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  • vanaspater apakvāni phalāni pracinoti yaḥ |
    sa nāpnoti rasaṁ tebhyo bījaṁ cāsya vinaśyati ||
    (Vidura-nīti; Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra)

    “One who picks the unripened fruits of a tree does not get any juice (rasa) from them, and its [i.e., the tree’s] seed is also destroyed.”

    Read on →: vanaspater apakvāni phalāni pracinoti yaḥ

  • puruṣa-prayojanaṁ tāvat sukha-prāptir duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca |
    puruṣa-prayojanaṁ tāvat sukha-prāptir duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca | śrī-bhagavat-prītau tu sukhatvaṁ duḥkha-nivartakatvaṁ cātyantikam iti | etad uktaṁ bhavati—yat khalu parama-tattvaṁ śāstra-pratipādyatvena pūrvaṁ nirṇītaṁ, tad eva sad-ananta-paramānandatvena siddham | … nānā-svarūpa-dharmato’pi tasya kevalānanda-svarūpatvam eva ca darśitam | tathā-bhūta-mārtaṇḍādi-maṇḍalasya kevala-jyotiṣṭvavat |
    (Prīti Sandarbha: 1)

    “The aim (prayojana) of an embodied being (puruṣa), fundamentally, is the attainment of happiness and elimination of suffering, and only in prīti for Śrī Bhagavān are happiness and elimination of suffering absolute. Thus, this is said: only that Supreme Entity (Parama-tattva), who was ascertained previously [i.e., in the first four sandarbhas] as being the object to be taught by the śāstra, is established [by the śāstra] as being eternal, infinite, paramount bliss. … Although possessed of various inherent characteristics, his [i.e., that Supreme Entity’s] verily being of the nature of bliss alone is also shown [in śāstra, i.e., his fundamental nature, upon which all of his other attributes are based, is bliss (ānanda) alone], just as the sun, which has [within it] the there existent Mārtaṇḍa [i.e., the devatā Sūrya] and so forth [i.e., as well as Sūryadeva’s chariot, horses, etc.], is [fundamentally] of the nature of light alone.”

    Read on →: puruṣa-prayojanaṁ tāvat sukha-prāptir duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca

  • vayam iha parituṣṭā valkalais tvaṁ dukūlaiḥ
    sama iha paritoṣo nirviśeṣo viṣeśaḥ |
    sa tu bhavatu daridro yasya tṛṣṇā viśālā
    manasi ca parituṣṭe ko’rthavān ko daridraḥ ||
    (Vairāgya-śatakam: 53)

    “Here [i.e., in the forest], we [i.e., ascetics] are fully satisfied with bark garments, and you [O King, are fully satisfied in your palace] with fine raiments. In this regard, the full satisfaction [we both feel] is the same. The distinction [between the means of our satisfaction] is insignificant. He, rather, should be [considered] poor whose desires are vast. When the mind is fully satisfied, who is rich? Who is poor?”

    Read on →: vayam iha parituṣṭā valkalais tvaṁ dukūlaiḥ

  • mṛga-tṛṣṇāṁ yathā bālā manyanta udakāśayam |
    evaṁ vaikārikīṁ māyām ayuktā vastu cakṣate ||
    (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.73.11)

    “As the childish [i.e, the unintelligent] consider a mirage to be a reservoir of water, so the inattentive [i.e., the undiscerning] see transformed māyā [i.e., māyā in its state of being transformed into the manifest elements of sound, touch, sight, and so on] to be a reality.”

    Read on →: mṛga-tṛṣṇāṁ yathā bālā manyanta udakāśayam

  • aprārthitāni duḥkhāni yathaivāyānti dehinām |
    sukhāny api tathā manye daivam atrātiricyate ||
    (Tantrākhyāyika: 121; cited in ṭīkās to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.5.18)

    “As unrequested sufferings certainly come to the embodied, so too do pleasures. I consider that destiny prevails in this regard.”

    Read on →: aprārthitāni duḥkhāni yathaivāyānti dehinām

  • tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido
    na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ |
    tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukhaṁ
    kālena sarvatra gabhīra-raṁhasā ||
    (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.5.18)

    “A wise person should endeavor for the sake of that which is not attained by those [jīvas] wandering above [up to Brahmaloka] and below [down into inanimate lifeforms], as [sensual] happiness is otherwise attained [as a result of one’s previous karma] everywhere [throughout saṁsāra, even in Naraka], just like suffering, as a result of the deep force of time.”

    Read on →: tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido

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