Bhagavad-darśana – Page 3

sarvato bṛhattamatvād brahmeti yad viduḥ

sarvato bṛhattamatvād brahmeti yad viduḥ, tat khalu paramasya puṁso bhagavataḥ padam eva, nirvikalpatayā sākṣātkṛteḥ prāthamikatvāt, brahmaṇaś ca bhagavata eva nirvikalpa-sattā-rūpatvāt, vicitra-rūpādi-vikalpa-viśeṣa-viśiṣṭasya bhagavatas tu sākṣātkṛtes tad-anantarajatvāt, tadīya-svarūpa-bhūtaṁ tad brahma tat-sākṣātkārāspadaṁ bhavatīty arthaḥ |
(Bhagavat Sandarbha: 7)

“That which is known as Brahman because of [its] being the greatest of all is an aspect of the Supreme Person, Bhagavān, (1) because of direct perception (sākṣātkṛti) [of it] being initially occurrent [i.e., occurrent before that of Bhagavān] on account of [that perception’s] being indeterminate (nirvikalpa), (2) because of Brahman’s also being Bhagavān’s form of indeterminate being, and (3) because of direct perception (sākṣātkṛti) of Bhagavān, who is qualified by determinate specifics such as a wonderful form, being occurrent after that [i.e., after indeterminate perception of Brahman]. Brahman, being constituted of his [i.e., Bhagavān’s] nature, is thus the basis of direct perception (sākṣātkṛti) of him [i.e., Bhagavān, meaning, Brahman and Bhagavān are one and the same entity, the former being an indeterminate perception of that entity, and the latter being a determinate perception of that entity].”

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na yasya cittaṁ bahir-artha-vibhramaṁ

na yasya cittaṁ bahir-artha-vibhramaṁ
tamo-guhāyāṁ ca viśuddham āviśat |
yad-bhakti-yogānugṛhītam añjasā
munir vicaṣṭe nanu tatra te gatim ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.24.59; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 7)

“A sage whose heart, pure by virtue of being favored by bhakti-yoga, is not agitated by external objects and does not enter the cave of darkness, rightly and certainly sees your state therein.”

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tatrāprakaṭā dvividhā—mantropāsanāmayī svārasikī ca

tatrāprakaṭā dvividhā—mantropāsanāmayī svārasikī ca | prathamā yathā tat-tad-ekatara-sthānādi-niyata-sthitikā tat-tan-mantra-dhyāna-mayī | … nānā-sthānānusāraṇa-rūpatvād eka-sthāna-niṣṭhāyā mantropāsanāmayyā bhidyate’sau | yathāvasara-vividha-svecchāmayī svārasikī | … nānā-līlā-pravāha-rūpatayā svārasikī gaṅgeva | ekaika-līlātmatayā mantropāsanāmayī tu labdha-tat-sambhava-hrada-śreṇir iva jñeyā | kiṁ ca, mantropāsanāmayyām api vraja-rājādi-sambandhaḥ śrūyate, kim uta svārasikyām iti na kutrāpi tad-rahitatā kalpanīyā | … govindaḥ śrī-vṛndāvana-deva eva … keśavo’pi śrī-mathurā-nātha eva, tau hi vṛndāvana-mathurā-prasiddha-mahā-yoga-pīṭhayos … prāpañcika-loka-dṛṣṭyāṁ śrīmat-pratimākāreṇābhātaḥ, svajana-dṛṣṭyāṁ sākṣād-rūpeṇa ca |
(Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 153)

“Therein, the aprakaṭa [-līlā] is of two types: mantropāsanāmayī and svārasikī. The first [is aprakaṭa-līlā that] is a fixed state amid one of various places and so forth and constituted of a correlated mantra and meditation. … This [i.e., svārasikī-līlā] is distinguished from mantropāsanāmayī, which is fixed at one place, because [its, i.e., svārasikī-līlā’s] being a form of movement amidst various places. Svārasikī is constituted of [Bhagavān’s] various personal wishes [manifesting successively in the flow of time within aprakaṭa-līlā] in accord with circumstances [that arise in various places at various times]. Svārasikī is like the Gaṅgā on account of being of the nature of a [continuous] flow of various līlās. Mantropāsanāmayī, on the contrary, on account of being constituted of one singular līlā, is to be understood to be like a multitude of perceived lagoons produced from that [i.e., from the flow of svārasikī-līlā]. Furthermore, [Bhagavān’s] relation with the king of Vraja and so forth is heard of even in mantropāsanāmayī, and so all the more in svārasikī. Thus, it [i.e., Bhagavān’s līlā, of both the mantropāsanāmayī and svārasikī varieties] are never to be conceived devoid of that [i.e., devoid of him having the relationships that he does with all his various associates in the various abodes of his līlās]. … Govinda, the Lord of Śrī Vṛndāvana … and Keśava, the Lord of Śrī Mathurā—at the well-known mahāyogapīṭhas in Vṛndāvana and Mathurā [respectively] these two … shine in the form of splendid deities in the vision of worldly people and in their direct forms in the vision of their own persons [i.e., bhaktas].”

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sa eva bhakti-yogākhya ātyantika udāhṛtaḥ

sa eva bhakti-yogākhya ātyantika udāhṛtaḥ |
yenātivrajya triguṇāṁ mad-bhāvāyopapadyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.29.14; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.19.174)

“This [i.e., nirguṇa-bhakti] alone, known as bhakti-yoga, by which one surpasses the three guṇas and becomes fit for my bhāva [i.e., fit to experience my direct presence (bhāva), or, fit to attain prema (bhāva) for me], is declared the absolute [i.e., the supreme puruṣārtha].”

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atra kāmādīnām asambhave hetuḥ—sākṣād iti padam

atra kāmādīnām asambhave hetuḥ—sākṣād iti padam, tad-uttara-kālatvāt sāksātkārasya |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 198)

“[Commenting in regard to SB 11.2.55,] The cause of the impossibility of kāma and so forth [ever again arising in the heart] is [stated by] the word ‘directly’ (sākṣāt) [i.e., when Bhagavān is personally manifest in the heart, then no material desire, anger, or other such vice can arise there], on account of direct realization (sākṣātkāra) [i.e., direct perception of Bhagavān in the heart] being thereafter [i.e., direct perception of Bhagavān in the heart occurs only after all kāma and so forth have been purged from the heart, and once he is directly perceived there, no scope of them ever re-entering the heart remains].”

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satāṁ kṛpā mahat-sevā śraddhā guru-padāśrayaḥ

satāṁ kṛpā mahat-sevā śraddhā guru-padāśrayaḥ |
bhajaneṣu spṛhā bhaktir anarthāpagamas tataḥ ||
niṣṭhā rucir athāsaktī ratiḥ premātha darśanam |
harer mādhuryānubhava ity arthāḥ syuś caturdaśe ||
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.2.21)

“There are fourteen steps [mentioned in SB 1.2.16–21 to describe how a jīva in saṁsāra reaches the highest attainment]: (1) the grace of sādhus, (2) service to a great person, (3) śraddhā, (4) taking shelter at the feet of a guru, (5) desire for [engagement in] practices of bhakti (bhajana), (6) bhakti [i.e., engagement in sādhana-bhakti], (7) disappearance of anarthas, (8) niṣṭhā [i.e., fixity in the practice of bhakti], (9) ruci (taste), (10) āsakti (affinity), (11) rati [i.e., bhāva-bhakti], (12) prema (divine love), (13) darśana [i.e., direct perception of Bhagavān], and then (14) experience of his mādhurya (mellifluousness).”

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ābrahma-stambādi saba kṛṣṇera vaibhava

ābrahma-stambādi saba kṛṣṇera vaibhava |
‘nindā-mātra kṛṣṇa ruṣṭa’ kahe śāstra saba ||
anindaka ha-i ye sakṛt kṛṣṇa bale |
satya satya kṛṣṇa tāre uddhāriba hele ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 2.20.147–148)

“From Brahmā to a clump of grass and so forth—everything is a manifestation of Kṛṣṇa. [Therefore,] All the śāstras say, ‘Kṛṣṇa becomes angry at any defamation at all.’ Truly, truly, Kṛṣṇa will easily deliver anyone who, being non-defaming, once chants, ‘Kṛṣṇa.’”

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eka-kṣaṇa prabhura yadi pāiye darśana

eka-kṣaṇa prabhura yadi pāiye darśana |
koṭi-cintāmaṇi-lābha nahe tāra sama ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.9.95)

“If I could have darśana of Prabhu [i.e., Śrīman Mahāprabhu] for one moment, then the attainment of a crore of thought-jewels would not equal that.”

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eko vaśī sarva-bhūtāntarātmā

eko vaśī sarva-bhūtāntarātmā
ekaṁ rūpaṁ bahudhā yaḥ karoti |
tam ātma-sthaṁ ye’nupaśyanti dhīrās
teṣāṁ sukhaṁ śāśvataṁ netareṣām ||
(Kaṭha Upaniṣad: 2.2.12)

“The one Ruler, the Inner Ātmā of all beings, who makes his one form manifold—the sagacious (dhīra) who perceive him situated within the ātmā [i.e., within their own self] experience eternal happiness; others do not.”

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yathā nabhasi meghaugho reṇur vā pārthivo’nile

yathā nabhasi meghaugho reṇur vā pārthivo’nile |
evaṁ draṣṭari dṛśyatvam āropitam abuddhibhiḥ ||
ataḥ paraṁ yad avyaktam avyūḍha-guṇa-vyūhitam |
adṛṣṭāśruta-vastutvāt sa jīvo yat punar-bhavaḥ ||
yatreme sad-asad-rūpe pratiṣiddhe sva-saṁvidā |
avidyayātmani kṛte iti tad brahma-darśanam ||
yady eṣoparatā devī māyā vaiśāradī matiḥ |
sampanna eveti vidur mahimni sve mahīyate ||
evaṁ janmāni karmāṇi hy akartur ajanasya ca |
varṇayanti sma kavayo veda-guhyāni hṛt-pateḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.3.31–35)

“As a mass of clouds is attributed [i.e., taken to be] to the sky or a particle of earth [is taken to be] to the air, so the visible [i.e., the body] is [taken to be] to the seer [i.e., the ātmā] by the unintelligent. Beyond this [i.e., the gross body] is the jīva [i.e., the subtle body], which is unmanifest [i.e., externally imperceptible] because of its being an unseen and unheard of entity not arranged by the guṇas to be developed [i.e., to have physical, visible limbs] and [because of its] undergoing rebirth. When these gross and subtle forms are negated [i.e., understood to not be the self] through full knowledge of the self, whereby they are recognized as being imposed upon the ātmā by ignorance (avidyā), then darśana [i.e., sākṣātkāra, direct experience] of Brahman occurs. When this supernatural māyā belonging to the Expert [i.e., Īśvara] in the form of thought [i.e., misunderstanding] becomes withdrawn, then one certainly becomes fortunate [i.e., endowed with experience of the bliss of Brahman] and exalted in one’s own greatness—this is known [to the wise]. In this [same] way, the wise describe the births and activities, hidden to the Vedas, of he who is a non-actor and unborn [i.e., Bhagavān, who is transcendental to saṁsāra], the Lord [situated] in the heart.”

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