yaṁ sannyāsam iti prāhur yogaṁ taṁ viddhi pāṇḍava |
na hy asannyasta-saṅkalpo yogī bhavati kaścana ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 6.2)
“Know that which they call renunciation (sannyāsa) to be yoga, O son of Pāṇḍu, since no one by whom intention has not been renounced becomes a yogī.”
brahmārpaṇaṁ brahma havir brahmāgnau brahmaṇā hutam |
brahmaiva tena gantavyaṁ brahma-karma-samādhinā ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 4.24)
“The ladle is Brahman. The oblation is Brahman. The [act of] offering is Brahman [performed] by Brahman into the fire [which is] of [the nature of] Brahman. By one who is consciously absorbed in the action [which is] of [the nature of] Brahman, that which is to be attained [the goal of performing the offering] is Brahman alone.”
ahaṁ vaiśvānaro bhūtvā prāṇināṁ deham āśritaḥ |
prāṇāpāna-samāyuktaḥ pacāmy annaṁ catur-vidham ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 15.4)
[Kṛṣṇa:] “Becoming the digestive fire (vaiśvānara) situated in the body of living beings united with the prāṇa and apāna [vital-airs], I digest the four kinds of food.”
yāta-yāmaṁ gata-rasaṁ pūti paryuṣitaṁ ca yat |
ucchiṣṭam api cāmedhyaṁ bhojanaṁ tāmasa-priyam ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 17.10)
“Foods that are stale [lit., past their time], tasteless, foul-smelling, putrid, left over [i.e., partial eaten by another person], and unofferrable foods [e.g., meat] are dear to a tāmasic person.”
kaṭv-amla-lavaṇātyuṣṇa-tīkṣṇa-rūkṣa-vidāhinaḥ |
āhārā rājasasyeṣṭā duḥkha-śokāmaya-pradāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 17.9)
“Foods which are excessively bitter, sour, salty, hot, pungent, astringent, or burning, and which cause discomfort, dejection, and disease are desired by a rājasic person.”
āyuḥ-sattva-balārogya-sukha-prīti-vivardhanāḥ |
rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛdyā āhārāḥ sāttvika-priyāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 17.8)
“Foods that increase longevity, energy [alt., mental steadiness], [physical] strength, health [lit., freedom from disease], satisfaction [alt., peace of mind], and delight, and which are tasty, succulent, wholesome [alt., substantial], and pleasant [alt., nourishing], are dear to sāttvic persons.”
kaṇḍanī peṣaṇī cullī udakumbhī ca mārjanī |
pañca-sūnā gṛhasthasya tābhiḥ svargaṁ na vindati ||
(Viṣṇu Smṛti: 59.19-20; cited in the Subodhinī and Sārārtha-varṣiṇī-ṭīkās on Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītiā: 3.13)
“The mortar, the grinding stone, the hearth, the waterpot, and the broom—the householder does not reach Svarga because of these [i.e., because of the acts of violence committed through the use of these five intruments].”
yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ |
bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpā ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 3.13)
“A virtuous person who subsists on the remnants of sacrifice (yajña) is liberated from all sins [i.e., the consequences of violence towards other living beings]. But one who prepares food for oneself partakes only of sin.”
vaṁśī-vibhūṣita-karān nava-nīradābhāt
pītāmbarād aruṇa-bimba-phalādharauṣṭhāt |
pūrṇendu-sundara-mukhād aravinda-netrāt
kṛṣṇāt paraṁ kim api tattvam ahaṁ na jāne ||
(Gītā-gūḍhārtha-dīpikā on Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 15.20; cited in the Sārārtha-varṣiṇī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 15.18)
“His hands adorned with the flute,
His luster like that of a fresh cloud,
His garments bright yellow,
His lower lip red like a bimba fruit,
His face beautiful like the full moon,
His eyes like lotuses,
I know of no entity of any kind higher than Kṛṣṇa.”
atha yad avatārādāv aśuddha-cittānām api tat-sākṣātkāraḥ śrūyate, tat khalu tad-ābhāsa eva jñeyaḥ | ‘nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yogamāyā-samāvṛtaḥ’ iti śrī-gītopaniṣadbhyaḥ | … adarśanaṁ cānavatāra-samaye vyāpakasyāpi darśanābhāvaḥ, avatāra-samaye tu paramānande’pi duḥkhadatvaṁ, manorame’pi bhīṣaṇatvam, sarva-suhṛdy api durhṛttvam ity ādi-viparīta-darśanam eva | tad-aprakāśe yogamāyā-prakāśe ca mūlaṁ kāraṇaṁ tad-bhaktāparādhādimaya-puruṣa-cittāsvācchyam | yat khalu tadānīntane tasya sārvatrika-prakāśe’pi vajralepāyate | ata eva ‘muktir hitvā’ ity-ādi-lakṣaṇasyāvyāpter na tasya sākṣātkārābhāsasya mukti-saṁjñatvam api |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 7)
“Then, the direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of him [i.e., of Bhagavān] on the part even of those of impure heart that is heard of during [his] descents (avatāras), or in other instances, is to be understood as only a semblance (ābhāsa) of that [i.e., of actual direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of him], as per the Gītopaniṣad [7.25], ‘Being concealed by [my] yogamāyā, I am not manifest to all.’ … Also, non-vision [of Bhagavān] at a time other than a descent (avatāra) [of Bhagavān] means the absence of vision even of he [i.e., Bhagavān] who [by nature] is all-pervading, whereas at the time of [his] descent (avatāra) [non-vision of him] is verily reversed vision, such as that of his being [seen to be] a cause of suffering even when he is the supreme bliss, being [seen to be] terrifying even though he is charming, or being [seen to be] an ill-wisher even when he is the well-wisher of all. In the case of non-manifestation of him [i.e., in the case of times when his descent (avatāra) is not taking place] and in the case of manifestation of [his] yogamāyā [i.e., in the case of yogamāyā concealing him even during the time of his descent (avatāra)], the root cause [of these instances of non-vision of him] is the impurity in an embodied being’s (puruṣa’s) citta in the form of offenses (aparādhas) to his bhaktas and so forth, which even at the time of his manifestation everywhere [i.e., even during the time of his descent (avatāra) when he is openly visible] is as if cement [i.e., such impurity in the citta remains hard and fixed in place, blocking reflection of his potency of self-manifestation (sva-prakāśitatva-śakti) off of the citta into the mind whereby direct perception of him would otherwise take place]. Therefore, because of the non-pervasion [i.e., non-existence] of the characteristics [stated] in muktir hitvānyathā … [i.e., in the definition of mukti given in SB 2.10.6], a semblance (ābhāsa) of direct perception (sākṣātkāra) of him that occurs in such cases] does not have the status of being designated as mukti.”
