rāga-dveṣa-vimuktais tu viṣayān indriyaiś caran |
ātma-vaśyair vidheyātmā prasādam adhigacchati ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 2.64)
“Perceiving objects of the senses
With senses freed from attachment and aversion
And subdued by the mind,
One of controlled mind attains peace.”
tan niśamyātha munayo vismitā mukta-saṁśayāḥ |
bhūyāṁsaṁ śraddadhur viṣṇuṁ yataḥ śāntir yato’bhayam ||
dharmaḥ sākṣād yato jñānaṁ vairāgyaṁ ca tad-anvitam |
aiśvaryaṁ cāṣṭadhā yasmād yaśaś cātma-malāpaham ||
munīnāṁ nyasta-daṇḍānāṁ śāntānāṁ sama-cetasām |
akiñcanānāṁ sādhūnāṁ yam āhuḥ paramāṁ gatim ||
sattvaṁ yasya priyā mūrtir brāhmaṇās tv iṣṭa-devatāḥ |
bhajanty anāśiṣaḥ śāntā yaṁ vā nipuṇa-buddhayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.89.14–17)
“Then, hearing that [i.e., Bhṛgu’s account of his meetings with Brahmā, Śiva, and Viṣṇu], the sages became amazed, freed from doubt, and possessed of immense śraddhā in Viṣṇu, from whom comes peace; from whom comes fearlessness; from whom comes direct dharma, [direct] knowledge (jñāna), and non-attachment (vairāgya) following that; from whom comes eightfold metaphysical power, glory, and removal of the impurities in the psyche; whom they [i.e., the wise] call the ultimate refuge of the sages, of those who have laid down the staff, of the tranquil, and of the equanimous—the divested, the sādhus; whose dear form is Existence [i.e., Brahman]; [whose] iṣṭa-devatās are the brāhmaṇas; and whom those who are desireless, tranquil, and of sharp intellect worship.”
dviṣataḥ para-kāye māṁ mānino bhinna-darśinaḥ |
bhūteṣu baddha-vairasya na manaḥ śāntim ṛcchati ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.29.23; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 106)
[Kapiladeva:] “The mind of one who is inimical towards me in another’s body, [that is,] of disunited vision, [thus] conceited, and [thus] bound by enmity towards [other] beings, does not attain peace.”
svabhāvo dustyajo nātha lokānāṁ yad asad-grahaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.16.56)
“O Lord, people’s svabhāva (nature), which is that of clinging to the unreal [alt., to evil], is difficult to give up.”
asmin karmādhikāriṇi manuṣya-loke dvivdhau bhūta-sargau manuṣya-sṛṣṭī bhavataḥ | yadāyaṁ manuṣya-loke śāstrāt svābhāvikau rāga-dveṣau vinirdhūya śāstrīyārthānuṣṭhāyī tadā daivaḥ | yadā śāstram utsṛjya svābhāvika-rāga-dveṣādhīno’śāstrīyān dharmān ācarati, tadā tv āsuraḥ |
(Gītā-bhūṣaṇa-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 16.6)
“In this world of human beings governed by karma, the elementary nature of emanated human beings is twofold. When in the world of human beings one on account of the śāstra shakes off the attachment (rāga) and aversion (dveṣa) belonging to one’s acquired disposition (svabhāva), and acts in accord with the aim of the śāstra, then one is daiva [i.e., of godly nature]. When one is controlled by the attachment (rāga) and aversion (dveṣa) belonging to one’s acquired disposition (svabhāva), rejects the śāstra, and observes practices that are non-śāstric [i.e., contrary to the teaching of the śāstra], then one is āsura [i.e., of ungodly nature].”
śāstraṁ hy abuddhvā tattvena kecid vāda-balāj janāḥ |
kāma-dveṣābhibhūtatvād ahaṅkāra-vaśaṁ gatāḥ ||
yāthātathyam avijñāya śāstrāṇāṁ śāstra-dasyavaḥ |
brahma-stenā nirārambhā dambha-moha-vaśānugāḥ ||
(Mahābhārata: Śānti-parva, 269.53)
“Not understanding śāstra accurately, some persons become captivated by arrogance (ahaṅkāra) on account of being overcome by desire or enmity on the strength of argument. Without knowing the truth of the śāstras, the robbers of the śāstras—thieves of Brahman—controlled by deceit and delusion, remain without undertaking [i.e., they do not take up the practices taught in the śāstras beginning with equanimity and so on].”
yadā na kurute bhāvaṁ sarva-bhūteṣv amaṅgalam |
sama-dṛṣṭes tadā puṁsaḥ sarvāḥ sukhamayā diśaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.19.15)
“When a person does not foster an attitude of inauspiciousness towards all living beings, then, because of [one’s] equal vision, all directions are filled with happiness.”
indriyasyendriyasyārthe rāga-dveṣau vyavasthitau |
tayor na vaśam āgacchet tau hy asya paripanthinau ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 3.34)
“Attraction (rāga) and aversion (dveṣa) to an object of each sense is firmly established [i.e., bound to occur]. One should not come under the control of these since they are one’s obstructions.”
sukhānuśayī rāgaḥ | duḥkhānuśayī dveṣaḥ |
(Yoga-sūtra: 2.7–8)
“Rāga [i.e., attachment] is that which closely follows pleasure. Dveṣa [i.e., aversion] is that which closely follows suffering.”
aloka-sāmānyam acintya-hetukaṁ
dviṣanti mandāś caritaṁ mahātmanām ||
(Kumāra-sambhava: 5.75)
“Fools deride the character of great souls because it is extraordinary and its cause is incomprehensible [to them].”
