āhāra-śuddhau sattva-śuddhiḥ, sattva-śuddhau dhruvā smṛtiḥ, smṛti-lambhe sarva-granthīnāṁ vipramokṣaḥ |
(Chāndogya Upaniṣad: 7.26.2)
“When there is purity of food, there is purity of mind. When there is purity of mind, there is steadfast remembrance. When there is retention of remembrance, there is definitive and complete release from all entanglements.”
vikrīḍitaṁ vraja-vadhūbhir idaṁ ca viṣṇoḥ
śraddhānvito’nuśṛṇuyād atha varṇayed yaḥ |
bhaktiṁ parāṁ bhagavati pratilabhya kāmaṁ
hṛd-rogam āśv apahinoty acireṇa dhīraḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.33.39)
“One endowed with śraddhā who shall hear about or describe this extraordinary play and so forth of Viṣṇu with the ladies of Vraja attains superlative bhakti to Bhagavān, quickly casts off the heart disease of kāma, and without delay becomes steadfast.”
mano hi dvi-vidhaṁ proktaṁ śuddhaṁ cāśuddham eva ca |
aśuddhaṁ kāma-samparkāt śuddhaṁ kāma-vivarjitam ||
(Maitrāyaṇīya Upaniṣad: 6.34.6)
“The mind is said to be of two types: pure and impure. It is impure because of association with kāma, and pure when completely purged of kāma.”
oṁ athāśvalāyano bhagavantaṁ
parameṣṭhinam upasametyocāva |
adhīhi bhagavan brahma-vidyāṁ variṣṭhāṁ
sadā sadbhiḥ sevyamānāṁ nigūḍhām |
yathācirāt sarva-pāpaṁ vyapohya
parātparaṁ puruṣaṁ yāti vidvān ||1||
tasmai sa hovāca pitāmahaś ca
śraddhā-bhakti-dhyāna-yogād avaihi ||2||
na karmaṇā na prajayā dhanena
tyāgenaike amṛtatvam ānaśuḥ |
pareṇa nākaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ
vibhrājate yad yatayo viśanti ||3||
vedānta-vijñāna-suniścitārthāḥ
sannyāsa-yogād yatayaḥ śuddha-sattvāḥ |
te brahmalokeṣu parānta-kāle
parāmṛtāḥ parimucyanti sarve ||4||
(Kaivalya Upaniṣad: 1–4; Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad: 3.2.6)
“Om. Now, Āśvalāyana approached illustrious Brahmā and said, ‘O illustrious One, please teach me Brahmā-vidyā, which is most excellent [among all types of knowledge], ever-adhered to by the sādhus, and secret, and by which the wise soon become absolved of all sin and attain the Supreme Puruṣa,’ and to him [i.e., to Āśvalāyana], the Grandsire [i.e., Lord Brahmā] verily spoke, ‘You can realize [the Brahma-vidyā you wish to attain] through the practices of śraddhā, bhakti, and meditation. Neither by karma, nor by progeny or wealth, but only by renunciation can you attain immortality, which is beyond heaven and shines hidden in the cave [i.e., heart]. Ascetics [lit., those who strive (for it)] enter it. Completely determined upon the object of realization established by Vedānta and of purified nature by virtue of practice of sannyāsa, the ascetics in the planes of Brahmā [i.e., in the various planes through the material universe] at the time of the final end [i.e., at the time of the dissolution of the material universe] overcome death and become completely liberated [from entanglement in saṁsāra, i.e., they realize Brahman].”
śuddha-bhaktimatāṁ svata eva śuddhāntaḥ-karaṇatvāt prāṇi-mātrāvajñā prāyo na sambhavet | karma-miśra-bhaktimatāṁ tu sā sambhaved eva yāvad antaḥ-karaṇasyāśuddhiḥ, tasya śuddhau satyāṁ tu sā na tiṣṭhet … |
(Excerpt from the Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭikā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.29.25)
“Because the antaḥkaraṇas of those engaged in pure bhakti are pure of their own accord, disrespecting any living being is generally not possible [for them]. For those engaged in karma-miśra-bhakti, however, this [i.e., disrespecting others] is certainly possible as long as impurity of the antaḥkaraṇa remains. When it becomes pure, however, this [i.e., disrespecting others] does not remain.”
pibanti ye bhagavata ātmanaḥ satāṁ
kathāmṛtaṁ śravaṇa-puṭeṣu sambhṛtam |
punanti te viṣaya-vidūṣitāśayaṁ
vrajanti tac-caraṇa-saroruhāntikam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.2.37; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.441; Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.3.124; Paramātma Sandarbha: 108; Bhakti Sandarbha: 30, 86)
“Those who drink, held in the cups of their ears, the nectar of kathā about Bhagavān, the Ātmā of the sādhus, purify their hearts contaminated by viṣaya and reach the presence of his lotus feet.”
vidyā-tapaḥ-prāṇa-nirodha-maitrī-
tīrthābhiṣeka-vrata-dāna-japyaiḥ |
nātyanta-śuddhiṁ labhate’ntar-ātmā
yathā hṛdi-sthe bhagavaty anante ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.3.48)
“The inner self does not attain such great purification by learning [i.e., worship of the devatās], austerity, prāṇāyāma, good will, bathing at tīrthas, rites, charity, or japa as [its does] when Bhagavān Ananta is situated in the heart.”
yathā hemni sthito vahnir durvarṇaṁ hanti dhātu-jam |
evam ātma-gato viṣṇur yoginām aśubhāśayam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.3.47)
“As fire set upon gold removes discoloration caused by metals, so Viṣṇu situated in the mind [removes] the inauspicious thoughts of yogīs.”
śrutaḥ saṅkīrtito dhyātaḥ pūjitaś cādṛto’pi vā |
nṛṇāṁ dhunoti bhagavān hṛt-stho janmāyatāśubham ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.3.46)
“When heard about, highly praised, meditated upon, worshipped, or even honored, Bhagavān, situated in the heart, removes ten-thousand births of human beings’ inauspiciousness.”
puṁsāṁ kali-kṛtāṁ doṣān dravya-deśātma-sambhavān |
sarvān harati citta-stho bhagavān puruṣottamaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.3.45)
“Bhagavān, Puruṣottama, situated in the citta, removes from people all the faults created by Kali existing amid objects, places, and the self.”
