Contentment

samaḥ śatrau ca mitre ca tathā mānāpamānayoḥ

samaḥ śatrau ca mitre ca tathā mānāpamānayoḥ |
śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣu samaḥ saṅga-vivarjitaḥ ||
tulya-nindā-stutir maunī santuṣṭo yena kenacit |
aniketaḥ sthira-matir bhaktimān me priyo naraḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 12.18–19)

“A person possessed of bhakti [who is] equal towards an enemy and a friend and honor and dishonor, equal towards cold and heat, happiness and suffering, free from attachment, equal towards defamation and praise, silent, satisfied with whatever comes, non-attached to house, and of steady mind is dear to me.”

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adveṣṭā sarva-bhūtānāṁ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca

adveṣṭā sarva-bhūtānāṁ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca |
nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣamī ||
santuṣṭaḥ satataṁ yogī yatātmā dṛḍha-niścayaḥ |
mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 12.13–14)

“My bhakta—one who is non-inimical, friendly, and indeed compassionate towards all beings, free from possessiveness, free from egotism, equal towards suffering and happiness, forbearing, ever satisfied, a yogī, self-restrained, of firm conviction, and of mind and intellect offered to me—is dear to me.”

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autsukya-mātram avasāyayati pratiṣṭhā​

autsukya-mātram avasāyayati pratiṣṭhā​
kliśnāti labdha-paripālana-vṛttir eva​ |
nātiśramāpanayanāya na ca śramāya​
rājyaṁ sva-hasta-dhṛta-daṇḍam ivātapatram​ ||
(Abhijñāna-śākuntalam: 5.6)​

“[Mahārāja Duṣyanta:] Position (pratiṣṭhā) reduces only eagerness [i.e., the longing to attain it], and the task of maintaining the acquired [position] causes only distress. Kingship, like an umbrella the pole of which is held in one’s own hand, leads neither to hardship nor to any great removal of hardship.”

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vihāya pitṛ-devādīn pariniṣṭhāṅ gato harau

vihāya pitṛ-devādīn pariniṣṭhāṅ gato harau |
tad-gāḍha-premabhiḥ pūrṇa ekāntīti nigadyate ||
(Unknown source; cited in the Bṛhad Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī-ṭīkā, Laghu Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī-ṭīkā, and Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.46.2)

“One who forsakes the forefathers, devas, and so forth, is given to complete fixity upon Hari, and is fulfilled by virtue of an abundance of intense prema for him is called ‘one-pointed’ (ekānti).”

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yadā na kurute bhāvaṁ sarva-bhūteṣv amaṅgalam

yadā na kurute bhāvaṁ sarva-bhūteṣv amaṅgalam |
sama-dṛṣṭes tadā puṁsaḥ sarvāḥ sukhamayā diśaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.19.15)

“When a person does not foster an attitude of inauspiciousness towards all living beings, then, because of [one’s] equal vision, all directions are filled with happiness.”

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etasmād viramendriyārtha-gahanād āyāsakād āśraya

etasmād viramendriyārtha-gahanād āyāsakād āśraya
śreyo-mārgam aśeṣa-duḥkha-śamana-vyāpāra-dakṣaṁ kṣaṇāt |
svātmībhāvam upaihi santyaja nijāṁ kallola-lolaṁ gatiṁ
mā bhūyo bhaja bhaṅgurāṁ bhava-ratiṁ cetaḥ prasīdādhunā ||
(Vairāgya-śatakam: 63)

“Therefore,

Desist from the troublesome labyrinth

Of the sense-objects.

Take shelter in the path

Of the highest good (śreyas),

Capable in the matter of extinguishing

Endless suffering within a moment.

Reach the state of your own self,

Abandoning your own [present] condition,

Inconstant like a wave.

Do not again

Foster transient affinity for the world

[Much less partake of transient pleasures of the world based on it].

O mind,

Be satisfied now.”

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paribhramasi kiṁ mudhā kvacana citta viśrāmyatāṁ

paribhramasi kiṁ mudhā kvacana citta viśrāmyatāṁ
svayaṁ bhavati yad yathā bhavati tat tathā nānyathā |
atītam ananusmarann api ca bhāvy asaṅkalpayann
atarkita-samāgamān anubhavāmi bhogān aham ||
(Vairāgya-śatakam: 62)

“Why do you wander about in vain?

O Mind!

Rest somewhere.

Whatever happens of its own accord

Happens howsoever

And not otherwise.

[So,] Not repeatedly recalling the past,

And not planning in regard to the future,

I experience unconsidered, approaching objects.

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anto nāsti pipāsāyās tuṣṭis tu paramaṁ sukham

anto nāsti pipāsāyās tuṣṭis tu paramaṁ sukham |
tasmāt santoṣam eveha dhanaṁ paśyanti paṇḍitāḥ ||
(Mahābhārata: 12.317.21)

“Thirst [i.e., desire] has no end. Satisfaction is the greatest happiness. Therefore, the wise see satisfaction alone as the wealth here [i.e., in this world].”

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tasmād daivopapannena muny-annenāpi dharmavit

tasmād daivopapannena muny-annenāpi dharmavit |
santuṣṭo’har ahaḥ kuryān nitya-naimittikīḥ kriyāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.15.11)

“Therefore, one who knows dharma and is contented should perform one’s regular and incidental duties day by day even with the foods of the sages which are obtained by destiny.”

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