bodho’nya-sādhanebhyo hi sākṣān mokṣaika-sādhanam |
pākasya vahnivaj jñānaṁ vinā mokṣo na sidhyati ||
(Ātma-bodha: 2)
“In comparison to other means (sādhanas), certainly understanding is directly the sole means to mokṣa. Mokṣa is not attained without knowledge, which is like fire for cooking [i.e., as cooking cannot be accomplished without fire, so mokṣa cannot be attained without knowledge].”
vittir viraktiś ca kṛtāñjaliḥ puro
yasyāḥ parānanda-tanor vitiṣṭhate |
siddhiś ca sevā-samayaṁ pratīkṣate
bhaktiḥ pareśasya punātu sā jagat ||
(Govinda-bhāṣya on Vedānta-sūtra: 3.2.1)
“May bhakti to the Supreme Īśa—
She possessed of a form of supreme bliss
Before whom Knowledge and Non-attachment
Stand with cupped-palms
And Siddhi awaits an occasion for service—
Purify the universe.”
na vinā sādhanair devo jñāna-vairāgya-bhaktibhiḥ |
dadāti sva-padaṁ śrīmān atas tāni budhaḥ śrayet ||
(Govinda-bhāṣya on Vedānta-sūtra: 3.1.1)
“Without the means (sādhanas) of knowledge (jñāna), non-attachment (vairāgya), and devotion (bhakti), blessed Deva does not grant his own abode [alt., his feet, to anyone]. Therefore, the wise shall take shelter in those [i.e., in the sādhanas of jñāna, vairāgya, and bhakti].”
nāsac-chāstreṣu sajjeta nopajīveta jīvikām |
vādavādāṁs tyajet tarkān pakṣaṁ kañca na saṁśrayet ||
na śiṣyān anubadhnīta granthān naivābhyased bahūn |
na vyākhyām upayuñjīta nārambhān ārabhet kvacit ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.13.7–8; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.113)
“[Śrī Nārada to Śrī Yudhiṣṭhira regarding rules for a sannyāsī:] One should not foster attachment to texts related to the unreal (asat-śāstra), one should not subsist on a vocation, one should avoid arguments based on assertions regarding propositions, and one should not take any particular side [in such arguments]. One should not be followed by [many] disciples, one should not study many texts, one should not engage in teaching [many texts], and one should never start undertakings.”
bhaktyāham ekayā grāhyaḥ śraddhayātmā priyaḥ satām |
bhaktiḥ punāti man-niṣṭhā śvapākān api sambhavāt ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.21; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.602; Bhakti Sandarbha: 147, 241; Prīti Sandarbha: 1; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.20.135)
“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] I, the Self—the Beloved—of the sat, am attainable by means of one-pointed bhakti with śraddhā. Bhakti fixed upon me purifies even dog-cookers of their birth.”
na sādhayati māṁ yogo na sāṅkhyaṁ dharma uddhava |
na svādhyāyas tapas tyāgo yathā bhaktir mamorjitā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.20; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.601; Bhakti Sandarbha: 78, 103, 147, 327; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.20.134)
“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] O Uddhava, neither yoga, nor sāṅkhya, nor dharma, nor study, nor austerity, nor renunciation cause attainment of me like powerful bhakti to me [does].”
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?”
asmil̐ loke vartamānaḥ svadharmastho’naghaḥ śuciḥ |
jñānaṁ viśuddham āpnoti mad-bhaktiṁ vā yadṛcchayā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.20.11)
“While existing in this world, one who is situated in one’s own dharma, sinless, and pure attains pure jñāna, or, bhakti to me independently.”
naiṣkarmyam apy acyuta-bhāva-varjitaṁ
na śobhate jñānam alaṁ nirañjanam |
kutaḥ punaḥ śaśvad abhadram īśvare
na cārpitaṁ karma yad apy akāraṇam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.5.12; cited in Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.554; Bhagavat Sandarbha: 70, Bhakti Sandarbha: 3, 5, 23, 115, 116, 217; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.19)
“[Śrī Nārada to Śrī Vyāsa:] Even untainting jñāna of Brahman (naiṣkarmya) [when] devoid of bhāva for Acyuta does not shine greatly [i.e., does not lead to direct experience of Brahman], so how much less so does ever-inauspicious karma not offered to Īśvara, even which [i.e., when it] is causeless?”
tat karma yan na bandhāya sā vidyā yā vimuktaye |
āyāsāyāparaṁ karma vidyānyā śilpa-naipuṇam ||
(Viṣṇu Purāṇa: 1.19.41)
“[Prahlāda Mahārāja to Hiraṇyakaśipu:] Action is that which does not lead to bondage. Knowledge is that which leads to liberation [from bondage]. Action otherwise leads to hardship, and knowledge otherwise is [mere] proficiency in a craft.”
