yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena
tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ |
prāṇopahārāc ca yathendriyāṇāṁ
tathaiva sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.31.14)
“As the trunks, branches, and sub-branches of a tree are all satiated by watering the root thereof, and as [satiation] of the sense organs comes about as a result of an offering [of food] to the vital air, so exactly honoring of all [beings] comes about by worship of Acyuta.”
athāpy upāyo mama devi cintyaḥ
santoṣitasya vrata-caryayā te |
mamārcanaṁ nārhati gantum anyathā
śraddhānurūpaṁ phala-hetukatvāt ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.17.17)
“[Bhagavān to Aditi:] O Devi, satisfied by your observance of the vrata [i.e., the payo-vrata I prescribed for you], I should now think of a means [to fulfill your desire]. Because it is a cause of results in accord with one’s śraddhā, worship of me should not go otherwise [i.e., should never go in vain or lead to any unbefitting result].”
lokasya mithyābhimater acakṣuṣaś
ciraṁ prasuptasya tamasy anāśraye |
śrāntasya karmasv anuviddhayā dhiyā
tvam āvirāsīḥ kila yoga-bhāskaraḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.29.5)
[Devahūti to Kapiladeva:] “You, the sun of yoga [i.e., the illuminator of yoga, that is, the sun who nourishes the lotus of yoga], have appeared for the people who are eyeless [i.e., ignorant], [thus] possessed of identification with the unreal [i.e., the body and so on], [thus] exhausted because of their minds being entangled in karma, [thus] shelterless, and [thus] slumbering for a long time in darkness [i.e., saṁsāra; that is, you have appeared to teach the wisdom of yoga which resembles the sun in that it brings light to the eyes of the ignorant, removes the numbness of false identity, dispels the sleep and darkness of saṁsāra, and dries up the pool of exhaustion produced by the mind being attached to karma].”
evaṁ sva-citte svata eva siddha
ātmā priyo’rtho bhagavān anantaḥ |
taṁ nirvṛto niyatārtho bhajeta
saṁsāra-hetūparamaś ca yatra ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.2.6; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 2)
“As such [i.e., being detached from mundanity], resolute and fulfilled, one should engage in worship of him [Hari], [since he is] self-existent within one’s own consciousness, the Self, beloved, real, glorious, and without end, wherein [i.e., within such worship] there is cessation of the cause of saṁsāra and so forth [i.e., attainment of him.”
sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ paśyed bhagavad-bhāvam ātmanaḥ |
bhūtāni bhagavaty ātmany eṣa bhāgavatottamaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.45)
“One who can see the presence of one’s own Bhagavān [i.e., one’s Iṣṭadevatā] within all entities and [all] entities within the Bhagavān within oneself [i.e., within one’s Iṣṭadevatā] is a topmost bhāgavata.”
jānanta eva jānantu kiṁ bahūktyā na me prabho |
manaso vapuṣo vāco vaibhavaṁ tava gocaraḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.14.38)
“O Prabhu! Let those who ‘know’ you know you [i.e., let them think they know you even though they really do not]. What need I say more? Your greatness is not within the reach of my mind, body, or words.”
māyā-javanikācchannam ajñādhokṣajam avyayam |
na lakṣyase mūḍha-dṛśā naṭo nāṭyadharo yathā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.8.19)
[Kuntī Devī to Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] “Covered by the curtain of māyā, imperceptible to the ignorant, and immutable, you are not perceived by one of untrained eye just like an actor engaged in performance arts [is not really perceived properly by those untrained in appreciation of the arts].”
śanakair bhagaval-lokān nṛ-lokaṁ punar āgataḥ |
vimṛjya netre viduraṁ prītyāhoddhava utsmayan ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.2.6; cited in Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 106)
“Slowly Uddhava returned from Bhagavān’s abode to the human world. After rubbing his eyes, he lovingly spoke to Vidura with amazement.”
bhagavāṁs tāvad asādhāraṇa-svarūpaiśvarya-mādhuryas tattva-viśeṣaḥ | tatra svarūpaṁ paramānandaḥ, aiśvaryam asamordhvānanta-svābhāvika-prabhutā, mādhuryam asamordhvatayā sarva-manoharaṁ svābhāvika-rūpa-guṇa-līlādi-sauṣṭhavaṁ … |
(Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.12.11)
“Bhagavān specifically is that particular entity (tattva) who possesses extraordinary nature (svarūpa), capability (aiśvarya), and mellifluousness (mādhurya). In this regard, his nature (svarūpa) is supreme blissfulness, his capability (aiśvarya) is unparalleled and unending natural mastery, and his mellifluousness (mādhurya) is the excellence of his natural figure, qualities, līlās, and so forth, which are captivating to all on account of being unparalleled.”
bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syād
īśād apetasya viparyayo’smṛtiḥ |
tan-māyayāto budha ābhajet taṁ
bhaktyaikayeśaṁ guru-devatātmā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.37; cited in Tattva Sandarbha: 32; Paramātma Sandarbha: 47; Bhakti Sandarbha: 1, 59, 114; Prīti Sandarbha: 1; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.20.116)
“Non-awareness, misapprehension, and fear because of absorption in a second shall occur by means of Īśa’s māyā for one who is averse to him. Therefore, a wise person, being one for whom the guru is the Devatā and the self (ātmā), should fully worship him, Īśa [i.e., Bhagavān] with one-pointed bhakti.”
