Jīva

labdhveha mānuṣīṁ yoniṁ

labdhveha mānuṣīṁ yoniṁ jñāna-vijñāna-sambhavām |
ātmānaṁ yo na buddhyeta na kvacit kṣemam āpnuyāt ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 6.16.58)

“Having attained a human form, which has the potential for jñāna [i.e., knowledge based on śāstra] and vijñāna [i.e., direct perception of reality], one who is not able to understand the ātmā [i.e., the jīva and the Parameśvara] cannot [alt., can never] attain weal anywhere [i.e., in any condition of human life, no matter how well endowed with wealth, power, etc.].”

Read on →

ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ śrotavyo mantavyo nididhyāsitavyo

ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ śrotavyo mantavyo nididhyāsitavyo maitreyy ātmano vā are darśanena śravaṇena matyā vijñānenedaṁ sarvaṁ viditam |
(Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: 2.4.5, 4.5.6; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 7)

“Truly, the Ātmā [alt., the ātmā] is to be seen, [that is,] to be heard about, to be contemplated, and to be deeply meditated upon. O Maitreyī, truly, by seeing, [that is,] by hearing, reflecting upon, and realizing the Ātmā, everything becomes known.”

Read on →

na vā are patyuḥ kāmāya patiḥ priyo bhavaty

na vā are patyuḥ kāmāya patiḥ priyo bhavaty ātmanas tu kāmāya patiḥ priyo bhavati | na vā are jāyāyai kāmāya jāyā priyā bhavaty ātmanas tu kāmāya jāyā priyā bhavati | na vā are putrāṇāṁ kāmāya putrāḥ priyā bhavanty ātmanas tu kāmāya putrāḥ priyā bhavanti | na vā are vittasya kāmāya vittaṁ priyaṁ bhavaty ātmanas tu kāmāya vittaṁ priyaṁ bhavati | na vā are brahmaṇaḥ kāmāya brahma priyaṁ bhavati, ātmanas tu kāmāya brahma priyaṁ bhavati | na vā are kṣatrasya kāmāya kṣatraṁ priyaṁ bhavaty ātmanas tu kāmāya kṣatraṁ priyaṁ bhavati | na vā are lokānāṁ kāmāya lokāḥ priyā bhavanty ātmanas tu kāmāya lokāḥ priyā bhavanti | na vā are devānāṁ kāmāya devāḥ priyā bhavanty ātmanas tu kāmāya devāḥ priyā bhavanti | na vā are bhūtānāṁ kāmāya bhūtāni priyāṇi bhavanty ātmanas tu kāmāya bhūtāni priyāṇi bhavanti | na vā are sarvasya kāmāya sarvaṁ priyaṁ bhavaty ātmanas tu kāmāya sarvaṁ priyaṁ bhavati | ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ śrotavyo mantavyo nididhyāsitavyo maitreyy ātmano vā are darśanena śravaṇena matyā vijñānenedaṁ sarvaṁ viditam |
(Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: 2.4.5; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 7)

“Truly, not for the sake of love for the husband is the husband dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā [alt., ātmā] the husband is dear. Truly, not for the sake of love for the wife is the wife dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā the wife is dear. Truly, not for the sake of love for sons are sons dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā sons are dear. Truly, not for the sake of love for wealth is wealth dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā wealth is dear. Truly, not for the sake of love for the brāhmaṇa is the brāhmaṇa dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā the brāhmaṇa is dear. Truly, not for the sake of love for the kṣatriya is the kṣatriya dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā the kṣatriya is dear. Truly, not for the sake of love for the worlds are the worlds dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā the worlds are dear. Truly, not for the sake of love for the devas are the devas dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā the devas are dear. Truly, not for the sake of love for living beings are living beings dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā living beings are dear. Truly, not for the sake of love for all are all dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā all are dear. Truly, the Ātmā is to be seen, [that is,] to be heard about, to be contemplated, and to be deeply meditated upon. O Maitreyī, truly, by seeing, [that is,] by hearing, reflecting upon, and realizing the Ātmā, everything becomes known.”

Read on →

yathā nabhasi meghaugho

yathā nabhasi meghaugho reṇur vā pārthivo’nile |
evaṁ draṣṭari dṛśyatvam āropitam abuddhibhiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.3.31)

“Like a mass of clouds to the sky or a particle of earth to the air, so the visible [i.e., the body] is attributed [i.e., taken to be] to the seer [i.e., the ātmā] by the unintelligent.”

Read on →

jīvera svabhāva kṛṣṇa-dāsa-abhimāna |

jīvera svabhāva—kṛṣṇa-dāsa-abhimāna |
dehe ātma-jñāne ācchādita sei jñāna ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.24.201)

“The identity of being a servant of Kṛṣṇa is the nature of the jīva. Such awareness is covered by identification with the body.”

Read on →

jīvera svarūpa haya kṛṣṇera nitya-dāsa

jīvera svarūpa haya—kṛṣṇera nitya-dāsa— |
kṛṣṇera taṭasthā-śakti—bhedābheda-prakāśa ||
sūryāṁśa-kiraṇa yaiche agni-jvālā-caya |
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.20.108–109)

“The jīva’s nature is [that of being] an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa’s intermediary potency (taṭasthā-śakti), and a manifestation [both] different and non-different [from Kṛṣṇa] like a particle-ray of the sun or sparks from a fire.”

Read on →

tvaṁ tu rājan mariṣyeti

tvaṁ tu rājan mariṣyeti paśu-buddhim imāṁ jahi |
na jātaḥ prāg abhūto’dya deha-vat tvaṁ na naṅkṣyasi ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.5.2)

[Śukadeva to Mahārāja Parīkṣit:] “O King, you should give up this animal mentality [of thinking], “I will die.” Like the body, you were not previously non-existent, are not [merely] presently manifest, and will not be destroyed [in the future].”

Read on →

ātmā na devo na naro

ātmā na devo na naro na tiryak sthāvaro na ca |
na deho nendriyaṁ naiva manaḥ prāṇo na nāpi dhīḥ ||
na jaḍo na vikārī ca jñāna-mātrātmako na ca |
svasmai svayaṁ-prakāśaḥ syād eka-rūpaḥ svarūpa-bhāk ||
cetano vyāpti-śīlaś ca cid-ānandātmakas tathā |
aham-arthaḥ prati-kṣetraṁ bhinno’ṇur nitya-nirmalaḥ ||
tathā jñātṛtva-kartṛtva-bhoktṛtva-nija-dharmakaḥ |
paramātmaika-śeṣatva-svabhāvaḥ sarvadā svataḥ ||
(Jāmātṛ Muni; cited in Paramātma Sandarbha: 19)

“The ātma is neither a deva, nor a human, nor an animal, nor a stationary being [i.e., plant, rock, etc.], nor the body, nor the senses, nor the mind, nor the prāṇa, nor the intellect, nor inert, nor transformable, nor of the nature of only awareness [i.e., nor lacking the capacity to know]. The ātma is self-luminous to its own self, of one form, situated in its own nature, conscious, pervasive [of the body], of the nature of consciousness (cit) and bliss (ānanda), the referent of ‘I’, distinct from every [other] field [i.e., entity], atomic, eternal, pure, endowed with its own knowership, doership, and perceivership, and always by its own nature a singular subsidiary of the Paramātmā.”

Read on →

jñānāśrayo jñāna-guṇaś

jñānāśrayo jñāna-guṇaś cetanaḥ prakṛteḥ paraḥ |
na jāto nirvikāraś ca eka-rūpaḥ svarūpa-bhāk ||
aṇur nityo vyāpti-śīlaś cid-ānandātmakas tathā |
aham artho’vyayaḥ kṣetrī bhinna-rūpaḥ sanātanaḥ ||
adāhyo’cchedya akledya aśoṣyo’kṣara eva ca |
evam ādi-guṇair yuktaḥ śeṣa-bhūtaḥ parasya vai ||
ma-kāreṇocyate jīvaḥ kṣetrajñaḥ paravān sadā |
dāsa-bhūto harer eva nānyasyaiva kadācana |
(Padma-purāṇa: Uttara-khaṇḍa, 226.34–37)

“The jīva is the bearer of awareness (jñāna), endowed with the quality of awareness, conscious, beyond material energy (prakṛti), unborn, untransformable, of one form, situated in its own nature, atomic, eternal, pervasive [of the body], of the nature of consciousness (cit) and bliss (ānanda), the referent of‘I’, undecaying, the bearer of the field [i.e., the body], of distinct form [i.e., an individual distinct from all others], never-ending, unburnable, indivisible, unmoistenable, undriable, imperishable, endowed with other attributes, by nature a subsidiary of the Paramātmā, referred to by the letter m [within Om], the knower of the field [i.e., the body] (kṣetrajñā), ever dependent, and a servant of Hari alone and never of anyone else.”

Read on →

ātmā nityo’vyayaḥ śuddha

ātmā nityo’vyayaḥ śuddha ekaḥ kṣetra-jña āśrayaḥ |
avikriyaḥ sva-dṛg hetur vyāpako’saṅgy anāvṛtaḥ ||
etair dvādaśabhir vidvān ātmano lakṣaṇaiḥ paraiḥ |
ahaṁ mamety asad-bhāvaṁ dehādau mohajaṁ tyajet ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.7.19–20; cited in Paramātma Sandarbha: 46)

“The ātmā is eternal [i.e. indestructible], undiminishing, pure, one [i.e., singular, not an aggregate like the body], the knower of the field [i.e., endowed with capacity for awareness], the shelter [i.e., the shelter of the senses and other faculties, such as the manas and buddhi], immutable, self-witnessing [i.e., self-luminous to its own self], the cause [i.e., the cause of the universe’s emanation], pervasive [i.e., pervasive of the body], unattached, and without any covering. By means of these twelve distinguishing characteristics of the ātmā, a learned person should give up the false notions of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ related to the body and so forth [i.e., the body’s paraphernalia], which are products of delusion.”

Read on →

Scroll to Top