Bhāgavatārka Marīci Mālā

Baddha-jīva Lakṣaṇam
(Characteristics of the Bound Jīva)

māyayā jīva-sambandho yena pradarśitaḥ sphuṭam
śrī-gaura-kṛpayā sākṣāt taṁ jīvaṁ praṇamāmy aham

I offer my obeisance unto that jīva, whose relationship with māyā has been clearly revealed, and who, by the mercy of Śrī Gaura, has directly realised his true nature.

(1)
The jīva speaks while situated in the womb:

tasmād ahaṁ vigata-viklava uddhariṣya
ātmānam āśu tamasaḥ suhṛdātmanaiva
bhūyo yathā vyasanam etad aneka-randhraṁ
mā me bhaviṣyad upasādita-viṣṇu-pādaḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.31.21)

By the supremacy of Kṛṣṇa’s will, even though I am now in the womb, I shall deliver myself through right understanding with an undisturbed mind. So that the sufferings of repeated birth and the like may no longer befall me, I shall strive to attain shelter at the feet of Kṛṣṇa.

(2)
Kapila tells His mother:

sa eṣa yarhi prakṛter guṇeṣv abhiviṣajjate
ahaṅkriyā-vimūḍhātmā kartāsmīty abhimanyate
 (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.27.2)

When that jīva becomes attached to the modes of prakṛti, then, bewildered by the ego through the notions of ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ it believes itself to be the doer.

(3)
tena saṁsāra-padavīm avaśo’bhyety anirvṛtaḥ
prāsaṅgikaiḥ karma-doṣaiḥ sad-asan-miśra-yoniṣu
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.27.3)

Overwhelmed by that ego, and deluded by worldly pleasure, the jīva attains the path of saṁsāra. Along with it, by the faults of karma, it takes birth sometimes in auspicious wombs such as those of the brāhmaṇas, and sometimes in inauspicious wombs such as those of dogs, and sometimes in mixed births.

(4)
yad adhruvasya dehasya sānubandhasya durmatiḥ
dhruvāṇi manyate mohād gṛha-kṣetra-vasūni ca
 (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.30.3)

The deluded jīva, through bewilderment, regards as permanent the perishable body together with its connections, as well as the house, field, and wealth.

(5)
Brahmā tells Bhagavān:

daivena te hata-dhiyo bhavataḥ prasaṅgāt
sarvāśubhopaśamanād vimukhendriyā ye
kurvanti kāma-sukha-leśa-lavāya dīnā
lobhābhibhūta-manaso’kuśalāni śaśvat
 (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.9.7)

Brahmā says: O Bhagavān! Those adverse persons, bound by the senses, whose intelligence has been struck down by the Devas, turn away from Your divine association, which is the remover of all inauspiciousness, and, ever wretched, with minds overwhelmed by greed, perpetually perform sinful acts merely for the sake of a trifling fraction of sensual pleasure.

(6)
kṣut-tṛṭ-tridhātubhir imā muhur ardyamānāḥ
śītoṣṇa-vāta-varaṣair itaretarāc ca
kāmāgninācyuta-ruṣā ca sudurbhareṇa
sampaśyato mana urukrama sīdate me
 (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.9.8)

Alas! The wretched jīvas are afflicted again and again by hunger, thirst, disorders of the three bodily humours – wind, bile, and phlegm – by cold, heat, wind, and rain, each tormenting the other. The lusty ones also perpetually suffer from terrible anger and grief. Beholding them, O Urukrama! My mind has become filled with trembling.

(7)
ahny āpṛtārta-karaṇā niśi niḥśayānā
nānā-manoratha-dhiyā kṣaṇa-bhagna-nidrāḥ
daivāhatārtha-racanā ṛṣayo’pi deva
yuṣmat-prasaṅga-vimukhā iha saṁsaranti
 (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.9.10)

O Lord! What more shall I say? Even those sages who are devoted to dry logic and disputation, bereft of Your association – during the day they keep their restless senses engaged in their respective duties, and at night they sleep a sleep broken at every moment by various anxious thoughts and desires. Whatever compositions they endeavour to produce are overthrown by providence. Even after composing many śāstras, they attain only worldly gain. Such is the evil results of turning away from Bhagavān.

(8)
Kapila tells Devahūti:

jantur vai bhava etasmin yāṁ yāṁ yonim anuvrajet
tasyāṁ tasyāṁ sa labhate nirvṛtiṁ na virajyate
 (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.30.4)

In this world, whatever species of life one enters, in that very species one obtains satisfaction and does not become detached. Alas! What a spell māyā casts!

(9)
Nārada says to Prācīnabarhi:

kvacit pumān kvacic ca strī kvacin nobhayam andha-dhīḥ
devo manuṣyas tiryag vā yathā-karma-guṇaṁ bhavaḥ
 (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.29.29)

According to karma, the foolish-minded jīva takes birth sometimes as a male, sometimes as a female, sometimes as a neuter. Sometimes as a Deva, sometimes as a human, sometimes as a lower animal – he thus receives the results of his karma.

(10)
Kapila tells His mother:

naraka-stho’pi dehaṁ vai na pumāṁs tyaktum icchati
nārakyāṁ nirvṛtau satyāṁ deva-māyā-vimohitaḥ
  (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.30.5)

Even one who has become a hellish creature does not wish to abandon the body. In hell, obtaining a kind of satisfaction, he remains bewildered by the divine māyā.

(11)
māmanārādhya duḥkhārtaḥ kuṭumbāsakta-mānasaḥ
sat-saṅga-rahito martyo vṛddha-sevāparicuytaḥ

Bhagavān said: Instead of worshipping Me, the jīva’s mind becomes attached to his family and abandoning saintly company and the service of sādhus, the jīva falls into distress.*

*Translator’s Note: This verse is not found in any present recensions of the Bhāgavatam.

(12)
ātma-jāyā-sutāgāra-paśu-draviṇa-bandhuṣu
nirūḍha-mūla-hṛdaya ātmānaṁ bahu manyate
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.30.6)

Body, wife, son, home, cattle, wealth, and friends – becoming deeply attached to all these, he takes pride in his very self.

(13)
gṛheṣu kūṭa-dharmeṣu duḥkha-tantreṣv atandritaḥ
kurvan duḥkha-pratīkāraṁ sukhavan manyate gṛhī
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.30.9)

Now behold what he calls happiness. Being exceedingly oppressed in the painful snares of the troublesome affairs of the household, he yet seeks remedies against suffering and imagines that he has attained happiness. That which the world calls happiness in saṁsāra is no happiness at all – it is merely a partial antidote to certain sufferings.

(14)
vārtāyāṁ lupyamānāyām ārabdhāyāṁ punaḥ punaḥ
lobhābhibhūto niḥsattvaḥ parārthe kurute spṛhām
 (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.30.11)

The householder devises schemes for livelihood or business. When one scheme fails, he starts yet another. Being thus overpowered by greed, and himself devoid of substance, he covets the wealth of others.

(15)
tatrāpy ajāta-nirvedo bhriyamāṇaḥ svayam bhṛtaiḥ
jarayopātta-vairūpyo maraṇābhimukho gṛhe
 (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.30.14)

While going on in this manner he becomes afflicted by old age, yet dispassion does not arise. Those whom he maintains turn around and maintain themselves, and then maintain him in return. Dispassion does not come. Thus, he continues advancing towards death.

(16)
āste’vamatyopanyastaṁ gṛha-pāla ivāharan
āmayāvy apradīptāgnir alpāhāro’lpa-ceṣṭitaḥ
 (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.30.15)

Whatever the householder throws away, the dying man eats in humiliation, like a dog. Afflicted by disease, with diminished digestive fire, little food, and little effort, he passes his days.

(17)
vāyunotkramatottāraḥ kapha-saṁruddha-nāḍikaḥ
kāsa-śvāsa-kṛtāyāsaḥ kaṇṭhe ghura-ghurāyate
 (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.30.16)

By the vital air, the breath rises upward progressively; the channels are blocked by phlegm; there is exertion caused by coughing and difficult breathing; and the throat gurgles.

(18)
evaṁ kuṭumba-bharaṇe vyāpṛtātmājitendriyaḥ
mriyate rudatāṁ svānām uru-vedanayāsta-dhīḥ
 (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.30.18)

In such a way, the man who is engrossed in maintaining his family, who has not conquered his senses, afflicted with severe pain, loses his understanding and gives up his life amidst the weeping of his dear ones.

(19)
jīvo hy asyānugo deho bhūtendriya-mano-mayaḥ
tan-nirodho’sya maraṇam āvirbhāvas tu sambhavaḥ
 (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.31.34)

The jīva follows the subtle body, which is composed of the material elements, senses, and mind, as well as the gross body. The cessation of this gross body is called death, and its appearance is called birth.

(20)
jīvasya saṁsṛtīr bahvīr avidyā-karma-nirmitāḥ
yāsv aṅga praviśann ātmā na veda gatim ātmanaḥ
 (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.32.38)

Through ignorance and karma, the courses of the jīva become manifold; entering into all those various conditions of existence, the ātmā cannot know its own true direction.

 (21)
Śaunaka tells Sūta:

śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ
na yat-karṇa-pathopeto jātu nāma gadāgrajaḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.3.19)

He whose ears kṛṣṇa-kathā never enters is a beast in human form. Even the dog, boar, camel, and donkey mock and yet praise as one of their own.

(22)
bile batorukrama-vikramān ye
na śṛṇvataḥ karṇa-puṭe narasya
jihvāsatī dārdurikeva sūta
na copagāyaty urugāya-gāthāḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.3.20)

Those two ear-cavities of a man which do not hear the glorious deeds and mighty strides of Śrī Kṛṣṇa – those two ears are utterly useless, mere holes. O Sūta! That tongue which does not sing the celebrated songs of Urugāya Kṛṣṇa is like the tongue of a frog – ever false and worthless.

(23)
bhāraḥ paraṁ paṭṭa-kirīṭa-juṣṭam
apy uttamāṅgaṁ na namen mukundam
śāvau karau no kurute saparyāṁ
harer lasat-kāñcana-kaṅkaṇau vā
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.3.21)

That head which does not bow at the lotus feet of Mukunda, though it be adorned with the most excellent jewelled crown, is nothing but a burden. Those two hands, however beautifully ornamented with bracelets gleaming with longing for Hari, if they do not render service to Kṛṣṇa, become like the limbs of a dead body, fit only to decay.

(24)
barhāyite te nayane narāṇāṁ
liṅgāni viṣṇor na nirīkṣato ye
pādau nṛṇāṁ tau druma-janma-bhājau
kṣetrāṇi nānuvrajato harer yau
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.3.22) 

Those two eyes of men which have not beheld the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa are like eyes painted upon the feathers of a peacock – mere decoration, devoid of true sight. Those two feet which have never undertaken a pilgrimage to the holy places of Śrī Hari are fit only to be compared to the roots of trees, fixed and inert.

(25)
jīvañ chavo bhāgavatāṅghri-reṇuṁ
na jātu martyo’bhilabheta yas tu
śrī-viṣṇu-padyā manujas tulasyāḥ
śvasañ chavo yas tu na veda gandham
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.3.23)

That person is a living corpse who never received the dust of the feet of the devotees of Bhagavān. That person is a corpse endowed with breath who has never inhaled the fragrance of the tulasī leaves offered at the feet of Śrī Viṣṇu.

 (26)
tad aśma-sāraṁ hṛdayaṁ batedaṁ
yad gṛhyamāṇair hari-nāma-dheyaiḥ
na vikriyetātha yadā vikāro
netre jalaṁ gātra-ruheṣu harṣaḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.3.24)

At the time of receiving hari-nāma, if for any reason whatsoever, the heart does not melt, produce tears in the eyes and horripilation, then it is as hard as stone due to offences. In a deceitful person and in a person of slippery nature, a semblance of these symptoms of horripilation may arise, but that is vain. It is only auspicious when, upon receiving hari-nāma, the heart becomes moistened with simplicity and produces tears and horripilation.

(27)
Sūta tells Śaunaka and the other sages about the places are the abodes of Kali:

abhyarthitas tadā tasmai sthānāni kalaye dadau
dyūtaṁ pānaṁ striyaḥ sūnā yatrādharmaś catur-vidhaḥ
 (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.17.38)

The jīva bound by māyā desires to remain in the abodes of Kali. Petitioned by Kali, King Parīkṣit gave him (1) places of gambling, (2) places of drinking liquor and intoxicants, (3) places of women who gratify the senses, and (4) places of animal slaughter – these are the four abodes of adharma.

 (28)
punaś ca yācamānāya jāta-rūpam adāt prabhuḥ
tato’nṛtaṁ madaṁ kāmaṁ rajo vairaṁ ca pañcamam
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.17.39)

Upon being entreated again, he granted gold, and along with it, the five abodes of untruth, intoxication, lust, passion, and enmity.

(29)
Kṛṣṇa explains to Uddhava:

etāḥ saṁsṛtayaḥ puṁso guṇa-karma-nibandhanāḥ
yeneme nirjitāḥ saumya guṇā jīvena citta-jāḥ
bhakti-yogena man-niṣṭho mad-bhāvāya prapadyate
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.25.32)

These are the matters of the worldly bondage of the jīva through guṇa and karma. They arise from the mind. Blessed is the jīva who conquers all these. Through bhakti-yoga, the steadfast, thoughtful person becomes worthy of attaining Me.

(30)
tasmād deham imaṁ labdhvā jñāna-vijñāna-sambhavam
guṇa-saṅgaṁ vinirdhūya māṁ bhajantu vicakṣaṇāḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.25.33)

Therefore, having obtained this body, which is fleeting and momentary, and being purified by casting off the association of the modes of nature, such discriminating persons who are endowed with jñāna and vijñāna by the mercy of the guru shall worship Me.

(31)
Bhagavān tells Uddhava:

ya eṣa saṁsāra-taruḥ purāṇaḥ
karmātmakaḥ puṣpa-phale prasūte
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.12.21)

This ancient tree of worldly existence, which is of the nature of karma, brings forth its blossoms and fruits.

(32)
dve asya bīje śata-mūlas tri-nālaḥ
pañca-skandhaḥ pañca-rasa-prasūtiḥ
daśaika-śākho dvi-suparṇa-nīḍas
tri-valkalo dvi-phalo’rkaṁ praviṣṭaḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.12.22)

Bhagavān said: O Uddhava! This universe, comprising both collective and individual forms, is the beginningless tree of saṁsāra. This tree, being constituted by the flow of karma, brings forth two fruits – good fortune and bad fortune. Sin and piety are its two seeds; hundreds upon hundreds of desires are its roots. The three guṇas are its three stalks. The five great elements are its five trunks. The five sense-objects are its five saps. Pleasure and pain are its produce. The eleven senses are its eleven branches. The jīvātmā and the Paramātmā are the two birds dwelling in that tree. Wind (vāta), bile (pitta), and phlegm (śleṣmā) are its three barks. Happiness and sorrow are its two fruits. The solar orb pervades this saṁsāra – such is this tree of worldly existence.

 (33)
adanti caikaṁ phalam asya gṛdhrā
grāme-carā ekam araṇya-vāsāḥ
haṁsā ya ekaṁ bahu-rūpam ijyair
māyā-mayaṁ veda sa veda vedam
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.12.22)

Lustful persons consume a fruit from this worldly tree, the fruit of sorrow, in their worldly pursuits. The fruit of happiness, namely the fruit of nirvṛtti (renunciation), is enjoyed by the sages who dwell in the forest. There is yet one other fruit hidden within this saṁsāra, and that is Myself. Those who are like swans, skilled in discriminating between milk and water, are able, through the grace of their guru, to know Me – who, though one, have assumed many forms. One who truly knows this tree of saṁsāra to be constituted of māyā has understood the purport of all the Vedas.

(34)
evaṁ gurūpāsanayaika-bhaktyā
vidyā-kuṭhāreṇa śitena dhīraḥ
vivṛścya jīvāśayam apramattaḥ
sampadya cātmānam atha tyajāstram
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.12.24)

In this manner, by means of bhakti in the form of the worship of the sat-guru, the wise and steadfast person shall, by the axe of transcendental knowledge, sever the jīvāśaya – that is, the subtle body, and, having attained the wealth of the ātmā, shall then cast aside even the axe of knowledge, and thus attain supreme bhakti.

 (35)
atha baddhasya muktasya vailakṣaṇyaṁ vadāmi te
viruddha-dharmiṇos tāta sthitayor eka-dharmiṇi
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.11.5)

I am now describing the distinguishing features of two persons – the bound and the liberated – who, though dwelling together in the one tree of saṁsāra, are endowed with contrary natures.

(36)
suparṇāv etau sadṛśau sakhāyau
yadṛcchayaitau kṛta-nīḍau ca vṛkṣe
ekas tayoḥ khādati pippalānnam
anyo niranno’pi balena bhūyān
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.11.6)

In this tree of worldly existence, two birds – alike in appearance and friends to one another – have come by chance and made their abode. Of them, one eats the food in the form of the pippal fruits. The other bird, though eating nothing, is mighty by its own inherent strength.

(37)
ātmānam anyaṁ ca sa veda vidvān
apippalādo na tu pippalādaḥ
yo’vidyayā yuk sa tu nitya-baddho
vidyā-mayo yaḥ sa tu nitya-muktaḥ
 (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.11.7)

The learned one – the bird that does not eat the pippal fruit – knows both itself and the other bird. The pippal-eating bird knows neither itself nor the other. Because the pippal-eating bird is joined to ignorance, it is eternally bound. The non-eating bird, being filled with knowledge, is therefore eternally liberated. When the pippal-eating bird comes to know the non-eating bird and also comes to know itself, it too becomes endowed with knowledge and is thus liberated, and it need no longer eat the pippal fruit.

(38)
Nārada tells Prācīnabarhi:

tat karma hari-toṣaṁ yat sā vidyā tan-matir yayā
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.29.49)

Explaining what is meant by vidyā, he declares: That action which pleases Hari is alone true action, and that knowledge by which one’s mind becomes fixed upon Hari is alone true vidyā.

(39)
Brahmā says to Bhagavān:

tāvad bhayaṁ draviṇa-deha-suhṛn-nimittaṁ
śokaḥ spṛhā paribhavo vipulaś ca lobhaḥ
tāvan mamety asad-avagraha ārti-mūlaṁ
yāvan na te’ṅghrim abhayaṁ pravṛṇīta lokaḥ
 (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.9.6)

O Lord! So long as one does not take refuge at Thy fearless lotus feet, fear arises on account of wealth, body, and dear ones; and grief, longing, attachment, and immense greed persist – and the root of all misery, namely the false clinging of ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ is not removed.

(40)
Dhruva says to Pṛśnigarbha:

nūnaṁ vimuṣṭa-matayas tava māyayā te
ye tvāṁ bhavāpyaya-vimokṣaṇam anya-hetoḥ
arcanti kalpaka-taruṁ kuṇapopabhogyam
icchanti yat sparśajaṁ niraye’pi nṝṇām
 (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.9.9)

Those who worship You, who are the wish-fulfilling tree that grants liberation from the cycle of birth and death, for the sake of some other insignificant reward are certainly deluded by Your māyā. For they desire those pleasures born of sense contact, which are fit only for the enjoyment of this perishable body and are obtainable even in hell.

(41)
ekas tvam eva bhagavann idam ātma-śaktyā
māyākhyayoru-guṇayā mahad-ādy-aśeṣam
sṛṣṭvānuviśya puruṣas tad-asad-guṇeṣu
nāneva dāruṣu vibhāvasuvad vibhāsi
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.9.7)

Just as one fire appears in many different forms according to the various pieces of wood in which it burns, so You alone are Kṛṣṇa, though You manifest in diverse ways. O Bhagavān! By means of Your own external potency, māyā, endowed with its manifold qualities, You enter the limitless categories of material existence beginning with the Mahat-tattva. Assuming the temporary attributes of those various entities, You are perceived as manifesting diverse avatāra-līlās. Although You are eternally existent and transcendental, to those whose vision is confined to matter You appear in the forms of Devas, humans, animals, and other embodied beings.

(42)
yo’ntaḥ praviśya mama vācam imāṁ prasuptāṁ
sañjīvayaty akhila-śakti-dharaḥ sva-dhāmnā
anyāṁś ca hasta-caraṇa-śravaṇa-tvag-ādīn
prāṇān namo bhagavate puruṣāya tubhyam
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.9.6)

I offer my obeisance unto You, the Supreme Person, who, having entered into me while I lay dormant, have, by the progressive manifestation of Your own spiritual potency and although endowed with all potencies, animated my hands, feet, skin, vital airs, and power of speech.

(43)
Prajāpati Dakṣa states:

yo’nugrahārthaṁ bhajatāṁ pāda-mūlam
anāma-rūpo bhagavān anantaḥ
nāmāni rūpāṇi ca janma-karmabhir
bheje sa mahyaṁ paramaḥ prasīdatu

May that Supreme Person, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, be gracious unto me. Although He is the Supreme Lord – the Paramātmā, who is beyond material name and form, and who possesses unlimited transcendental forms – He manifests within this material world His own eternal names, forms, birth, and pastimes through His internal spiritual potency, with the intention of bestowing His mercy upon those who worship His lotus feet.

This is the Eighth Ray of Śrīmad Bhāgavatārka Maricī-Mālā
on the topic of sambandha-jñāna
called ‘Baddha-jīva Lakṣaṇam’ (Characteristics of the Bound Jīva)

 

Here ends the Gauḍīya Commentary known as the Marīci Prabhā
on the Eighth Ray of Śrīmad Bhāgavatārka Maricī-Mālā
called ‘Baddha-jīva Lakṣaṇam’.