naikāntataḥ pratīkāraḥ karmaṇāṁ karma kevalam |
dvayaṁ hy avidyopasṛtaṁ svapne svapna ivānagha ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.29.34)
“O sinless one, mere karma [i.e., karma devoid of jñāna] is not on its own a [real] countermeasure for karma, since both [i.e., any form of karma and any countermeasure for it], like a dream within a dream, are based on ignorance (avidyā).”
duḥkheṣv ekatareṇāpi daiva-bhūtātma-hetuṣu |
jīvasya na vyavacchedaḥ syāc cet tat-tat-pratikriyā ||
yathā hi puruṣo bhāraṁ śirasā gurum udvahan |
taṁ skandhena sa ādhatte tathā sarvāḥ pratikriyāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.29.32–33)
“There is no termination of even one of the jīvas’ sufferings caused by destiny, [other] living beings, or the self [i.e., the gross and subtle bodies] even if there are countermeasures for them. As a man carrying a heavy load on his head puts it on his shoulder [to relieve himself of fatigue], so are all countermeasures [i.e., all worldly means of relieving suffering are incomplete, temporary, and ultimately causes of further suffering].”
idaṁ bhāgavataṁ nāma purāṇaṁ brahma-sammitam |
uttama-śloka-caritaṁ cakāra bhagavān ṛṣiḥ |
niḥśreyasāya lokasya dhanyaṁ svasty-ayanaṁ mahat ||
tad idaṁ grāhayām āsasutam ātmavatāṁ varam |
sarva-vedetihāsānāṁ sāraṁ sāraṁ samuddhṛtam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.3.40–41)
“For the ultimate welfare of the world, the fortunate ṛṣi [i.e., Vyāsa] composed this propitious, auspicious, and supreme Purāṇa known as Bhāgavatam, which is equal to Brahman, and which describes the activities of he of highest praise [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa]. Vyāsa then fed his son, the best of the self-realized, this extracted essence of the essence of all the Vedas and Itihāsas.”
yena rūpa matsya-kūrma-ādi avatāra |
āvirbhāva-tirobhāva yena tā’-sabāra ||
ei mata bhāgavata kāro kṛta naya |
āvirbhāva tirobhāva āpanei haya ||
bhakti-yoge bhāgavata vyāsera jihvāya |
sphūrti se haila mātra kṛṣṇera kṛpāya ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 3.3.510–512)
“As the forms of all the avatāras beginning with Matsya and Kūrma appear and disappear [i.e., are not created and destroyed], so too the Bhāgavata is not composed by anyone and rather appears and disappears of its own accord. By virtue of bhakti-yoga, the Bhāgavata appeared on Vyāsa’s tongue, and this happened only by Kṛṣṇa’s grace.”
yasyāṁ vai śrūyamāṇāyāṁ kṛṣṇe parama-pūruṣe |
bhaktir utpadyate puṁsaḥ śoka-moha-bhayāpahā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.7.7)
“Indeed, as it [i.e., Śrīmad Bhāgavatam] is heard, [prema-] bhakti to the Supreme Puruṣa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, which dispels lamentation, delusion, and fear, arises in a person.”
yayā sammohito jīva ātmānaṁ tri-guṇātmakam |
paro’pi manute’narthaṁ tat-kṛtaṁ cābhipadyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.7.5)
“Bewildered by māyā, the jīva, although superior [to the guṇas], thinks himself to be constituted of the three guṇas and [thus] undergoes the misfortune (anartha) [i.e., the plight of saṁsāra] which results from this [i.e., from misidentification of self].”
yāha bhāgavata paḍa vaiṣṇavera sthāne |
ekānta āśraya kara caitanya-caraṇe ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.5.131)
“Go and study Śrīmad Bhāgavatam from a Vaiṣṇava and take shelter exclusively at the feet of Śrī Caitanya.”
kṛṣṇa-bhakti rasa-svarūpa śrī-bhāgavata |
tāte veda-śāstra haite parama-mahattva ||
ataeva bhāgavata karaha vicāra |
ihā haite pābe sūtra-śrutira artha sāra ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.25.150, 153)
“Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is a manifestation of Kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa and, therefore, is of greatness superior to [even] the Veda-śāstra. Therefore, engage in deliberation upon Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. From this you will find the essence of the meaning of the sūtra [i.e., Vedānta-sūtra] and the Śrutis [i.e., the Vedas].”
asāre saṁsāre viṣaya-viṣa-saṅgākula-dhiyaḥ
kṣaṇārdhaṁ kṣemārthaṁ pibata śuka-gāthātula-sudhām |
kim arthaṁ vyarthaṁ bho vrajata kupathe kutsita-kathe
parīkṣit-sākṣī yac-chravaṇa-gata-mukty-ukti-kathane ||
(Padma Purāṇa: Bhāgavata-māhātmya, 6.100)
“O all of you whose minds are bewildered by attachment to the poison of sensory experience in the insubstantial world of saṁsāra! For your own good, drink [even] for half a moment the incomparable nectar of Śuka’s narration. Bho! Why walk down the rough [alt., misdirected] road of odious blather in vain? Parīkṣit is the witness that hearing narration of this speech [i.e., of Śuka’s message] results in mukti.”
yaḥ svānubhāvam akhila-śruti-sāram ekam
adhyātma-dīpam atititīrṣatāṁ tamo’ndham |
saṁsāriṇāṁ karuṇayāha purāṇa-guhyaṁ
taṁ vyāsa-sūnum upayāmi guruṁ munīnām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.2.3)
“I take shelter in him, Vyāsa’s son [i.e., Śukadeva Gosvāmī], the guru of the sages [i.e., he who spoke instructions even in the presence of his gurus Nārada and Vyāsa], who compassionately spoke for saṁsārīs [i.e., people of all times] desiring to completely cross over the blinding darkness [i.e., avidyā] this confidential Purāṇa [i.e., Śrīmad Bhāgavatam], which is self-endowed with magnificence [i.e., which conveys the supremacy of rasa and is the cause of Śukadeva being most exalted among all the sages], the essence of all the Śrutis [alt., the essence of all that can be heard], unparalleled, and the illuminator of the higher self.”
