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  • vastreṇa vapuṣā vācā vidyayā vinayena ca |
    va-kāraiḥ pañcabhir hīnaḥ naro nāyāti gauravam ||
    (Unknown Source)

    “Cloth, figure, speech, knowledge, and good conduct—a person without these five v’s does not attain respect.”

    Read on →: vastreṇa vapuṣā vācā vidyayā vinayena ca

  • jyeṣṭhatvaṁ janmanā naiva guṇair jyeṣṭhatvam ucyate |
    guṇāt gurutvam āyāti dugdhaṁ dadhi ghṛtaṁ kramāt ||
    (Unknown Source)

    “Seniority [alt., superiority, excellence] is not because of birth. Seniority is recognized because of qualities. Greatness comes from qualities, just as milk, yoghurt, and ghee come in order.”

    Read on →: jyeṣṭhatvaṁ janmanā naiva guṇair jyeṣṭhatvam ucyate

  • akṛtvā para-santāpam agatvā khala-namratām |
    anutsṛjya satāṁ mārgaṁ yat svalpam api tad bahu ||
    (Śārṅgadhara-paddhati)

    “Without causing pain to others, without bowing to the wicked, and without giving up the path of the sādhus—even whatever little [that can be done or attained] is [actually] a lot.”

    Read on →: akṛtvā para-santāpam agatvā khala-namratām

  • yā sādhūṁś ca khalān karoti viduṣo mūrkhān hitān dveṣiṇaḥ
    pratyakṣaṁ kurute parekṣam amṛtaṁ hālāhalaṁ tat-kṣaṇāt |
    tām ārādhaya sat-kriyāṁ bhagavatīṁ bhoktuṁ phalaṁ vāñchitaṁ
    he sādho vyasanair guṇeṣu vipuleṣv āsthāṁ vṛthā mā kṛthāḥ ||
    (Nīti-śatakam: 98)

    “O sādhu! To attain your desired goal, worship the goddess of virtuous conduct, which makes the wicked good, the foolish wise, the inimical well-wishers, the invisible visible, and poison nectar in an instant. Do not in vain passionately put faith in numerous [other] qualities.”

    Read on →: yā sādhūṁś ca khalān karoti viduṣo mūrkhān hitān dveṣiṇaḥ

  • hari-bhaktiḥ kevalato vedānta-grantha-vācanābhyāsāt
    na bhaved yat pañcāṅge kadā kadā kutra vṛṣṭir iti |
    tat koṣṭakaṁ sulikhitaṁ teṣāṁ puñjān na caika jala-binduḥ
    tadvad bhakti-prāptau tad-ukta-guṇa-bhāk svayaṁ bhūyāt ||
    (Sūkti-muktāvalī)

    “Hari-bhakti does not manifest just by studying statements in texts on Vedānta, just as not even a drop of water falls from the multitudes of cells in a finely composed pañcāṅga [i.e., almanac] which state when and where there will be rain. To attain bhakti, one must become personally endowed with the stated qualities thereof [i.e., attaining bhakti is not a matter of simply reading and accumulating knowledge of it but rather requires [in additon to acquring proper knowledge of it] that one’s heart, mind, and conduct all become completely pervaded by it and all that is contrary to it be purged therewith].”

    Read on →: hari-bhaktiḥ kevalato vedānta-grantha-vācanābhyāsāt

  • tṛṇāni bhūmir udakaṁ vāk caturthī ca sūnṛtā |
    etāny api satāṁ gehe nocchidyante kadācana ||
    (Manu Smṛti: 3.101)

    “[For a guest] Grasses [i.e., bedding], a place [to rest], water, and, fourth [thing], kind words—even these never fail to be found in the house of the virtuous.”

    Read on →: tṛṇāni bhūmir udakaṁ vāk caturthī ca sūnṛtā

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