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avaśendriya-cittānāṁ hasti-snānam iva kriyā |
durbhagābharaṇa-prāyo jñānaṁ bhāraḥ kriyāṁ vinā ||
(Hitopadeśa: Mitra-lābha, 18)
“The practice of those who are of uncontrolled senses and mind is like the bathing of an elephant, and without practice knowledge is for the most part a burden like an ornament on an unfortunate woman [i.e., a widow].”
Read on →: avaśendriya-cittānāṁ
tasmād vaco manaḥ prāṇān niyacchen mat-parāyaṇaḥ |
mad-bhakti-yuktayā buddhyā tataḥ parisamāpyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.16.44)
“Therefore, with the intellect fixed with bhakti [i.e., śraddhā] upon me, one whose ultimate shelter is me should control the speech, mind, and prāṇas. Then, he reaches success.”
Read on →: tasmād vaco manaḥ prāṇān
yo vai vāṅ-manasī samyag asaṁyacchan dhiyā yatiḥ |
tasya vrataṁ tapo dānaṁ sravaty āma-ghaṭāmbu-vat ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.16.43)
“The rites, austerities, and charity of an ascetic who does not completely control the speech and mind with the intellect seep away like water in a raw [i.e., unfired] clay pot.”
Read on →: yo vai vāṅ-manasī samyag
vācaṁ yaccha mano yaccha prāṇān yacchendriyāṇi ca |
ātmānam ātmanā yaccha na bhūyaḥ kalpase’dhvane ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.16.42)
“Control the speech. Control the mind. Control the prāṇas and senses. Control the self [i.e., the buddhi] with the self [i.e., the the sāttvika buddhi]. You will not take to the path [i.e., resume the course of saṁsāra] again.”
Read on →: vācaṁ yaccha mano yaccha
sad-guroḥ sakāśād vedāntādy-akhila-śāstrārtha-vicāra-śravaṇa-dvārā yadi sā āvaśyaka-parama-kartavyatvena jñāyate, punaś ca … yadi viparīta-bhāvanā-tyājakau manana-yogyatā-mananābhiniveśau syātāṁ, tataḥ śraddadhānaiś ca sā bhaktir upāsana-dvārā labhyate |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 7)
“If, through hearing deliberation upon the meaning of all the śāstras beginning with Vedānta from a sad-guru, that [i.e., bhakti] is understood to be the supreme necessary duty, and furthermore … if they [i.e., listeners] develop capability for contemplation, and absorption in contemplation, which dispel contradictory notions, then that, bhakti, is attainable through upāsana by those endowed with śraddhā.”
Read on →: sad-guroḥ sakāśād
na karma niṣphalaṁ kuryān nāyatyām asukhodayam |
(Manu-smṛti: 4.70; cited in Amṛta-ṭīkā to Hari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇam: Maṅgalācaraṇa, 1)
“One should perform neither an action that is useless [i.e, has no purpose and will prove fruitless] nor one that gives rise to unhappiness in the future.”
Read on →: na karma niṣphalaṁ kuryān