duḥkha-sāre saṁsāre virajya harir evānandamayo dhyeyaḥ sudhiyā … |
(Govinda-bhāṣya on Vedānta-sūtra: 3.1.28)
“Remaining disinterested in saṁsāra, the essence of which is suffering, Hari, the embodiment of bliss, is to be meditated upon by the wise.”
animiṣaḥ śrī-viṣṇuḥ | alupta-dṛṣṭitvāt |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.4)
“Animiṣa [lit. “he who is unblinking”] refers to Śrī Viṣṇu because of his vision being unchecked.”
nānyatra mad bhagavataḥ pradhāna-puruṣeśvarāt |
ātmanaḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ bhayaṁ tīvraṁ nivartate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.25.41)
“Intense fear [i.e., the plight of sāṁsārika existence] retreats from [i.e., ceases because of taking shelter in] me, Bhagavān, the foremost Puruṣa and Īśvara, the Ātma of all beings, and not from anywhere else.”
tata idaṁ labhyate—parama-tattva-sākṣātkāra-lakṣaṇaṁ taj-jñānam eva paramānanda-prāptiḥ | saiva parama-puruṣārtha iti | svātmājñāna-nivṛttiḥ duḥkhātyanta-nivṛttiś ca nidāne tad-ajñāne gate sati svata eva sampadyate | pūrvasyāḥ parama-tattva-svaprakāśatābhivyakti-lakṣaṇa-mātrātmakatvāt, uttarasyāś ca dhvaṁsābhāva-rūpatvād anaśvaratvam | uktaṁ ca pūrvasyāḥ parama-puruṣārthatvaṁ ‘dharmasya hy apavargasya’ ity-ādinā, ‘tac-chraddadhānā munayo’ … ity antena, svataḥ sarva-duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca tatraivoktā—‘bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiḥ’ ity ādinā |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 1)
“Therefore, this is gathered: awareness of him [i.e., Bhagavān] in the form of direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of the Supreme Entity [i.e., direct perception of the Supreme Entity as Brahman, or as Bhagavān, as is discussed ahead] is alone the attainment of paramount bliss. This alone is the supreme puruṣārtha. When the cause, the absence of awareness of him, ceases, then the cessation of the absence of awareness of one’s own self (ātmā) and the absolute cessation of suffering occur automatically. The former’s [i.e., the cessation of the absence of awareness of him] being permanent is because of its being constituted in form solely of a manifestation of the Supreme Entity’s self-luminosity (sva-prakāśatā) [i.e., because the cessation of the absence of awareness of him only occurs as a result of a self-manifestation of the Supreme Entity and thus is effectively synonymous with it], and the latter’s [i.e., the cessation of the absence of awareness of one’s own self (ātmā) and one’s suffering in saṁsāra being permanent] is because of its having a form of non-existence after [its] destruction [i.e., because it ceases to exist entirely after being destroyed]. The former’s being the supreme puruṣārtha is stated in dharmasya hy apavargasya … [i.e., SB 1.2.9–11], and tac-chraddadhānā munayo … [i.e., SB 1.2.12], and the automatic cessation of all suffering is stated there in bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiḥ [i.e., SB 1.2.13].”
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.”
nirastātiśayāhlāda-sukha-bhāvaika-lakṣaṇā |
bheṣajaṁ bhagavat-prāptir ekāntātyantikī matā ||
(Viṣṇu Purāṇa: 6.5.59; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 1)
“Attainment of Bhagavān, which is characterized purely by a state of happiness filled with superlative delight [i.e., a delight that surpasses all other forms of happiness and neither contains nor causes any form of suffering], is the medicine [to cure the disease of suffering in saṁsāra] and is accepted as exclusive [i.e., free from any admixture of suffering] and absolute [i.e., everlasting].”
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.”
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.”
sa īśo yad-vaśe māyā sa jīvo yas tayārditaḥ |
(Viṣṇu Svāmī; cited in the Bhāvārtha-dīpīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.7.6)
“He under whose control māyā exists is the Lord, and he who is afflicted by that [i.e., by māyā] is the jīva.”
bhuvi puru-puṇya-tīrtha-sadanāny ṛṣayo vimadās
ta uta bhavat-padāmbuja-hṛdo’gha-bhid-aṅghri-jalāḥ |
dadhati sakṛn manas tvayi ya ātmani nitya-sukhe
na punar upāsate puruṣa-sāra-harāvasathān ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.35)
“Dwelling in the numerous sacred tīrthas on the earth, free from delusion [alt., pride], their hearts fixed on your lotus feet, and the water from their feet dispelling sin, the ṛṣis who once fix their mind on you, the Self, Eternal Happiness, do not again dwell in homes, which steal away the essence of human beings.”
