śravaṇāyāpi bahubhir yo na labhyaḥ
śṛṇvanto’pi bahavo yaṁ na vidyuḥ |
āścaryo vaktā kuśalo’sya labdhā
āścaryo jñātā kuśalānuśiṣṭaḥ ||
(Kaṭha Upaniṣad: 1.2.7)
“Of that
Which is not attainable by many even for hearing,
And which is not understandable even for many who hear,
An adept speaker and realizer is a rare marvel,
And a knower educated by an adept is [also] a rare marvel.”
indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ |
manasas tu parā buddhir yo buddheḥ paratas tu saḥ ||
evaṁ buddheḥ paraṁ buddhvā saṁstabhyātmānam ātmanā |
jahi śatruṁ mahābāho kāmarūpaṁ durāsadam ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 3.42–43)
“They say the senses are superior [to their objects],
The mind is superior to the senses,
The intellect is superior to the mind,
And that [viz., the self (ātmā)] is what is superior to the intellect.
Thus understanding that which is superior to the intellect,
And steadying the self with the self,
Kill, O you of mighty arms,
The difficult to approach enemy
The form of which is desire (kāma).”
nānyaṁ guṇebhyaḥ kartāraṁ yadā draṣṭānupaśyati |
guṇebhyaś ca paraṁ vetti mad-bhāvaṁ so’dhigacchati ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 14.19)
“When a seer perceives
No doer other than the guṇas
And knows that which is beyond the guṇas,
One attains my state.”
prakāśaṁ ca pravṛttiṁ ca moham eva ca pāṇḍava |
na dveṣṭi saṁpravṛttāni na nivṛttāni kāṅkṣati ||
udāsīnavad āsīno guṇair yo na vicālyate |
guṇā vartanta ity eva yo’vatiṣṭhati neṅgate ||
sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ svasthaḥ sama-loṣṭāśma-kāñcanaḥ |
tulya-priyāpriyo dhīras tulya-nindātma-saṁstutiḥ ||
mānāpamānayos tulyas tulyo mitrāri-pakṣayoḥ |
sarvārambha-parityāgī guṇātītaḥ sa ucyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 14.22–25)
“O son of Pāṇḍu,
Illumination [i.e., the effect of sattva],
Activation [i.e., the effect of rajas],
And delusion [i.e., the effect of tamas]—
One who is not hostile
Towards these [when they have] commenced
[Because one considers them forms of hardship]
And does not hanker
For them [when they have] receded
[Because one considers them forms of pleasure];
Who being seated neutrally
Is not deviated by the guṇas
[i.e., not disturbed in mind by the guṇas’ effects, viz., pleasure, hardship, and so on];
Who as per [the understanding],
‘The guṇas proceed [in their respective functions of illumination, activation, and delusion; I, the self beyond, have no relation with these],’
Abides and does not waver
[i.e., does not act under the pull of the guṇas’ effects];
For whom pleasure and hardship are the same;
Who is situated in the self;
For whom a clod, a stone, and gold are the same;
For whom the dear and undear [i.e., the pleasing and non-pleasing] are equal;
[Who is] Sagacious;
For whom defamation and high praise of oneself are equal;
[Who is] Equal to honor and dishonor;
[Who is] equal to the sides of friends and foes;
And [who is] a relinquisher of all undertakings [i.e., all pursuit of worldly and celestial objects],
Is said to be beyond the guṇas.”
āpūryamāṇam acala-pratiṣṭhaṁ
samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat |
tadvat kāmā yaṁ praviśanti sarve
sa śāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 2.70)
“One whom all objects of desire enter
Just as waters enter the ocean,
Which remains completely full and of unmoving boundaries,
Attains peace,
And not a desirer of objects of desire.”
yā niśā sarva-bhūtānāṁ tasyāṁ jāgarti saṁyamī |
yasyāṁ jāgrati bhūtāni sā niśā paśyato muneḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 2.69)
“One who is well regulated is awake
In regard to that which is night for all beings.
That in which [all] beings are awake
Is night for a seeing sage.”
rāga-dveṣa-vimuktais tu viṣayān indriyaiś caran |
ātma-vaśyair vidheyātmā prasādam adhigacchati ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 2.64)
“Perceiving objects of the senses
With senses freed from attachment and aversion
And subdued by the mind,
One of controlled mind attains peace.”
prajahāti yadā kāmān sarvān pārtha mano-gatān |
ātmany evātmanā tuṣṭaḥ sthita-prajñas tadocyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 2.55)
“O Pārtha,
When one completely casts away
All desires situated in the mind,
Being satisfied in the self specifically
By means of the self,
Then one is said to be
One of steady wisdom (sthita-prajña).”
patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati |
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 9.26)
[Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] “One who with bhakti offers a leaf, flower, fruit, or water to me—I partake of that offered out of bhakti from one of pure heart.”
āvṛtaṁ jñānam etena jñānino nitya-vairiṇā |
kāma-rūpeṇa kaunteya duṣpūreṇānalena ca ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 3.39)
“The knowledge [i.e., discernment] of the knower is covered by this perpetual enemy in the form of kāma, which is like an insatiable fire.”
