तं सत्यमानन्दनिधिं भजेत
नान्यत्र सज्जेद्यत आत्मपातः ॥
taṁ satyam ānanda-nidhiṁ bhajeta
nānyatra sajjed yata ātma-pātaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.1.39; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 26)
“One should worship him [i.e., Bhagavān],
The Reality,
The Reservoir of Bliss.
One should not be attached elsewhere
Because the downfall of the self occurs [as a result].”
Commentary
Śrī Svāmīpāda and Śrī Jīvapāda comment that “the downfall of the self” (ātma-pātaḥ), that is, saṁsāra, results from attachment to any object other than Bhagavān (yata āsaṅgād ātmanaḥ pātaḥ saṁsāro bhavati, BAD; yataḥ sajjamānād ātma-pātaḥ saṁsāra eva syāt, KST). Śrī Cakravartīpāda comments that “the Reality” (Satyam) refers to Bhagavān, he who is present in all times and places and the reservoir of all forms of bliss (taṁ satyaṁ sarva-kāla-deśa-vartinam, ānandānāṁ nidhiṁ Bhagavantam eva bhajeta), and that “elsewhere” (anyatra) refers to the pleasure of sense objects (viṣaya), which is not a reservoir of bliss and not real because of not being present in all directions [i.e., throughout all of time and space] (na tv anyatra asārvadiktvād asatye’nānanda-nidhau viṣaya-sukhe ity arthaḥ).