Śrīmad Bhāgavatam – Page 75

dehas tu sarva-saṅghāto

dehas tu sarva-saṅghāto jagat tasthur iti dvidhā |
atraiva mṛgyaḥ puruṣo neti netīty atat tyajan ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.7.23)

“The body, the combination of all these [i.e., prakṛti, the guṇas, the mahat-tattva, ahaṅkāra, the five tanmātrās, the five mahābhūtas, and the eleven senses], however, is of two types: moving and stationary. Here itself [i.e., while embodied], the Puruṣa [i.e., the Paramātmā] is to be sought out by rejecting that which is not that [i.e., not the Puruṣa, considering], ‘Not this, not this …’ [i.e., ‘This is not the ātmā, this too is not the ātmā, etc.].”

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yoga ādhyātmikaḥ puṁsāṁ

yoga ādhyātmikaḥ puṁsāṁ mato niḥśreyasāya me |
atyantoparatir yatra duḥkhasya ca sukhasya ca ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.25.13)

[Bhagavān Kapila to Devahūti:] “O Mother, I consider yoga related to the higher ātmā [i.e., Paramātmā, or the jīvātmā], wherein complete cessation of [sāṁsārika] suffering and happiness occur, to be [the means] for a living being’s ultimate well-being [i.e., mokṣa].”

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labdhveha mānuṣīṁ yoniṁ

labdhveha mānuṣīṁ yoniṁ jñāna-vijñāna-sambhavām |
ātmānaṁ yo na buddhyeta na kvacit kṣemam āpnuyāt ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 6.16.58)

“Having attained a human form, which has the potential for jñāna [i.e., knowledge based on śāstra] and vijñāna [i.e., direct perception of reality], one who is not able to understand the ātmā [i.e., the jīva and the Parameśvara] cannot [alt., can never] attain weal anywhere [i.e., in any condition of human life, no matter how well endowed with wealth, power, etc.].”

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evaṁ manaḥ karma-vaśaṁ prayuṅkte

evaṁ manaḥ karma-vaśaṁ prayuṅkte
avidyayātmany upadhīyamāne |
prītir na yāvan mayi vāsudeve
na mucyate deha-yogena tāvat ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.5.6)

“Thus, karma subjugates the mind when the ātmā is covered by avidyā. Until one has prīti for me, Vāsudeva, one is not freed from entanglement with the body.”

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ātatatvāc ca mātṛtvād ātmā hi paramo hariḥ

ātatatvāc ca mātṛtvād ātmā hi paramo hariḥ |
(Cited in Krama Sandarbha in relation to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.2.34 and Caitanya-caritāmṛta 2.24.78)

“Because of being [all-] pervasive and being the mother [i.e., the source of everything in the universe], the Ātmā is indeed the Supreme, Hari.”

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na hy asyāsti priyaḥ kaścin

na hy asyāsti priyaḥ kaścin nāpriyaḥ svaḥ paro’pi vā |
ātmatvāt sarva-bhūtānāṁ sarva-bhūta-priyo hariḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 6.17.33)

“No one is dear to him, and no one is undear; no one is his own or estranged from him either. Because he is the ātmā of all living beings, Hari is dear to all living beings [alt., he is the object of their unconditional prīti].”

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yathā nabhasi meghaugho

yathā nabhasi meghaugho reṇur vā pārthivo’nile |
evaṁ draṣṭari dṛśyatvam āropitam abuddhibhiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.3.31)

“Like a mass of clouds to the sky or a particle of earth to the air, so the visible [i.e., the body] is attributed [i.e., taken to be] to the seer [i.e., the ātmā] by the unintelligent.”

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tvaṁ tu rājan mariṣyeti

tvaṁ tu rājan mariṣyeti paśu-buddhim imāṁ jahi |
na jātaḥ prāg abhūto’dya deha-vat tvaṁ na naṅkṣyasi ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.5.2)

[Śukadeva to Mahārāja Parīkṣit:] “O King, you should give up this animal mentality [of thinking], “I will die.” Like the body, you were not previously non-existent, are not [merely] presently manifest, and will not be destroyed [in the future].”

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ātmā nityo’vyayaḥ śuddha

ātmā nityo’vyayaḥ śuddha ekaḥ kṣetra-jña āśrayaḥ |
avikriyaḥ sva-dṛg hetur vyāpako’saṅgy anāvṛtaḥ ||
etair dvādaśabhir vidvān ātmano lakṣaṇaiḥ paraiḥ |
ahaṁ mamety asad-bhāvaṁ dehādau mohajaṁ tyajet ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.7.19–20; cited in Paramātma Sandarbha: 46)

“The ātmā is eternal [i.e. indestructible], undiminishing, pure, one [i.e., singular, not an aggregate like the body], the knower of the field [i.e., endowed with capacity for awareness], the shelter [i.e., the shelter of the senses and other faculties, such as the manas and buddhi], immutable, self-witnessing [i.e., self-luminous to its own self], the cause [i.e., the cause of the universe’s emanation], pervasive [i.e., pervasive of the body], unattached, and without any covering. By means of these twelve distinguishing characteristics of the ātmā, a learned person should give up the false notions of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ related to the body and so forth [i.e., the body’s paraphernalia], which are products of delusion.”

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yathaihikāmuṣmika-kāma-lampaṭaḥ

yathaihikāmuṣmika-kāma-lampaṭaḥ
suteṣu dāreṣu dhaneṣu cintayan |
śaṅketa vidvān kukalevarātyayād
yas tasya yatnaḥ śrama eva kevalam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.19.14)

“The endeavor of a learned person [i.e., the study of śāstra and practice of yoga of one] who fears the passing of the repulsive body, just like someone covetous of objects of enjoyment in the present and the afterlife who worries about his sons, wives, and possessions, is just mere labor [i.e., one’s study of śāstra and practice of yoga are fruitless unless one successfully fixes the mind on Bhagavān and gives up sāṁsārka attachment and thereby fear of death].”

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