Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.87.18
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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āruṇayaḥ
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the Āruṇi sages
Disciples of Āruṇi (Uddālaka), prominent in Chāndogya. The Daharavidyā tradition — meditation on the small space within the heart (dahara-ākāśa). Gauḍīyas treat this as a valid but partial yoga; bhakti supersedes it because it reaches not the in-dweller but the Original Lord.
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daharam
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subtle
Literally 'small.' The dahara-ākāśa within the heart is the technical seat of Paramātmā meditation. Gauḍīyas distinguish: Paramātmā is real and within the heart, but Kṛṣṇa Himself in Vraja is higher (CC Ādi 2.5).
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dhāma
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place of appearance
From √dhā (to place, to support). Bhagavān's dhāma is His abode — Vaikuṇṭha, and supremely Goloka-Vṛndāvana. Here, the dhāma at śiraḥ (head) is the suṣumnā-departure-point for the yogī. Gauḍīyas read the highest dhāma as Vṛndāvana itself.
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ananta
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O unlimited Lord
From a + anta — without end. One of the Lord's standing names; also the name of Śeṣa, His couch. Used in stuti to acknowledge that the description can never complete.
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kṛta-anta-mukhe
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into the mouth of death
Compound: kṛta-anta (the one who makes an end — death personified) + mukha (mouth). The image of Yama as devouring mouth — vivid in Kaṭha Upaniṣad and SB 5.14. The verse promises: those who depart correctly never fall back into that mouth.
Here the śrutis who teach meditational yoga glorify the Personality of Godhead. The various processes of yoga are for the most part gradual and full of opportunities for distraction. Authentic methods of yoga, nonetheless, all aim at meditation on the Supersoul (Paramātmā), whose primary residence is in the region of the heart, alongside the jīva soul. This manifestation of Paramātmā in the heart is very subtle and difficult to perceive ( daharam ), and thus only advanced yogīs can realize Him there. Neophyte meditators often practice focusing on the Supersoul’s secondary presence in one of the lower centers of vital energy, such as the mūlādhāra-cakra, at the base of the spine, the svādhiṣṭhāna-cakra, in the area of the navel, or the maṇipūra-cakra, in the abdomen. Lord Kṛṣṇa refers to His expansion as Paramātmā in the abdominal cakra as follows: ahaṁ vaiśvānaro bhūtvā prāṇinaṁ deham āsthitaḥ prāṇāpāna-samāyuktaḥ pacāmy annaṁ catur-vidham “I am the fire of digestion in the bodies of all living entities, and I join with the air of life, outgoing and incoming, to digest the four kinds of food.” ( Bg. 15.14 ) Lord Vaiśvānara presides over digestion and in general bestows the capacity of mobility on animals, humans and demigods. In the judgment of the śrutis speaking this verse, those who limit their meditation to this form of the Lord are less intelligent, kūrpa-dṛśaḥ, meaning literally “having eyes clouded by dust.” The superior yogīs known as Āruṇis, on the other hand, worship the Supersoul in His form as the indwelling companion of the jīva in the heart, the Lord who endows His dependent with the power of knowledge and inspires him with all varieties of practical intelligence. And just as the physical heart is the center of blood circulation, so the subtle heart cakra is the crossroads of numerous channels of prāṇa, called nāḍīs, which extend outward to all parts of the body. When these passageways have been sufficiently purified, the Āruṇi yogīs can leave the heart region and go upward to the cakra at the roof of the brain. Yogīs who leave their bodies through this cakra, the brahma-randhra, go directly to the kingdom of God, from which they need never return to be reborn. Thus even the unsure process of meditational yoga can bear the fruit of pure devotion if it is followed perfectly. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura cites several śruti-mantras that echo the words of this verse: udaraṁ brahmeti śārkarākṣā upāsate hṛdayaṁ brahmeti āruṇayo brahmā haivaitā ita ūrdhvaṁ tv evodasarpat tac-chiro ’śrayate. “Those whose vision is clouded identify Brahman with the abdomen, while the Āruṇis worship Brahman in the heart. One who is truly Brahman-realized travels upward from the heart to take shelter of the Lord who is manifested at the top of the head.” śataṁ caikā ca hṛdayasya nāḍyas tāsāṁ mūrdhānam abhiniḥsṛtaikā tayordhvam āyann amṛtatvam eti viśvaṅṅ anyā utkramaṇe bhavanti “There are one hundred and one subtle prāṇic channels emanating from the heart. One of these — the suṣumṇā — extends to the top of the head. By passing up through this channel, one transcends death. The other channels lead in all directions, to various kinds of rebirth.” ( Chāndogya Upaniṣad 8.6.6) The Upaniṣads refer repeatedly to the indwelling Paramātmā. Śrī Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (3.12-13) describes Him as follows: mahān prabhur vai puruṣaḥ sattvasyaiṣa pravartakaḥ su-nirmalāṁ imāṁ prāptim īśāno jyotir avyayaḥ aṅguṣṭha-mātraḥ puruṣo ’ntar-ātmā sadā janānāṁ hṛdaye sanniviṣṭaḥ hṛdā manīṣā manasābhikḷpto ya etad vidur amṛtās te bhavanti “The Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes the Puruṣa to initiate the expansion of this cosmos. He is the perfectly pure goal that yogīs strive to reach, the effulgent and infallible ultimate controller. Measuring the size of a thumb, the Puruṣa is always present as the Supersoul within the hearts of all living beings. By exercising proper intelligence, one can realize Him within the heart; those who learn this method will gain immortality.” In conclusion, Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī prays: udarādiṣu yaḥ puṁsāṁ cintito muni-vartmabhiḥ hanti mṛtyu-bhayam devo hṛd-gataṁ tam upāsmahe “Let us worship the Supreme Lord, who resides in the heart. When mortal beings think of Him by the standard procedures established by great sages, meditating upon Him in His expansions in the abdomen and other regions of the body, the Lord reciprocates by destroying all fear of death.”
Verses 16 and 17 spoke of bhakti, with the object of worship being bhagavan for the devotees. The present verse speaks about yoga, with paramatma as the object of worship for the yogis. The Gita says "I am the vaisvanara situated in the body of living beings." (BG15.14) Thus udara in this verse refers to the paramatma in the form of vaisvanara situated in the stomach region, who bestows kriya sakti. "Those of the sampradaya of sages, having gross vision (kurpa drsah, literally with dust in their eyes) worship this form in the abdomen." This is because the abdomen is grosser than the heart. Kurpa can also mean subtle however. Then the meaning would be : "Those sages worship the Lord in the abdomen with the vision of later approaching the more subtle heart region." "The Arunis worship the Lord of the jiva situated in the heart , who bestows jnana sakti, stimulating the intelligence. That form is hard to understand, being subtle (daharam). The place is spread with nadis (parasara paddhatim)." This is the particular distinction of the heart region. The result of this particular quality of having nadis is described. "From the heart (tatah ), O Ananta, the effulgent place of realization (dhama) of the paramatma has ascended to the head." In other words, starting from the muladhara, then the heart, the dhama appeared at the brahma randhra. The dhama or place of the supersoul appeared in all three places. "Having attained the topmost dhama on the head, they do not fall again into the material realm (krtanta mukhe)." This means that those with gross vision (sarkaraska) worship Brahman in the abdomen and the arunis worship Brahman in the heart. Mahan prabhur vai purusah sattvasyaiva pravartakah Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.12 Angustha matrah puruso’ntaratma sada jananam hrdaye sannivistah The great Lord is the purusah the instigator of the gunas. He is the size of the thumb situated within the hearts of men at all times. Svetasvatara 3.13 satam caika ca hrdayasya nadyas tasam murddhanam abhi nihsrtaika tayordhvam anayan amrtatvam eti Visvanya upakramena bhavati There are one hundred and one subtle nerve channels which emanate from the heart. One of these extends to the top of head; by passing up through it one transcends death. Chandogya Upanisad 8.6.6.
Among all the agreeing śrutis, some others which were not clearly recognized as important by them show their allegiance to them. First, in the previous verse, five types of soul were described in gradual progression. Taking the opportunity when the previous śrutis stopped speaking, śrutis teaching karma-mukti (gradual elevation) through yoga began to praise the Lord. Udaram refers to the antaryāmī of Vaiśvānara, who gives kriya-śakti for stimulation of anna and rasa. ahaṁ vaiśvānaro bhūtvā prāṇināṁ deham āśritaḥ prāṇāpāna-samāyuktaḥ pacāmy annaṁ catur-vidham I am the fire of digestion in the bodies of all living entities, and I join with the air of life, outgoing and incoming, to digest the four kinds of foodstuff. BG 15.14 Hṛdayam refers to antaryāmī of the jīva, who gives jṣana-śakti for stimulating intelligence. mahān prabhur vai puruṣaḥ sattvasyaiṣa pravartakaḥ su-nirmalāṁ imāṁ prāptim īśāno jyotir avyayaḥ aṅguṣṭha-mātraḥ puruṣo ’ntar-ātmā sadā janānāṁ hṛdaye sanniviṣṭaḥ hṛdā manīṣā manasābhikḷpto ya etad vidur amṛtās te bhavanti The Supreme Lord becomes the puruṣa to initiate the expansion of this cosmos. He is the perfectly pure goal that yogīs strive to reach, the effulgent and infallible ultimate controller. Measuring the size of a thumb, the puruṣa is always present as the Supersoul within the hearts of all living beings. By exercising proper intelligence, one can realize him within the heart; those who learn this method will gain immortality. Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad The order of the cakras is explained in the Second Canto. The explanation is in terms of the individual, but represents universal form. Thus udaram refers to the sky (below Svarga) and navel region of the universal form. Nabhastalaṁ nābhi-saro gṛṇanti: outer space is the depression of his navel. (SB 2.1.27) The heart represents Svarga in the universal form. Uraḥ-sthalaṁ jyotir-anīkam asya: the chest of the the gigantic form is Svarga. (SB 2.1.28) The heart is the place where one can come close to the Lord (parisara-paddhatim), but difficult to access (daharam). From worship of those two places (tataḥ) he goes to your place, Brahma-loka, called the suṣumnā. Suṣumṇayā brahma-pathena śociṣā: the yogī goes by the path going to Brahma-loka, by the suṣumnā. (SB 2.2.24) The suṣumnā is luminous because of the presiding deity. He goes to the head (śiraḥ). Satyaṁ tu śīrṣāṇi sahasra-śīrṣṇaḥ: the topmost planetary system, known as Satyaloka, is the head of he who has one thousand heads. (SB 2.1.28) From there it is understood he goes to the supreme Vaikuṇṭha (paramam). The worshippers do not return.
On the path of jṣāna (ṛṣi-vartmasu) some with fine vision (kūrpa-dṛśaḥ) worship the Lord in the abdomen. Those in Aruṇa’s dynasty worship the Lord in the heart. O Lord who is not divided (ananta), though you have a form (dhāma). Having gone to the highest abode by yoga practice, they do not fall to the place full of miseries (iha). Or after showing the glories of bhakti, the śrutis explain results of gross and subtle worship, according to different qualifications. Because worship of the abdomen is gross, the result is the universal form within the universe. Worship of antaryāmī in the heart is subtle and thus more difficult (daharam). It is the method of coming close to you (parisara-paddhatim). Or the abdomen refers to the abdomen of the universal form. nabhastalaṁ nābhi-saro gṛṇanti: Bhuvar loka is the navel. uraḥ-sthalaṁ jyotir-anīkam asya: the heart is Svarga. (SB 2.1.27-28) Worship of Svarga allows a person to approach you (parisara-paddhatim). From these two types of worship (tataḥ), the suṣumnā leads to the highest position (śiraḥ), Brahmaloka. vaiśvānaraṁ yāti vihāyasā gataḥ suṣumṇayā brahma-pathena śociṣā The yogī, having gone by the path of Brahma-loka, goes to Vaiśvānara by means of the ether, through the luminaries of the suṣumna-nāḍī. SB 2.2.24 From there the worshippers enter the highest abode Vaikuṇṭha (paramam). Having attained the suṣumna they do not return. Or udaram refers to the ocean. (SB 2.1.32) this indicates the Lord lying on the ocean. Hṛdayam refers to the Lord residing in Svarga where the constellations are spread. It thus indicates the place of Viṣṇu and Viṣṇu himself. He can be attained by the worshipper because he supplies the means (parisara-paddhatim), since he is the method and the goal. After Viṣṇu (tataḥ) one worships Mahānārāyaṇa in Vaikuṇṭha (udak dhāma). This refers to the worship in lineage of Rāmānuja. They are not mentioned directly because the most excellent items are kept secret. This form is the highest (śiraḥ), the most excellent for all people (paramam) or the form accompanied by most excellent Lakṣmnī (paramam). Worshpping these three forms one does not go into saṁsāra again.
Different yogīs trace the Lord at different stations of the body — abdomen, heart, head — like climbers at different heights of the same mountain. The mountain is one; the climbing differs. From the top of the head, the suṣumnā-summit, the soul departs and does not fall again into death's mouth.
My note
Source: vedabase.io