Verse 2.2.89

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.2.89:

तदानीं च मनो-वृत्त्य्-अन्तराभावात् सुसिद्ध्यति ।
चेतसा खलु यत् साक्षाच् चक्षुषा दर्शनं हरेः ॥ ८९ ॥

tadānīṃ ca mano-vṛtty-antarābhāvāt susiddhyati |
cetasā khalu yat sākṣāc cakṣuṣā darśanaṃ hareḥ || 89 ||

tadānīm–then; ca–also; manaḥ–of the mind; vṛtti–activities; antara–of the internal; abhāvāt–on account of an absence; su-sidhyati–is perfected; cetasā–through the mind; khalu–indeed; yat–what; sākṣāt–directly; cakṣuṣā–with the eyes; darśanam–sight; hareḥ–of Śrī Hari.

Do not think that meditation is the only activity of the mind. It is the mind that facilitates direct vision of Śrī Hari through the eyes. This is because when Bhagavān manifests in one’s heart, the mind can do nothing but think of Him. Thus, the eyes actually see only through the faculty of the mind.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

Śrī Gopa-kumāra might question, “The mind can only engage in meditation; it has no power to see. Seeing is an activity of the organ of sight. So how is it that you have said, ‘In the conscious mind, you shall have darśana.’ (Śrī Bṛhadbhāgavatāmṛta 2.2.87)?”

In reply, Śrī Pippalāyana speaks this verse, saying, “Direct darśana of Śrī Hari can be had by the mind alone. It is not true that the only function of the mind is dhyāna, or meditation. You may have heard that it is possible to directly view Śrī Hari with your eyes, but that sight actually takes place in the mind. This is the absolute conclusion. The reason is that when Bhagavān manifests in the consciousness, the mind can think of nothing else. When one’s mind is absorbed in the Deity of Śrī Bhagavān, the Lord manifests there. At that time, one may not realize, ‘I am seeing Bhagavān only in my mind, not with my eyes,’ and may rather think, ‘It is with my eyes that I am having darśana.’ Even if one has this misconception, however, the act of seeing the Lord is performed by the mind alone, and darśana through the mind is the same as darśana with the eyes.”

In the term su-sidhyati, meaning ‘fully realized, or perfect,’ su signifies that darśana of the form of the Lord that is seen through the mind is much more beautiful than that seen with the eyes. The reason is that the limited external senses are incapable of simultaneously seeing all the limbs of Bhagavān and completely capturing His incomparable charming loveliness. But with the mind, on the other hand, one’s darśana of Bhagavān becomes su-sidhyati, perfectly realized.