Jīva

na karmāvibhāgād iti cen nānāditvāt

na karmāvibhāgād iti cen nānāditvāt |
(Vedānta-sūtra: 2.1.35)

“‘No, [Brahman cannot be said to be free from partiality or cruelty just by making reference to karma] because of the non-distinction of karma [from Brahman prior to the emanation of the universe].’ If this [objection is raised], [then to that it is said] no, [karma is not simply undivided prior to the emanation of the universe] because of [karma’s] being beginningless [i.e., because of karma’s becoming recurrently distinguished from Brahman in each successive emanation of the universe in accord with its state at the end of each previous emanation of the universe in a perpetual cycle without beginning].”

Read on →

anena jīvenātmanā’ iti tadīyoktāv idantā-nirdeśena tato

‘anena jīvenātmanā’ iti tadīyoktāv idantā-nirdeśena tato bhinnatve’py ātmatā-nirdeśena tad-ātmāṁśa-viśeṣatvena labdhasya bādarāyaṇa-samādhi-dṛṣṭa-yukter atyabhinnatā-rahitasya jīvātmano yad ekatvaṁ ‘tat tvam asi’ ity ādau jñātā, tad-aṁśa-bhūta-cid-rūpatvena samānākāratā | … yathā janma-prabhṛti kaścid gṛha-guhāvaruddhaḥ sūryaṁ vividiṣuḥ kathañcid gavākṣa-patitaṁ sūryāṁśu-kaṇaṁ darśayitvā kenacid upadiśyate ‘eṣa saḥ’ iti | etat tad-aṁśa-jyotiḥ-samānākāratayā tan-mahā-jyotir-maṇḍalam anusandhīyatām ity arthaḥ, tadvaj jīvasya tathā tad-aṁśatvaṁ ca tac-chakti-viśeṣa-siddhatvenaiva paramātma-sandarbhe sthāpayiṣyāmaḥ |
(Tattva Sandarbha: 52)

“The oneness (ekatva) [with the Para-tattva] which is known [from the statement in Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.8.7], ‘You are that’ (tat tvam asi) of the jīvātma, who is not possessed of extreme non-distinctness (atyabhinnatā) [from the Para-tattva] as per the reason seen in the samādhi of Bādarāyaṇa [i.e., Śrī Vyāsadeva in SB 1.7.5] and [who] is apprehended as being a particular part (aṁśa) of his [i.e., the Para-tattva’s] self (ātmā) as per the designation of selfness (ātmatā) [in regard to the jīvātmā on the part of the Para-tattva] even while being distinct from him [i.e., from the Para-tattva] as per the designation of ‘this-ness’ (idantā) [in regard to the jīvātmā] in the statement [in Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.3.2] of his [i.e., of the Para-tattva], ‘Entering [the realm of prakṛti] with this jīva-self (ātmā) [i.e., with this distinct entity known as the jīva who is a part of my self], I shall manifest names and forms,’ is being of the same constitution [lit., ‘form’] (samānākāratā) on account of [the jīvātmā’s] being an entity the form of which is consciousness that is an existent part (aṁśa) of him [i.e., of the Para-tattva; meaning, the oneness of the jīva with the Para-tattva is on account of the jīva being a part (aṁśa) of the Para-tattva that is conscious in constitution just as the Para-tattva is]. … As someone confined, beginning from birth, within a cavern in a house who wishes to know the sun, after having been shown a particle-ray of the sun that has somehow fallen through an air hole [into the cavern], is instructed by someone, ‘This is that [i.e., ‘This light you see here is the sun’], meaning, ‘Because of this [i.e., this sun-ray that you have seen] having the same constitution of light [as the sun] on account of [its] being a part (aṁśa) of that [i.e., of the sun], a vast orb of that light is to be conceived [i.e., you can acquire an understanding of what the sun is by imagining a vast orb made up of a huge number of the rays of light you see here], so [i.e., in a manner akin to the aforementioned method of instruction] we shall establish in Paramātma Sandarbha (18–46) the jīva’s similarly being a part (aṁśa) of him [i.e., of the Para-tattva] on account of [the jīva’s] being existent (siddha) as a particular śakti of his.”

Read on →

sa yad ajayā tv ajām anuśayīta guṇāṁś ca juṣan

sa yad ajayā tv ajām anuśayīta guṇāṁś ca juṣan
bhajati sarūpatāṁ tad anu mṛtyum apeta-bhagaḥ |
tvam uta jahāsi tām ahir iva tvacam ātta-bhago
mahasi mahīyase’ṣṭa-guṇite’parimeya-bhagaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.38; cited in Bhagavat Sandarbha: 24; Paramātma Sandarbha: 39)

“Since he [i.e., the jīva], however, can lie down with the unborn [i.e., ignorance (avidyā) on account of the unborn (ajayā) [i.e., māyā], he partakes of the qualities [of the unborn] and thereafter of likeness [to those qualities of the unborn], becomes deprived of fortune (apeta-bhagaḥ), and undergoes death [i.e., saṁsāra]. You, on the contrary, shun her [i.e., the unborn, i.e., māyā], like a serpent [its] skin, and, being possessed of fortune, are exalted in [your own] eightfold greatness, being of immeasurable fortune.”

Read on →

śrutau ca jīvo nāmāto’nyaḥ svayaṁ siddho nāsti

śrutau ca jīvo nāmāto’nyaḥ svayaṁ siddho nāsti, parantu tad-ātmaka evety arthaḥ |
(Bhagavat Sandarbha: 19)

“In the Śruti also [i.e., in the statement in Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: 3.7.23, ‘There is no seer other than him [i.e., than the Para-tattva]’ (nānyo’to’sti draṣṭā), it is shown that], the jīva definitively is not another [entity] self-existent (svayaṁ siddha) apart from him, and rather, is verily constituted of him. This is the meaning.”

Read on →

nṛṣu tava māyayā bhramam amīṣv avagatya bhṛśaṁ

nṛṣu tava māyayā bhramam amīṣv avagatya bhṛśaṁ
tvayi sudhiyo’bhave dadhati bhāvam anuprabhavam |
katham anuvartatāṁ bhava-bhayaṁ tava yad bhrū-kuṭiḥ
sṛjati muhus trinemir abhavac-charaṇeṣu bhayam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.32)

[Translated according to Śrī Śrīdhara Svāmīpāda’s commentary:] “Understanding the ignorance as a consequence of your māyā among these human beings wherefrom repeated birth ensues, the wise foster bhāva [i.e., render service] profusely for you, Non-existence [i.e., you who are the cause of liberation from material existence]. How could your followers have any distress on account of [material] existence, since the furrowing of your brows—time (trinemi)—creates distress perpetually for those who are not in your shelter?”

Read on →

saty api bhedāpagame nātha tavāhaṁ na māmakīnas tvam

saty api bhedāpagame nātha tavāhaṁ na māmakīnas tvam |
sāmudro hi taraṅgaḥ kvacana samudro na tāraṅgaḥ ||
(Śrī Śaṅkarācārya’s Viṣṇu-ṣaṭpadī-stotram: 3; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 8.419; Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmārta: 2.2.196)

“Even once the cessation of distinction (bheda) [between you and I] occurs, O Nātha, I am yours, [but] you are not mine. A wave certainly belongs to the ocean, [but] nowhere does the ocean belong to a wave.”

Read on →

tad-aṁśatvāt tad-abhinnatvena tadīyatvena vā svātmānaṁ vijānīyād

tad-aṁśatvāt tad-abhinnatvena tadīyatvena vā svātmānaṁ vijānīyād ity arthaḥ | evaṁ ca sati so’ham iti—saḥ śrī-bhagavad-aṁśaḥ śuddha-buddha-mukta-svabhāvo’ham; yad vā, tad-aṁśatvena tad-adhīno nitya-sevako’smīty arthaḥ |
(Excerpt from the Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 5.65)

“One should understand one’s self (ātmā) as being non-different from him [i.e., Paramātmā] or as being his own, on account of [the ātmā’s] being a part (aṁśa) of him. This is the meaning [of the aforementioned bhūta-śuddhi meditation]. Since this is such, ‘I am he’ (so’ham) means, ‘I, who am of pure, conscious, and liberated nature, am he, meaning, [I am] a part (aṁśa) of Śrī Bhagavān,’ or alternately, ‘because of [my] being a part of him, I am dependent on him and an eternal servant [of him].’”

Read on →

atha svārpaṇa-vidhiḥ

atha svārpaṇa-vidhiḥ—
ahaṁ bhagavato’ṁśo’smi sadā dāso’smi sarvathā |
tat-kṛpāpekṣako nityam ity ātmānaṁ samarpayet ||
(Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 8.418)

“Now, the method of offering the self [is explained; one should meditate]: ‘I am a part of Bhagavān. I am forever a servant [of him] in all respects. I am always a seeker of his grace.’ In this way, one should fully offer oneself.”

Read on →

Bhārata Sāvitrī

Bhārata Sāvitrī

Śrī Vedavyāsa’s final message to humanity in Mahābhārata.

Excerpted from the Svargārohana Parva, 5.47–51.

Read on →

Scroll to Top