Duḥkha

nāma-saṅkīrtanaṁ yasya sarva-pāpa-praṇāśanam

nāma-saṅkīrtanaṁ yasya sarva-pāpa-praṇāśanam |
praṇāmo duḥkha-śamanas taṁ namāmi hariṁ param ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.13.23)

“I offer obeisance unto him, Hari, the Supreme, the chanting of whose name destroys all sin, and offering obeisance unto whom quells all suffering.”

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duḥkhaṁ sukhaṁ vyatiriktaṁ ca tīvraṁ

duḥkhaṁ sukhaṁ vyatiriktaṁ ca tīvraṁ
kālopapannaṁ phalam āvyanakti |
āliṅgya māyā-racitāntarātmā
sva-dehinaṁ saṁsṛti-cakra-kūṭaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.11.6)

“The inner ātmā fabricated by māyā [i.e., the subtle body, the adjunct upon the pure jīva], the illusionist on the wheel of saṁsāra, embracing the bearer of its own body [i.e., the pure jīva], in full creates suffering, enjoyment, irregularity [i.e., bewilderment], and acute [i.e., unavoidable], time-borne results.”

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yo’hiṁsakāni bhūtāni hinasty ātma-sukhecchayā

yo’hiṁsakāni bhūtāni hinasty ātma-sukhecchayā |
sa jīvaṁś ca mṛtaś caiva na kvacit sukham edhate ||
(Manu Smṛti: 5.45)

“One who harms innocuous creatures out of a desire for one’s own pleasure never attains happiness in life or after death.”

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karmaṇā jāyate jantuḥ karmaṇeva vilīyate

karmaṇā jāyate jantuḥ karmaṇeva vilīyate |
sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ bhayaṁ kṣemaṁ karmaṇevābhipadyate ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha)

“A living being is born because of his karma and dies because of his karma. Happiness, distress, fear, and well-being [all] arise only because of karma.”

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sukhāya karmāṇi karoti loko

sukhāya karmāṇi karoti loko
na taiḥ sukhaṁ vānyad upāramaṁ vā |
vindeta bhūyas tata eva duḥkhaṁ
yad atra yuktaṁ bhagavān vaden naḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.5.2)

“People engage in karma in pursuit of happiness, but by that they attain neither happiness nor the cessation of its opposite [i.e., suffering]. Rather, they attain only more suffering. O illustrious sage, please explain what is befitting [for us to do] here [i.e., in this condition in saṁsāra].”

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karmaṇā manasā vācā parapīḍāṁ karoti yaḥ

karmaṇā manasā vācā parapīḍāṁ karoti yaḥ |
tad-bījaṁ janma phalati prabhūtaṁ tasya cāśubham ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 1827)

“He who harms others with his actions, mind, and speech—the seed produced by this [behavior] results in immense inauspiciousness for him.”

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pāpaṁ kurvan pāpakīrtiḥ pāpam evāśnute phalam

pāpaṁ kurvan pāpakīrtiḥ pāpam evāśnute phalam |
puṇyaṁ kurvan puṇyakīrtiḥ puṇyam evāśnute phalam ||
pāpaṁ prajñāṁ nāśayati kriyamāṇaṁ punaḥ punaḥ |
naṣṭa-prajñaḥ pāpam eva nityam ārabhate naraḥ ||
puṇyaṁ prajñāṁ vardhayati kriyamāṇaṁ punaḥ punaḥ |
vṛddha-prajñaḥ puṇyam eva nityam ārabhate naraḥ ||
asūyako dandaśūko niṣṭhuro vairakṛn naraḥ |
sa kṛcchraṁ mahad āpnoto nacirāt pāpam ācaran ||
anasūyaḥ kṛta-prajñaḥ śobhanāny ācaran sadā |
akṛcchrāt sukham āpnoti sarvatra ca virājate ||
(Mahābhārata: 5.35.51−6)

“By committing sin, a sinful person certainly receives the results of sin. By practicing piety, a pious person certainly receives the results of piety. Sin committed again and again destroys one’s intellect, and a person whose intellect is destroyed begins to commit sin continuously. Piety practiced again and again enhances one’s intellect, and a person of enhanced intellect starts to practice piety continuously. A persons who is envious, mordacious, cruel, and inimical, by committing sins, soon undergoes great difficulty. One who is non-envious and endowed with intellect, by always performing auspicious acts, attains happiness without difficulty and shines everywhere.”

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anityatve kṛta-matir mlāna-mālye na śocati

anityatve kṛta-matir mlāna-mālye na śocati |
nityatve kṛta-buddhis tu bhinna-bhāṇḍe’nuśocati ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha)

“When the mind is fixed regarding impermanence, it does not lament over [even] a withered garland. When the mind is fixed on permanence, however, it laments over [even] a broken pot.”

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puruṣa-prayojanaṁ tāvat sukha-prāptir duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca

puruṣa-prayojanaṁ tāvat sukha-prāptir duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca |
puruṣa-prayojanaṁ tāvat sukha-prāptir duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca | śrī-bhagavat-prītau tu sukhatvaṁ duḥkha-nivartakatvaṁ cātyantikam iti | etad uktaṁ bhavati—yat khalu parama-tattvaṁ śāstra-pratipādyatvena pūrvaṁ nirṇītaṁ, tad eva sad-ananta-paramānandatvena siddham | … nānā-svarūpa-dharmato’pi tasya kevalānanda-svarūpatvam eva ca darśitam | tathā-bhūta-mārtaṇḍādi-maṇḍalasya kevala-jyotiṣṭvavat |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 1)

“The aim (prayojana) of an embodied being (puruṣa), fundamentally, is the attainment of happiness and elimination of suffering, and only in prīti for Śrī Bhagavān are happiness and elimination of suffering absolute. Thus, this is said: only that Supreme Entity (Parama-tattva), who was ascertained previously [i.e., in the first four sandarbhas] as being the object to be taught by the śāstra, is established [by the śāstra] as being eternal, infinite, paramount bliss. … Although possessed of various inherent characteristics, his [i.e., that Supreme Entity’s] verily being of the nature of bliss alone is also shown [in śāstra, i.e., his fundamental nature, upon which all of his other attributes are based, is bliss (ānanda) alone], just as the sun, which has [within it] the there existent Mārtaṇḍa [i.e., the devatā Sūrya] and so forth [i.e., as well as Sūryadeva’s chariot, horses, etc.], is [fundamentally] of the nature of light alone.”

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