Saṁsāra

yathā vastūni paṇyāni hemādīni tatas tataḥ

yathā vastūni paṇyāni hemādīni tatas tataḥ |
paryaṭanti nareṣv evaṁ jīvo yoniṣu kartṛṣu ||
nityasyārthasya sambandho hy anityo dṛśyate nṛṣu |
yāvad yasya hi sambandho mamatvaṁ tāvad eva hi ||
evaṁ yoni-gato jīvaḥ sa nityo nirahaṅkṛtaḥ |
yāvad yatropalabhyeta tāvat svatvaṁ hi tasya tat ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 6.16.6–8)

“As commodities such as gold pass on and on among people, so does a jīva among families and progenitors. Among people, [even] a relationship with a permanent entity [i.e., with another jīva] is seen to be impermanent, and only as long as one has the relationship is there possessiveness (mamatva) [lit., ‘my-ness,’ for that entity]. The jīva situated in a [particular] family similarly is eternal and without ego [i.e., the jīva does not inherently possessed of any sense of identity or belonging related the body, the family, or the other particulars into which it is born in a given lifetime]. Its [i.e., a jīva’s] identification with that [i.e., the family, body, and so forth into which it is born] remains only as long as it may be found there [i.e., only as long as that lifespan lasts].”

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yato na kaścit kva ca kutracid vā

yato na kaścit kva ca kutracid vā
dīnaḥ svam ātmānam alaṁ samarthaḥ |
vimocituṁ kāma-dṛśāṁ vihāra-
krīḍā-mṛgo yan-nigaḍo visargaḥ ||
tato vidūrāt parihṛtya daityā
daityeṣu saṅgaṁ viṣayātmakeṣu |
upeta nārāyaṇam ādi-devaṁ
sa mukta-saṅgair iṣito’pavargaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.6.17–18; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 5)

[Translated according to the Bhāvārtha-dīpikā:] “Exceedingly lowly and a toy-animal for the play of women (kāmadṛśāṁ), because of whom the fetter of progeny comes about, no one anywhere at any time is able to fully liberate one’s own self [from family life]. Therefore, O Daityas, from afar completely forsake association (saṅga) with [alt., attachment to] the Daityas, whose minds are [fixed] on objects of the senses, and approach Nārāyaṇa, the Original Deva. He is the final beatitude (apavarga) [alt., liberation] desired by those who are freed from attachment.”

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gatānugatiko lokaḥ na loko pāramārthikaḥ

gatānugatiko lokaḥ na loko pāramārthikaḥ |
piṇḍa-dvaya-pradānena gataṁ me tāmra-bhājanam ||
(Unknown source)

“People are imitative [i.e., they tend to follow what those before them have done]. People are not [even] interested in the greater significance [of the actions they or others perform]. My copper vessel is gone [just] because of making two mounds [of sand]!”

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kva kasya karma saṁvīkṣya karoty anyo’pi garhitam

kva kasya karma saṁvīkṣya karoty anyo’pi garhitam |
gatānugatiko loko na lokaḥ pāramārthikaḥ ||
(Pañcatantra: 373)

“After observing the contemptible act of someone somewhere, another also does it. People are imitative [lit., they just follow, that is, blindly copy, those who have gone before them]. People are not seekers of a higher object [alt., the ultimate attainment, i.e., they do not really care for virtue, truth, ideals, or a spiritual end].”

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sā śraddadhānasya vivardhamānā

sā śraddadhānasya vivardhamānā
viraktim anyatra karoti puṁsaḥ |
hareḥ padānusmṛti-nirvṛtasya
samasta-duḥkhāpyayam āśu dhatte ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.5.13)

“That [i.e., inclination (mati), meaning, taste, for discussion of Hari], upon flourishing, produces disinterest for all else in a person endowed with śraddhā. The dissolution of all suffering of one who is delighted by continuous remembrance of Hari’s feet is quickly effected.”

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arthendriyārthābhidhyānaṁ sarvārthāpahnavo nṛṇām

arthendriyārthābhidhyānaṁ sarvārthāpahnavo nṛṇām |
bhraṁśito jñāna-vijñānād yenāviśati mukhyatām ||
na kuryāt karhicit saṅgaṁ tamas tīvraṁ titīriṣuḥ |
dharmārtha-kāma-mokṣāṇāṁ yad atyanta-vighātakam ||
tatrāpi mokṣa evārtha ātyantikatayeṣyate |
vijñāyātmatayā dhīraḥ saṁsārāt parimucyate |
traivargyo’rtho yato nityaṁ kṛtānta-bhaya-saṁyutaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgatavatam: 4.22.33–35; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 1)

“For human beings, continuous thought [alt., coveting] of wealth and objects of the senses, because of which one becomes diverted from [one’s] knowledge [of śāstra] and realization [of śāstra’s object] and enters primitivity [i.e., inanimate life forms], is destructive of all arthas [i.e., detrimental to the attainment of all the puruṣārthas]. One who desires to cross over the fearsome darkness [i.e., saṁsāra] should never foster attachment (saṅga) to that which is perpetually [alt., exceedingly] destructive of dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa. Even therein [i.e., among the four puruṣārthas], mokṣa alone is regarded as being the ultimate artha, since an artha belonging to the tri-varga [i.e., the three puruṣārthas of dharma, artha, and kāma] is forever fraught with fear of death [alt., time, i.e., is perpetually subject to inevitable loss and thus incapable of ever producing true fulfillment].”

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mahābhūtāny ahaṅkāro buddhir avyaktam eva ca |

mahābhūtāny ahaṁkāro buddhir avyaktam eva ca |
indriyāṇi daśaikaṁ ca pañca cendriya-gocarāḥ ||
icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ saṁghātaś cetanā dhṛtiḥ |
etat kṣetraṁ samāsena sa-vikāram udāhṛtam ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 13.5-6)

“The [five] gross elements (mahābhūtas), the ego (ahaṅkāra), the intellect (buddhi), the unmanifested [i.e., prakṛti], the ten senses and the one [additional one], the five objects of the senses, desire, aversion, happiness, suffering, the aggregate [i.e., the body], consciousness, and resolution—this in sum is said to be the field (kṣetra) along with its transformations.”

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asāre khalu saṁsāre sukha-bhrāntiḥ śarīriṇām

asāre khalu saṁsāre sukha-bhrāntiḥ śarīriṇām |
lālāpānam ivāṅguṣṭhe bālānāṁ stanya-vibhramaḥ ||
(Samayocita-padya-mālikā; Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 3742)

“In verily essenceless saṁsāra, the embodied have a false impression of happiness (sukha), just as a child sucking its thumb has the misperception of a breast.”

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dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā samānaṁ vṛkṣaṁ pariṣasvajāte

dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā samānaṁ vṛkṣaṁ pariṣasvajāte |
tayor anyaḥ pippalaṁ svādv atty anaśnann anyo abhicākaśīti ||
samāne vṛkṣe puruṣo nimagno’niśayā śocati muhyamānaḥ |
juṣṭaṁ yadā paśyaty anyam īśam asya mahimānam iti vīta-śokaḥ ||
(Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad: 3.1.1–2)

“Two birds of beautiful plumage,

Ever-united in friendship,

Perch on the same tree.

Among them,

One eats the tasty berry [of the tree],

And the other, not eating, watches over [the first].

On the same tree,

The puruṣa [i.e., the embodied living entity], absorbed,

Laments because of [his] powerlessness, being deluded.

When he sees the other, the Lord, satisfied, and his [i.e., the Lord’s] greatness, he becomes free from lamentation.”

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