brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham amṛtasyāvyayasya ca |
śāśvatasya ca dharmasya sukhasyaikāntikasya ca ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 14.27)
“Since I am the basis of Brahman, of the imperishable nectar, of the eternal dharma, and of the bliss of the one-pointed.”
nṛṣu tava māyayā bhramam amīṣv avagatya bhṛśaṁ
tvayi sudhiyo’bhave dadhati bhāvam anuprabhavam |
katham anuvartatāṁ bhava-bhayaṁ tava yad bhrū-kuṭiḥ
sṛjati muhus trinemir abhavac-charaṇeṣu bhayam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.32)
[Translated according to Śrī Śrīdhara Svāmīpāda’s commentary:] “Understanding the ignorance as a consequence of your māyā among these human beings wherefrom repeated birth ensues, the wise foster bhāva [i.e., render service] profusely for you, Non-existence [i.e., you who are the cause of liberation from material existence]. How could your followers have any distress on account of [material] existence, since the furrowing of your brows—time (trinemi)—creates distress perpetually for those who are not in your shelter?”
ye tu rāgānugā-bhaktiḥ sarvathaiva sarvadaiva śāstra-vidhim atikrānta eva iti bruvāte, ‘ye śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya yajante śraddhayānvitaḥ’ iti ‘vidhi-hīnam asṛṣṭānnam’ ity ādi-gītokter gārham arhanto muhur utpātam anubhūtavanto’nubhavanto’nubhaviṣyanti cety alam ati-vistarena | hanta rāgānugā-vartma durdarśaṁ vibudhair api | paricinvantu sudhiyo bhaktāś candrikayānayā |
(Rāga-vartma-candrikā: 2.8–9)
“But as per statements of Śrī Gītā such as [17.1], ‘O Kṛṣṇa, what is the position of those possessed of śraddhā who perform worship [while] rejecting the injunctions of śāstra? Is it sattva, rajas, or tamas?’ and [17.13], ‘Yajña (sacrifice) that is devoid of injunctions [from śāstra], is without distribution of food, is devoid of mantras, is without donations, and is devoid of śraddhā is called tāmasa,’ those who say that rāgānugā-bhakti is absolutely always and absolutely in all respects exclusively beyond the injunctions of śāstra are deserving of censure and have experienced [in the past], are experiencing [in the present], and will experience [in the future] repeated calamities. Enough excessive elaboration [i.e., saying this much is sufficient to stress this point]. Oh! The rāganugā-path (vartma) is difficult to see, even for the devas! May wise bhaktas recognize it with [the help of] this moonlight (candrikā) [i.e., with the help of this book].”
kartā śāstrārthavattvāt |
(Vedānta-sūtra: 2.3.31)
“[The jīva is] A doer because of śāstra being possessed of meaning.”
indriyasyendriyasyārthe rāga-dveṣau vyavasthitau |
tayor na vaśam āgacchet tau hy asya paripanthinau ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 3.34)
“Attraction (rāga) and aversion (dveṣa) to an object of each sense is firmly established [i.e., bound to occur]. One should not come under the control of these since they are one’s obstructions.”
prādhānyena vyapadeśā bhavanti |
(Unknown source; cited in the Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā)
“Statements occur on the basis of prominence [i.e., they can be based on a prominent aspect of what they describe and not necessarily on something that is literally true in every sense about their object].”
mām eva sarva-bhūteṣu bahir antar apāvṛtam |
īkṣetātmani cātmānaṁ yathā kham amalāśayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.12; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 330)
“One of untainted heart should see me alone to be externally and internally present and [to be] the Self in the self and in all beings, unrestrained like the sky.”
sarveṣām anukūla-vedanīyaṁ sukham | pratikūla-vedanīyaṁ duḥkham |
(Tarka-saṅgraha: 55–56)
“That which is perceptible as favorable by all is [called] happiness (sukham). That which is perceptible as unfavorable [by all] is [called] suffering (duḥkha).”
duḥkham avyakta-vartmaiva tad-bahu-vighnam ato budhaḥ |
sukhaṁ kṛṣṇa-padāmbhojaṁ bhakti-sat-pathavān bhajet ||
(Subodhinī-ṭīkā of Śrī Śrīdhara Svāmīpāda on Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 12.20)
“The path of the Unmanifest [i.e., upāsana of undifferentiated (nirviśeṣa) Brahman] is troublesome and beset with many obstacles. Therefore, a wise person, adherent to the right path of bhakti, should worship the delightful lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.”
mahābhūtāny ahaṁkāro buddhir avyaktam eva ca |
indriyāṇi daśaikaṁ ca pañca cendriya-gocarāḥ ||
icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ saṁghātaś cetanā dhṛtiḥ |
etat kṣetraṁ samāsena sa-vikāram udāhṛtam ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 13.5-6)
“The [five] gross elements (mahābhūtas), the ego (ahaṅkāra), the intellect (buddhi), the unmanifested [i.e., prakṛti], the ten senses and the one [additional one], the five objects of the senses, desire, aversion, happiness, suffering, the aggregate [i.e., the body], consciousness, and resolution—this in sum is said to be the field (kṣetra) along with its transformations.”
