Niṣṭhā

mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes

mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes
tamo-dvāraṁ yoṣitāṁ saṅgi-saṅgam |
mahāntas te sama-cittāḥ praśāntā
vimanyavaḥ suhṛdaḥ sādhavo ye |
ye vā mayīśe kṛta-sauhṛdārthā
janeṣu dehambhara-vārtikeṣu ||
gṛheṣu jāyātmaja-rātimatsu
na prīti-yuktā yāvad-arthāś ca loke ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.5.2–3; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.17, 69; Bhakti Sandarbha: 186; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.82)

“Service to the mahats is said to be the door to ultimate mukti, and attachment to those who are attached to women [is said to be] the door to darkness. The mahāntas are they who are of equal mind, tranquil, free from anger, friendly, and virtuous, or, they who (1) have made affection [i.e., prema] for me, Īśa, their aim, (2) are unpossessed of affinity for persons fixated upon affairs related to bodily maintenance and houses accompanied by wives, children, and friends, and (3) are possessed of only so much wealth [as is necessary] in this world.”

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aho imaṁ paśyata me vināśaṁ

aho imaṁ paśyata me vināśaṁ
tapasvinaḥ sac-carita-vratasya |
antarjale vāri-cara-prasaṅgāt
pracyāvitaṁ brahma ciraṁ dhṛtaṁ yat ||
saṅgaṁ tyajeta mithuna-vratīnāṁ mumukṣuḥ
sarvātmanā na visṛjed bahir-indriyāṇi |
ekaś caran rahasi cittam ananta īśe
yuñjīta tad-vratiṣu sādhuṣu cet prasaṅgaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.6.50–51)

“Aho! See this ruination of mine, an ascetic avowed to the conduct of the sat [situated] underwater, wherein [my] long-sustained austerity was lost because of [observance of] the intercourse of fish. A seeker of mukti should completely forsake the association of those avowed to matrimony [alt., those who engage in sexual intercourse] and should not cast forth the external senses. Dwelling alone in seclusion, one should fix the mind upon the Infinite, Īśa, and upon the sādhus devoted to him if ideal association [with such sādhus] should come about.”

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bhaktis tvayi sthiratarā bhagavan yadi syād

bhaktis tvayi sthiratarā bhagavan yadi syād
daivena naḥ phalati divya-kiśora-mūrtiḥ |
muktiḥ svayaṁ mukulitāñjaliḥ sevate’smān
dharmārtha-kāma-gatayaḥ samaya-pratīkṣāḥ ||
(Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta: 107)

“O Bhagavān, if our bhakti to you would become more steadfast, [then] your divine adolescent figure will manifest [before us], mukti herself will serve us with joined palms, and the attainments of dharma, artha, and kāma will await their chance [to serve].”

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tvaṁ bhakti-yoga-paribhāvita-hṛt-saroja

tvaṁ bhakti-yoga-paribhāvita-hṛt-saroja
āsse śrutekṣita-patho nanu nātha puṁsām |
yad yad dhiyā ta urugāya vibhāvayanti
tat tad vapuḥ praṇayase sad-anugrahāya ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.9.11; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 7.383; Bhagavat Sandarbha: 6, 40; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.3.111)

“[Brahmā to Śrī Bhagavān:] O Nātha! You, he the path to whom is seen by hearing, dwell in the lotus-hearts of living beings that have been purified by bhakti-yoga [alt., that have been made fit (for you) by virtue of prema]. O you of highest praise! [Alt., O you who are sung of in many ways!] Out of favor upon the sat, you bring forth that very form of yours which they distinctively meditate on [alt., visualize] with the mind.”

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yasya deve ca mantre ca gurau triṣv api niścalā

yasya deve ca mantre ca gurau triṣv api niścalā |
na vyavacchidyate buddhis tasya siddhir adūrataḥ ||
mantrātmā devatā jñeyā devatā guru-rūpiṇī |
teṣāṁ bhedo na kartavyo yadīcched iṣṭam ātmanaḥ ||
(Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 17.65–66)

“Success (siddhi) is not far off for one whose unwavering intention upon Deva, the mantra, and the guru is non-deterred. The Devatā is to be known as he who has a form as the mantra [used to worship him], and the Devatā is [to be known as] he who has a form as the guru [who teaches worship of himself]. A division between them is not to be made should one desire [to attain] one’s own desired object [i.e., should one desire to attain one’s cherished Devatā].”

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vraja-bhūmāv ayaṁ jātas tasyāṁ gopatvam ācarat

vraja-bhūmāv ayaṁ jātas tasyāṁ gopatvam ācarat |
gopālopāsanā-niṣṭho viśiṣṭo’sman mahāśayaḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.62)

“[Śrī Uddhava along with Śrī Nārada to Gopa Kumāra:] He was born in the land of Vraja, he has engaged in cowherding (gopatva) there, and he has fixity in worship (upāsanā) of Gopāla. This great soul is superior to us.”

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uddhavāyam aho gopa-putro govardhanodbhavaḥ

uddhavāyam aho gopa-putro govardhanodbhavaḥ |
mādṛśāṁ tvādṛśānāṁ ca mṛgyan vastu sudurlabham ||
itas tato bhraman vyagraḥ kadācid api kutracit |
nātikramati cittāntarlagnaṁ taṁ śokam ārtidam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.58–59)

“[Śrī Nārada of Gopa Kumāra:] Aho! Uddhava! This son of a cowherd born in Govardhana, restless and wandering here and there searching for an object most difficult to attain [i.e., completely unattainable] for those like me [i.e., bhaktas of Śrī Bhagavān] and those like you [i.e., friends of Śrī Bhagavān], never anywhere overcomes that sorrow fixed in his heart that causes it to ache.”

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na mayy ekānta-bhaktānāṁ guṇa-doṣodbhavā guṇāḥ

na mayy ekānta-bhaktānāṁ guṇa-doṣodbhavā guṇāḥ |
sādhūnāṁ sama-cittānāṁ buddheḥ param upeyuṣām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.20.36; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.210; Bhakti Sandarbha: 177, 312, 321; Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.293

“[Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] Bhaktas who are one-pointed upon me, are sādhu [i.e., free from attachment and aversion (rāga and dveṣa)], are equanimous, and have attained that which is beyond the intellect, have no qualities [i.e., merits, sins, or otherwise] produced by qualities and faults [i.e., produced by observance of injunctions and neglect of prohibitions].”

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so’yam upadeśo buddhy-arthaḥ

so’yam upadeśo buddhy-arthaḥ | sarvatra tadīyatva-jñānārthaḥ pādavat | pādo’sya viśvā bhūtāni ity atra yathā viśvasya bhagavat-pādatvopadeśas tadvat | evaṁ hi dveṣa-nihīnaṁ manas tat-pravaṇaṁ bhavati | na caivaṁ rāga-prāptir nihīnatva-buddher bādhakatvāt |
(Govinda-bhāṣya on Vedānta-sūtra: 3.2.34)

“This teaching [i.e., the teaching Chāndogya Upaniṣad 3.14.1, ‘All of this is verily Brahman’ (sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ Brahma)] is for the sake of understanding, that is, for the sake of awareness of belongingness to him (tadīyatva) in everything, like [his] foot, that is, as there is a teaching of the universe’s being the foot of Bhagavān here [in Ṛg-veda 10.90.3], ‘The existent universes are his foot.’ In this way completely free from enmity, the mind becomes intent upon him [i.e., on Bhagavān]. Also in this way [i.e., also by means of the aforementioned teaching that everything belongs to him] an occurrence of attachment (rāga) [to the universe in which one is situated, or anything within it] does not occur because of the annulling of that by understanding of the utter inferiority [of sāṁsārika existence and everything within it in comparison to Śrī Bhagavān himself].”

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rajobhiḥ sama-saṅkhyātāḥ pārthivair iha jantavaḥ

rajobhiḥ sama-saṅkhyātāḥ pārthivair iha jantavaḥ |
teṣāṁ ye kecanehante śreyo vai manujādayaḥ ||
prāyo mumukṣavas teṣāṁ kecanaiva dvijottama |
mumukṣūṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścin mucyeta sidhyati ||
muktānām api siddhānāṁ nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇaḥ |
sudurlabhaḥ praśāntātmā koṭiṣv api mahāmune ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 6.14.3–5; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.189; Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.2.186, 2.2.207, 2.5.178; Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 106; Bhakti Sandarbha: 134, 186, 273; Prīti Sandarbha: 35, 100; Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.19.151)

“Living beings here [i.e., in the material world] are similar in enumeration to the particles of dust on the earth [i.e., they are innumerable]. Among them, there are certainly some human beings and so forth who strive for virtue (śreyas) [i.e., who follow dharma and take up other means to attain otherworldly happiness]. O best of the twice born, among them, some very few are even seekers of mukti, and among thousands of seekers of mukti, someone may become liberated and [someone among thousands of such liberated persons may] succeed [i.e., attain siddhi]. O great sage, even among crores of even muktas and siddhas, someone of completely peaceful mind whose complete shelter is Nārāyaṇa is extremely rare to find.”

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