Degradation

aho imaṁ paśyata me vināśaṁ

aho imaṁ paśyata me vināśaṁ
tapasvinaḥ sac-carita-vratasya |
antarjale vāri-cara-prasaṅgāt
pracyāvitaṁ brahma ciraṁ dhṛtaṁ yat ||
saṅgaṁ tyajeta mithuna-vratīnāṁ mumukṣuḥ
sarvātmanā na visṛjed bahir-indriyāṇi |
ekaś caran rahasi cittam ananta īśe
yuñjīta tad-vratiṣu sādhuṣu cet prasaṅgaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.6.50–51)

“Aho! See this ruination of mine, an ascetic avowed to the conduct of the sat [situated] underwater, wherein [my] long-sustained austerity was lost because of [observance of] the intercourse of fish. A seeker of mukti should completely forsake the association of those avowed to matrimony [alt., those who engage in sexual intercourse] and should not cast forth the external senses. Dwelling alone in seclusion, one should fix the mind upon the Infinite, Īśa, and upon the sādhus devoted to him if ideal association [with such sādhus] should come about.”

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ye’nye’ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas

ye’nye’ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas
tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ |
āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ
patanty adho’nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.2.42; cited in Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.14; Bhakti Sandarbha: 111, 121; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.30, 2.24.131, 141, 2.25.32)

“[The devas address Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the womb of Mother Devakī:] O Lotus-eyed One, others, who consider themselves fully liberated yet are of not fully purified intellect because of having forsaken bhāva for you, ascend with hardship to the highest position but fall down from there because of their having disregarded your feet.”

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dhyāyato viṣayān puṁsaḥ saṅgas teṣūpajāyate

dhyāyato viṣayān puṁsaḥ saṅgas teṣūpajāyate |
saṅgāt saṁjāyate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodho’bhijāyate ||
krodhād bhavati saṁmohaḥ saṁmohāt smṛti-vibhramaḥ |
smṛti-bhraṁśād buddhi-nāśo buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 2.62–63)

“For a person dwelling upon objects of the senses, attachment to them is engendered. Because of attachment, desire (kāma) is generated, and because of desire, anger is produced. Because of anger, delusion occurs, and because of delusion, failure of memory occurs. Because of failure of memory, loss of the intellect occurs, and because of loss of the intellect, one becomes ruined.”

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yatra vidvaj-jano nāsti

yatra vidvaj-jano nāsti ślāghyas tatrālpa-dhīr api |
nirasta-pādape deśe eraṇḍo’pi drumāyate ||
(Hitopadeśa: Mitra-lābha, 70; Subhāṣita-ratna-samuccaya)

“Where there is no wise person, even someone of little intelligence becomes venerable. In a land devoid of trees, even a castor-oil plant seems like [i.e., is considered to be] a tree.”

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apātraṁ pātratā yāti

apātraṁ pātratā yāti yatra pātraṁ na vidyate |
asmin deśe drumo nāsti eraṇḍo’pi drumāyate ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 1985)

“An unfit person attains fitness when a fit person is not present. In a land where there are no trees, even a castor-oil plant is considered a tree.”

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