yaṁ yam antam abhikāmo bhavati yaṁ kāmaṁ kāmayate so’sya saṅkalpād eva samuttiṣṭhati tena sampanno mahīyate ||
(Chāndogya Upaniṣad: 8.2.10)
“Whatever final wish one has, and whatever object of desire one engenders desire for, that, just because of one’s resolve, manifests in full, and endowed with that, one becomes gladdened.”
kāmamaya evāyaṁ puruṣa iti | sa yathā-kāmo bhavati tat-kratur bhavati | yat-kratur bhavati tat karma kurute | yat karma kurute tad abhisampadyate |
(Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: 4.4.5)
“The living being is indeed made of desire. As is his desire, so is his intention. As is his intention, so is the action he performs, and as is the action he performs, so is that which he attains.”
yadi māṁ prāptum icchanti prāpnuvanty eva nānyathā |
kalau kaluṣa-cittānāṁ vṛthāyuḥ-prabhṛtīni ca |
bhavanti varṇāśramiṇāṁ na tu mac-charaṇārthinām ||
(Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa: cited in Bhakti Sandarbha 99)
“If anyone desires to attain me, they certainly attain me. This cannot be otherwise. In [the Age of] Kali, the life and so forth [i.e., the present actions and future destiny] of those of polluted heart who adhere to varṇāśrama are fruitless, but such is not so for those who seek my shelter.”
cittaṁ cittād upāgamya munir āsīta saṁyataḥ |
yac cittas tanmayo’vaśyaṁ guhyam etat sanātanam ||
(Mahābhārata: 14.51.27)
“Returning from the mind (citta) to the mind [i.e., focusing one’s awareness], a sage should sit restrained. As is the mind, so one inevitably becomes. This is the eternal secret.”
cittam eva hi saṁsāras tat prayatnena śodhayet |
yac cittas tanmayo bhāti guhyam etat sanātanam ||
(Maitrāyaṇīya Upaniṣad: 6.34.3; Śāṭyāyanīya Upaniṣad: 3)
“The citta (mind) itself is saṁsāra [i.e., the condition of one’s citta is the cause of the perpetuation of one’s bondage in saṁsāra]. Purify it with exertion. As is the citta, so one becomes [i.e., one becomes absorbed in, constituted of, and/or identical to the content in one’s citta]. This is the eternal secret.”
ekā bhūr ubhayor aikyam ubhayor dala-kāṇḍayoḥ |
śāliśyāmākayor bhedaḥ phalena paricīyate ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha; Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra)
“Both have the same soil, and both have identical shoots and stalks. The difference between rice and millet is known by the result.”
phalena phala-kāraṇam anumīyate |
(Gopāla-campū: Uttara-campū, 6.21; Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 149; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.1.91)
“The cause of an effect is inferred from the effect.”
yad yathā yathopāsate tad eva bhavanti |
(Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa: 10.5.2.20; cited in Prīti Sandarbha 51)
“One indeed becomes that which one meditates upon.”
sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma taj-jalān iti śānta upāsīta | atha khalu kratumayaḥ puruṣo yathā kratur asmil loke puruṣo bhavati tathetaḥ pretya bhavati sa kratuṁ kurvīta ||
(Chāndogya Upaniṣad: 3.14.1; cited in Prīti Sandarbha 51)
“All of this is verily Brahman, that from which everything manifests, by which everything is taken [i.e., into which everything dissolves], and in which everything exists. Therefore, be peaceful and meditate [upon Brahman]. Now, verily, a living being is made of intention (kratu). As is a living being’s intention in this world, so the living being becomes upon departing from here. [Therefore,] one should form an intention.”
