Paramahaṁsas

tad ekaṁ tattvaṁ svarūpa-bhūtayaiva śaktyā kam api viśeṣaṁ

tad ekaṁ tattvaṁ svarūpa-bhūtayaiva śaktyā kam api viśeṣaṁ dhartuṁ parāsām api śaktīnāṁ mūlāśraya-rūpaṁ, tad-anubhāvānanda-sandohāntarbhāvita-tādṛśa-brahmānandānāṁ bhāgavata-paramahaṁsānāṁ tathānubhavaika-sādhakatama-tadīya-svarūpānanda-śakti-viśeṣātmaka-bhakti-bhāviteṣv antar-bahir apīndriyeṣu parisphurad vā, tadvad vivikta-tādṛśa-śakti-śaktimattā-bhedena pratipādyamānaṁ vā bhagavān iti śabdyate | … evaṁ cānanda-mātraṁ viśeṣyaṁ, samastāḥ śaktayo viśeṣaṇāni, viśiṣṭo bhagavān ity āyātam | tathā caivaṁ vaiśiṣṭye prāpte pūrṇāvirbhāvatvenākhaṇḍa-tattva-rūpo’sau bhagavān | brahma tu sphuṭam aprakaṭita-vaiśiṣṭyākāratvena tasyaivāsamyag āvirbhāva ity āyātam |
(Bhagavat Sandarbha: 2–3)

“When the one [Absolute] Reality, which is by nature the fundamental shelter of [all] other śaktis, to manifest some type of [wonderful] specificity solely by means of its own inherent śakti, fully manifests to the internal and external senses of devoted transcendentalists (bhāgavata-paramahaṁsas), subsumed in whose [experience of an] abundance of bliss from experience thereof [i.e., of the Absolute Reality so manifest with specificity] is such [experience of the] bliss of Brahman, [and whose internal and external senses are] imbued with bhakti [which is] constituted of a specific inherent śakti of bliss thereof [i.e., of that Absolute Reality] that is singularly most effectual of such experience [of that Absolute Reality’s manifest specificity], or, when it as such is to be defined with discrimination between the distinction of [its] being [both] śakti and the possessor of śakti (śaktimat), it is known as Bhagavān. … In this way, furthermore, it is understood that bliss alone is the qualificand (viśeṣya), all śaktis are [its] qualifiers (viśeṣaṇas), and Bhagavān is the qualified entity (viśiṣṭa). Furthermore, when possessed of such specificity (vaiśiṣṭya), that undivided [Absolute] Reality is Bhagavān on account of being the complete manifestation [thereof], whereas Brahman, evidently, is an incomplete manifestation thereof on account of [its] being an appearance devoid of manifest specificity. This is understood.”

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tad ekam evākhaṇḍānanda-svarūpaṁ tattvaṁ thūtkṛta-pārameṣṭhyādikānanda-samudayānāṁ

tad ekam evākhaṇḍānanda-svarūpaṁ tattvaṁ thūtkṛta-pārameṣṭhyādikānanda-samudayānāṁ paramahaṁsānāṁ sādhana-vaśāt tādātmyam āpanne, satyām api tadīya-svarūpa-śakti-vaicitryāṁ tad-grahaṇāsāmarthye cetasi yathā sāmānyato lakṣitaṁ, tathaiva sphurad vā, tadvad evāvivikta-śakti-śaktimattā-bhedatayā pratipādyamānaṁ vā brahmeti śabdyate |
(Bhagavat Sandarbha: 2)

“When transcendentalists (paramahaṁsas) who have spat on the bliss of supremacy and so forth [i.e., all varieties of so-called happiness that exist throughout saṁsāra, including even that of Lord Brahmā, who holds the supreme position within the fourteen worlds] attain as a result of sādhana a state of identity (tādātmya) [i.e., a qualified degree of oneness based on cognitive self-identification] with the one [Absolute] Reality which is undivided and of the nature of bliss, or, when it [i.e., that Absolute Reality] manifests exactly as it is generally regarded [by them] in their minds that are unable to perceive the variegation of its inherent (svarūpa) śakti [i.e., when it manifests without any sort of specificity as non-differentiated consciousness apparently equivalent in nature to the self (ātmā) in response to their being cognitively fixed in a state of self-identification with that Absolute Reality as non-differentiated consciousness], or when it as such is to be defined without discrimination between its possessing the division of being [both] śakti and the possessor of śakti (śaktimat), it is known as Brahman.”

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bhuvi puru-puṇya-tīrtha-sadanāny ṛṣayo vimadās

bhuvi puru-puṇya-tīrtha-sadanāny ṛṣayo vimadās
ta uta bhavat-padāmbuja-hṛdo’gha-bhid-aṅghri-jalāḥ |
dadhati sakṛn manas tvayi ya ātmani nitya-sukhe
na punar upāsate puruṣa-sāra-harāvasathān ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.35)

“Dwelling in the numerous sacred tīrthas on the earth, free from delusion [alt., pride], their hearts fixed on your lotus feet, and the water from their feet dispelling sin, the ṛṣis who once fix their mind on you, the Self, Eternal Happiness, do not again dwell in homes, which steal away the essence of human beings.”

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oṁ namaḥ paramahaṁsāsvādita-caraṇa-kamala-cin-makarandāya

oṁ namaḥ paramahaṁsāsvādita-caraṇa-kamala-cin-makarandāya bhakta-jana-mānasa-nivāsāya śrī-rāmacandrāya |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.1)

“Om. Obeisance unto Śrī Rāmacandra, whose dwelling place is the bhaktas’ minds and the spiritual nectar of whose lotus feet is tasted by the paramahaṁsas.”

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śrīmad-bhāgavataṁ purāṇam amalaṁ yad vaiṣṇavānāṁ priyaṁ

śrīmad-bhāgavataṁ purāṇam amalaṁ yad vaiṣṇavānāṁ priyaṁ
yasmin pāramahaṁsyam ekam amalaṁ jñānaṁ paraṁ gīyate |
tatra jñāna-virāga-bhakti-sahitaṁ naiṣkarmyam āviskṛtaṁ
tac chṛṇvan su-paṭhan vicāraṇa-paro bhaktyā vimucyen naraḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.13.18; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.407)

“Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, the flawless Purāṇa, is dear to the Vaiṣṇavas as within it is sung the unique, flawless, and supreme knowledge that is beneficial even to paramahaṁsas. Therein, the cessation of karma (naiṣkarmya) is brought forth along with knowledge, detachment, and bhakti. A human being who hears, properly recites, and engages in deliberation upon it with bhakti attains the highest liberation.”

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athāta ānanda-dughaṁ padāmbujaṁ

athāta ānanda-dughaṁ padāmbujaṁ
haṁsāḥ śrayerann aravinda-locana |
sukhaṁ nu viśveśvara yoga-karmabhis
tvan-māyayāmī vihatā na māninaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.3; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha 326)

[Translation as per Śrīdhara Svāmī’s ṭīkā:] “Therefore, O lotus-eyed One, O Lord of the universe, swans [i.e., those who are expert in discriminating between the essential and non-essential] take shelter in your bliss-exuding lotus feet happily and certainly, as they [i.e., your bhatkas] are not impeded by your māyā and thus are not proud on account of yoga or karma [i.e., they do not, like yogīs and karmīs, neglect to take shelter in your feet].”

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haṁsasya corddhva-gamane

haṁsasya corddhva-gamane gatir bhavati niścalā |
tattvātattva-viveko’sti jala-dugdha-vibhāgavat |
ajñāna-jñānayos tattvaṁ vivecayati haṁsakaḥ ||
(Śiva Purāṇa: Rudra-saṁhitā, Sṛṣti-khaṇḍa, 15.10–11)

“A haṁsa’s [i.e., a swan-like sādhu’s] upward movement is unwavering [like a swan’s flight], and he has the ability to discriminate between the real and the unreal as though separating milk from water [like a swan]. A haṁsa ascertains the nature of ignorance and knowledge.”

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na vā etad viṣṇudatta

na vā etad viṣṇudatta mahad-adbhutaṁ yad asambhramaḥ sva-śiraś-chedana āpatite’pi vimukta-dehādy-ātma-bhāva-sudṛḍha-hṛdaya-granthīnāṁ sarva-sattva-suhṛd-ātmanāṁ nirvairāṇāṁ sākṣād bhagavatānimiṣāri-varāyudhenāpramattena tais tair bhāvair abhirakṣyamāṇānāṁ tat-pāda-mūlam akutaścid-bhayam upasṛtānāṁ bhāgavata-paramahaṁsānām |
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.9.20)

[Śukadeva to Parīkṣit Mahārāja:] “O Viṣṇudatta, it is not greatly astonishing that the topmost ascetic devotees of Bhagavān (Bhāgavata-paramahaṁsas) are undisturbed even in the event of their own head being cut off, as they are completely free from the extremely tight knot in the heart of identification with the body and so forth [i.e., the mind, etc.], are by nature well-wishers of all beings, are free from enmity, are completely protected by ever-vigilant Bhagavān himself armed with the most excellent disc of time in various states of being [i.e., in various forms, such as Bhadrakālī (in this particular case in the life of Jaḍa Bharata), or, on account of his (i.e., Bhagavān’s) various qualities], and have approached the soles of his [i.e., Bhagavān’s] feet, wherein there is no fear [whatsoever].”

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oṁ namaḥ paramahaṁsāsvādita-caraṇa-kamala-cin-makarandāya

oṁ namaḥ paramahaṁsāsvādita-caraṇa-kamala-cin-makarandāya bhakta-jana-mānasa-nivāsāya śrī-rāmacandrāya |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.1)

“Om. Obeisance unto Śrī Rāmacandra, whose dwelling place is the bhaktas’ minds and the spiritual nectar of whose lotus feet is tasted by the paramahaṁsas.”

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