Śreyas

dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo’tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ

dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo’tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ
vedyaṁ vāstavam atra vastu śivadaṁ tāpa-trayonmūlanam |
śrīmad-bhāgavate mahāmuni-kṛte kiṁ vāparair īśvaraḥ
sadyo hṛdy avarudhyate’tra kṛtibhiḥ śuśrūṣubhis tat-kṣaṇāt ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.2; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.396; Tattva Sandarbha: 19, 26, 50; Bhagavat Sandarbha: 84; Paramātma Sandarbha: 106, Bhakti Sandarbha: 106, 115, 217; Prīti Sandarbha: 16, 18, 73; Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā and Bhakti-sāra-pradarśinī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.244)

“Here [i.e., in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam], for the sādhus who are free from envy, is the highest dharma wherein deceit is utterly rejected. Here is the Reality, the real object to be be known, which bestows the highest good and uproots the three miseries. What need is there of any other [śāstra] than this Śrīmad Bhāgavatam compiled by the best of the sages [i.e., Vedavyāsa]? [There is no such need because] Here Īśvara is bound within the heart by the fortunate who desire to serve immediately, from that [very] moment [they begin to listen].”

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yogās trayo mayā proktā nṝṇāṁ śreyo-vidhitsayā

yogās trayo mayā proktā nṝṇāṁ śreyo-vidhitsayā |
jñānaṁ karma ca bhaktiś ca nopāyo’nyo’sti kutracit ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.20.6; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 170)

“Three yogas—jñāna, karma, and bhakti—have been taught by me with the intention of bringing about the weal of human beings. There is no other means [to weal for human beings] anywhere.”

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na sādhayati māṁ yogo na sāṅkhyaṁ dharma uddhava

na sādhayati māṁ yogo na sāṅkhyaṁ dharma uddhava |
na svādhyāyas tapas tyāgo yathā bhaktir mamorjitā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.20; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.601; Bhakti Sandarbha: 78, 103, 147, 327; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.20.134)

“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] O Uddhava, neither yoga, nor sāṅkhya, nor dharma, nor study, nor austerity, nor renunciation cause attainment of me like powerful bhakti to me [does].”

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sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje

sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje |
ahaituky apratihatā yayātmā suprasīdati ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.2.6)

“That [dharma] because of which causeless and unobstructed bhakti to Adhokṣaja [i.e., Bhagavān, lit., ‘he who is transcendent’] can come to be, and by which the self [i.e., the mind] becomes fully satisfied, is alone the highest dharma for humanity.”

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etasmād viramendriyārtha-gahanād āyāsakād āśraya

etasmād viramendriyārtha-gahanād āyāsakād āśraya
śreyo-mārgam aśeṣa-duḥkha-śamana-vyāpāra-dakṣaṁ kṣaṇāt |
svātmībhāvam upaihi santyaja nijāṁ kallola-lolaṁ gatiṁ
mā bhūyo bhaja bhaṅgurāṁ bhava-ratiṁ cetaḥ prasīdādhunā ||
(Vairāgya-śatakam: 63)

“Therefore,

Desist from the troublesome labyrinth

Of the sense-objects.

Take shelter in the path

Of the highest good (śreyas),

Capable in the matter of extinguishing

Endless suffering within a moment.

Reach the state of your own self,

Abandoning your own [present] condition,

Inconstant like a wave.

Do not again

Foster transient affinity for the world

[Much less partake of transient pleasures of the world based on it].

O mind,

Be satisfied now.”

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na hy ato’nyaḥ śivaḥ panthā viśataḥ saṁsṛtāv iha

na hy ato’nyaḥ śivaḥ panthā viśataḥ saṁsṛtāv iha |
vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogo yato bhavet ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.2.33; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.566; Bhagavat Sandarbha: 85; Bhakti Sandarbha 28, 86, 115)

“For someone immersed here in saṁsāra, there is certainly no other auspicious path than that by which bhakti-yoga to Bhagavān Vāsudeva can come into being.”

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durlabho mānuṣo deho dehināṁ kṣaṇa-bhaṅguraḥ

durlabho mānuṣo deho dehināṁ kṣaṇa-bhaṅguraḥ |
tatrāpi durlabhaṁ manye vaikuṇṭha-priya-darśanam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.29; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.289)

“Precious is the human body, [although] perishable within a moment, for bearers of bodies [i.e., jīvas subject to saṁsāra], and I consider even more precious the darśana of those who are dear to Vaikuṇṭha [i.e., Bhagavān, alt., those to whom Vaikuṇṭha is dear].”

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sadhrīcīno hy ayaṁ loke panthāḥ kṣemo’kuto-bhayaḥ

sadhrīcīno hy ayaṁ loke panthāḥ kṣemo’kuto-bhayaḥ |
suśīlāḥ sādhavo yatra nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 6.1.17; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.565; Bhakti Sandarbha: 93, 121; Bṛhad and Laghu Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.3)

“In this world, this path [i.e., the path of bhakti to Śrī Nārāyaṇa], whereupon there are those of high character [i.e., gracious], virtue [i.e., non-desirousness], and devotion to Nārāyaṇa, is certainly well-directed [i.e., the most appropriate], since it is [supremely] beneficial and completely free from fear [i.e., any cause of obstruction or danger].”

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niyamāt phalam āpnoti na śreyo niyamaṁ vinā

niyamāt phalam āpnoti na śreyo niyamaṁ vinā ||
(Bhaviṣya Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 15.464)

“One attains the result on account of the vow [i.e., the resolution (saṅkalpa) to perform a given vrata or sevā]. Without the vow, no auspicious result comes about.”

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saiṣā hy upaniṣad brāhmī pūrveṣāṁ pūrva-jair dhṛtā

saiṣā hy upaniṣad brāhmī pūrveṣāṁ pūrva-jair dhṛtā |
śraddhayā dhārayed yas tāṁ kṣemaṁ gacched akiñcanaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.3)

“One who can adhere with śraddhā to this renowned Upaniṣad [i.e., this esoteric knowledge], related to Brahman and adhered to by the predecessors of our ancestors [i.e., by those such as Sanaka who came before Nārada and others], can become detached [i.e, free from adjuncts beginning with the body, or, free from possessiveness, that is, one can become an unalloyed bhakta] and attain weal [i.e., the supreme abode, or, bhakti-yoga, or Bhagavān’s lotus feet].

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