Bhakti Sandarbha – Page 31

ahaṁ bhakta-parādhīno

ahaṁ bhakta-parādhīno hy asvatantra iva dvija |
sādhubhir grasta-hṛdayo bhaktair bhakta-jana-priyaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.4.63; cited in Paramātma Sandarbha: 93, Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 177, Bhakti Sandarbha: 181, Prīti Sandarbha: 62, 122, 146)

[Viṣṇu to Durvāsā:] “O brāhmaṇa, I am completely controlled by my bhaktas. Indeed, it is as though I am not independent. My heart is captured by the sādhus, my bhaktas, as I hold my bhaktas dear [and so also those who belong to my bhaktas].”

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mat-kathā-vācakaṁ nityaṁ

mat-kathā-vācakaṁ nityaṁ mat-kathā-śravaṇe ratam |
mat-kathā-prīti-manasaṁ nāhaṁ tyakṣyāmi taṁ naram ||
(Viṣṇu-dharma; Skanda Purāṇa: 2.5.16.53; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha 269)

“[Bhagavān:] I never abandon that person who always recounts discussion of me, who engages in hearing discussion of me, or whose mind fosters fondness (prīti) for discussion of me.”

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yatra yatra mahīpāla

yatra yatra mahīpāla vaiṣṇavī vartate kathā |
tatra tatra harir yāti gaur yathā suta-vatsalā ||
(Skanda Purāṇa; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha 269)

“O Protector of the earth, Hari goes wherever kathā of the Vaiṣṇavas [i.e., discussion of Viṣṇu or Vaiṣṇavas] is present like a cow full of affection for its calf.”

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yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena

yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena
tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ |
prāṇopahārāc ca yathendriyāṇāṁ
tathaiva sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.31.14)

“As the trunks, branches, and sub-branches of a tree are all satiated by watering the root thereof, and as [satiation] of the sense organs comes about as a result of an offering [of food] to the vital air, so exactly honoring of all [beings] comes about by worship of Acyuta.”

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evaṁ sva-citte svata eva siddha

evaṁ sva-citte svata eva siddha
ātmā priyo’rtho bhagavān anantaḥ |
taṁ nirvṛto niyatārtho bhajeta
saṁsāra-hetūparamaś ca yatra ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.2.6; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 2)

“As such [i.e., being detached from mundanity], resolute and fulfilled, one should engage in worship of him [Hari], [since he is] self-existent within one’s own consciousness, the Self, beloved, real, glorious, and without end, wherein [i.e., within such worship] there is cessation of the cause of saṁsāra and so forth [i.e., attainment of him.”

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sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ paśyed

sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ paśyed bhagavad-bhāvam ātmanaḥ |
bhūtāni bhagavaty ātmany eṣa bhāgavatottamaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.45)

“One who can see the presence of one’s own Bhagavān [i.e., one’s Iṣṭadevatā] within all entities and [all] entities within the Bhagavān within oneself [i.e., within one’s Iṣṭadevatā] is a topmost bhāgavata.”

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bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syād

bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syād
īśād apetasya viparyayo’smṛtiḥ |
tan-māyayāto budha ābhajet taṁ
bhaktyaikayeśaṁ guru-devatātmā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.37; cited in Tattva Sandarbha: 32; Paramātma Sandarbha: 47; Bhakti Sandarbha: 1, 59, 114; Prīti Sandarbha: 1; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.20.116)

“Non-awareness, misapprehension, and fear because of absorption in a second shall occur by means of Īśa’s māyā for one who is averse to him. Therefore, a wise person, being one for whom the guru is the Devatā and the self (ātmā), should fully worship him, Īśa [i.e., Bhagavān] with one-pointed bhakti.”

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ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ śrotavyo mantavyo nididhyāsitavyo

ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ śrotavyo mantavyo nididhyāsitavyo maitreyy ātmano vā are darśanena śravaṇena matyā vijñānenedaṁ sarvaṁ viditam |
(Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: 2.4.5, 4.5.6; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 7)

“Truly, the Ātmā [alt., the ātmā] is to be seen, [that is,] to be heard about, to be contemplated, and to be deeply meditated upon. O Maitreyī, truly, by seeing, [that is,] by hearing, reflecting upon, and realizing the Ātmā, everything becomes known.”

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na vā are patyuḥ kāmāya patiḥ priyo bhavaty

na vā are patyuḥ kāmāya patiḥ priyo bhavaty ātmanas tu kāmāya patiḥ priyo bhavati | na vā are jāyāyai kāmāya jāyā priyā bhavaty ātmanas tu kāmāya jāyā priyā bhavati | na vā are putrāṇāṁ kāmāya putrāḥ priyā bhavanty ātmanas tu kāmāya putrāḥ priyā bhavanti | na vā are vittasya kāmāya vittaṁ priyaṁ bhavaty ātmanas tu kāmāya vittaṁ priyaṁ bhavati | na vā are brahmaṇaḥ kāmāya brahma priyaṁ bhavati, ātmanas tu kāmāya brahma priyaṁ bhavati | na vā are kṣatrasya kāmāya kṣatraṁ priyaṁ bhavaty ātmanas tu kāmāya kṣatraṁ priyaṁ bhavati | na vā are lokānāṁ kāmāya lokāḥ priyā bhavanty ātmanas tu kāmāya lokāḥ priyā bhavanti | na vā are devānāṁ kāmāya devāḥ priyā bhavanty ātmanas tu kāmāya devāḥ priyā bhavanti | na vā are bhūtānāṁ kāmāya bhūtāni priyāṇi bhavanty ātmanas tu kāmāya bhūtāni priyāṇi bhavanti | na vā are sarvasya kāmāya sarvaṁ priyaṁ bhavaty ātmanas tu kāmāya sarvaṁ priyaṁ bhavati | ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ śrotavyo mantavyo nididhyāsitavyo maitreyy ātmano vā are darśanena śravaṇena matyā vijñānenedaṁ sarvaṁ viditam |
(Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: 2.4.5; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 7)

“Truly, not for the sake of love for the husband is the husband dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā [alt., ātmā] the husband is dear. Truly, not for the sake of love for the wife is the wife dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā the wife is dear. Truly, not for the sake of love for sons are sons dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā sons are dear. Truly, not for the sake of love for wealth is wealth dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā wealth is dear. Truly, not for the sake of love for the brāhmaṇa is the brāhmaṇa dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā the brāhmaṇa is dear. Truly, not for the sake of love for the kṣatriya is the kṣatriya dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā the kṣatriya is dear. Truly, not for the sake of love for the worlds are the worlds dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā the worlds are dear. Truly, not for the sake of love for the devas are the devas dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā the devas are dear. Truly, not for the sake of love for living beings are living beings dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā living beings are dear. Truly, not for the sake of love for all are all dear. Rather, for the sake of love for the Ātmā all are dear. Truly, the Ātmā is to be seen, [that is,] to be heard about, to be contemplated, and to be deeply meditated upon. O Maitreyī, truly, by seeing, [that is,] by hearing, reflecting upon, and realizing the Ātmā, everything becomes known.”

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kauṭilyam aśraddhā

yataḥ kauṭilyam, aśraddhā bhagavan-niṣṭhā-cyāvaka-vastv-antarābhiniveśaḥ, bhakti-śaithilyaṁ, sva-bhakty-ādi-kṛta-mānitvam ity evam-ādīni mahat-saṅgādi-lakṣāṇa-bhaktyāpi nivartayituṁ duṣkarāṇi cet, tarhi tasyāparādhasyaiva kāryāṇi, tāny eva ca prācīnasya tasya liṅgāni | … śrī-bhagavati śrī-gurau tad-bhaktādiṣu cāntarānādarādāv api sati bahis tad-arcanādy-ārambhaḥ kauṭilyam | … athāśraddhā dṛṣṭe śrute’pi tan-mahimādau viparīta-bhāvanādinā viśvāsābhāvaḥ | … atha bhakti-śaithilyaṁ yenādhyātmikādi-sukha-duḥkha-niṣṭhaivollasati | … bhakty-ādi-kṛtābhimānatvaṁ cāparādha-kṛtam eva, vaiṣṇavāvamānādi-laksaṇāparādhāntara-janakatvāt |

(Bhakti-sandarbha: 153, 155, 159)

“If (1) crookedness, (2) aśraddhā, (3) absorption in other objects that erodes fixity upon Bhagavān, (4) slackening in bhakti, (5) pridefulness in one’s acts of bhakti and so forth, and other such [behaviors] are difficult to abstain from even by means of bhakti in the form of association with the great (mahat) and so forth, then they are effects of one’s aparādha [committed in this life] and indicators of that [i.e., aparādha committed] in the past [i.e., in previous lives]. … Externally performing worship and so forth of Śrī Bhagavān, śrī guru, his [i.e., Bhagavān’s] bhaktas, and others even while bearing disrespect and so forth towards them internally is [called] crookedness (kauṭilya). … The absence of conviction (viśvāsa) in his [i.e., Bhagavān’s] greatness and so forth, even when it is seen or heard of, as a result of contrary opinion and so forth [e.g., assumption of deception, assumption of impossibility, etc.] is [called] aśraddhā [“faithlessness”]. … Slackening in bhakti is that by which fixity upon pleasures and pains related to the self and so forth [i.e., (1) related to one’s own body and mind (ādhyātmika), (2) related to other living beings (ādhibhautika), and (3) related to natural phenomena (ādhidaivika)] increases. … Pridefulness in one’s acts of bhakti and so forth is created by aparādha because of [it, i.e., such pridefulness] being a cause of other aparādhas, such as disrespecting Vaiṣṇavas [i.e., because an act that is not an effect of aparādha will not give rise to a further effect that is an aparādha, pridefulness in one’s own acts of bhakti is inferred to be an effect of aparādha since it leads to aparādhas such as disrespecting Vaiṣṇavas].”

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