtir ucyate |
puruṣaḥ sukha-duḥkhānāṁ bhoktṛtve hetur ucyate ||
puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi bhuṅkte prakṛtijān guṇān |
kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo’sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 13.19–21)
“Prakṛti and the puruṣa—for certain know both to be verily beginningless (anādi), and know the transformations (vikāras) and functions (guṇas) [thereof] to be born of prakṛti. Prakṛti is said to be the cause in regard to being the producer of effects and instruments. The puruṣa is said to be the cause in regard to being the experiencer of happinesses and sufferings. The puruṣa situated in prakṛti experiences the functions (guṇas) born of prakṛti amid births in high and low wombs, and his attachment to [these] functions (guṇas) is the cause [thereof].”
vaiṣṇave prītir āstāṁ me prītir āstāṁ prabhor guṇe |
sevāyāṁ prītir āstāṁ prītir ārtiś ca kīrtane ||
āśrite prītir āstāṁ me prītiś ca bhajanonmukhe |
ātmani prītir āstāṁ me kṛṣṇe bhaktir yathā bhavet ||
(Śrī Kṛṣṇa-bhajanāmṛta: 1.35–36)
“May I have love (prīti) for the Vaiṣṇavas;
May I have love for Prabhu’s qualities;
May I have love for service [to Bhagavān, Vaiṣṇavas, and so on];
May I have love and heart-ache for kīrtana;
May I have love for those who have taken shelter [in Bhagavān];
May I have love for those intent upon
bhajana [of Bhagavān];
And may I have love for my self,
So that I may have bhakti to Kṛṣṇa.”
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].”
