brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham amṛtasyāvyayasya ca |
śāśvatasya ca dharmasya sukhasyaikāntikasya ca ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 14.27)
“Since I am the basis of Brahman, of the imperishable nectar, of the eternal dharma, and of the bliss of the one-pointed.”
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?”
tasmād bhārata sarvātmā bhagavān īśvaro hariḥ |
śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca smartavyaś cechatābhayam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.1.5; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.7; Bhakti Sandarbha: 25, 125; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.110)
“[Śukadeva Gosvāmī to Mahārāja Parīkṣit:] O descendant of Bharata! The Self of all, Bhagavān, Īśvara, Hari, is to be heard about, to be praised, and to be remembered by one desirous of fearlessness.”
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.”
naikātmatāṁ me spṛhayanti kecin
mat-pāda-sevābhiratā mad-īhāḥ |
ye’nyonyato bhāgavatāḥ prasajya
sabhājayante mama pauruṣāṇi ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.25.34; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.440; Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.43 ; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.27; Bhakti Sandarbha: 340; Prīti Sandarbha: 21, 51, 73)
“Some bhāgavatas, who are deeply engaged in service to my feet, whose actions are for me, and who devoutly honor my feats, do not covet oneness with me.”
Vṛtrāsura-stuti
Six verses illustrating the nature of pure prīti for Bhagavān spoken by Vṛtrāsura.
Excerpted from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 6.11.22–27.
bhakty-astreṇa tyājayitvā viṣayān sva-mano yatiḥ |
dhvastāvidyo’vadhatte yaḥ kṛṣṇaṁ muktaḥ sa ucyate ||
bhakty-abhāvān mano-vṛttīr āśrayad vāsanāmayam |
avidyāṁ yasya puṣṇāti sa pumān baddha ucyate ||
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.11.17)
“An ascetic who with the weapon of bhakti removes viṣayas from his own mind and, having destroyed ignorance (avidyā), attends to [i.e., devotedly serves] Kṛṣṇa is called a mukta [i.e., one who is liberated from saṁsāra]. A person who nourishes his avidyā by taking shelter in functions (vṛttis) of the mind based on inclinations (vāsanās) as a result of a lack of bhakti is called baddha [i.e., bound in saṁsāra].”
guṇeṣv āviśate ceto guṇāś cetasi ca prajāḥ |
jīvasya deha ubhayaṁ guṇāś ceto mad-ātmanaḥ ||
guṇeṣu cāviśac cittam abhīkṣṇaṁ guṇa-sevayā |
guṇāś ca citta-prabhavā mad-rūpa ubhayaṁ tyajet ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.13.25–26)
“[Haṁsa Bhagavān to Sanaka and other sages:] O sons! The mind becomes absorbed in the guṇas [i.e., the sense objects], and the guṇas [become absorbed] in the mind. Both the guṇas and the mind are bodies of [i.e., external adjuncts to] the jīva, who is constituted of me. The mind remains absorbed in the guṇas because of constant attendance to the guṇas, and the guṇas likewise remain strongly apparent in the mind. One who is absorbed in my form can abandon them both.”
yato na kaścit kva ca kutracid vā
dīnaḥ svam ātmānam alaṁ samarthaḥ |
vimocituṁ kāma-dṛśāṁ vihāra-
krīḍā-mṛgo yan-nigaḍo visargaḥ ||
tato vidūrāt parihṛtya daityā
daityeṣu saṅgaṁ viṣayātmakeṣu |
upeta nārāyaṇam ādi-devaṁ
sa mukta-saṅgair iṣito’pavargaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.6.17–18; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 5)
[Translated according to the Bhāvārtha-dīpikā:] “Exceedingly lowly and a toy-animal for the play of women (kāmadṛśāṁ), because of whom the fetter of progeny comes about, no one anywhere at any time is able to fully liberate one’s own self [from family life]. Therefore, O Daityas, from afar completely forsake association (saṅga) with [alt., attachment to] the Daityas, whose minds are [fixed] on objects of the senses, and approach Nārāyaṇa, the Original Deva. He is the final beatitude (apavarga) [alt., liberation] desired by those who are freed from attachment.”
vaireṇa yaṁ nṛpatayaḥ śiśupāla-pauṇḍra-
śālvādayo gati-vilāsa-vilokanādyaiḥ |
dhyāyanta ākṛta-dhiyaḥ śayanāsanādau
tat-sāmyam āpur anurakta-dhiyāṁ punaḥ kim ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.5.48)
“Kings such as Śiśupāla, Pauṇḍraka, and Śālva attained equality with he [i.e., Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa] whom they meditated upon out of enmity while lying down, sitting, and so forth, their minds imprinted with his movements, play, glances, and so forth. [So,] How much more [is this attainment of equality with him certain to happen in the the case] of those whose minds are attached [to him]?”
