kurvann api vyalīkāni yaḥ priyaḥ priya eva saḥ |
aśeṣa-doṣa-duṣṭo’pi kāyaḥ kasya na vallabhaḥ ||
(Hitopadeśa: 2.132; Samayocita-padya-ratna-mālikā)
“Even after committing wrongs, one who is dear certainly remains dear. Even though it is culpable of endless faults, for whom is the body not beloved?”
kim ātmanānena jahāti yo’ntataḥ
kiṁ riktha-hāraiḥ svajanākhya-dasyubhiḥ |
kiṁ jāyayā saṁsṛti-hetu-bhūtayā
martyasya gehaiḥ kim ihāyuṣo vyayaḥ ||
itthaṁ sa niścitya pitāmaho mahān
agādha-bodho bhavataḥ pāda-padmam |
dhruvaṁ prapede hy akutobhayaṁ janād
bhītaḥ svapakṣa-kṣapaṇasya sattama ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.22.9–10)
[Bali Mahārāja explains to Vāmanadeva why Prahlāda Mahārāja took shelter in him:] “‘What good is this body, which leaves one in the end? What good are the bandits known as kinsmen, who steal away one’s wealth? What good is a wife, who is a cause of saṁsāra? And what good are houses, wherein there is [only] the loss of a mortal’s life?’ Thus resolved and wary of the world, that great grandfather [of mine], of unfathomable understanding, took shelter in your unwavering lotus feet, because of which there can be no fear whatsoever, even though you were the destroyer of his own dynasty, O Best of the virtuous!”
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.”
āyuḥ-sattva-balārogya-sukha-prīti-vivardhanāḥ |
rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛdyā āhārāḥ sāttvika-priyāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 17.8)
“Foods that increase longevity, energy [alt., mental steadiness], [physical] strength, health [lit., freedom from disease], satisfaction [alt., peace of mind], and delight, and which are tasty, succulent, wholesome [alt., substantial], and pleasant [alt., nourishing], are dear to sāttvic persons.”
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.”
sopāna-bhūtaṁ mokṣasya mānuṣyaṁ prāpya durlabham |
yas tārayati nātmānaṁ tasmāt pāpa-tarotra kaḥ ||
tataś cāpy uttamaṁ janma labdhvā cendriya-sauṣṭhavam |
na vettātma-hitaṁ yas tu sa bhavet ātma-ghātakaḥ ||
vinā dehena kasyāpi puruṣārtho na vidyate |
tasmād deha-dhanaṁ prāpya puṇya-karmāṇi sādhayet ||
rakṣet sarvātmanātmānam ātmā sarvasya bhājanam |
rakṣaṇe yatnam ātiṣṭhet yāvat tattvaṁ na paśyati ||
(Kulārṇava Tantra: Ullāsa 1, 16–19)
“So, who is a greater sinner in this world than one who receives this rare to attain human form which is the ladder to liberation but does not deliver oneself? Moreover, one who attains this topmost birth along with the excellence of its [i.e., human] senses but does not know one’s own good is a destroyer of one’s own self. Without a [human] body, no one’s puruṣārthas are attained. Therefore, having received the fortune of this body, one should perform auspicious acts. One should protect oneself in all respects, as the self [i.e., body] is the vessel for everything. One should take care in protecting [one’s body] until one sees the truth.”
api kriyārthaṁ sulabhaṁ samit-kuśaṁ
jalāny api snāna-vidhi kṣamāṇi te |
api sva-śaktyā tapasi vartase
śarīram ādyaṁ khalu dharma-sādhanam ||
(Kumāra-sambhavam: 5.33; cited in Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 2016)
[Śiva in the form of a young boy asks Pārvatī the following questions as she is performing ongoing penance to attain Śiva as her husband:] “Are samit and kuśa for your rites easy for you to obtain? Do you have suitable water for your regular baths? Are you engaging in austerities according to your ability? The body, indeed, is the primary means of [following] dharma.”
nara-tanu bhajanera mūla |
(Prema-bhakti-candrikā: 106)
“The human body is the basis of bhajana.”
śarīropacayaḥ kāntir gātrāṇāṁ suvibhaktatā |
dīptāgnitvam anālasyaṁ sthiratvaṁ lāghavaṁ mṛjā ||
śrama-klama-pipāsoṣṇa-śītādīnāṁ sāhiṣṇutā |
ārogyaṁ cāpi paramaṁ vyāyāmād upajāyate ||
(Suśruta-saṁhitā: Cikitsā-sthāna, 4.39-40)
“Development of the body, luster, a well-proportioned figure, good digestion, an absence of lethargy, steadiness, lightness, pure skin, tolerance of the fatigue of exertion, thirst, heat, cold, and so on, and full freedom from disease [all] arise from exercise.”
ātmānaṁ ced vijānīyāt paraṁ jñāna-dhutāśayaḥ |
kim icchan kasya vā hetor dehaṁ puṣṇāti lampaṭaḥ |
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.15.40; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.6.314)
“If one whose inclinations [i.e., vāsanās] have been cast away by knowledge can understand the ātmā [i.e., self] to be distinct [from the body], then desiring what, or, for what reason, does one [then] covetously nourish the body? [i.e., the only reason could be that a person’s vāsanās have not actually be cast away, and under their influence the person hankers to satisfy the tongue, genitals, and so on.]”
