Viṣaya

etasmād viramendriyārtha-gahanād āyāsakād āśraya

etasmād viramendriyārtha-gahanād āyāsakād āśraya
śreyo-mārgam aśeṣa-duḥkha-śamana-vyāpāra-dakṣaṁ kṣaṇāt |
svātmībhāvam upaihi santyaja nijāṁ kallola-lolaṁ gatiṁ
mā bhūyo bhaja bhaṅgurāṁ bhava-ratiṁ cetaḥ prasīdādhunā ||
(Vairāgya-śatakam: 63)

“Therefore,

Desist from the troublesome labyrinth

Of the sense-objects.

Take shelter in the path

Of the highest good (śreyas),

Capable in the matter of extinguishing

Endless suffering within a moment.

Reach the state of your own self,

Abandoning your own [present] condition,

Inconstant like a wave.

Do not again

Foster transient affinity for the world

[Much less partake of transient pleasures of the world based on it].

O mind,

Be satisfied now.”

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yac ca kāma-sukhaṁ loke yac ca divyaṁ mahat sukham

yac ca kāma-sukhaṁ loke yac ca divyaṁ mahat sukham |
tṛṇṣā-kṣaya-sukhasyaite nārhataḥ ṣoḍaśīṁ kalām ||
(Mahābhārata: 12.168.36)

“The happiness produced by objects of desire in this world, and the great happiness in Svarga—these are not equal to [even] a sixteenth of the happiness of the cessation of desire.”

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bhaktir yā nikhilārtha-varga-jananī yā brahma-sākṣātkṛter

bhaktir yā nikhilārtha-varga-jananī yā brahma-sākṣātkṛter
ānandātiśaya-pradā viṣayajāt saukhyād vimuktir yayā |
śrī-rādhā-ramaṇaṁ padāmbuja-yugaṁ yasyā mahān-āśrayo
yā kāryā vraja-lokavat gurutara-premnaiva tasyai namaḥ ||
(Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.1.1)

“Obeisance unto her, Bhakti [Devī],

Who is the mother of all goals

[i.e., the cause of attaining all the puruṣārthas],

Who is the bestower of bliss

Surpassing [that of] Brahman realization,

By whom complete liberation from pleasure

Produced by the sense objects is attained,

Whose principal shelter

Is the two lotus feet of Śrī Rādhā Ramaṇa,

And who is to be performed with very strong prema

Like the people of Vraja.”

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ātmānaṁ rathitaṁ viddhi śarīraṁ ratham eva tu

ātmānaṁ rathitaṁ viddhi śarīraṁ ratham eva tu |
buddhiṁ tu sārathiṁ viddhi manaḥ pragraham eva ca ||
indriyāṇi hayān āhur viṣayāṁs teṣu gocarān |
ātmendriya-manoyuktaṁ bhoktety āhur manīṣiṇaḥ ||
(Kaṭha Upaniṣad: 1.3.3–4)

“Know the self (ātmā) to be [like] the rider of a chariot and the body [to be like] a chariot. Know the intellect (buddhi) to be [like] a charioteer and the mind [to be like] reins. The wise say the senses are [like] horses and the objects of the senses (viṣayas) [are like] ranges, and [they] say the experiencer is the self united with the senses and mind [along with the body and intellect].”

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tvaṁ caitad brahma-dāyāda śraddhayātmānuśāsanam

tvaṁ caitad brahma-dāyāda śraddhayātmānuśāsanam |
dhārayaṁś cara gāṁ kāmaṁ kāmānāṁ bharjanaṁ nṛṇām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.44)

“[Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi to Nārada Ṛṣi:] And you, carrying [in your heart and mouth] with śraddhā this instruction on the Ātma [i.e., Paramātmā, or, the jīvātmā], which roasts the desires of human beings [i.e., causes all forms of worldly desire to cease to exist in the minds of human beings], should [now] move at will about the earth.”

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nātha yoni-sahasreṣu yeṣu yeṣu vrajāmy aham

nātha yoni-sahasreṣu yeṣu yeṣu vrajāmy aham |
teṣu teṣv acyutā bhaktir acyute’stu sadā tvayi ||
yā prītir avivekānāṁ viṣayeṣv anapāyinī |
tvām anusmarataḥ sā me hṛdayān nāpasarpatu ||

(Viṣṇu Purāṇa: 1.20.18–19; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 8.434–435; Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 142; Bhakti Sandarbha: 217; Prīti Sandarbha: 50, 61)

“O Nātha, wherever I go in the course of thousands of births, may I always have unwavering (acyutā) bhakti to you, the unwavering Lord (Acyuta)! As I continuously remember you, may that everlasting prīti which [is possessed of a characteristic like the prīti which] the undiscerning have for objects of the senses, never slip away from my heart.”

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ajānan dāhārtiṁ viśati śalabho dīpa-dahanaṁ

ajānan dāhārtiṁ viśati śalabho dīpa-dahanaṁ
na mīno’pi jñātvā vṛta-baḍiśam aśnāti piśitam |
vijānanto’py etān vayam iha vipaj-jāla-jaṭilān
na muñcāmaḥ kāmān ahaha gahano moha-mahimā ||
(Attributed to a Śānti-śataka of Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura)

“Not knowing the pain of being burnt, a moth enters the flame of a lamp. A fish too eats a piece of meat not knowing it is a covered hook. Although we [however] know objects of enjoyment here [i.e., in saṁsāra] are embedded in a net of afflictions, we do not give them up. Ahaha! How impenetrable is the power of delusion!”

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kuraṅga-mātaṅga-pataṅga-bhṛṅga

kuraṅga-mātaṅga-pataṅga-bhṛṅga-
mīnāḥ hatāḥ pañcabhir eva pañca |
ekaṁ pramādī sa kathaṁ na hanyate
yaḥ sevate pañcabhir eva pañca ||
(Garuḍa Purāṇa: 1.115.21)

“The deer, elephant, moth, bee, and fish—these five are destroyed by the five [respective objects of the senses]. One is bewildering [i.e., just one sense object is greatly bewildering]. [Thus,] how is someone who partakes of all five not [sure to be] ruined by these five?”

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ye hi saṁsparśajā bhogā duḥkha-yonaya eva te

ye hi saṁsparśajā bhogā duḥkha-yonaya eva te |
ādy-anta-vantaḥ kaunteya na teṣu ramate budhaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 5.22)

“The enjoyments produced by contact [of the senses with their respective objects] are verily causes of suffering and possess a beginning and end. O Kaunteya, an intelligent person [i.e., one who properly exercises one’s discernment] does not enjoy them.”

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