nāham ijyā-prajātibhyāṁ tapasopaśamena vā |
tuṣyeyaṁ sarva-bhūtātmā guru-śuśrūṣayā yathā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.80.34)
“I [Bhagavān], the Self of all beings, shall not be satisfied by sacrifice, higher birth [alt., procreation], austerity, or equilibrium as [I am] by service to the guru.”
jayati jayati kṛṣṇa-prema-bhaktir yad-aṅghriṁ
nikhila-nigama-tattvaṁ gūḍham ājñāya muktiḥ |
bhajati śaraṇa-kāmā vaiṣṇavais tyajyamānā
japa-yajana-tapasya-nyāsa-niṣṭhāṁ vihāya ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.1.8)
“Kṛṣṇa-prema-bhakti—
Whose foot
Mukti,
Being shunned by the Vaiṣṇavas
And [thus] desirous of shelter,
Worships
Having determined [it] to be the esoteric essence
Of all the Vedas
And utterly rejected perfection in japa, yajña, tapasya, and sannyāsa—
Triumphs!
Triumphs!”
yaśaḥ-śriyām eva pariśramaḥ paro
varṇāśramācāra-tapaḥ-śrutādiṣu |
avismṛtiḥ śrīdhara-pāda-padmayor
guṇānuvāda-śravaṇādarādibhiḥ ||
avismṛtiḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ
kṣiṇoty abhadrāṇi ca śaṁ tanoti |
sattvasya śuddhiṁ paramātma-bhaktiṁ
jñānaṁ ca vijñāna-virāga-yuktam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.12.54–55)
“Great endeavor in regard to the conduct of the varṇas and āśramas, austerity, learning, and so on is only for [worldly] wealth and fame. By hearing, honoring, and so forth narrations of [his] qualities, [however,] non-forgetfulness of Śrīdhara’s lotus feet comes about. Non-forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet dispels inauspiciousness and produces equanimity, purity of mind, bhakti to the Supreme Self, and knowledge accompanied by realization and non-attachment.”
gṛhaṁ vanaṁ vopaviśet pravrajed vā dvijottamaḥ |
āśramād āśramaṁ gacchen nānyathāmat-paraś caret ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.17.38)
“One [i.e., a brahmacārī who has graduated from guru-kula] should enter household life or the forest. Alternately, one who is foremost among the twice born should roam. One should go from āśrama to āśrama. One who is not devoted to me should not proceed otherwise.”
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].”
ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ |
svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.2.13)
“Therefore, O best of the twice-born, the highest accomplishment of dharma aptly performed by human beings in accord with the divisions of the varṇas and āśramas is the satisfaction of Hari.”
tāvat karmāṇi kurvīta na nirvidyeta yāvatā |
mat-kathā-śravaṇādau vā śraddhā yāvan na jāyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.20.9; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.553; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.247; Bhakti Sandarbha: 62, 106, 173; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.9.264, 2.22.61)
“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Uddhava:] One should perform karmas so long as one shall not become disinterested or so long as śraddhā in hearing and so forth of discussion about me does not manifest.”
mukha-bāhūru-pādebhyaḥ puruṣasyāśramaiḥ saha |
catvāro jajñire varṇā guṇair viprādayaḥ pṛthak ||
ya eṣāṁ puruṣaṁ sākṣād ātma-prabhavam īśvaram |
na bhajanty avajānanti sthānād bhraṣṭāḥ patanty adhaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.5.2; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 64, 97, 111, 115, 148)
“The four separate varṇas, brāhmaṇa and so forth, are born from the face, arms, thighs, and feet of the Puruṣa by means of the guṇas along with the [four] āśramas. Those [persons] among these [varṇas and āśramas] who do not worship and [thus] disrespect the Puruṣa himself, the Source of the self, Īśvara, become deviated from their position and fall down.”
ājñāyaivaṁ guṇān doṣān mayādiṣṭān api svakān |
dharmān santyajya yaḥ sarvān māṁ bhajet sa ca sattamaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.11.32; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.62; Bhakti Sandarbha: 200; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.8.62)
“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Uddhava:] Fully understanding qualities and faults in this manner, one who shall completely relinquish all one’s own dharmas even though [they are] instituted by me and worship me is also the best of the sat.”
anādi-pravṛtti-śīlānāṁ pravṛtti-saṅkocāya āśramāḥ śāstreṇa vihitāḥ | atas tad-vidhāne na tasya tātparyaṁ kintu tat-saṅkoca eva | tā hi brahma-rati-pratibandhikā bhavanti | ye tūpakṣīṇa-pravṛttayo brahmaika-ratās teṣāṁ na kiñcid āśramaiḥ phalam iti nairāśramyaṁ varīyaḥ |
(Govinda-bhāṣya on Vedānta-sūtra: 3.4.39)
“The āśramas [i.e., brahmacarya, gārhasthya, etc.] are enjoined by the śāstra for those possessed of a beginningless disposition towards active engagement (pravṛtti) [i.e., towards attached involvement in worldly affairs and experience of worldly objects] for the purpose of the diminution of that active engagement (pravṛtti). Thus, its [i.e., the śāstra’s] aim (tātparya) is not in enjoinment [alt., execution] of that [i.e., its aim is not to perpetuate attached engagement with the worldly (pravṛtti)] but [rather] only in the diminution of that [i.e., of pravṛtti] since those [i.e., the āśramas] become impediments to Brahma-rati [i.e., loving attachment to Bhagavān, when they not observed as a secondary, subordinate aspect of the pursuit of Brahma-rati, if at all]. For those who are attached only to Brahman and in whom active engagement (pravṛtti) has vanished, there is no gain whatsoever by means of [observance of] the āśramas. Thus, being without an āśrama is better [for them].”
