Bhāgavata Sandarbha – Page 48

etāvān eva loke’smin

etāvān eva loke’smin puṁsāṁ niḥśreyasodayaḥ |
tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena mano mayy arpitaṁ sthiram ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.25.44; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 47)

“The mind [in a state of being] offered to me through resolute bhakti-yoga [i.e., through engagement in practices of bhakti, such as hearing] and [thus remaining] steady [i.e., absorbed in me]—this much alone [i.e., being in this state of mind by means of bhakti] is [itself] the manifestation of the highest good [i.e., the attainment of the ultimate puruṣārtha] for the living being in this world.”

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yo yo mayi pare dharmaḥ

yo yo mayi pare dharmaḥ kalpyate niṣphalāya cet |
tatrāyāso nirarthaḥ syād bhayāder iva sattama ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.21; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 148, 333)

“O best of the virtuous, if any sort of dharma [i.e., any sort of practice of bhakti, such as hearing, praising, and so on] related to me, the Supreme, is performed not for the purpose of a result [i.e., not out of desire for worldly attainments, Svarga, mokṣa, and so on, but rather only for the purpose of pleasing me], then exertion regarding it [i.e., for the purpose of accomplishing it] is useless [i.e., such actions can be effortlessly made manifested by bhakti’s inherent potency, and thus exertion to accomplish it is useless], just like exertion out of fear and so forth [i.e., just like fleeing out of fear, crying out of sorrow in a forest where no one can hear, and so on, are useless].”

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nālaṁ dvijatvaṁ devatvam

nālaṁ dvijatvaṁ devatvam ṛṣitvaṁ vāsurātmajāḥ |
prīṇanāya mukundasya na vṛttaṁ na bahu-jñatā ||
na dānaṁ na tapo nejyā na śaucaṁ na vratāni ca |
prīyate’malayā bhaktyā harir anyad viḍambanam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.7.51–52; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.590–591, Bhakti Sandarbha: 168)

[Prahlāda:] “O sons of the asuras, neither being a twice-born, being a deva, or being a ṛṣi, nor conduct [i.e., sadācāra], nor being greatly knowledgeable, nor charity, nor austerity, nor worship, nor cleanliness, nor rites are able to please Mukunda. Hari is pleased [only] by taintless bhakti. All else is a sham.”

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mad-guṇa-śruti-mātreṇa

mad-guṇa-śruti-mātreṇa mayi sarva-guhāśaye |
mano-gatir avicchinnā yathā gaṅgāmbhaso’mbudhau ||
lakṣaṇaṁ bhakti-yogasya nirguṇasya hy udāhṛtam |
ahaituky avyavahitā yā bhaktiḥ puruṣottame ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.29.11–12; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.13–15; Bhakti Sandarbha: 234)

“‘[Kapiladeva to Devahūti:] Bhakti which is an uninterrupted, causeless, and unobstructed flow of the mind—solely because of hearing my qualities—towards me, the Supreme Person, who dwells in the hearts [lit., “caves”] of all, like [the flow of] the water of the Gaṅgā towards the ocean, is said to be the characteristic of nirguṇa-bhakti-yoga.”

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bhaktir asya bhajanam

bhaktir asya bhajanam | tad ihāmutropādhi-nairāsyenāmuṣmin manaḥ-kalpanam | etad eva ca naiṣkarmyam ||
(Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad: Pūrva, 14; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 1.166; Bhakti Sandarbha 169, 234)

“Bhakti is worship (bhajana) of him [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa]. It is engaging the mind in him free from upādhis (adjuncts) [i.e., desires] related to this world and the next [i.e., engaging in hearing, praising, remembering, and so forth related to him without any motivation of attaining anything related to this world or the next but rather with the motivation solely of attaining him such that one can serve and satisfy him]. And this is indeed [secondarily] naiṣkarmya [i.e., mukti, syn., jñāna; lit., exoneration from and transcendence of karma].”

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vede rāmāyaṇe caiva

vede rāmāyaṇe caiva purāṇe bhārate tathā |
ādāv ante ca madhye ca hariḥ sarvatra gīyate ||
(Hari-vaṁśa: Bhaviṣyat-parva, 132.95; cited in Tattva Sandarbha: 22)

“Throughout the Vedas, Rāmāyaṇa, the Purāṇas, and Mahābhārata, at the beginning, at the end, and in the middle, Hari is sung of everywhere.”

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yac-chaktayo vadatāṁ vādināṁ vai

yac-chaktayo vadatāṁ vādināṁ vai
vivāda-saṁvāda-bhuvo bhavanti |
kurvanti caiṣāṁ muhur ātma-mohaṁ
tasmai namo‘nanta-guṇāya bhūmne ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 6.4.31; cited in Bhagavat Sandarbha: 12)

“Obeisance unto him, the Supreme Being of unlimited qualities, whose energies are the cause of agreement and disagreement among the proponents of [various] philosophies and continuously bewilder them about [the nature of] the ātma.”

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yadā yasyānugṛhṇāti

yadā yam anugṛhṇāti bhagavān ātma-bhāvitaḥ |
sa jahāti matiṁ loke vede ca pariniṣṭhitām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.29.46; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.64; Bhakti Sandarbha: 284; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 11.115)

“[Nārada to Prācīnabarhi:] When Bhagavān, being meditated upon within the heart, favors one, then one abandons resolute regard for the world [i.e., social conventions] and the Veda [i.e., injunctions given in the Vedas].”

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taṁ sukhārādhyam ṛjubhir

taṁ sukhārādhyam ṛjubhir ananya-śaraṇair nṛbhiḥ |
kṛtajñaḥ ko na seveta durārādhyam asādhubhiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.19.36′; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 153)

“What grateful person would not worship he who is easily propitiated by persons who are sincere and of undivided shelter yet difficult to propitiate for the unvirtuous [i.e., those who are the opposite]?”

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sādhavo hṛdayaṁ mahyaṁ

sādhavo hṛdayaṁ mahyaṁ sādhūnāṁ hṛdayaṁ tv aham |
mad-anyat te na jānanti nāhaṁ tebhyo manāg api ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.4.68; cited in Paramātma Sandarbha: 93, Prīti Sandarbha: 65; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.1.62)

[Viṣṇu to Durvāsā:] “Sādhus are my heart, and I am the sādhus’ heart. They do not know anyone other than me, and I do not know anyone other than them at all.”

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