Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa

yo yo viśeṣo’pekṣyaḥ syād anyo’pi likhiteṣv iha

athopasaṁhāraḥ |
yo yo viśeṣo’pekṣyaḥ syād anyo’pi likhiteṣv iha |
tat-tac-chāstrāt sa sa jñeyo nitarāṁ ca guror mukhāt ||
santy anye’pi sadācārā bahavaḥ śāstra-darśitāḥ |
na likhyante’tra te sarve grāhakābhāvato’dhunā ||
kṛtyāny etāni tu prāyo gṛhiṇāṁ dhanināṁ satām |
likhitāni na tu tyakta-parigraha-mahātmanām ||
avaśyaṁ tāni sarvāṇi teṣāṁ tādṛktva-siddhaye |
prāg apekṣyāṇi bhaktir hi sadācāraika-sādhanā ||
teṣāṁ ca pūrva-likhitāt kṛtyāny ekānti-lakṣaṇāt |
vyaktiṁ yātāny athāpy ante likhyante’lpāni kānicit ||
athaikānti-kṛtyam
prāk prema-bhakti-sampatteś cihnāni likhitāni hi |
tāny evaikāntināṁ prāyo jñāpakāni vidur budhāḥ ||
sarva-tyāge’py aheyāyāḥ sarvānartha-bhuvaś ca te |
kuryuḥ pratiṣṭhā-viṣṭhāyā yatnam asparśane varam ||
ata evoktam ekādaśe śrī-bhagavatā—
jñāna-niṣṭho virakto vā mad-bhakto vānapekṣakaḥ |
sa-liṅgān āśramāṁs tyaktvā cared avidhi-gocaraḥ ||
ekāntināṁ gatānāṁ tu śrī-kṛṣṇa-caraṇābjayoḥ |
bhaktiḥ svataḥ pravarteta tad-vighnaiḥ kiṁ vratādibhiḥ ||
tathā brahma-vaivarte—
yathā katham api śrīmān śrīkāntaṁ samupāśritaḥ |
kurute’khila-pāpānāṁ pralayaṁ kiṁ punar vrataiḥ ||
viṣṇu-rahasye brahma-nārada-saṁvāde māsopavāsa-kathanānte—
indriyārtheṣv asaktānāṁ sadaiva vimalā matiḥ |
paritoṣayate viṣṇuṁ nopavāso’jitātmanaḥ ||375||
kiṁ tasya bahubhis tīrthaiḥ snāna-homa-japa-vrataiḥ |
yenendriya-gaṇo ghoro nirjito’duṣṭa-cetasā ||376||
jitendriyaḥ sadā śāntaḥ sarva-bhūta-hite rataḥ |
vāsudeva-paro nityaṁ na kleśaṁ kartum arhati ||377||
ye smaranti sadā viṣṇuṁ viśuddhenāntarātmanā |
te prayānti bhayaṁ tyaktvā viṣṇu-lokam anāmayam ||378||
prabhāte cārdha-rātre ce madhyāhne diva-saṅkṣaye |
kīrtayanti hariṁ ye vai na te taranti bhavārṇavam ||379||
ānandito’thavā cārtaḥ kruddhaḥ śānto’thavā harim |
yo’nukīrtayate bhaktyā sa gacched vaiṣṇavīṁ purīm ||380||
garbha-janma-jarā-roga-duḥkha-saṁsāra-bandhanaiḥ |
na bādhyate naro nityaṁ vāsudevam anusmaran ||381||
evam ekāntināṁ prāyaḥ kīrtanaṁ smaraṇaṁ prabhoḥ |
kurvatāṁ parama-prītyā kṛtyam anyan na rocate ||382||
bhāvena kenacit preṣṭha-śrī-mūrter aṅghri-sevane |
syād icchaiṣāṁ sva-mantreṇa sva-rasenaiva tad-vidhiḥ ||383||
vihiteṣv eva nityeṣu pravartante svayaṁ hi te |
ity ādy ekāntināṁ bhāti māhātmyaṁ likhitaṁ hi tat ||384||
(Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 20.364–383; 371 cited from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.18.28, 373 cited from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.20.36; 374 cited from Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa; 375–381 cited from Viṣṇu-rahasya)

“Now, the conclusion [of this text, viz., Hari-bhakti-vilāsa:] Should particular matters of consideration arise in addition even to those described here [in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa], those are to be learned from the appropriate śāstra [that addresses those matters] and expressly from the mouth of guru. ||364|| There are many additional forms of sadācāra shown in the śāstra. Not all of these are described here [in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa] because of the absence of [suitable] recipients at present. ||365|| These activities (kṛtyas) [i.e., the activities described in this text], however, for the most part, have been described for wealthy and virtuous householders, and not rather for great souls who have forsaken acquisition [i.e., for those who have renounced household life]. ||366|| All of those [activities] are certainly to be observed beforehand [i.e., before one becomes a renunciant] in order to attain that state of theirs [i.e., to attain the position of a renunciant, meaning, the qualifications required to live a life of renunciation], since bhakti is that the only means of attainment of which is sadācāra (sadācāraika-sādhanā) [i.e., bhakti is attained only by observance of sadācāra in the sense that it is attained only by means of a purified mind and sādācāra is a primary means of bringing that about]. ||367|| Their [i.e., renunciants’] activities were also made evident by the aforementioned characteristics of the one-pointed [i.e., of the ekānti-bhaktas, as discussed in HBV 10.59–76 and elsewhere]. Now as well at the end [of this text], a few of them will be described. ||368||
“Now, the activities of the one-pointed (ekāntis)—the wise know the signs of the attainment of prema-bhakti aforementioned [in HBV 11.633–645] to be, for the most part, indications [i.e., characteristics] of the one-pointed. ||369|| It is best that they shall try to be untouched by the stool of pratiṣṭhā, which is the cause of all anarthas and difficult to abandon even after the renunciation of all else. ||370|| Therefore, it is said in the Eleventh Canto [i.e., SB 11.18.28] by Śrī Bhagavān: ‘One who is detached and fixed in jñāna, or, one who is disinterested and my bhakta, shall relinquish the duties of one’s āśrama along with their paraphernalia and proceed outside the scope of injunctions.’ ||371|| The bhakti of those who have attained one-pointedness (ekāntitā) upon the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa shall proceed [i.e., be continuous conducted] of its own accord [i.e., it shall remain continuously engaged in without the need of any external impetus in the form of injunctions or otherwise]. What [is the use] of rites (vratas) and so forth that are [simply] obstructions to it? [i.e., There is no necessity of one-pointed bhaktas observing the many of the various types of rites (vratas), codes of conduct (sadācāra), and so on aforementioned in this text because the purpose of these things is prompting engagement in bhakti and one-pointed bhaktas are already automatically engaged in bhakti by the bhakti ever-present in their hearts; observation of rites and so on is thus redundant for them and furthermore shall even be an obstruction to the flow of their expression of bhakti]. ||372|| [Thus Śrī Bhagavān further states in SB 11.20.26:] ‘Bhaktas who are one-pointed upon me have no qualities [i.e., merits, sins, or otherwise] produced by qualities and faults [i.e., by observance of injunctions and neglect of prohibitions].’ ||373||
“Similarly, [it is stated] in Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa: ‘One who is fully sheltered howsoever in Śrīkānta becomes fortunate and causes the dissolution of all [their] sins. [So,] What further [is the use] of vratas [for such a person]? [There is no need for them at all.]’ ||374||
“At the end of the discussion of fasts related to months [throughout the year] in the conversation of Brahmā and Nārada in Viṣṇu-rahasya [it is also stated]: ‘The ever-pure mind [alt., desire, understanding, perception, or devotion] of those who are unattached to the objects of the senses is pleasing to Viṣṇu, and not the fasting of those of uncontrolled mind. ||375|| What [is the use] of so many tīrthas, or baths, fire sacrifices, japa, and rites (vratas), for one of unpolluted mind by whom the fearsome senses have been completely conquered? ||376|| One who has controlled the senses is always tranquil and given to the welfare of all beings. One who is dedicated to Vāsudeva is never required [alt., fit] to suffer. ||377|| Those who always remember Visṇu with a pure inner self leave behind fear and attain the plane of Viṣṇu free from suffering. ||378|| Those who praise Hari in the morning, at midnight, at midday, and at the end of the day certainly cross over the ocean of material existence. ||379|| [Whether] Blissful or distressed, angry or peaceful, one who continuously praises Hari with bhakti shall attain the abode of Viṣṇu. ||380|| A person who always continuously remembers Vāsudeva is not disturbed by the fetters of saṁsāra in the form of the sufferings of the womb, birth, old age, and disease.’ ||381||
“In this way, the one-pointed, who engage for the most part in praising (kīrtana) and remembrance (smaraṇa) of Prabhu with paramount prīti, have no taste for other activities. ||382|| Should they, because of some bhāva, have a desire for [engaging in] worship of the feet of the Śrī-mūrti [i.e., Deity] of their Beloved [i.e., their Iṣṭa-devatā], that act [i.e., their acting upon that desire to render such worship] is only because of their own mantra and their own rasa [i.e., that desire and the action based upon it are not motivated by any injunction but rather are inspired by the influence of their mantra, that is, the influence of the Iṣṭa-devatā of their mantra, and their own taste (rasa) for serving him]. ||383|| They proceed of their own accord in their regular prescribed activities [i.e., they perform their regular activities out of natural inclination and liking, and not merely out of any sense of obedience to injunction]. Such greatness of the one-pointed as this [i.e., as has been thus discussed, along with numerous other additional exalted characteristics not mentioned here] shines, and that indeed has been described [here in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa]. ||384||”

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tad evaṁ tat-kratu-nyāyena ca śuddha-bhaktānām anyā gatir nāsty eva

tad evaṁ tat-kratu-nyāyena ca śuddha-bhaktānām anyā gatir nāsty eva | śrutiś ca—‘yathā kratur asmin loke puruṣo bhavati, tathetaḥ pretya bhavati’ iti, kratur atra saṅkalpa iti bhāṣyakārāḥ | śruty-antaraṁ ca—‘sa yathā-kāmo bhavati, tat kratur bhavati | yat-kratur bhavati, tat karma kurute | yat karma kurute, tad abhisampadyate’ iti | anyac ca ‘yad yathā yathopāsate tad eva bhavanti’ iti | śrī-bhagavat-pratijñā ca—‘ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham’ iti | tathaiva brahma-vaivarte—‘yadi māṁ prāptum icchanti prāpnuvanty eva nānyathā’ iti | … tāḥ prati svayam abhyupagacchati—‘saṅkalpo viditaḥ sādhvyo …’ |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 51)

“Thus, in this way, by the ‘principle of like intention’ (tat-kratu-nyāya) [i.e., the principle that the result of a sacrifice will manifest in accord with the performer’s intention], pure bhaktas verily have no other attainment (gati) [i.e., they verily attain the prīti for Bhagavān that they aspire for along with a form, paraphernalia, service, and entrance into an abode of Bhagavān that are suited to that particular type of prīti]. The Śruti also [states this in Chāndogya Upaniṣad 3.14.1], ‘As is a living being’s intention (kratu) in this world, so the living being becomes upon departing from here.’ Here, [the word] ‘intention’ (kratu) means ‘resolve’ (saṅkalpa) according to the commentator [i.e., Śrī Śaṅkarācāryapāda]. Another Śruti [i.e., Bṛhadārayaṇka Upaniṣad 4.4.5] also [states this], ‘As is one’s desire, so is one’s intention. As is one’s intention, so is the action one performs, and as is the action one performs, so is that which one attains [i.e., the result].’ Elsewhere also [in Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, 10.5.2.20], ‘As one worships [him], so indeed one becomes.’ Śrī Bhagavān’s vow as well [is stated in BG 4.11], ‘‘As they approach me, so exactly I reciprocate with them.’ Similarly in Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa [it is also stated by Śrī Bhagavān], ‘If they desire to attain me, they certain attain [me] and not otherwise.‘ … Śrī Bhagavān himself affirms [this principle] before them [i.e., before the gopīs] in saṅkalpo viditaḥ sādhvyo … [i.e., SB 10.22.25–26].”

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prāpyāpi durlabhataraṁ mānuṣyaṁ vibudhepsitam

prāpyāpi durlabhataraṁ mānuṣyaṁ vibudhepsitam |
yair āśrito na govindas tair ātmā vañcitaś ciram ||
aśīti-caturaś caiva lakṣāṁs tān jīva-jātiṣu |
bhramadbhiḥ puruṣaiḥ prāpya mānuṣyaṁ janma-paryayāt ||
tad apy aphalatāṁ jātaṁ teṣām ātmābhimāninām |
varākānām anāśritya govinda-caraṇa-dvayam ||
(Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa: cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.650–652; Bhakti Sandarbha: 108)

“The ātmā (self) is prolongedly cheated by those who do not take shelter in Govinda even after receiving a most rare to attain human life [which is] desired [even] by the devas. A human life is attainable by living beings wandering amid the eight million, four hundred thousand species of life on account of the revolution of births [i.e., it is finally attained as a result of gradually transmigrating through the vast myriad of life-forms found throughout the universe in accord with the unfolding of living beings’ individual and collective karma]. Even that [attainment of a human life, however, sadly,] becomes fruitless for those of self-conceit [i.e., those who identify with the body and lack awareness of their actual self], the wretched [i.e., the low-minded absorbed in the pursuit of external pleasures], by not taking shelter in the two feet of Govinda.”

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madhu-klībañ ca mādhvīke kṛta-karma-śubhāśubhe

madhu-klībañ ca mādhvīke kṛta-karma-śubhāśubhe |
bhaktānāṁ karmaṇāñ caiva sūdanaṁ madhusūdanam ||
pariṇāmāśubhaṁ karma bhrāntānāṁ madhuraṁ madhu |
karoti sūdanaṁ yo hi sa eva madhusūdanaḥ ||
(Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa; cited in Śabda-kalpa-druma)

“In the name Madhusūdana, madhu in neuter gender refers to honey-wine and to auspicious and inauspicious karma that has been performed, and sūdana refers to the karmas of bhaktas. He who performs the destruction (sūdana) of madhu, that is, the [sometimes initially] ‘sweet’ results of the inauspicious karma of the ignorant is [called] Madhusūdana.”

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nābhuktaṁ kṣīyate karma kalpa-koṭi-śatair api

nābhuktaṁ kṣīyate karma kalpa-koṭi-śatair api |
avaśyam eva bhoktavyaṁ kṛtaṁ karma śubhāśubham ||
(Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa)

“Karma that is not experienced does not dissipate, even after hundreds of millions of kalpas. Past karma, be it auspicious or inauspicious, must certainly be experienced.”

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yāvat pāpais tu malinaṁ hṛdayaṁ tāvad eva hi

yāvat pāpais tu malinaṁ hṛdayaṁ tāvad eva hi |
na śāstre satya-buddhiḥ syāt sad-buddhiḥ sad-gurau tathā ||
aneka-janma-janita-puṇya-rāśi-phalaṁ mahat |
sat-saṅga-śāstra-śravaṇād eva premādi jāyate ||
(Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 1)

“As long as the heart is polluted by sins, conviction in the truthfulness of the śāstra and conviction in the truthfulness of a true guru does not come about. Prema and so forth, which are the ultimate result of the accumulation of merit [i.e., engagement in practices of bhakti] created over the course of many births, manifest only by hearing śāstra in the association of sādhus.”

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vaktā sarāgo nīrāgo dvividhaḥ parikīrtitaḥ

vaktā sarāgo nīrāgo dvividhaḥ parikīrtitaḥ |
sarāgo lolupaḥ kāmī tad uktaṁ hṛn na saṁspṛśet ||
upadeśaṁ karoty eva na parīkṣāṁ karoti ca |
aparīkṣyopadiṣṭaṁ yal loka-nāśāya tad bhavet ||
(Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 203)

“A teacher is said to be of two types: [one] with attachment (rāga) and [one] without attachment. One with attachment is greedy and covetous. His words cannot touch the heart. He only gives teachings and does not conduct any examination. That which is taught without conducting any examination certainly leads to ruination of society.”

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tāmra-pātre payaḥ-pānam ucchiṣṭa-ghṛta-bhojanam

tāmra-pātre payaḥ-pānam ucchiṣṭa-ghṛta-bhojanam |
dugdhaṁ lavaṇa-sārdhaṁ ca sadyo go-māṁsa-bhakṣaṇam ||
nārikelodakaṁ kāṁsye tāmra-pātre sthitaṁ madhu |
aikṣavaṁ tāmra-pātrasthaṁ surā-tulyaṁ na saṁśayaḥ ||
(Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa: Brahma-khaṇḍa, 27.22–23)

“Drinking milk in a copper vessel, eating remnant ghee, and milk with salt [all] immediately become [equivalent to] eating cow meat. Coconut water in a white copper [i.e., bell metal or brass] vessel, honey situated in copper vessel, and sugarcane products situated in a copper vessel are equivalent to wine. There is no doubt.”

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yadi māṁ prāptum icchanti

yadi māṁ prāptum icchanti prāpnuvanty eva nānyathā |
kalau kaluṣa-cittānāṁ vṛthāyuḥ-prabhṛtīni ca |
bhavanti varṇāśramiṇāṁ na tu mac-charaṇārthinām ||
(Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa: cited in Bhakti Sandarbha 99)

“If anyone desires to attain me, they certainly attain me. This cannot be otherwise. In [the Age of] Kali, the life and so forth [i.e., the present actions and future destiny] of those of polluted heart who adhere to varṇāśrama are fruitless, but such is not so for those who seek my shelter.”

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daivādhīnaṁ jagat sarvaṁ

daivādhīnaṁ jagat sarvaṁ janma-karma-śubhāśubham |
saṁyogaś ca viyogaś ca na ca daivāt paraṁ balam ||
kṛṣṇāyattaṁ ca tad daivaṁ sa daivāt paratas tataḥ |
bhajanti satataṁ santaḥ paramātmānam īśvaram ||
daivaṁ vardhayituṁ śaktaḥ kṣayaṁ kartuṁ svalīlayā |
na daiva-baddhas tad bhaktaś cāvināśī ca nirguṇaḥ ||
(Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa)

“The entire world, along with birth, karma, auspiciousness, inauspiciousness, meeting and separation, is under the control of destiny (daiva). There is no power greater than destiny, yet that destiny is dependent on Kṛṣṇa. He is thus greater than destiny. Sādhus [thus] always worship the Paramātmā, Īśvara [i.e., Kṛṣṇa]. He can expand and diminish destiny by means of his līlā. Bhaktas [of Kṛṣṇa] are thus unbound by destiny, imperishable, and beyond the guṇas.”

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