Saṁsāra

naitan manas tava kathāsu vikuṇṭhanātha

naitan manas tava kathāsu vikuṇṭhanātha
samprīyate durita-duṣṭam asādhu tīvram |
kāmāturaṁ harṣa-śoka-bhayaiṣaṇārtaṁ
tasmin kathaṁ tava gatiṁ vimṛśāmi dīnaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.9.39; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 1)

“O Lord of Vaikuṇṭha!
This mind—
Corrupted by sin,
Unholy,
Impetuous,
Afflicted by kāma,
And beset with elation, sorrow, fear, and desire—
Does not take great pleasure
In narrations about you.
Therewith,
How can this wretch
Contemplate your existence?”

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trasto’smy ahaṁ kṛpaṇa-vatsala duḥsahogra

trasto’smy ahaṁ kṛpaṇa-vatsala duḥsahogra-
saṁsāra-cakra-kadanād grasatāṁ praṇītaḥ |
baddhaḥ sva-karmabhir uśattama te’ṅghri-mūlaṁ
prīto’pavarga-śaraṇaṁ hvayase kadā nu ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.9.16)

“Cast among devourers [i.e., asuras],
And bound by my own karmas,
I am afraid of the havoc
Of the fierce, difficult to bear wheel of saṁsāra.
O you who are affectionate to the pitiable,
O Greatest Beloved,
When will you be pleased
And call [me] to the shelter that is [itself] liberation—
The soles of your feet?”

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mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes

mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes
tamo-dvāraṁ yoṣitāṁ saṅgi-saṅgam |
mahāntas te sama-cittāḥ praśāntā
vimanyavaḥ suhṛdaḥ sādhavo ye |
ye vā mayīśe kṛta-sauhṛdārthā
janeṣu dehambhara-vārtikeṣu ||
gṛheṣu jāyātmaja-rātimatsu
na prīti-yuktā yāvad-arthāś ca loke ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.5.2–3; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.17, 69; Bhakti Sandarbha: 186; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.82)

“Service to the mahats is said to be the door to ultimate mukti, and attachment to those who are attached to women [is said to be] the door to darkness. The mahāntas are they who are of equal mind, tranquil, free from anger, friendly, and virtuous, or, they who (1) have made affection [i.e., prema] for me, Īśa, their aim, (2) are unpossessed of affinity for persons fixated upon affairs related to bodily maintenance and houses accompanied by wives, children, and friends, and (3) are possessed of only so much wealth [as is necessary] in this world.”

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yasmin yasmiṁs tu viṣaye yo yo yāti viniścayam

yasmin yasmiṁs tu viṣaye yo yo yāti viniścayam |
sa tam evābhijānāti nānyaṁ bharata-sattama ||
yathā yathā ca paryeti loka-tantram asāravat |
tathā tathā virāgo’tra jāyate nātra saṁśayaḥ ||
evaṁ vyavasite loke bahu-doṣe yudhiṣṭhira |
ātma-mokṣa-nimittaṁ vai yateta matimān naraḥ ||
(Mahābhārata: 12.175.3–5)

“Whatever firm resolve one acquires in regard to whatever object—that alone one understands [to be truly beneficial], and not anything else, O best of the Bharatas. As far as one maturely recognizes [i.e., deliberates upon and thereby understands] the intrinsic nature of the world to be essenceless, so far detachment towards it arises. Of this there is no doubt. When the world is thus determined to be possessed of numerous defects, O Yudhiṣṭhra, an intelligent person shall certainly endeavor for the sake of liberation of the self.”

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īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe’rjuna tiṣṭhati

īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe’rjuna tiṣṭhati |
bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 18.61)

“O Arjuna, the Īśvara of all entities dwells in the region of the heart and with his māyā causes all entities to move mounted on an apparatus.”

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so’haṁ tavāṅghry-upagato’smy asatāṁ durāpaṁ

so’haṁ tavāṅghry-upagato’smy asatāṁ durāpaṁ
tac cāpy ahaṁ bhavad-anugraha īśa manye |
puṁso bhaved yarhi saṁsaraṇāpavargas
tvayy abja-nābha sad-upāsanayā matiḥ syāt ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.40.28)

“Being such [i.e., although I am unable to restrict my mind from the pull of the senses upon it towards their various objects], I have approached your feet, which are difficult to attain for the asat. That too, furthermore, I consider your favor, O Īśa! When the cessation of saṁsāra shall come about for a person, O you of lotus navel, inclination towards you shall come about as a result of worship of the sat.”

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maivaṁ mamādhamasyāpi syād evācyuta-darśanam

maivaṁ mamādhamasyāpi syād evācyuta-darśanam |
hriyamāṇaḥ kāla-nadyā kvacit tarati kaścana ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.38.5; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.44)

“[Akrūra muses:] It is not like that. Although [I am] fallen, I may indeed have darśana of Acyuta. Sometimes someone being carried by the river of time crosses over.”

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tyaja durjana-saṁsargaṁ bhaja sādhu-samāgamam

tyaja durjana-saṁsargaṁ bhaja sādhu-samāgamam |
kuru puṇyam aho rātraṁ smara nityam anityatām ||
(Cāṇakhya-nīti-darpaṇam: 14.20)

“Abandon the association of wicked persons.
Honor the association of virtuous persons.
Perform meritorious action day and night.
And always remember the impermanence
[of everything of the world].”

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tat sasarja tadā brahmā bhagavān ādi-kṛt prabhuḥ

tat sasarja tadā brahmā bhagavān ādi-kṛt prabhuḥ |
teṣāṃ ye yāni karmāṇi prāk-sṛṣṭyāṁ pratipedire |
tāny eva te prapadyante sṛjyamānāḥ punaḥ punaḥ ||
hiṁsrāhiṁsre mṛdu-krūre dharmadharmāv ṛtānṛte |
tad-bhāvitāḥ prapadyante tasmāt tat tasya rocate ||
(Viṣṇu Purāṇa: 1.5.60–61)

“Then Lord Bramā, the original maker and master, emanated them [i.e., all the living beings throughout the universe]. Being emanated again and again [in this way in each cyclic emanation of the universe], they acquired [in this present cyclic emanation] only those karmas of theirs which were acquired [by them] in the previous emanation [of the universe]. They acquired [dispositions and actions constituted of combinations of] violence and non-violence, gentleness and cruelty, dharma and adharma, truthfulness and untruthfulness, being steeped in [various combinations of] these [in accord with their previous karmas]. Thus, they liked them [i.e., thus they felt affinity for the dispositions and actions they adopted because they naturally gravitated to them as a result of their previous karmas, meaning, as a result of the vāsanās they were beset with in accord with their previous karmas].”

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