dīnere adhika dayā kare bhagavān
dīnere adhika dayā kare bhagavān |
kulīna, paṇḍita, dhanīra baḍa abhimāna ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.4.68)
”Bhagavān bestows greater grace upon the humble. The noble, learned, and wealthy have great pride.”
Erudition
avaśendriya-cittānāṁ
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].”
na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ
na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ
kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye |
mama janmani janmanīśvare
bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi ||
(Śikṣāṣṭakam: 4; cited in Padyāvalī 94; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.20.29)
“O Master of the universe,
I desire neither wealth,
Nor men [i.e., assistants, followers, relatives, etc.],
Nor beautiful women [i.e., an excellent wife],
Nor erudition [i.e., intellectual prowess or recognition thereof],
Or otherwise [i.e., mukti].
In birth after birth, O Īśvara,
Let me have unconditional bhakti to you.”
abhyāsānusarī vidyā
abhyāsānusarī vidyā buddhiḥ karmānusāriṇī |
udyogānusarī lakṣmīḥ phalaṁ bhāgyānusāri ca ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 2391)
“Knowledge follows study [alt., practice]. Intellect follows karma. Fortune follows effort, and results follow destiny.”
mana diyā bujha, deha chāḍiyā calile
mana diyā bujha, deha chāḍiyā calile |
dhana vā pauruṣa saṅge keho nāhi cale ||
eteke mahānta saba sarva parihari |
karena īśvara-sevā dṛḍha-citta kari ||
eteke chāḍiyā vipra, sakala jañjāla |
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caraṇa giyā bhajaha sakāla ||
yāvat maraṇa nāhi upasanna haya |
tāvat sevaha kṛṣṇa kariyā niścaya ||
sei se vidyāra phala jāniha niścaya |
kṛṣṇa-pāda-padme yadi citta-vitta haya ||
mahā-upadeśa ei kahila tomāre |
sabe viṣṇu-bhakti satya ananta-saṁsāre ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata 1.13.174–179; 9.174–179)
[Śrīman Mahāprabhu to the Digvijayī Paṇḍita:] “Mindfully understand: when leaving the body and departing, no one departs with wealth or prowess [alt., possessions]. Therefore, all the great ones forsake everything and engage in service to Īśvara with firm resolve. Therefore, O brāhmaṇa, leaving all this rubbish, go and worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s feet immediately. So long as death has not arrived, serve Kṛṣṇa resolutely. Know for certain that this is the fruit of learning: when your mind and wealth are fixed on Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. I tell you this great teaching: ‘Amid everything in unending saṁsāra, Viṣṇu-bhakti [alone] is real.’”
kula-vidyā-ādi upalakṣaṇa sakala
kula-vidyā-ādi upalakṣaṇa sakala |
sabāre poṣaye kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa sarva-bala ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 1.7.132)
“Nobility, learning, and so on are all [merely] incidental characteristics. Kṛṣṇa nourishes everyone; Kṛṣṇa is the strength of all.”
na me‘bhaktaś catur-vedī
na me‘bhaktaś catur-vedī mad-bhaktaḥ śva-pacaḥ priyaḥ |
tasmai deyaṁ tato grāhyaṁ sa ca pūjyo yathā hy aham ||
(Itihāsa-samuccaya; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.127 and Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.19.50, 2.20.58)
“One who knows the four Vedas but is not my bhakta is not dear to me, whereas my bhakta, even if he is a dog-cooker [i.e., an outcaste], is [dear to me]. To him, things are fit to be given, and from him, things are fit to be accepted. He is indeed as worshippable as I am.”
vidvān apītthaṁ danujāḥ kuṭumbaṁ
vidvān apītthaṁ danujāḥ kuṭumbaṁ
puṣṇan sva-lokāya na kalpate vai
yaḥ svīya-pārakya-vibhinna-bhāvas
tamaḥ prapadyeta yathā vimūḍhaḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.6.16)
[Prahlāda Mahārāja:] “O sons of Danu, although learned [in śāstra], one who bears the disposition of distinction between one’s own and others’, by maintaining his family in this way, is not at all able to look at himself [i.e., to deliberate upon the ātmā] and like a complete fool proceeds into darkness.”
jñātiṁ vidyāṁ mahattvaṁ ca
jñātiṁ vidyāṁ mahattvaṁ ca rūpaṁ yauvanam eva ca |
yatnena parivarjeta pañcaite bhakti-kaṇṭakaḥ ||
(Garga-saṁhitā: 10.62.7)
“Kinsmen, learning, greatness, beauty, and youth—carefully elude these five impediments [lit., “thorns”] to bhakti.”