yathā kāṣṭhaṁ ca kāṣṭhaṁ ca sameyātāṁ mahodadhau |
sametya ca vyapeyātāṁ tadvad-bhūta-samāgamaḥ ||
(Mahābhārata: 12.28.36; Hitopadeśa: 4.75)
“As a piece of wood may meet another piece of wood atop a vast sea, and after meeting may also become separated—such is the conjunction of living beings.”
kim ātmanānena jahāti yo’ntataḥ
kiṁ riktha-hāraiḥ svajanākhya-dasyubhiḥ |
kiṁ jāyayā saṁsṛti-hetu-bhūtayā
martyasya gehaiḥ kim ihāyuṣo vyayaḥ ||
itthaṁ sa niścitya pitāmaho mahān
agādha-bodho bhavataḥ pāda-padmam |
dhruvaṁ prapede hy akutobhayaṁ janād
bhītaḥ svapakṣa-kṣapaṇasya sattama ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.22.9–10)
[Bali Mahārāja explains to Vāmanadeva why Prahlāda Mahārāja took shelter in him:] “‘What good is this body, which leaves one in the end? What good are the bandits known as kinsmen, who steal away one’s wealth? What good is a wife, who is a cause of saṁsāra? And what good are houses, wherein there is [only] the loss of a mortal’s life?’ Thus resolved and wary of the world, that great grandfather [of mine], of unfathomable understanding, took shelter in your unwavering lotus feet, because of which there can be no fear whatsoever, even though you were the destroyer of his own dynasty, O Best of the virtuous!”
mana eva manuṣyendra bhūtānāṁ bhava-bhāvanam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.29.77)
“O king of men! The mind of living beings is the cause of worldly existence [i.e., saṁsāra].”
māyā manaḥ sṛjati karmamayaṁ balīyaḥ
kālena codita-guṇānumatena puṁsaḥ |
chandomayaṁ yad ajayārpita-ṣoḍaśāraṁ
saṁsāra-cakram aja ko’titaret tvad-anyaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.9.21)
“Māyā, with the permission of the Puruṣa, and with its guṇas impelled by time, emanates the mind (manas), which is constituted of karma, most powerful [i.e., very difficult to conquer], filled with fancy (chanda) [i.e., vāsanās], and infused with sixteen transformations by the unborn [i.e., by ignorance (avidyā)]. O Unborn One [i.e., O Bhagavān], who apart from you [i.e., who that has not received your grace and does not engage in your service] can surmount this wheel of saṁsāra [i.e., the mind]?”
duḥkhaṁ sukhaṁ vyatiriktaṁ ca tīvraṁ
kālopapannaṁ phalam āvyanakti |
āliṅgya māyā-racitāntarātmā
sva-dehinaṁ saṁsṛti-cakra-kūṭaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.11.6)
“The inner ātmā fabricated by māyā [i.e., the subtle body, the adjunct upon the pure jīva], the illusionist on the wheel of saṁsāra, embracing the bearer of its own body [i.e., the pure jīva], in full creates suffering, enjoyment, irregularity [i.e., bewilderment], and acute [i.e., unavoidable], time-borne results.”
jīvo jīvasya jīvanam |
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.13.47)
“A living being is the life of [another] living being.”
evaṁ bahu-savaṁ kālaṁ mahātmāvicalendriyaḥ |
tri-vargaupayikaṁ nītvā putrāyādān nṛpāsanam ||
manyamāna idaṁ viśvaṁ māyā-racitam ātmani |
avidyā-racita-svapna-gandharva-nagaropamam ||
ātma-stry-apatya-suhṛdo balam ṛddha-kośam
antaḥ-puraṁ parivihāra-bhuvaś ca ramyāḥ |
bhū-maṇḍalaṁ jaladhi-mekhalam ākalayya
kālopasṛṣṭam iti sa prayayau viśālām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.12.14–15)
“After passing many years of time conducive to tri-varga [i.e., dharma, artha, and kāma], he of exalted ātmā [i.e., pure citta] and unwavering senses [i.e., Dhruva] gave the king’s seat to his son. Considering this world to be superimposed by māyā onto the ātmā and comparable to a city of Gandharvas fabricated by ignorance, and regarding the ātmā [i.e., the body], wives, children, friends, power [i.e., horses, elephants, soldiers, etc.], treasuries, inner chambers, beautiful parks, and the earth girdled by the oceans to be seized by time [i.e., invariably subject to destruction], he went to Viśālā [i.e. Badarikāśrama].”
yad idaṁ manasā vācā cakṣurbhyāṁ śravaṇādibhiḥ |
naśvaraṁ gṛhyamāṇaṁ ca viddhi māyā-manomayam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.7.7; cited in Paramātma Sandarbha 69)
“Know that this [world] which is perceived with the mind, speech, eyes, ears, and so forth is transitory and illusory on account of being formulated in the mind.”
