Ātmā

mahābhūtāny ahaṅkāro buddhir avyaktam eva ca |

mahābhūtāny ahaṁkāro buddhir avyaktam eva ca |
indriyāṇi daśaikaṁ ca pañca cendriya-gocarāḥ ||
icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ saṁghātaś cetanā dhṛtiḥ |
etat kṣetraṁ samāsena sa-vikāram udāhṛtam ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 13.5-6)

“The [five] gross elements (mahābhūtas), the ego (ahaṅkāra), the intellect (buddhi), the unmanifested [i.e., prakṛti], the ten senses and the one [additional one], the five objects of the senses, desire, aversion, happiness, suffering, the aggregate [i.e., the body], consciousness, and resolution—this in sum is said to be the field (kṣetra) along with its transformations.”

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dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā samānaṁ vṛkṣaṁ pariṣasvajāte

dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā samānaṁ vṛkṣaṁ pariṣasvajāte |
tayor anyaḥ pippalaṁ svādv atty anaśnann anyo abhicākaśīti ||
samāne vṛkṣe puruṣo nimagno’niśayā śocati muhyamānaḥ |
juṣṭaṁ yadā paśyaty anyam īśam asya mahimānam iti vīta-śokaḥ ||
(Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad: 3.1.1–2)

“Two birds of beautiful plumage,

Ever-united in friendship,

Perch on the same tree.

Among them,

One eats the tasty berry [of the tree],

And the other, not eating, watches over [the first].

On the same tree,

The puruṣa [i.e., the embodied living entity], absorbed,

Laments because of [his] powerlessness, being deluded.

When he sees the other, the Lord, satisfied, and his [i.e., the Lord’s] greatness, he becomes free from lamentation.”

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naiva strī na pumān eṣa na caivāyaṁ napuṁsakaḥ

naiva strī na pumān eṣa na caivāyaṁ napuṁsakaḥ |
yad yac charīram ādatte tene tene sa yujyate ||
(Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad: 5.10)

“It [i.e., the jīva] is not female and not male. It is also not of neuter gender [i.e., non-binary, lit., ‘non-male’]. Whatever body it accepts, it becomes united with that.”

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etasmād viramendriyārtha-gahanād āyāsakād āśraya

etasmād viramendriyārtha-gahanād āyāsakād āśraya
śreyo-mārgam aśeṣa-duḥkha-śamana-vyāpāra-dakṣaṁ kṣaṇāt |
svātmībhāvam upaihi santyaja nijāṁ kallola-lolaṁ gatiṁ
mā bhūyo bhaja bhaṅgurāṁ bhava-ratiṁ cetaḥ prasīdādhunā ||
(Vairāgya-śatakam: 63)

“Therefore,

Desist from the troublesome labyrinth

Of the sense-objects.

Take shelter in the path

Of the highest good (śreyas),

Capable in the matter of extinguishing

Endless suffering within a moment.

Reach the state of your own self,

Abandoning your own [present] condition,

Inconstant like a wave.

Do not again

Foster transient affinity for the world

[Much less partake of transient pleasures of the world based on it].

O mind,

Be satisfied now.”

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na yasya janma-karmabhyāṁ na varṇāśrama-jātibhiḥ

na yasya janma-karmabhyāṁ na varṇāśrama-jātibhiḥ |
sajjate’sminn aham-bhāvo dehe vai sa hareḥ priyaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.51; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.28)

“One whose sense of ‘I’ does not adhere to this body along with [its] birth [i.e., nobility] and karma [i.e., performance of austerities, japa, meditation, etc.], or [its] varṇa [e.g., being a brāhmaṇa], āśrama [e.g., being a brahmacārī], and jāti [e.g., being born to a particular set of parents, in a particular country, in a particular region, etc.], is dear to Hari.”

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tad evam anantā eva jīvākhyās taṭasthāḥ śaktayaḥ

tad evam anantā eva jīvākhyās taṭasthāḥ śaktayaḥ | tatra tāsāṁ varga-dvayam | eko vargo’nādita eva bhagavad-unmukhaḥ, anyas tv anādita eva bhagavat-parāṅmukhaḥ, svabhāvatas tadīya-jñāna-bhāvāt tadīya-jñānābhāvāc ca |
(Paramātma Sandarbha: 47)

“Thus, in this way, the taṭastha-śaktis [i.e., the entities constituted of the taṭastha-śakti] known as jīvas, are limitless [i.e., innumerable]. Therein, there are two classes of them. Naturally, one class is intent upon Bhagavān (Bhagavad-unmukha) beginninglessly, whereas the other is averse to Bhagavān (Bhagavat-parāṅmukha) beginninglessly, because of the presence of awareness of him and the absence of awareness of him [in these two classes respectively].”

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atha jīvaś ca tadīyo’pi taj-jñāna-saṁsargābhāva-yuktatvena

atha jīvaś ca tadīyo’pi taj-jñāna-saṁsargābhāva-yuktatvena tan-māyā-parābhūtaḥ sann ātma-svarūpa-jñāna-lopān māyā-kalpitopādhy-āveśāc cānādi-saṁsāra-duḥkhena sambadhyata iti paramātma-sandarbhādāv eva nirūpitam asti |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 1)

“Now, although the jīva is also his own (tadīya) [i.e., although the jīva belongs to Bhagavān], the jīva becomes overcome by his [i.e., Bhagavān’s] māyā because of being [beginninglessly] possessed of an absence of the existence of awareness of him and [thus is] bound within the beginningless suffering of saṁsāra because of a lack of awareness of the nature of its own self [i.e., because of being subjected by māyā to suppression of awareness of its own nature as an ātmā] and absorption in the adjuncts (upādhis) fabricated by māyā [i.e., because the jīva becomes consequently absorbed in identification with the material psyche, body, and so forth, as well as the subsequent attractions, aversions, desires, pursuits, deprivations, and so forth concomitant therewith]. This [i.e., the point made in the previous sentence] is ascertained in Paramātma Sandarbha and elsewhere.”

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iyam akiñcanākhyā bhaktir eva jīvānāṁ svabhāvata ucitā

iyam akiñcanākhyā bhaktir eva jīvānāṁ svabhāvata ucitā | svābhāvika-tad-āśrayā hi jīvāḥ |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 178)

“Only this bhakti, known as akiñcanā [lit., ‘without anything,’ i.e., unconditional, pure], is appropriate naturally for the jīvas [i.e., appropriate to the jīvas’ nature; alt., appropriate by its own nature for the jīvas], since jīvas are they whose shelter in him [i.e., Bhagavān, the object of akiñcanā-bhakti] is natural.”

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sva-kṛta-pureṣv amīṣv abahir-antara-saṁvaraṇaṁ

sva-kṛta-pureṣv amīṣv abahir-antara-saṁvaraṇaṁ
tava puruṣaṁ vadanty akhila-śakti-dhṛto’ṁśa-kṛtam |
iti nṛ-gatiṁ vivicya kavayo nigamāvapanaṁ
bhavata upāsate’ṅghrim abhavam bhuvi viśvasitāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.20)

“They [i.e., the Vedas] say that the puruṣa without external or internal coverings [i.e., the jīva whose nature is not covered by anything except adjuncts (upādhis) manifest by māyā] in these abodes [i.e., bodies] of your own making is an [eternally] established part of you [i.e., Paramātmā] who are the bearer of all potencies. Having in this way understood the shelter of a person [i.e., of the puruṣa], the wise on the earth—the faithful—worship your feet, which are the field of the Nigamas [i.e., the source of all the śāstras, alt., the object described by all the śāstras] and the negation of material existence [i.e., the cause of the cessation of saṁsāra].”

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ātmānaṁ rathitaṁ viddhi śarīraṁ ratham eva tu

ātmānaṁ rathitaṁ viddhi śarīraṁ ratham eva tu |
buddhiṁ tu sārathiṁ viddhi manaḥ pragraham eva ca ||
indriyāṇi hayān āhur viṣayāṁs teṣu gocarān |
ātmendriya-manoyuktaṁ bhoktety āhur manīṣiṇaḥ ||
(Kaṭha Upaniṣad: 1.3.3–4)

“Know the self (ātmā) to be [like] the rider of a chariot and the body [to be like] a chariot. Know the intellect (buddhi) to be [like] a charioteer and the mind [to be like] reins. The wise say the senses are [like] horses and the objects of the senses (viṣayas) [are like] ranges, and [they] say the experiencer is the self united with the senses and mind [along with the body and intellect].”

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