Sūkti Sudhākara

ratnākaras tava gṛhaṁ gṛhinī ca padmā

ratnākaras tava gṛhaṁ gṛhinī ca padmā
kiṁ deyam asti bhavate jagadīśvarāya |
ābhīra-vāma-nayanāhṛta-mānasāya
dattaṁ mano yadupate tad idaṁ gṛhāna ||
(Rahīma-ratnāvalī)

“Your home is the ocean [lit., the source of jewels], and your wife is Padmā [i.e., Lakṣmī Devī, the goddess of wealth]. What can be given to you, the Lord of the universe [i.e., you who possess everything]? Therefore, to you whose mind has been stolen by the charming eyes of the gopīs, I have given my mind. O King of the Yadus, please accept it.”

Read on →

yatraikāgrato tatrāviśeṣāt

yatraikāgrato tatrāviśeṣāt |
(Vedānta-sūtra: 4.1.11)

“[Where should one perform upāsana?] Where one-pointedness [of mind] occurs, because of [there being] no particulars in that regard [i.e., because śāstra gives no injunctions regarding where upāsana should be performed other than where the mind can become one-pointed].”

Read on →

mana ekatra saṁyuñjyāj jita-śvāso jitāsanaḥ

mana ekatra saṁyuñjyāj jita-śvāso jitāsanaḥ |
vairāgyābhyāsa-yogena dhriyamāṇam atandritaḥ ||
yasmin mano labdha-padaṁ yad etac
chanaiḥ śanair muñcati karma-reṇūn |
sattvena vṛddhena rajas tamaś ca
vidhūya nirvāṇam upaity anindhanam ||
tadaivam ātmany avaruddha-citto
na veda kiñcid bahir antaraṁ vā |
yatheṣu-kāro nṛpatiṁ vrajantam
iṣau gatātmā na viveda pārśve ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.9.11–13)

“Mastering one’s posture and [then] mastering one’s breath, fix the steadied mind in one place alertly through non-attachment and regulated practice. The mind in which a position is attained [i.e., a mind which has become fixed on its object] gradually gives up the dust of karma [i.e., the vāsanās produced by karma], by an increase of sattva shakes off rajas and tamas, and attains perfect repose (nirvāṇa) free from any kindling [i.e., any effects of the guṇas]. Then, in this way, the mind shut in upon the ātmā does not perceive anything external [e.g., sights] or internal [e.g., memories], just as an arrow-maker, his mind absorbed in [crafting] arrows, did not notice in the least a king passing beside him [with a large entourage playing kettle-drums].”

Read on →

idaṁ hi yogeśvara yoga-naipuṇaṁ

idaṁ hi yogeśvara yoga-naipuṇaṁ
hiraṇyagarbho bhagavāñ jagāda yat |
yad anta-kāle tvayi nirguṇe mano
bhaktyā dadhītojjhita-duṣkalevaraḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.19.13)

“O Master of yoga, that which Bhagavān Hiraṇyagarbha [i.e., Lord Brahmā] has spoken of is certainly expertise in yoga: at the time of death, the wavering mind, abandoning the contemptible body, should be placed with bhakti on you who are nirguṇa.”

Read on →

mana eva manuṣyāṇaṁ kāraṇaṁ bandha-mokṣayoḥ

mana eva manuṣyāṇaṁ kāraṇaṁ bandha-mokṣayoḥ |
bandhāya viṣayāsaktaṁ muktyai nirviṣayaṁ smṛtam ||
(Maitrāyaṇīya Upaniṣad: 6.34.11)

“For human beings, the mind alone is the cause of bondage and mokṣa. A mind that is attached to sense objects is regarded as the cause of bondage, and a mind uninvolved with the sense objects is [regarded as] the cause of liberation.”

Read on →

māyā manaḥ sṛjati karmamayaṁ balīyaḥ

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]?”

Read on →

Scroll to Top