anityam asukhaṁ lokam imaṁ prāpya bhajasva mām
anityam asukhaṁ lokam imaṁ prāpya bhajasva mām ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 9.33)
“Having obtained this plane of impermanence and meager happiness, worship me.”
Bābāra Kathā
aśeṣa-saṅkleśa-śamaṁ vidhatte
aśeṣa-saṅkleśa-śamaṁ vidhatte
guṇānuvāda-śravaṇaṁ murāreḥ |
kiṁ vā punas tac-caraṇāravinda-
parāga-sevā-ratir ātma-labdhā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.7.14)
“Hearing and recounting the qualities of Murāri produces destruction of suffering completely, so how much more does attachment (rati), attained of its own accord, to service to the pollen of his lotus feet [produce]?”
prasaṅgam ajaraṁ pāśam ātmanaḥ kavayo viduḥ
prasaṅgam ajaraṁ pāśam ātmanaḥ kavayo viduḥ |
sa eva sādhuṣu kṛto mokṣa-dvāram apāvṛtam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.25.20)
“[Kapiladeva:] The wise know that strong attachment is an imperishable snare for the ātmā [i.e., a severe entanglement within saṁsāra]. That itself [i.e., strong attachment] related to sādhus [however] is an opened door to mokṣa.”
tad evaṁ tasyāḥ śravaṇādi-rūpāyāḥ sākṣād-bhakteḥ
tad evaṁ tasyāḥ śravaṇādi-rūpāyāḥ sākṣād-bhakteḥ sarva-vighna-nivāraṇa-pūrvaka-sākṣād-bhagavat-prema-phaladatve sthite parama-durlabhatve ca saty anya-kāmanayā ca nābhidheyatvam | … tan-mātra-kāmanāyāṁ ca bhakter evākiñcanatvam akāmatvaṁ ca saṁjñāpitam | … tatheyam evaikāntitety ucyate … |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 165)
“Thus, when, in this way, direct (sākṣāt) bhakti in the form of hearing and so forth is established as first a remover of all obstacles and [then] a bestower of the goal of prema for Bhagavān himself, and as being supremely difficult [alt., rare] to attain, its not being the abhidheya [i.e., the means to attain the highest good enjoined by the śāstra for all beings] with another desire [i.e., when it is performed with a desire for anything other than prema for Bhagavān] is also [established]. … When [performed] out of desire only for that [i.e., for bhakti itself], bhakti is known as being akiñcanā [lit., ‘without anything’] and akāmā [lit., ‘without desire’]. … Similarly, it is called ekāntitā [lit., ‘one-pointed’].”
bhavatām api bhūyān me yadi śraddadhate vacaḥ
bhavatām api bhūyān me yadi śraddadhate vacaḥ |
vaiśāradī dhīḥ śraddhātaḥ strī-bālānāṁ ca me yathā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.7.17)
“[Prahlāda Mahārāja to his classmates:] If you have śraddhā in my words, then by virtue of that śraddhā may you all too become adept in mind, just as women and children, as well as I, have so become.”
divi vā bhuvi vā mamāstu vāso
divi vā bhuvi vā mamāstu vāso
narake vā narakāntaka prakāmam |
avadhīrita-śāradāravindau
caraṇau te maraṇe’pi cintayāmi ||
(Mukunda-mālā-stotram: 8; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.5.29)
“O Destroyer of Naraka! Let my residence be in the sky [i.e., Svarga], or on earth, or in Naraka, as so willed. Even at death, I shall think of your feet, by which [even] autumnal lotuses are surpassed.”
vijātīya-pratyayāntarāvyavahitam eka-cintanaṁ dhyānam
vijātīya-pratyayāntarāvyavahitam eka-cintanaṁ dhyānam |
(Govinda-bhāṣya and Śrī-bhāṣya on Vedānta-sūtra: 4.1.7)
“Meditation (dhyāna) means thought of one [i.e., one subject] uninterrupted by other, dissimilar cognitions.”
smaranti ca
smaranti ca |
(Vedānta-sūtra: 4.1.10)
“They remember as well [i.e., the Smṛti-śāstras also state this].”
acalatvaṁ cāpekṣya
acalatvaṁ cāpekṣya |
(Vedānta-sūtra: 4.1.9)
“It [i.e., meditation] certainly depends on motionlessness.”
āsīnaḥ sambhavāt
āsīnaḥ sambhavāt |
(Vedānta-sūtra: 4.1.7)
“Being seated [one should meditate on Śrī Hari], because of possibility [i.e., because it is only possible to meditate while seated].”