The Power of Sacred Company

Verse 1 (bhagavata.11.12.1)

श्रीभगवानुवाच न रोधयति मां योगो न साङ्ख्यं धर्म एव च । न स्वाध्यायस्तपस्त्यागो नेष्टापूर्तं न दक्षिणा ॥ 12.1 ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca na rodhayati māṁ yogo na sāṅkhyaṁ dharma eva ca na svādhyāyas tapas tyāgo neṣṭā-pūrtaṁ na dakṣiṇā

The Blessed Lord said: Neither yoga nor Sankhya, nor righteous duty itself, brings Me under its control; nor do Vedic study, austerity, renunciation, prescribed sacrifice, public works, or ritual gifts.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.11.12.2)

व्रतानि यज्ञश्छन्दांसि तीर्थानि नियमा यमाः । यथावरुन्धे सत्सङ्गः सर्वसङ्गापहो हि माम् ॥ 12.2 ॥

vratāni yajñaś chandāṁsi tīrthāni niyamā yamāḥ yathāvarundhe sat-saṅgaḥ sarva-saṅgāpaho hi mām

Nor do vows, sacrifice, Vedic hymns, holy places, the niyamas or yamas bind Me as does the company of the saintly, which severs every other attachment — that alone truly brings Me under its sway.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.11.12.3)

सत्सङ्गेन हि दैतेया यातुधाना मृगाः खगाः । गन्धर्वाप्सरसो नागाः सिद्धाश्चारणगुह्यकाः ॥ 12.3 ॥

sat-saṅgena hi daiteyā yātudhānā mṛgāḥ khagāḥ gandharvāpsaraso nāgāḥ siddhāś cāraṇa-guhyakāḥ

For through the company of the saintly, Daityas, Rakshasas, beasts, birds, Gandharvas, Apsaras, Nagas, Siddhas, Charanas and Guhyakas —

Verse 4 (bhagavata.11.12.4)

विद्याधरा मनुष्येषु वैश्याः शूद्राः स्त्रियोऽन्त्यजाः । रजस्तमःप्रकृतयस्तस्मिंस्तस्मिन् युगे युगे ॥ 12.4 ॥

vidyādharā manuṣyeṣu vaiśyāḥ śūdrāḥ striyo ’ntya-jāḥ rajas-tamaḥ-prakṛtayas tasmiṁs tasmin yuge yuge

— Vidyadharas, and among humans, vaishyas, shudras, women and those born outside the fourfold order, whose nature in every age is shaped by passion and ignorance —

Verse 5 (bhagavata.11.12.5)

बहवो मत्पदं प्राप्तास्त्वाष्ट्रकायाधवादयः । वृषपर्वा बलिर्बाणो मयश्चाथ विभीषणः ॥ 12.5 ॥

bahavo mat-padaṁ prāptās tvāṣṭra-kāyādhavādayaḥ vṛṣaparvā balir bāṇo mayaś cātha vibhīṣaṇaḥ

— many such beings, headed by Vritrasura, son of Tvashta, and Prahlada, son of Kayadhu, as well as Vrishaparva, Bali, Bana, Maya and Vibhishana, attained My supreme abode.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.11.12.6)

सुग्रीवो हनुमानृक्षो गजो गृध्रो वणिक्पथः । व्याधः कुब्जा व्रजे गोप्यो यज्ञपत्न्यस्तथापरे ॥ 12.6 ॥

sugrīvo hanumān ṛkṣo gajo gṛdhro vaṇikpathaḥ vyādhaḥ kubjā vraje gopyo yajña-patnyas tathāpare

— Sugriva, Hanuman, Jambavan, Gajendra the elephant, Jatayu the vulture, the merchant Tuladhara, the hunter Dharmavyadha, Kubja, the gopis of Vraja, and the wives of the sacrificing priests, and others besides.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.11.12.7)

ते नाधीतश्रुतिगणा नोपासितमहत्तमाः । अव्रतातप्ततपसः मत्सङ्गान्मामुपागताः ॥ 12.7 ॥

te nādhīta-śruti-gaṇā nopāsita-mahattamāḥ avratātapta-tapasaḥ mat-saṅgān mām upāgatāḥ

These did not study the body of Vedic scripture, nor worship the truly great, nor undertake vows or austerities — they attained Me solely through association with Me.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.11.12.8)

केवलेन हि भावेन गोप्यो गावो नगा मृगाः । येऽन्ये मूढधियो नागाः सिद्धा मामीयुरञ्जसा ॥ 12.8 ॥

kevalena hi bhāvena gopyo gāvo nagā mṛgāḥ ye ’nye mūḍha-dhiyo nāgāḥ siddhā mām īyur añjasā

By pure loving feeling alone, the gopis, the cows, the trees, the deer and other creatures, even the dull-witted and the serpents, easily attained perfection and reached Me.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.11.12.9)

यं न योगेन साङ्ख्येन दानव्रततपोऽध्वरैः । व्याख्यास्वाध्यायसन्न्यासैः प्राप्नुयाद् यत्नवानपि ॥ 12.9 ॥

yaṁ na yogena sāṅkhyena dāna-vrata-tapo-’dhvaraiḥ vyākhyā-svādhyāya-sannyāsaiḥ prāpnuyād yatnavān api

Him whom one cannot attain even through the greatest effort by way of yoga, Sankhya, charity, vows, austerity, sacrifice, teaching others, personal Vedic study, or renunciation —

Verse 10 (bhagavata.11.12.10)

रामेण सार्धं मथुरां प्रणीते श्वाफल्किना मय्यनुरक्तचित्ताः । विगाढभावेन न मे वियोग- तीव्राधयोऽन्यं ददृशुः सुखाय ॥ 12.10 ॥

rāmeṇa sārdhaṁ mathurāṁ praṇīte śvāphalkinā mayy anurakta-cittāḥ vigāḍha-bhāvena na me viyoga- tīvrādhayo ’nyaṁ dadṛśuḥ sukhāya

— that same Me, when Akrura, son of Shvaphalka, brought Me together with Balarama to Mathura, those whose hearts were so deeply devoted to Me, tormented by the sharp pain of separation, could find happiness in nothing else at all.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.11.12.11)

तास्ताः क्षपाः प्रेष्ठतमेन नीता मयैव वृन्दावनगोचरेण । क्षणार्धवत्ताः पुनरङ्ग तासां हीना मया कल्पसमा बभूवुः ॥ 12.11 ॥

tās tāḥ kṣapāḥ preṣṭhatamena nītā mayaiva vṛndāvana-gocareṇa kṣaṇārdha-vat tāḥ punar aṅga tāsāṁ hīnā mayā kalpa-samā babhūvuḥ

Dear Uddhava, those very nights spent with Me, their most beloved, roaming the land of Vrindavana, passed for them like half an instant; yet without Me those same nights felt to them like an entire age.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.11.12.12)

ता नाविदन् मय्यनुषङ्गबद्ध- धियः स्वमात्मानमदस्तथेदम् । यथा समाधौ मुनयोऽब्धितोये नद्यः प्रविष्टा इव नामरूपे ॥ 12.12 ॥

tā nāvidan mayy anuṣaṅga-baddha- dhiyaḥ svam ātmānam adas tathedam yathā samādhau munayo ’bdhi-toye nadyaḥ praviṣṭā iva nāma-rūpe

With their minds so bound in attachment to Me, they lost all sense of their own selves, of that world or of this one, just as sages absorbed in deep meditation, or rivers merging into the ocean, lose all sense of separate name and form.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.11.12.13)

मत्कामा रमणं जारमस्वरूपविदोऽबलाः । ब्रह्म मां परमं प्रापुः सङ्गाच्छतसहस्रशः ॥ 12.13 ॥

mat-kāmā ramaṇaṁ jāram asvarūpa-vido ’balāḥ brahma māṁ paramaṁ prāpuḥ saṅgāc chata-sahasraśaḥ

Those hundreds upon thousands of women, desiring Me only as a beloved lover and not knowing My true nature, still attained Me, the Supreme Brahman, simply through such intimate association.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.11.12.14)

तस्मात्त्वमुद्धवोत्सृज्य चोदनां प्रतिचोदनाम् । प्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं च श्रोतव्यं श्रुतमेव च ॥ 12.14 ॥

tasmāt tvam uddhavotsṛjya codanāṁ praticodanām pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca śrotavyaṁ śrutam eva ca

Therefore, Uddhava, set aside injunction and counter-injunction, the paths of engagement and renunciation, and both what is yet to be heard and what has already been heard.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.11.12.15)

मामेकमेव शरणमात्मानं सर्वदेहिनाम् । याहि सर्वात्मभावेन मया स्या ह्यकुतोभयः ॥ 12.15 ॥

mām ekam eva śaraṇam ātmānaṁ sarva-dehinām yāhi sarvātma-bhāvena mayā syā hy akuto-bhayaḥ

Take refuge in Me alone, the very Self of all embodied beings — go to Me with your whole being, and through Me you shall become free of fear from every side.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.11.12.16)

श्रीउद्धव उवाच संशयः शृण्वतो वाचं तव योगेश्वरेश्वर । न निवर्तत आत्मस्थो येन भ्राम्यति मे मनः ॥ 12.16 ॥

śrī-uddhava uvāca saṁśayaḥ śṛṇvato vācaṁ tava yogeśvareśvara na nivartata ātma-stho yena bhrāmyati me manaḥ

Sri Uddhava said: O Lord of the lords of yoga, even as I hear Your words, a doubt lodged within me does not depart, and because of it my mind remains bewildered.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.11.12.17)

श्रीभगवानुवाच स एष जीवो विवरप्रसूतिः प्राणेन घोषेण गुहां प्रविष्टः । मनोमयं सूक्ष्ममुपेत्य रूपं मात्रा स्वरो वर्ण इति स्थविष्ठः ॥ 12.17 ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca sa eṣa jīvo vivara-prasūtiḥ prāṇena ghoṣeṇa guhāṁ praviṣṭaḥ mano-mayaṁ sūkṣmam upetya rūpaṁ mātrā svaro varṇa iti sthaviṣṭhaḥ

The Blessed Lord said: This same jiva, arising from the cosmic cavity, enters the heart's cave together with the life breath and primal sound; taking on a subtle form made of mind, it becomes gross as measured units, tone and syllable.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.11.12.18)

यथानलः खेऽनिलबन्धुरुष्मा बलेन दारुण्यधिमथ्यमानः । अणुः प्रजातो हविषा समेधते तथैव मे व्यक्तिरियं हि वाणी ॥ 12.18 ॥

yathānalaḥ khe ’nila-bandhur uṣmā balena dāruṇy adhimathyamānaḥ aṇuḥ prajāto haviṣā samedhate tathaiva me vyaktir iyaṁ hi vāṇī

Just as fire, that heat which is the companion of air in the sky, appears as a small spark when wood is vigorously churned and then blazes when fed with ghee, so too does this manifest speech become My own visible expression.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.11.12.19)

एवं गदिः कर्म गतिर्विसर्गो घ्राणो रसो दृक् स्पर्शः श्रुतिश्च । सङ्कल्पविज्ञानमथाभिमानः सूत्रं रजःसत्त्वतमोविकारः ॥ 12.19 ॥

evaṁ gadiḥ karma gatir visargo ghrāṇo raso dṛk sparśaḥ śrutiś ca saṅkalpa-vijñānam athābhimānaḥ sūtraṁ rajaḥ-sattva-tamo-vikāraḥ

In just this way, speech, the working senses, movement, evacuation, smell, taste, sight, touch and hearing; resolve, understanding and self-identification; the subtle thread of the cosmos, and the transformations of goodness, passion and ignorance, all these should be known as My manifest form.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.11.12.20)

अयं हि जीवस्त्रिवृदब्जयोनि- रव्यक्त एको वयसा स आद्यः । विश्लिष्टशक्तिर्बहुधेव भाति बीजानि योनिं प्रतिपद्य यद्वत् ॥ 12.20 ॥

ayaṁ hi jīvas tri-vṛd abja-yonir avyakta eko vayasā sa ādyaḥ viśliṣṭa-śaktir bahudheva bhāti bījāni yoniṁ pratipadya yadvat

This same primal jiva, threefold in nature and the source of the cosmic lotus, is one, unmanifest and beginningless; yet by the diversifying of its potency it appears as many, just as many seeds, entering a single womb of soil, give rise to countless forms.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.11.12.21)

यस्मिन्निदं प्रोतमशेषमोतं पटो यथा तन्तुवितानसंस्थः । य एष संसारतरुः पुराणः कर्मात्मकः पुष्पफले प्रसूते ॥ 12.21 ॥

yasminn idaṁ protam aśeṣam otaṁ paṭo yathā tantu-vitāna-saṁsthaḥ ya eṣa saṁsāra-taruḥ purāṇaḥ karmātmakaḥ puṣpa-phale prasūte

In whom this entire universe is woven through and through, as cloth rests upon the spread of its warp and weft threads, this same ancient tree of worldly existence, made of action, brings forth its flowers and fruits.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.11.12.22)

द्वे अस्य बीजे शतमूलस्त्रिनालः पञ्चस्कन्धः पञ्चरसप्रसूतिः । दशैकशाखो द्विसुपर्णनीड- स्त्रिवल्कलो द्विफलोऽर्कं प्रविष्टः ॥ 12.22 ॥

dve asya bīje śata-mūlas tri-nālaḥ pañca-skandhaḥ pañca-rasa-prasūtiḥ daśaika-śākho dvi-suparṇa-nīḍas tri-valkalo dvi-phalo ’rkaṁ praviṣṭaḥ

This tree has two seeds, a hundred roots, three trunks, five branches from which flow five saps, eleven boughs, a nest holding two birds, three layers of bark, two fruits, and it extends up to the sun.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.11.12.23)

अदन्ति चैकं फलमस्य गृध्रा ग्रामेचरा एकमरण्यवासाः । हंसा य एकं बहुरूपमिज्यै- र्मायामयं वेद स वेद वेदम् ॥ 12.23 ॥

adanti caikaṁ phalam asya gṛdhrā grāme-carā ekam araṇya-vāsāḥ haṁsā ya ekaṁ bahu-rūpam ijyair māyā-mayaṁ veda sa veda vedam

Village-dwelling, vulture-like people, given to sense enjoyment, eat one of its fruits; forest-dwelling, swan-like renunciants partake of the other. One who, through worship of true teachers, comes to know this single tree, appearing manifold, as a creation of maya, alone truly knows the meaning of the Veda.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.11.12.24)

एवं गुरूपासनयैकभक्त्या विद्याकुठारेण शितेन धीरः । विवृश्च्य जीवाशयमप्रमत्तः सम्पद्य चात्मानमथ त्यजास्त्रम् ॥ 12.24 ॥

evaṁ gurūpāsanayaika-bhaktyā vidyā-kuṭhāreṇa śitena dhīraḥ vivṛścya jīvāśayam apramattaḥ sampadya cātmānam atha tyajāstram

In this way, through single-minded devotion in service to the teacher, the wise and vigilant person, using the sharpened axe of knowledge, should cut through the subtle covering that binds the soul; and having attained his true Self, he should then set aside even that axe.