Vāsanā – Anuśīlana.in

vitarka-bādhane pratipakṣa-bhāvanam

vitarka-bādhane pratipakṣa-bhāvanam ||33|| vitarkā hiṁsādayaḥ kṛta-kāritānumoditā lobha-krodha-moha-pūrvakā mṛdu-madhyādhimātrā, duḥkhājñānānanta-phalā iti pratipakṣa-bhāvanam ||34||
(Yoga-sūtras: 2.33–34)

“When obstruction from adverse inclinations occurs, contemplation of obstacles [is to be cultivated]. ||33||
“Adverse inclinations are harming (hiṁsā) and so forth [i.e., lying, stealing, fornicating, and accumulating in excess, that is, acts that contravene each of the five aforementioned yamas] which are [either] enacted, caused to be enacted, or assented to, and which are preceded either by greed, anger, or delusion, with each of these [preceding causes] being either mild, moderate, or intense. ‘These the unending results of which are hardship and ignorance’ is contemplation of obstacles [i.e., the obstacles created by acting upon the aforesaid adverse inclinations are to be contemplated to preclude one from acting upon them]. ||34||”

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savāsanānāṁ sabhyānāṁ rasasyāsvādanaṁ bhavet

savāsanānāṁ sabhyānāṁ rasasyāsvādanaṁ bhavet |
nirvāsanās tu raṅgāntaḥ-kāṣṭha-kuḍyāśma-sannibhāḥ ||
(Dharmadatta; cited in Sāhitya-darpaṇa: 3.10)

“Assessors possessed of the [necessary] inclination (vāsanā) can have the taste of rasa. Those devoid of the inclination (vāsanā), on the contrary, are like the wood, walls, and stone inside the theater.”

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yuvatīnāṁ yathā yūni yūnāṁ ca yuvatau yathā

yuvatīnāṁ yathā yūni yūnāṁ ca yuvatau yathā |
mano’bhiramate tadvan mano’bhiramatāṁ tvayi ||
(Padma Purāṇa: 6.128.258; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 8.437; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.153; Bhakti Sandarbha: 217)

“As the minds of young ladies delight in a young man, and the minds of young men delight in a young lady, so may my mind delight in you.”

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tāvad rāgādayaḥ stenāḥ tāvat kārāgṛhaṁ gṛham

tāvad rāgādayaḥ stenāḥ tāvat kārāgṛhaṁ gṛham |
tāvan moho’ṅghri-nigaḍo yāvat kṛṣṇa na te janāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.14.36)

“For that long attachment (rāga) and so forth are thieves, for that long one’s house is a prison, and for that long affection is a foot-shackle—so long as people do not become yours, O Kṛṣṇa!”

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bhaktā bhagavato ye tu sakāmāḥ svecchayākhilān

bhaktā bhagavato ye tu sakāmāḥ svecchayākhilān |
bhuñjānāḥ sukha-bhogāṁs te viśuddhā yānti tat-padam ||
vaikuṇṭhaṁ durlabhaṁ muktaiḥ sāndrānanda-cid-ātmakam |
niṣkāmā ye tu tad-bhaktā labhante sadya eva tat ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.1.13–14)

“Those desirous (sakāma) bhaktas of Bhagavān, however, who remain pure [even] while partaking by their own wish of all pleasant objects of experience, [eventually] attain his abode. Bhaktas of his who are desireless (niṣkāma), however, quickly attain that [abode,] Vaikuṇtha, constituted of intense bliss and consciousness, [which is] difficult to attain [even] for muktas.”

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tathā na te mādhava tāvakāḥ kvacid

tathā na te mādhava tāvakāḥ kvacid
bhraśyanti mārgāt tvayi baddha-sauhṛdāḥ |
tvayābhiguptā vicaranti nirbhayā
vināyakānīkapa-mūrdhasu prabho ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.2.33; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.201; Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.14; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.4.46; Paramātma Sandarbha: 17; Bhakti Sandarbha: 121; Prīti Sandarbha: 7)

“O Mādhava, those who are your own, who are bound to you by cordiality, never fall down from the path in that way. Protected by you on all sides and [thus] fearless, O Prabhu, they roam atop the heads of those who proffer protection from arrays of impediments.”

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dharmaḥ satya-dayopeto vidyā vā tapasānvitā

dharmaḥ satya-dayopeto vidyā vā tapasānvitā |
mad-bhaktyāpetam ātmānaṁ na samyak prapunāti hi ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.22; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.557; Bhakti Sandarbha: 79, 111, 147)

“Devoid of bhakti to me, dharma endowed with truthfulness and compassion, or knowledge accompanied by austerity, certainly do not fully purify the mind.”

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tais tāny aghāni pūyante tapo-dāna-vratādibhiḥ

tais tāny aghāni pūyante tapo-dāna-vratādibhiḥ |
nādharmajaṁ tad-dhṛdayaṁ tad apīśāṅghri-sevayā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 6.2.17)

“Those sins [i.e., sins both mild and severe] are destroyed by those austerities, charities, rites, and so forth [i.e., conventional forms of austerities, etc.]. The heart thereof, produced by adharma, is not. That too [i.e., the heart of those sins, however,] is [destroyed] by service to the feet of Īśa.”

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tat sasarja tadā brahmā bhagavān ādi-kṛt prabhuḥ

tat sasarja tadā brahmā bhagavān ādi-kṛt prabhuḥ |
teṣāṃ ye yāni karmāṇi prāk-sṛṣṭyāṁ pratipedire |
tāny eva te prapadyante sṛjyamānāḥ punaḥ punaḥ ||
hiṁsrāhiṁsre mṛdu-krūre dharmadharmāv ṛtānṛte |
tad-bhāvitāḥ prapadyante tasmāt tat tasya rocate ||
(Viṣṇu Purāṇa: 1.5.60–61)

“Then Lord Bramā, the original maker and master, emanated them [i.e., all the living beings throughout the universe]. Being emanated again and again [in this way in each cyclic emanation of the universe], they acquired [in this present cyclic emanation] only those karmas of theirs which were acquired [by them] in the previous emanation [of the universe]. They acquired [dispositions and actions constituted of combinations of] violence and non-violence, gentleness and cruelty, dharma and adharma, truthfulness and untruthfulness, being steeped in [various combinations of] these [in accord with their previous karmas]. Thus, they liked them [i.e., thus they felt affinity for the dispositions and actions they adopted because they naturally gravitated to them as a result of their previous karmas, meaning, as a result of the vāsanās they were beset with in accord with their previous karmas].”

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prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva viddhy anādī ubhāv api

prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva viddhy anādī ubhāv api |
vikārāṁś ca guṇāṁś caiva viddhi prakṛti-saṁbhavān ||
kārya-kāraṇa-kartṛtve hetuḥ prakṛtir ucyate |
puruṣaḥ sukha-duḥkhānāṁ bhoktṛtve hetur ucyate ||
puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi bhuṅkte prakṛtijān guṇān |
kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo’sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 13.19–21)

“Prakṛti and the puruṣa—for certain know both to be verily beginningless (anādi), and know the transformations (vikāras) and functions (guṇas) [thereof] to be born of prakṛti. Prakṛti is said to be the cause in regard to being the producer of effects and instruments. The puruṣa is said to be the cause in regard to being the experiencer of happinesses and sufferings. The puruṣa situated in prakṛti experiences the functions (guṇas) born of prakṛti amid births in high and low wombs, and his attachment to [these] functions (guṇas) is the cause [thereof].”

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