Bhagavān

seyam akhaṇḍāpi nijālambanasya bhagavata āvirbhāva-tāratamyena

seyam akhaṇḍāpi nijālambanasya bhagavata āvirbhāva-tāratamyena svayaṁ tāratamyenaivāvirbhavati | tad evaṁ sati śrī-kṛṣṇasyaiva svayaṁ-bhagavattvena tat-sandarbhe darśitatvāt tatraiva tasyāḥ parā pratiṣṭhā |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 78)

“Although this [i.e., prīti] is undivided [i.e., a singular, indivisible entity], it manifests itself in a gradation in accord with a gradation in the manifestation of its support (ālambana), [viz.,] Bhagavān. Thus existing as such, on account of Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone being shown in his sandarbha [i.e., Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha] to be Svayaṁ Bhagavān, its [i.e., prīti’s] ultimate standing is solely in relation to him [i.e., the ultimate manifestation of prīti has only Svayaṁ Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa for its object, and all manifestations of prīti for other forms of Śrī Bhagavān, such as Śrī Rāma, Śrī Viṣṇu, and so on, are of a lesser degree of completion].”

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bhakti-yogena manasi samyak praṇihite’male

bhakti-yogena manasi samyak praṇihite’male |
apaśyat puruṣaṁ pūrṇaṁ māyāñ ca tad-apāśrayam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.7.4)

“In his pure heart, which was perfectly fixed by means of bhakti-yoga, Vyāsadeva saw the Complete Puruṣa, as well as māyā sheltered behind him.”

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prīyatāṁ puṇḍarīkākṣaḥ sarva-yajñesvaro hariḥ

prīyatāṁ puṇḍarīkākṣaḥ sarva-yajñesvaro hariḥ |
tasmiṁs tuṣṭe jagat tuṣṭaṁ prīṇite prīṇitaṁ bhavet ||
(Matsya Purāṇa: 238.38)

“May Hari of lotus eyes, the Lord of all sacrifices (yajñās), be pleased. When he is satisfied, the world is satisfied, and when he is pleased, the world is pleased.”

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munaya ūcuḥ

munaya ūcuḥ—
kathaṁ bhaktir bhavet premnā jīvan-muktasya nārada |
jīvan-mukta-śarīrāṇāṁ cit-sattā-niḥspṛhā yataḥ |
virakteḥ kāraṇaṁ bhaktiḥ sā tu muktes tu sādhanam ||
nārada uvāca—
bhadram uktaṁ bhavadbhiś ca muktis turyā parāparā |
nirahaṁ yatra cit-sattā turyā sā muktir ucyate ||
pūrṇāhantāmayī bhaktis turyātītā nigadyate ||
kṛṣṇa-dhāma-mayaṁ brahma kvacit kutrāpi bhāsate ||
nirbījendriyagaṁ tat tu ātmasthaṁ kevalaṁ sukham |
kṛṣṇas tu paripūrṇātmā sarvatra sukha-rūpakaḥ |
bhakti-vṛtti-kṛtābhyāsāt tat-kṣaṇād gocarīkṛtaḥ ||
(Bṛhad Gautamīya Tantra; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 32)

“The sages said, ‘O Nārada, how can a jīvan-mukta have bhakti [endowed] with prema, since embodied jīvan-muktas have a conscious existence free from desire [i.e., they have no absorption, inclination, or desire related to the body or things of the world even though they are still embodied and situated within the world]. Bhakti is but a means of detachment (virakti), and that [i.e., detachment] is but a means of mukti.’
“Nārada replied: ‘You all have spoken well. Mukti is the fourth (turyā) [state of consciousness] and superior to the others [i.e., to the other three states of consciousness known as wakefulness, dreaming, and deep sleep]. That wherein there is conscious existence (cit-sattā) devoid of ‘I’ is called the fourth, mukti. Bhakti constituted of complete ‘I’-ness [i.e., the ultimate form of self-identification] is said to be beyond the fourth [i.e., greater than even mukti]. Brahman, constituted of Kṛṣṇa’s luster, sometimes manifests somewhere [i.e., Brahman is manifest only beyond the realm of prakṛti and in inside the realm of Vaikuṇṭha]. It [i.e., Brahman] is self-situated bliss alone known [only] with the seedless sense [i.e., with the potential for perception inherent in the jīva, which is not a faculty constituted of the guṇas of prakṛti, be it an bahiḥkaraṇa or antaḥkaraṇa]. Kṛṣṇa, however, is the fully complete Self (Ātmā) and embodiment of bliss [present] everywhere [i.e., pervasively present throughout the realm of prakṛti and the realm of Vaikiṇṭha who is] brought into one’s range [of perception] immediately as a result of executing repeated performance of the practice of bhakti.’”

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sa hi bhakta-sukhārtham eva prayatate

sa hi bhakta-sukhārtham eva prayatate, na tu pṛthak sva-sukhārtham, yathā hi bhaktas tat-sukhārtham eveti |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 16)

“He [i.e., Bhagavān] endeavors only for the sake of the happiness of [his] bhakta, and not, rather, for the sake of his own happiness separately [from that of his bhakta], just as [his] bhakta does solely for the sake of his happiness.”

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yasya brahmeti saṁjñāṁ kvacid api nigame yāti cin-mātra-sattāpy

yasya brahmeti saṁjñāṁ kvacid api nigame yāti cin-mātra-sattāpy
aṁśo yasyāṁśakaiḥ svair vibhavati vaśayann eva māyāṁ pumāṁś ca |
ekaṁ yasyaiva rūpaṁ vilasati parama-vyomni nārāyaṇākhyaṁ
sa śrī-kṛṣṇo vidhattāṁ svayam iha bhagavān prema tat-pāda-bhājām ||
(Tattva Sandarbha: 8)

“He whose existence purely as consciousness is called Brahman in parts of the Vedas, whose expansion the Puruṣa [i.e., Mahāviṣṇu] controls māyā [i.e., the material energy] and manifests as his own sub-expansions, and whose particular form known as Nārāyaṇa enjoys in Paravyoma [lit., ‘the higher sky,’ i.e., the spiritual world]—may [he,] Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Svayaṁ Bhagavān, bestow prema upon the servants of his feet here [i.e., in this world].”

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buddhīndriya-manaḥ-prāṇān janānām asṛjat prabhuḥ

buddhīndriya-manaḥ-prāṇān janānām asṛjat prabhuḥ |
mātrārthaṁ ca bhavārthaṁ ca ātmane’kalpanāya ca ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.2)

[Translation as per Śrīdhara Svāmīpada’s ṭīkā:] “Prabhu emanated the intellect, senses, mind, and prāṇas of living beings for the sake of the objects [i.e., for the sake of enabling perception of objects of the senses constituted of the five elements], for the sake of production [i.e., for the sake of enabling karma to be performed], for the sake of the ātmā [i.e, for the sake of enabling the ātmā to travel to and experience various lokas], and for the sake of non-formulation [i.e, for the cessation of desire, that is, mukti for the ātmā].”

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atha yad avatārādāv aśuddha-cittānām api tat-sākṣātkāraḥ śrūyate

atha yad avatārādāv aśuddha-cittānām api tat-sākṣātkāraḥ śrūyate, tat khalu tad-ābhāsa eva jñeyaḥ | ‘nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yogamāyā-samāvṛtaḥ’ iti śrī-gītopaniṣadbhyaḥ | … adarśanaṁ cānavatāra-samaye vyāpakasyāpi darśanābhāvaḥ, avatāra-samaye tu paramānande’pi duḥkhadatvaṁ, manorame’pi bhīṣaṇatvam, sarva-suhṛdy api durhṛttvam ity ādi-viparīta-darśanam eva | tad-aprakāśe yogamāyā-prakāśe ca mūlaṁ kāraṇaṁ tad-bhaktāparādhādimaya-puruṣa-cittāsvācchyam | yat khalu tadānīntane tasya sārvatrika-prakāśe’pi vajralepāyate | ata eva ‘muktir hitvā’ ity-ādi-lakṣaṇasyāvyāpter na tasya sākṣātkārābhāsasya mukti-saṁjñatvam api |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 7)

“Then, the direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of him [i.e., of Bhagavān] on the part even of those of impure heart that is heard of during [his] descents (avatāras), or in other instances, is to be understood as only a semblance (ābhāsa) of that [i.e., of actual direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of him], as per the Gītopaniṣad [7.25], ‘Being concealed by [my] yogamāyā, I am not manifest to all.’ … Also, non-vision [of Bhagavān] at a time other than a descent (avatāra) [of Bhagavān] means the absence of vision even of he [i.e., Bhagavān] who [by nature] is all-pervading, whereas at the time of [his] descent (avatāra) [non-vision of him] is verily reversed vision, such as that of his being [seen to be] a cause of suffering even when he is the supreme bliss, being [seen to be] terrifying even though he is charming, or being [seen to be] an ill-wisher even when he is the well-wisher of all. In the case of non-manifestation of him [i.e., in the case of times when his descent (avatāra) is not taking place] and in the case of manifestation of [his] yogamāyā [i.e., in the case of yogamāyā concealing him even during the time of his descent (avatāra)], the root cause [of these instances of non-vision of him] is the impurity in an embodied being’s (puruṣa’s) citta in the form of offenses (aparādhas) to his bhaktas and so forth, which even at the time of his manifestation everywhere [i.e., even during the time of his descent (avatāra) when he is openly visible] is as if cement [i.e., such impurity in the citta remains hard and fixed in place, blocking reflection of his potency of self-manifestation (sva-prakāśitatva-śakti) off of the citta into the mind whereby direct perception of him would otherwise take place]. Therefore, because of the non-pervasion [i.e., non-existence] of the characteristics [stated] in muktir hitvānyathā … [i.e., in the definition of mukti given in SB 2.10.6], a semblance (ābhāsa) of direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of him that occurs in such cases] does not have the status of being designated as mukti.”

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taṁ tvām ahaṁ deva-varaṁ vareṇyaṁ

taṁ tvām ahaṁ deva-varaṁ vareṇyaṁ
prapadya īśaṁ pratibodhanāya |
chindhy artha-dīpair bhagavan vacobhir
granthīn hṛdayyān vivṛṇu svam okaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.24.53)

[Satyavrata Rāja to Matsya Avatāra:] “I take shelter in him—you—the Best of the devas, the Supreme Īśa, for the purpose of awakening [by means of your teaching from my sleep on the bed of saṁsāra]. O Bhagavān, please cut the knots in my heart with your words that are illuminating of the [supreme] object (artha). Please reveal your own abode [i.e., please teach me the path that leads to attainment of it].”

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puruṣa-prayojanaṁ tāvat sukha-prāptir duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca

puruṣa-prayojanaṁ tāvat sukha-prāptir duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca |
puruṣa-prayojanaṁ tāvat sukha-prāptir duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca | śrī-bhagavat-prītau tu sukhatvaṁ duḥkha-nivartakatvaṁ cātyantikam iti | etad uktaṁ bhavati—yat khalu parama-tattvaṁ śāstra-pratipādyatvena pūrvaṁ nirṇītaṁ, tad eva sad-ananta-paramānandatvena siddham | … nānā-svarūpa-dharmato’pi tasya kevalānanda-svarūpatvam eva ca darśitam | tathā-bhūta-mārtaṇḍādi-maṇḍalasya kevala-jyotiṣṭvavat |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 1)

“The aim (prayojana) of an embodied being (puruṣa), fundamentally, is the attainment of happiness and elimination of suffering, and only in prīti for Śrī Bhagavān are happiness and elimination of suffering absolute. Thus, this is said: only that Supreme Entity (Parama-tattva), who was ascertained previously [i.e., in the first four sandarbhas] as being the object to be taught by the śāstra, is established [by the śāstra] as being eternal, infinite, paramount bliss. … Although possessed of various inherent characteristics, his [i.e., that Supreme Entity’s] verily being of the nature of bliss alone is also shown [in śāstra, i.e., his fundamental nature, upon which all of his other attributes are based, is bliss (ānanda) alone], just as the sun, which has [within it] the there existent Mārtaṇḍa [i.e., the devatā Sūrya] and so forth [i.e., as well as Sūryadeva’s chariot, horses, etc.], is [fundamentally] of the nature of light alone.”

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