lokavat tu līlā-kaivalyam
lokavat tu līlā-kaivalyam |
(Vedānta-sūtra: 2.1.33)
“Like a person’s [endeavor to act], it [i.e., Brahman’s endeavor of emanating the universe], rather, is a singularity of play.”
Texts
yan martya-līlaupayikaṁ svayoga
yan martya-līlaupayikaṁ svayoga-
māyā-balaṁ darśayatā gṛhītam |
vismāpanaṁ svasya ca saubhagardheḥ
paraṁ padaṁ bhūṣaṇa-bhūṣaṇāṅgam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.2.12; cited in the Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.108; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.215; the Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.1.1, 2.5.108; Prīti Sandarbha: 80; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.21.100)
“To show the power of his own yogamāyā, he [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa] assumed [that form of his] which is suited to human [-like] līlā, which is astonishing even to himself, which is the apogee of the excellence of loveliness, and in which the limbs are the ornaments of the ornaments [upon them].”
rajo’dhikāḥ karma-parā duḥkhe ca sukha-māninaḥ
rajo’dhikāḥ karma-parā duḥkhe ca sukha-māninaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.10.26)
“[Maitreya describes the nature of human beings:] ‘Filled with abundance of rajas and given to action, they consider themselves to feel happiness [even] while suffering.”
ratir aniśa-nisargoṣṇa-prabalatarānanda-pūra-rūpaiva
ratir aniśa-nisargoṣṇa-prabalatarānanda-pūra-rūpaiva |
uṣmāṇam api vamantī sudhāṁśu-koṭer api svādvī ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.3.61)
“Verily of the nature of a flood of bliss that is very strong and hot as a result of [its] incessant nature, rati, although [thus] emitting heat, is relishable more so than even a crore of nectar-rayed moons.”
pātraṁ tv atra niruktaṁ vai kavibhiḥ pātra-vittamaiḥ
pātraṁ tv atra niruktaṁ vai kavibhiḥ pātra-vittamaiḥ |
harir evaika urvīśa yan-mayaṁ vai carācaram ||
devarṣy-arhatsu vai satsu tatra brahmātmajādiṣu |
rājan yad agra-pūjāyāṁ mataḥ pātratayācyutaḥ ||
jīva-rāśibhir ākīrṇa aṇḍa-kośāṅghripo mahān |
tan-mūlatvād acyutejyā sarva-jīvātma-tarpaṇam ||
purāṇy anena sṛṣṭāni nṛ-tiryag-ṛṣi-devatāḥ |
śete jīvena rūpeṇa pureṣu puruṣo hy asau ||
teṣv eva bhagavān rājaṁs tāratamyena vartate |
tasmāt pātraṁ hi puruṣo yāvān ātmā yatheyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.14.34–38)
“[Śrī Nārada to Śrī Yudhiṣṭhira:] O Ruler of the earth! The one Hari alone, of whom the universe [lit., the moving and the unmoving] is constituted, has been declared the [most] fit recipient of honor (pātram) here [i.e., on the earth] by the learned most knowledgable in regard to fit recipients of honor since, O King, Acyuta [i.e., Hari] was accepted as being the fit recipient of the first worship there [i.e., at your Rājasūya sacrifice] even when the devas, ṛṣis, ascetics, sons of Brahmā [i.e., Sanat, Sanandana, and so on], and others were present. Worship of Acyuta is satisfying to all jīvas and oneself because of [his] being the root of the vast tree of the universe filled with the multitudes of jīvas. The abodes [i.e., bodies] of human beings, animals, sages, and devatās [i.e., all living beings] were emanated by him. He, the Puruṣa, [then] lies in those abodes in the form of life [i.e., in the form of he who is the cause of life in those abodes, i.e., the Inner Regulator (Antaryāmī)]. O King, Bhagavān is present in these [abodes, i.e., bodies] verily in a gradation. Therefore, a person [i.e., a human being] is a fit recipient of honor as and to the extent the Self [i.e., Bhagavān] is perceived.”
deśān puṇyān āśrayeta mad-bhaktaiḥ sādhubhiḥ śritān
deśān puṇyān āśrayeta mad-bhaktaiḥ sādhubhiḥ śritān |
devāsura-manuṣyeṣu mad-bhaktācaritāni ca ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.10; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.519)
“One should take shelter of sacred places where the sādhus, my bhaktas, reside, and [one should take shelter] of the activities of my bhaktas among the devas, asuras, and human beings.”
bhaktyā tv ananyayā śakya aham evaṁvidho’rjuna
bhaktyā tv ananyayā śakya aham evaṁvidho’rjuna |
jñātuṁ draṣṭuṁ ca tattvena praveṣṭuṁ ca parantapa ||
mat-karma-kṛn mat-paramo mad-bhaktaḥ saṅga-varjitaḥ |
nirvairaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ sa mām eti pāṇḍava ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 11.54–55)
“But by exclusive (ananyā) bhakti, O Arjuna, O scorcher of enemies, I, in this form, am able in reality to be known, to be seen, and to be entered [i.e., fully united with]. One who is a performer of action related to me, for whom I am supreme, who is my bhakta, who is free from attachment, and who is without enmity towards all beings, attains me, O son of Pandu.”
nārāyaṇaḥ paraṁ brahma taj jñānenātha gamyate
nārāyaṇaḥ paraṁ brahma taj jñānenātha gamyate |
jñānasya sādhanaṁ śāstraṁ śāstraṁ ca guru-vaktragam ||
brahma-prāptir ato hetor gurv-adhīnā sadaiva hi |
hetunānena vai viprā gurur gurutaraḥ smṛtaḥ ||
yasmād devo jagannāthaḥ kṛtvā martyamayīṁ tanum |
magnān uddharate lokān kāruṇyāc chāstra-pāṇinā ||
tasmād bhaktir gurau kāryā saṁsāra-bhaya-bhīruṇā |
śāstra-jñānena yo’jñānaṁ timiraṁ vinipātayet ||
śāstraṁ pāpa-haraṁ puṇyaṁ pavitraṁ bhoga-mokṣadam |
śāntidaṁ ca mahārthaṁ ca vakti yaḥ sa jagad-guruḥ ||
(Nārada Pañcarātra; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.413–417)
“Nārāyaṇa is the Supreme Brahman, and he is attained by means of knowledge (jñāna). The means of acquiring knowledge (jñāna) is the śāstra, and the śāstra is learned from the mouth of the guru. For this reason, the attainment of Brahman is indeed verily always dependent on the guru, and for that reason, O brāhmaṇas, the guru is known to be very important [lit., ‘very heavy’]. Because Deva, the Lord of universe, out of compassion adopts a mortal form [i.e., the human form of the guru] and delivers the people immersed [in the ocean of saṁsāra] with the hand of the śāstra, bhakti to the guru is to be performed by those who are frighted by the fear of saṁsāra [i.e., by those who aspire to transcend saṁsāra]. He who can completely dispel the darkness of ignorance with knowledge of the śāstra—[he] who is a speaker of the śāstra, which is a remover of sin, sacred, purifying, a bestower of enjoyment and mokṣa, a bestower of peace, and possessed of deep meaning—is a guru of the world.”
aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ
aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ |
jñāna-vairāgyayoś caiva ṣaṇṇāṁ bhaga itīṅganā ||
(Viṣṇu Purāṇa: 6.5.74; cited in Bhagavat Sandarbha: 3)
“[The word] Bhaga [i.e., ‘excellence’] is an indication of six [attributes]: complete mastery, potency, fame, wealth, knowledge, and non-attachment.”
evaṁ-vrataḥ sva-priya-nāma-kīrtyā
evaṁ-vrataḥ sva-priya-nāma-kīrtyā
jātānurāgo druta-citta uccaiḥ |
hasaty atho roditi rauti gāyaty
unmādavan nṛtyati loka-bāhyaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.40; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.641; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.4.6 Bhakti Sandarbha: 188, 263; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.7.94, 2.9.260, 2.23.41, 2.25.141, 3.3.179)
“One whose rite is so, in whom anurāga [i.e., prema] has manifest by chanting the name of one’s Beloved, and who is [thus] of melted heart, loudly laughs, cries, shouts, sings, and dances as though mad, oblivious to society.”