Siddha-deha

rājño jīvatu deho’yaṁ prasannāḥ prabhavo yadi

rājño jīvatu deho’yaṁ prasannāḥ prabhavo yadi |
tathety ukte nimiḥ prāha mā bhūn me deha-bandhanam ||
yasya yogaṁ na vāñchanti viyoga-bhaya-kātarāḥ |
bhajanti caraṇāmbhojaṁ munayo hari-medhasaḥ ||
dehaṁ nāvarurutse’haṁ duḥkha-śoka-bhayāvaham |
sarvatrāsya yato mṛtyur matsyānām udake yathā ||
devā ūcuḥ—
videha uṣyatāṁ kāmaṁ locaneṣu śarīriṇām |
unmeṣaṇa-nimeṣābhyāṁ lakṣito’dhyātma-saṁsthitaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.13.8–11)

“[The sages pray to the devas for the sake of Mahārāja Nimi:] ‘May this body of the king live if you all are satisfied [with the sacrifice initiated by the king] and capable [of bringing the king’s body back to life].’ When, ‘So be it’ was said [by the devas in response to the sages’ prayer], Nimi [being situated then only in a subtle body] said, ‘Let me not be subject to the bondage of a [gross] body [again]. Sages who are agitated by fear of disconnection [from a gross body], who are endowed with wisdom related to Hari, and who worship the lotus feet [of Hari], do not desire connection with that [i.e. with a gross body]. [Thus,] I do not wish to don a [gross] body, which is a cause of suffering, sorrow, and fear, since its death, like that of fish [even] in water, can occur everywhere.’ [In reply to the sages] The devas said [with regard to Mahārāja Nimi]: ‘Bodiless [i.e., free from a gross body] and situated in a subtle body, at will let him be observed in the opening and closing [i.e., blinking] in the eyes of the embodied.’”

Read on →

kā vidyā hari-bhaktir eva na punar vedādi-niṣṇātatā

kā vidyā hari-bhaktir eva na punar vedādi-niṣṇātatā
kīrtiḥ kā bhagavat-paro’yam iti yā khyātir na dānādijā |
kā śrīḥ tat-priyatā na vai dhana-jana-grāmādi-bhūyiṣṭhatā |
kiṁ duḥkhaṁ bhagavat-priyasya viraho no hṛd-vraṇādi-vyathā ||8||
bhagavān: bhadram | ke muktāḥ?
rāmānandaḥ: pratyāsattir hari-caraṇayoḥ sānurāge na rāge
prītiḥ premātiśayini harer bhakti-yoge na yoge |
āsthā tasya praṇaya-rabhasasyopadehe na dehe
yeṣāṁ te hi prakṛti-sarasā hanta muktā na muktāḥ ||9||
bhagavān : bhavatu |
kiṁ geyaṁ vraja-keli-karma kim iha śreyaḥ satāṁ saṅgatiḥ
kiṁ smartavyam aghāri-nāma kim anudhyeyaṁ murāreḥ padam |
kva stheyaṁ vraja eva kiṁ śravaṇayor ānandi vṛndāvana-
krīḍaikā kim upāsyam atra mahasī śrī-kṛṣṇa-rādhābhidhe ||10||
bhagavān: bhadram |
(Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭakam: 7.8–10; cited in Alaṅkāra-kaustubha: 8.233–234, 236)

“Bhagavān: What is knowledge?
“Rāmānanda: Hari-bhakti alone [is knowledge], and not, rather, expertise in the Vedas and so on.
“Bhagavān: What is glory?
“Rāmānanda: The renown, ‘He is devoted to Bhagavān’ [is glory] and not that produced by giving and so on.
“Bhagavān: What is wealth?
“Rāmānanda: Fondness for him [i.e., Bhagavān, is wealth], and certainly not an abundance of money, people [i.e., relatives, friends, followers, man-power, or otherwise], villages [i.e., land, property, social influence, etc.] and so on.
“Bhagavān: What is suffering?
“Rāmānanda: The separation of one dear to Bhagavān [is suffering], and not the pain of a wound in the heart or otherwise.
“Bhagavān: Very well. Who is liberated?
“Rāmānanda: Hanta! Those of rasa-laden disposition [alt., nature] who have close contact with [alt., affinity (āsakti) for] those possessed of loving attachment (anurāga) to Hari’s feet and not [rather close contact with or affinity for] attachment (rāga) [to objects of the senses (viṣaya)], [who] have fondness (prīti) for bhakti-yoga filled with a profusion of prema related to Hari, and not [rather] for yoga [i.e., jñāna-, karma-, or aṣṭāṅga-yoga, etc.], and [who] have conviction in the body suitable for he of fervent love (praṇaya) and not [rather conviction] in the [worldly] body, are liberated, and not [rather] the liberated [i.e., those who think themselves liberated].
“Bhagavān: Let it be. What is to be sung?
“Rāmānanda: The acts of play in Vraja.
“Bhagavān: What is the highest good (śreyas) here [in this world]?
“Rāmānanda: The association of the sat.
“Bhagavān: What is to be remembered?
“Rāmānanda: The name of Agha’s Foe.
“Bhagavān: What is to be meditated upon?
“Rāmānanda: The feet of Mura’s Foe.
“Bhagavān: Where is one to be stationed?
“Rāmānanda: In Vraja alone.
“Bhagavān: What is delighting to the ears?
“Rāmānanda: The play in Vṛndāvana alone.
“Bhagavān: What is the object to be approached [i.e., worshiped] here?
“Rāmānanda: The object of worship is the [two-fold] brilliance known as Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā.
“Bhagavān: Very well.”

Read on →

atha teṣāṁ śuddha-bhaktānāṁ bhūta-śuddhy-ādikaṁ

atha teṣāṁ śuddha-bhaktānāṁ bhūta-śuddhy-ādikaṁ yathā-mati vyākhyāyate | tatra bhūta-śuddhir nijābhilaṣita-bhagavat-sevaupayika-tat-pārṣada-deha-bhāvanā-paryantaiva tat-sevaika-puruṣārthibhiḥ kāryā nijānukūlyāt |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 286)

“Now, the bhūta-śuddhi [i.e., ‘purification of the elements’, a part of the process of arcana] of pure bhaktas [i.e., of those following the path of bhakti unmixed with karma, jñāna, and so forth] is explained as per my understanding. In that regard, bhūta-śuddhi is to be performed by those whose only puruṣārtha is service to him [i.e., Bhagavān] verily up to [i.e., including] contemplation of [oneself inhering in] the body of an associate of Bhagavān conducive to one’s own desired service to him because of [its, i.e., such contemplation’s] favorability for oneself [i.e., because such is favorable to attaining one’s desired bhāva and service therewith].”

Read on →

na yasya janma-karmabhyāṁ na varṇāśrama-jātibhiḥ

na yasya janma-karmabhyāṁ na varṇāśrama-jātibhiḥ |
sajjate’sminn aham-bhāvo dehe vai sa hareḥ priyaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.51; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.28)

“One whose sense of ‘I’ does not adhere to this body along with [its] birth [i.e., nobility] and karma [i.e., performance of austerities, japa, meditation, etc.], or [its] varṇa [e.g., being a brāhmaṇa], āśrama [e.g., being a brahmacārī], and jāti [e.g., being born to a particular set of parents, in a particular country, in a particular region, etc.], is dear to Hari.”

Read on →

siddha-rūpeṇa antaś-cintitābhīṣṭa-tat-sevopayogi-dehena

siddha-rūpeṇa antaś-cintitābhīṣṭa-tat-sevopayogi-dehena … |
(Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.295)

“The siddha-rūpa [i.e., siddha-deha] is an internally conceived body suitable for service to one’s desired object [i.e., Iṣṭa-devatā, Śrī Kṛṣṇa].”

Read on →

ahaṅkārasya dve vṛttī ahantā mamatā ca iti

ahaṅkārasya dve vṛttī ahantā mamatā ca iti | tayor jñānena layo mokṣaḥ, deha-gehādi-viṣayatve bandhaḥ, ahaṁ prabhor janaḥ sevako’smi sevyo me prabhur bhagavān saparikara eva rūpa-guṇa-mādhurī-mahodadhir iti pārṣada-rūpa-vigraha-bhagavad-vigrahādi-viṣayatve premā | sa hi bandha-mokṣābhyāṁ vilakṣaṇa eva puruṣārtha-cūḍāmaṇir ity ucyate |
tatra kramaḥ | ahantā-mamatayor vyavahārikyām eva vṛttāv atisāndrāyāṁ satyāṁ saṁsāra eva | ahaṁ vaiṣṇavo bhūyāsaṁ prabhur me bhagavān sevyo bhavatv iti yādṛcchikyāṁ śraddhā-kaṇikāyāṁ satyāṁ tad-vṛtteḥ pāramārthikatva-gandhe bhaktāv adhikāraḥ | tataḥ sādhu-saṅge sati pāramārthikatva-gandhasya sāndratvaṁ | tato bhajana-kriyāyām aniṣṭhitāyāṁ satyāṁ tayoḥ paramārthe vastuny ekadeśa-vyāpinī vṛttiḥ vyavahāre pūrṇaiva | tasyāṁ niṣṭhitāyāṁ paramārthe bahula-deśa-vyāpinī vyavahāre prāyiky eva | rucāv utpannāyāṁ paramārthe prāyiky eva vṛttir vyavahāre tu bahu-deśa-vyāpinī | āsaktau jātāyāṁ paramārthe pūrṇā vyavahāre tu gandha-mātrī | bhāve tu paramārtha evātyantikī vṛttir vyavahāre tu bādhitānuvṛtti-nyāyenābhāsa-mayī | premaṇi tayor ahantā-mamatayor vṛttiḥ paramārthe paramātyantikī vyavahāre tu naikāpīti |

(Mādhurya-kādambinī: 8)

“The ahaṅkāra has two vṛttis (functions): ahantā [i.e., I-ness, or identification) and mamatā [i.e., my-ness, or, possessiveness]. Dissolution of these two through jñāna is [called] mokṣa. Their being fixed upon objects of the senses, such as the body and home, is [called] bondage. ‘I am Prabhu’s person [i.e., I belong to Prabhu]. I am a servant, and Prabhu is my object of service. Bhagavān [i.e., Prabhu] along with his companions is verily a vast ocean of sweetness in form and qualities”—their [i.e., these two functions of the ahaṅkāra] being fixed upon the figure of a body of an associate [of Bhagavān] and upon the figure and so forth of Bhagavān [i.e., the vṛtti of ahantā functioning so as to produce identification with the body of an associate of Bhagavān, and the vṛtti of mamatā functioning so as to produce an affectionate sense of my-ness in relation to the figure, qualities, activities, and so forth of Bhagavān] is [called] prema. That [i.e., prema] is distinct from bondage and mokṣa, and is said to be the crown-jewel of puruṣārthas.
“The course [of development] in this regard [is as follows]: when the vṛttis of ahantā and mamatā are present very densely only in worldly affairs, there is only [the condition known as] saṁsāra. When a fortuitous (yādṛcchikī) particle of śrāddhā comes about, [such that one has the resolve,] ‘I shall become a Vaiṣṇava, and my master, Bhagavān, shall be my object of service,’ then those vṛttis have a trace of relation to Ultimate Reality (Paramārtha) and one has eligibility (adhikāra) for bhakti. Then, when association with sādhus occurs, density of that trace of relation to Ultimate Reality develops. Then, when unfixed (aniṣṭhitā) engagement in bhajana occurs, their [i.e., ahantā and mamatā’s] vṛttis are partially in the object, Ultimate Reality, and fully in worldliness. When that [i.e., engagement in bhajana] is fixed (niṣṭhitā), then they are extensively in Ultimate Reality and only mostly in worldliness. When ruci arises, then the vṛttis are mostly in Ultimate Reality, but [still] extensively in worldliness. When āsakti appears, then they are fully in Ultimate Reality, but [still] bearing just a trace in worldliness. In bhāva, however, the vṛttis are absolutely in Ultimate Reality, but possessed of a semblance in worldliness like the continuance of a negated entity. In prema, these vṛttis of ahantā and mamatā are absolutely to the fullest extent in Ultimate Reality and not in worldliness at all.”

Read on →

vaikuṇṭhasya bhagavato jyotir-aṁśa-bhūtā vaikuṇṭhaloka-śobhā-rūpā

vaikuṇṭhasya bhagavato jyotir-aṁśa-bhūtā vaikuṇṭhaloka-śobhā-rūpā yā anantā mūrtayas tatra vartante tāsām ekayā saha muktasyaikasya mūrtiḥ bhagavatā kriyata iti vaikuṇṭhasya mūrtir iva mūrtir yeṣām ity uktam |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 10)

“The figure of one liberated jīva is made by Bhagavān with one of those unlimited figures existing there which is a form of Vaikuṇṭhaloka’s splendor and consists of a portion of the luster of Vaikuṇṭha, that is, of Bhagavān, and thus it has been stated [by Śrīdhara Svāmī in his commentary on SB 3.15.14 in relation to those who reside in Vaikuṇṭha], “whose figure is like the figure of Vaikuṇṭha [i.e., Bhagavān].”

Read on →

idaṁ hi yogeśvara yoga-naipuṇaṁ

idaṁ hi yogeśvara yoga-naipuṇaṁ
hiraṇyagarbho bhagavāñ jagāda yat |
yad anta-kāle tvayi nirguṇe mano
bhaktyā dadhītojjhita-duṣkalevaraḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.19.13)

“O Master of yoga, that which Bhagavān Hiraṇyagarbha [i.e., Lord Brahmā] has spoken of is certainly expertise in yoga: at the time of death, the wavering mind, abandoning the contemptible body, should be placed with bhakti on you who are nirguṇa.”

Read on →

prayujyamāne mayi tāṁ śuddhāṁ bhāgavatīṁ tanum

prayujyamāne mayi tāṁ śuddhāṁ bhāgavatīṁ tanum |
ārabdha-karma-nirvāṇo nyapatat pāñca-bhautikaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.6.29; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 11)

“[Nārada:] When that pure figure related to Bhagavān [i.e., the form of an associate (pārṣada) of Bhagavān] was being bestowed upon me, the body [made] of the five elements, the commenced (prārabdha) karma of which was exhausted, fell away.”

Read on →

Scroll to Top