Paramātmā

oṁ athāśvalāyano bhagavantaṁ

oṁ athāśvalāyano bhagavantaṁ
parameṣṭhinam upasametyocāva |
adhīhi bhagavan brahma-vidyāṁ variṣṭhāṁ
sadā sadbhiḥ sevyamānāṁ nigūḍhām |
yathācirāt sarva-pāpaṁ vyapohya
parātparaṁ puruṣaṁ yāti vidvān ||1||
tasmai sa hovāca pitāmahaś ca
śraddhā-bhakti-dhyāna-yogād avaihi ||2||
na karmaṇā na prajayā dhanena
tyāgenaike amṛtatvam ānaśuḥ |
pareṇa nākaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ
vibhrājate yad yatayo viśanti ||3||
vedānta-vijñāna-suniścitārthāḥ
sannyāsa-yogād yatayaḥ śuddha-sattvāḥ |
te brahmalokeṣu parānta-kāle
parāmṛtāḥ parimucyanti sarve ||4||
(Kaivalya Upaniṣad: 1–4; Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad: 3.2.6)

“Om. Now, Āśvalāyana approached illustrious Brahmā and said, ‘O illustrious One, please teach me Brahmā-vidyā, which is most excellent [among all types of knowledge], ever-adhered to by the sādhus, and secret, and by which the wise soon become absolved of all sin and attain the Supreme Puruṣa,’ and to him [i.e., to Āśvalāyana], the Grandsire [i.e., Lord Brahmā] verily spoke, ‘You can realize [the Brahma-vidyā you wish to attain] through the practices of śraddhā, bhakti, and meditation. Neither by karma, nor by progeny or wealth, but only by renunciation can you attain immortality, which is beyond heaven and shines hidden in the cave [i.e., heart]. Ascetics [lit., those who strive (for it)] enter it. Completely determined upon the object of realization established by Vedānta and of purified nature by virtue of practice of sannyāsa, the ascetics in the planes of Brahmā [i.e., in the various planes through the material universe] at the time of the final end [i.e., at the time of the dissolution of the material universe] overcome death and become completely liberated [from entanglement in saṁsāra, i.e., they realize Brahman].”

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yeṣāṁ gurau na japye vā

yeṣāṁ gurau na japye vā viṣṇau ca paramātmani |
nāsti bhaktiḥ sadā teṣāṁ vacanaṁ parivarjayet ||
(Vaiṣṇava Tantra; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 12.418)

“Always completely reject the statements of those who do not have bhakti to guru, a mantra [lit., “that which is to be chanted”], or the Paramātmā Viṣṇu.”

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tasmāt sarvātmanā rājan

tasmāt sarvātmanā rājan hṛdi-sthaṁ kuru keśavam |
mriyamāṇo hy avahitas tato yāsi parāṁ gatim ||
mriyamāṇair abhidhyeyo bhagavān puruṣottamaḥ |
ātma-bhāvaṁ nayaty aṅga sarvātmā sarva-saṁśrayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.3.49–50)

“Therefore, O King, with your whole being [i.e., with full endeavor], fix Keśava within the heart. By being [so] attentive while dying, you will attain the supreme destination. O King! Bhagavān, Puruṣottama, who is to be meditated upon by the dying, and is the Self of all and Shelter of all, leads [one] to bhāva of the ātmā [i.e., to the svarūpa (bhāva) of the jīva (ātmā), or, to prema (bhāva) for himself (Ātmā)].”

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yad advaitaṁ brahmopaniṣadi tad apy asya tanu-bhā

yad advaitaṁ brahmopaniṣadi tad apy asya tanu-bhā
ya ātmāntaryāmī puruṣa iti so’syāṁśa-vibhavaḥ |
ṣaḍ-aiśvaryaiḥ pūrṇo ya iha bhagavān sa svayam ayaṁ
na caitanyāt krṣṇāj jagati para-tattvaṁ param iha ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.1.3)

“That which is [known as] nondual Brahman in the Upaniṣads is indeed the luster of his figure. The Puruṣa, [known in the yoga-śāstras as] the indwelling regulator of the ātmā, is a manifestion of his aṁśa [i.e., a manifestation of Mahāviṣṇu, who is a partial manifestation of him]. He who is Bhagavān replete with the six aiśvaryas [i.e., Nārāyaṇa of Vaikuṇṭha, the source of the Puruṣa-avatāras] is in this regard [i.e., in the context of deliberation upon and experience of essential nature] also he himself [i.e., also a partial manifestation of him]. There is [thus] no supreme entity in this regard [i.e., in the domain of deliberation and experience] other than Kṛṣṇa Caitanya [i.e., Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is verily Svayam Bhagavān and nondiffernet from Śrī Kṛṣṇa himself].”

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sauvīra-patir api

sauvīra-patir api sujana-samavagata-paramātma-satattva ātmany avidyādhyāropitāṁ ca dehātma-matiṁ visasarja | evaṁ hi nṛpa bhagavad-āśritāśritānubhāvaḥ |
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.13.25)

“The ruler of Suvīra [i.e., King Rahūgana], having fully understood from Sujana [i.e., Jaḍa Bharata] the Paramātmā in truth, forsook the notion superimposed by ignorance (avidyā) upon the ātmā [i.e., self] that the body is the self. Such, O King, is the result of taking shelter of one who has taken shelter of Bhagavān.”

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daivādhīnaṁ jagat sarvaṁ

daivādhīnaṁ jagat sarvaṁ janma-karma-śubhāśubham |
saṁyogaś ca viyogaś ca na ca daivāt paraṁ balam ||
kṛṣṇāyattaṁ ca tad daivaṁ sa daivāt paratas tataḥ |
bhajanti satataṁ santaḥ paramātmānam īśvaram ||
daivaṁ vardhayituṁ śaktaḥ kṣayaṁ kartuṁ svalīlayā |
na daiva-baddhas tad bhaktaś cāvināśī ca nirguṇaḥ ||
(Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa)

“The entire world, along with birth, karma, auspiciousness, inauspiciousness, meeting and separation, is under the control of destiny (daiva). There is no power greater than destiny, yet that destiny is dependent on Kṛṣṇa. He is thus greater than destiny. Sādhus [thus] always worship the Paramātmā, Īśvara [i.e., Kṛṣṇa]. He can expand and diminish destiny by means of his līlā. Bhaktas [of Kṛṣṇa] are thus unbound by destiny, imperishable, and beyond the guṇas.”

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dṛṣṭaṁ śrutaṁ bhūta-bhavad-bhaviṣyat

dṛṣṭaṁ śrutaṁ bhūta-bhavad-bhaviṣyat
sthāsnuś cariṣṇur mahad alpakaṁ ca |
vinācyutād vastu tarāṁ na vācyaṁ
sa eva sarvaṁ paramātma-bhūtaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.46.43)

“By no means can any object—seen or heard, of the past, present, or future, great or small, mobile or immobile—be named apart from Acyuta. He, the [internally] present Paramātma [i.e., fundamental existence within all objects], is indeed everything.”

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harir deha-bhṛtām ātmā

harir deha-bhṛtām ātmā svayaṁ prakṛtir īśvaraḥ |
tat-pāda-mūlaṁ śaraṇaṁ yataḥ kṣemo nṛṇām iha ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.29.50)

“Hari is the Ātmā and Īśvara of [all] embodied beings, as he himself [i.e., independently] is the origin [of them all]. [Thus,] The soles of his feet are the shelter because of which all human beings’ preservation occurs here [i.e., in this world].”

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sṛṣṭy-ādikaṁ harir naiva

sṛṣṭy-ādikaṁ harir naiva prayojanam apekṣya tu |
kurute kevalānandād yathā mattasya nartanam ||
pūrṇānandasya tasyeha prayojana-matiḥ kutaḥ |
muktā apy āpta-kāmāḥ syuḥ kim utāsyākhilātmanaḥ ||
(Nārāyaṇa-saṁhitā; cited in Bhagavat Sandarbha: 47; Paramātma Sandarbha: 93; Govinda-bhāṣya on Vedānta-sūtra: 2.1.33)

“Hari does not require any motive for emanation and so forth [of the material universes]. He acts purely out of bliss, like the dancing of an intoxicated person. Since he is full of bliss, how can he have any thought of a motive? Even liberated beings are of satisfied desire, so how much more so must be the Ātmā of all?”

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nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo

nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo
na medhayā na bahunā śrutena |
yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyaḥ
tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṁ svām ||
(Kaṭha Upaniṣad: 1.2.23; cited in Bhagavat Sandarbha: 121)

“The Ātmā is attainable neither by exposition, nor by intellect, nor by extensive hearing [of śāstra]. The Ātmā is attainable by one whom he chooses. To him [who is so chosen] the Ātmā reveals his own form.”

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