Bhagavān

na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate

na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate
na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate |
parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate
svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca ||
(Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad: 6.8; cited in Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.2.179; Bhagavat Sandarbha: 16)

“He [i.e., the Supreme Īśvara] has no effect [i.e., material body] or means [i.e., material senses], and nothing equal to him or superior is visible [i.e., existent]. His parā [i.e., superior] śakti is heard to be verily variegated, inherent (svābhāvikī) [in him], and constituted of [divisions known as] consciousness, strength, and action.”

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anādi-siddhayā śaktyā cid-vilāsa-svarūpayā

anādi-siddhayā śaktyā cid-vilāsa-svarūpayā |
mahāyogākhyayā tasya sadā te bheditās tataḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.2.185)

“They [i.e., the jīvas] are eternally distinguished from him [i.e., Parabrahman] by means of his beginninglessly existent śakti by the name of mahāyoga the nature of which is a manifestation of consciousness.”

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sukha-rūpaṁ sukhādhāraḥ śarkāra-piṇḍavan matam

sukha-rūpaṁ sukhādhāraḥ śarkāra-piṇḍavan matam |
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caraṇa-dvandvaṁ sukhaṁ brahma tu kevalam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.2.181)

“Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s two feet are considered forms of bliss and a substratum of bliss like a lump of sugar [which is both a form of sweetness and a substratum of sweetness] whereas Brahman is only bliss [i.e., it is not also a substratum of bliss].”

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taṁ satyam ānanda-nidhiṁ bhajeta

taṁ satyam ānanda-nidhiṁ bhajeta
nānyatra sajjed yata ātma-pātaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.1.39; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 26)

“One should worship him [i.e., Bhagavān],
The Reality,
The Reservoir of Bliss.
One should not be attached elsewhere
Because the downfall of the self occurs [as a result].”

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na cyavante hi yad-bhaktāḥ mahatyāṁ pralayāpadi

na cyavante hi yad-bhaktāḥ mahatyāṁ pralayāpadi |
ato’cyuto’khile loke sa ekaḥ sarvago’vyayaḥ ||
(Skanda Purāṇa; cited in the Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Brahma-saṁhitā: 5.33)

“He the all-pervading, immutable Supreme Entity throughout all planes whose bhaktas are not certainly vanquished [even] during the severe tribulation of universal dissolution (pralaya) is thus [known as] Acyuta [i.e., ‘the Imperishable One’].”

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sarvātmakatvena bṛhat-tamatvād bhagavato rūpam eva brahma

sarvātmakatvena bṛhat-tamatvād bhagavato rūpam eva brahma |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.8.78)

“On account of being the greatest [i.e., the most vast entity] by virtue of being the constitution of all [other entities in existence, i.e., of being the totality of existence], only the form of Bhagavān is [the rightful referent of the word] Brahman.”

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tulā-puruṣa-dānādyair aśvamedhādibhir makhaiḥ

tulā-puruṣa-dānādyair aśvamedhādibhir makhaiḥ |
vārāṇasī-prayāgādi-tīrtha-snānādibhiḥ priye ||
gayā-śrāddhādibhiḥ pitryair veda-pāṭhādibhir japaiḥ |
tapobhir ugrair niyamair yamair bhūta-dayādibhiḥ ||
guru-śuśrūṣaṇaiḥ satyair dharmair varṇāśramānvitaiḥ |
jñāna-dhyānādibhiḥ samyak-caritair janma-koṭibhiḥ ||
na yānti tat paraṁ śreyo viṣṇuṁ sarveśvareśvaram |
sarva-bhāvair anāśritya purāṇaṁ puruṣottamam ||
(Padma Purāṇa; Nārada Pañcarātra: 4.2.17–20; cited in the Dig-darśinī-ṭikā on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 1.118)

“[Mahādeva to Parvatī:] O dear one, by means of crores of births of righteous conduct—[the giving of] charities such as that equal to the person [i.e., the charity of giving away an amount of gold equal to the weight of one’s body], [conducting] sacrifices like the horse-sacrifice, bathing and so on at tīrthas like Vārāṇasī and Prayāga, [performances of] rites for the forefathers like [an offering of] last rights at Gayā, recitation and so forth of Vedas, japas [i.e., performing japa of various mantras], severe austerities, regulations, restrictions, [showing] compassion and the like towards other living beings, [performing] services to the guru, [observing] noble duties based on one’s varṇa and āśrama, [acquiring] knowledge, [performing] meditation, and so on—one does not attain the supreme weal, Viṣṇu, the Īśvara of all īśvaras, without taking shelter in [him] the primeval Supreme Person with all of one’s manners of being [i.e., with the totality of one’s self].”

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śāstrera nā jāne marma adhyāpanā kare

śāstrera nā jāne marma adhyāpanā kare |
gardabhera prāya yena śāstra vahi mare ||
paḍhiyā śuniñā loka gela chārakhāre |
kṛṣṇa mahāmahotsave vañcila tāhāre ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 2.1.158–159)

“One who does not know the purport of the śāstra yet teaches [śāstra to others only] bears the śāstra and languishes like a donkey [i.e., as a beast of burden suffers from bearing a load without ever experiencing the benefit the goods it carries can provide, such as the fragrance that can be released from a load of sandalwood it carries, so someone who teaches the śāstra but does not understand its purport only undergoes the trouble of studying and teaching without experiencing the benefit that the knowledge meant to be conveyed by the śāstra can produce, that is, the superlative joy of Kṛṣṇa-bhakti].[Even] After hearing and studying [the śāstra], the person [who teaches the śāstra without understanding its purport] is laid to waste. Kṛṣṇa deprives them of the ultimate grand festival [i.e., the superlative joy of discussion, realization, and so forth of himself].”

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kṛṣṇa sei satya kare, yei māge bhṛtya

kṛṣṇa sei satya kare, yei māge bhṛtya |
bhṛtya-vāñchā-pūrti-vinu nāhi anya kṛtya ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.15.168)

“Kṛṣṇa manifests that which [his] servants ask for. He has no task other than fulfilling [his] servants’ desires.”

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yo gajendraṁ jhaṣa-grastaṁ dhyāyantaṁ caraṇāmbujam

yo gajendraṁ jhaṣa-grastaṁ dhyāyantaṁ caraṇāmbujam |
krośantīnāṁ kareṇūnāṁ kṛcchrato’mocayad drutam ||
taṁ sukhārādhyam ṛjubhir ananya-śaraṇair nṛbhiḥ |
kṛtajñaḥ ko na seveta durārādhyam asādhubhiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.19.35–36; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 153)

“What grateful person would not worship he who swiftly saved the crying lady elephants’ elephant-king [i.e., Gajendra] from danger while [the elephant-king was] meditating on his lotus feet after being seized by a crocodile, [he] who is easily propitiated by persons who are sincere and of undivided shelter yet difficult to propitiate for the unvirtuous?”

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