Tat-kratu-nyāya

ekasmin vāsanā-dehe yadi cānyasya bhāvanā

ekasmin vāsanā-dehe yadi cānyasya bhāvanā |
tarhi tat-sāmyam eva syād yathā vai bharate nṛpe ||
(Bhakti-tattva-kaumudī; cited in Gaura-Govindārcana-smaraṇa-paddhati (149) of Gopāla Guru Gosvāmī and Dhyānacandra Govsāmī (152))

“If thought of another [body] occurs while in one cognitional body, then likeness with that specifically shall occur [i.e., then one will attain a body like the one that was thought of], as in the case of King Bharata [who attained the body of a deer after being prolongedly absorbed in thought of a deer he had taken into his care].”

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tad evaṁ tat-kratu-nyāyena ca śuddha-bhaktānām anyā gatir nāsty eva

tad evaṁ tat-kratu-nyāyena ca śuddha-bhaktānām anyā gatir nāsty eva | śrutiś ca—‘yathā kratur asmin loke puruṣo bhavati, tathetaḥ pretya bhavati’ iti, kratur atra saṅkalpa iti bhāṣyakārāḥ | śruty-antaraṁ ca—‘sa yathā-kāmo bhavati, tat kratur bhavati | yat-kratur bhavati, tat karma kurute | yat karma kurute, tad abhisampadyate’ iti | anyac ca ‘yad yathā yathopāsate tad eva bhavanti’ iti | śrī-bhagavat-pratijñā ca—‘ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham’ iti | tathaiva brahma-vaivarte—‘yadi māṁ prāptum icchanti prāpnuvanty eva nānyathā’ iti | … tāḥ prati svayam abhyupagacchati—‘saṅkalpo viditaḥ sādhvyo …’ |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 51)

“Thus, in this way, by the ‘principle of like intention’ (tat-kratu-nyāya) [i.e., the principle that the result of a sacrifice will manifest in accord with the performer’s intention], pure bhaktas verily have no other attainment (gati) [i.e., they verily attain the prīti for Bhagavān that they aspire for along with a form, paraphernalia, service, and entrance into an abode of Bhagavān that are suited to that particular type of prīti]. The Śruti also [states this in Chāndogya Upaniṣad 3.14.1], ‘As is a living being’s intention (kratu) in this world, so the living being becomes upon departing from here.’ Here, [the word] ‘intention’ (kratu) means ‘resolve’ (saṅkalpa) according to the commentator [i.e., Śrī Śaṅkarācāryapāda]. Another Śruti [i.e., Bṛhadārayaṇka Upaniṣad 4.4.5] also [states this], ‘As is one’s desire, so is one’s intention. As is one’s intention, so is the action one performs, and as is the action one performs, so is that which one attains [i.e., the result].’ Elsewhere also [in Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, 10.5.2.20], ‘As one worships [him], so indeed one becomes.’ Śrī Bhagavān’s vow as well [is stated in BG 4.11], ‘‘As they approach me, so exactly I reciprocate with them.’ Similarly in Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa [it is also stated by Śrī Bhagavān], ‘If they desire to attain me, they certain attain [me] and not otherwise.‘ … Śrī Bhagavān himself affirms [this principle] before them [i.e., before the gopīs] in saṅkalpo viditaḥ sādhvyo … [i.e., SB 10.22.25–26].”

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aham ity anyathā-buddhiḥ pramattasya yathā hṛdi

aham ity anyathā-buddhiḥ pramattasya yathā hṛdi |
utsarpati rajo ghoraṁ tato vaikārikaṁ manaḥ ||
rajo-yuktasya manasaḥ saṅkalpaḥ sa-vikalpakaḥ |
tataḥ kāmo guṇa-dhyānād duḥsahaḥ syād dhi durmateḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.13.9–10)

[In response to Uddhava’s inquiry as to why human beings engage in sensual enjoyment even though they generally know it ultimately results only in suffering, Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa says:] “When a false notion of ‘I’ [i.e., identification with the material body and mind] surges in the heart of a bewildered person [i.e., someone devoid of proper discrimination], then frightful rajas surges in the sāttvika mind [i.e., even though the mind is sāttvika by nature]. Resolve along with fancy arise in a mind possessed by rajas, and then irresistible desire arises because of the deluded person’s [consequent] meditation on qualities [i.e., mental absorption in the qualities of the object of the mind’s resolve and fancy].”

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yasya sphūrti-lavāṅkureṇa laghunāpy antar munīnāṁ manaḥ

yasya sphūrti-lavāṅkureṇa laghunāpy antar munīnāṁ manaḥ
spṛṣṭaṁ mokṣa-sukhād virajyati jhaṭity āsvādyamānād api |
premṇas tasya mukunda sāhasitayā śaknotu kaḥ prārthane
bhūyāj janmani janmani pracayinī kintu spṛhāpy atra me ||
(Stava-mālā: Aṣṭādaśa-cchanda, Vastra-haraṇa, 2)

“O Mukunda, who could have the capability to boldly pray for that prema upon being touched by even a tiny sprout of a minute manifestation of which the inner minds of sages immediately become disaffected from even the satisfaction of mokṣa they are relishing? [No one.] Birth after birth, however, let me just have [ever-] increasing desire for that [i.e., that prema].”

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janma-trayānuguṇita-vaira-saṁrabdhayā dhiyā

janma-trayānuguṇita-vaira-saṁrabdhayā dhiyā |
dhyāyaṁs tan-mayatāṁ yāto bhāvo hi bhava-kāraṇam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.74.46)

“Meditating [on Bhagavān] with a mind enflamed with enmity over the course of three births, he [i.e., Śiśupāla] reached [after giving up his body] a state of absorption [in him, i.e., he again became his pārṣada, personal associate], as bhāva [i.e., one’s continuous meditation, contemplation, and focus] is the cause of [one’s future] birth [be it within saṁsāra or beyond].”

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vairānubandha-tīvreṇa dhyānenācyuta-sātmatām

vairānubandha-tīvreṇa dhyānenācyuta-sātmatām |
nītau punar hareḥ pārśvaṁ jagmatur viṣṇu-pārṣadau ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.1.47)

“By meditation [on Bhagavān] with an intense sense of enmity, these two associates of Viṣṇu [i.e., Jaya and Vijaya] attained a state of being of the same form as Acyuta [i.e., they merged into him, and later, they attained forms like his], and returned to the side of Hari [i.e., resumed their roles as his gatekeepers in Vaikuṇṭha].”

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yaṁ yam antam abhikāmo

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.”

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kāmamaya evāyaṁ puruṣa iti

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.”

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yadi māṁ prāptum icchanti

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.”

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cittam cittād upāgamya

cittam cittād upāgamya munir āsīta saṁyataḥ |
yac cittas tanmayo’vaśyaṁ guhyam etat sanātanam ||
(Mahābhārata: 14.51.27)

“Understanding the citta from the citta, the sage should sit restrained. As is the citta (mind), so one inevitably becomes [i.e., one becomes absorbed in, constituted of, and identical to the content in one’s citta]. This is the eternal secret.”

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