(1)
ohe bhāi, mana kena brahma haite cāya
ki āścarya kahiba kā’ke, sad-upāsya bala yā’ke
tā’te kena āpane miśāya
O dear brother mind, why do you wish to become Brahman? What wonder shall I describe, and to whom shall I speak of that object of worship? Why do you wish to merge into that?
(2)
bindu nāhi haya sindhu, vāmana nā sparśe indu
reṇu ki bhūdhara rūpa pāya
lābha mātra aparādha paramārtha haya bādhā
sāyujya bādhīra hāya hāya
A drop cannot become the ocean. A dwarf cannot touch the moon. Can a particle of dust become a mountain? Such attainment is only an offense, and it obstructs the supreme goal of life. Alas for those bound to sāyujya liberation!
(3)
e hena duranta buddhi, tyaji’ kara sattva śuddhi
anveṣaha prītira upāya
sāyujya nirvāṇa ādi, śāstre śabda dekha yadi
se sabe bhaktira aṅge yāya
Abandon such dangerous intelligence and purify your existence. Search for the path of divine love. If you find words like sāyujya or nirvāṇa in the śāstras, understand that they ultimately refer to stages within bhakti.
(4)
kṛṣṇa prīti phala-maya, tat tvam asi ādi haya
sādhaka carame kṛṣṇa pāya
akhaṇḍa ānanda-maya, vṛndāvana kṛṣṇa ālaya
para brahma svarūpa jānāya
The ultimate fruit of teachings such as ‘tat tvam asi’ is love for Kṛṣṇa. In the end, the practitioner attains Kṛṣṇa. He realises Vṛndāvana, the abode of Kṛṣṇa, full of undivided bliss, and understands the Supreme Brahman as personal.
(5)
tā haite kiraṇa jāla, brahma rūpe śobhe bhāla
māyika jagat camatkāra
māyā baddha jīva tāhe, nirvṛta haite cāya
sūrya abhāve khadyotera prāya
From Him arises the network of effulgence that appears as Brahman, illuminating the material world with wonder. Conditioned souls in māyā sometimes seek relief there; but without the sun, they are like fireflies.
(6)
yadi kabhu bhāgyodaye, sādhu guru samāśraye
vṛndāvana sammukhete bhāya
kṛṣṇākṛṣṭa ha’ye tabe, khudra rasa anubhave
brahma chāḍi’ para brahme dhāya
If by good fortune one takes shelter of saintly persons and guru, then Vṛndāvana becomes manifest. Becoming attracted to Kṛṣṇa, he abandons the petty taste of Brahman and runs toward the Supreme Brahman.
(7)
śukādira su jīvana, kara bhāi ālocana
e dāsa dhariche tava pāya
O brother, please consider the glorious lives of Śukadeva and the sages.* This servant humbly holds your feet.
* In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Śukadeva himself has acknowledged this:
prāyeṇa munayo rājan nivṛttā vidhi-niṣedhataḥ
naigamāḥ sthā ramante ’smin guṇānukathane hareḥ
pariniṣṭhito ’pi nairguṇye uttama-śloka-līlayā
gṛhīta-cetā rājarṣe ākhyānaṁ yad adhītavān
O King, generally great sages, being freed from injunctions and prohibitions, take pleasure in narrations of the Lord’s qualities. Even those situated in transcendence beyond the material modes become attracted to the pastimes of the Supreme Lord, Uttama-śloka, whose mind was fully absorbed in the narrations he had studied, O royal sage. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.7.10)
sālokya-sārṣṭi-sāmīpya-sārūpyaikatvam apy uta
dīyamānaṁ na gṛhṇanti vinā mat-sevanaṁ janāḥ
My devotees do not accept even the five kinds of liberation – residing on the same planet as Me, having opulence like Mine, being close to Me, having a similar form, or merging with Me—if these are offered without devotion to My service. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.29.13)