यथा हेम्नि स्थितो वह्निर्दुर्वर्णं हन्ति धातुजम् ।
एवमात्मगतो विष्णुर्योगिनामशुभाशयम् ॥
yathā hemni sthito vahnir durvarṇaṁ hanti dhātu-jam |
evam ātma-gato viṣṇur yoginām aśubhāśayam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.3.47)
“As fire set upon gold removes discoloration caused by metals, so Viṣṇu situated in the mind [removes] the inauspicious thoughts of yogīs.”
Commentary
kiṁ cāntaḥkaraṇa-śuddhau bhagavat-smaraṇādir evopāyo nānya iti sa-dṛṣṭāntam āha—yatheti | dhātujaṁ tāmrādi-saṁśleṣa-jātaṁ hemno durvarṇaṁ mālinyaṁ, tatra sthito vahnir eva harati, na tu toyādi evaṁ yoginām api viṣṇur eva, na tu yama-niyamādikam |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā; contains an excerpt from the Bhāvārtha-dīpikā)
“Furthermore, remembrance and so forth of Bhagavān is the only means to purify the antaḥkaraṇa. There is no other [way]. Thus, he speaks this verse (yathā …) with an example. ‘Caused by metals’ (dhātujam) refers to alloys of copper and so on, and gold’s ‘discoloration’ (durvaṇam) refers to impurity. As only fire, and not water or anything else, set upon that [i.e., gold] removes [impurity], so only Viṣṇu does so [i.e., removes mental impurities] even for yogīs [i.e., even for those engaged in spiritual disciplines, what to speak of others], and not yamas, niyamas, and so on [i.e., it is Viṣṇu and not the practices of yoga or other disciplines that purifies the antaḥkaraṇa].”