mātā mitraṁ pitā ceti svabhāvāt tratayaṁ hitam |
kārya-kāraṇataś cānye bhavanti hita-buddhayaḥ ||
(Hitopadeśa: 1.35)
“Mother, friend, and father—these three by nature are kind [i.e., attentive to your best interests], whereas others are of kind disposition [towards you] because it is their duty [or, because they have some purpose or need of their own to fulfil].”
durjanena samaṁ sakhyaṁ vairaṁ cāpi na kārayet |
uṣṇo dahati cāṅgāraḥ śīto kṛṣṇāyate karam ||
(Hitopadeśa: 3.81)
“Make neither friendship nor enmity with a wicked person, who is comparable to a piece of coal, which when hot burns your hand and when cold turns it black.”
abhyāsād dhāryate vidyā kulaṁ śīlena dhāryate |
guṇair mitrāṇi dhāryante akṣṇā krodhaś ca dhāryate ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 2390)
“Knowledge is maintained by practice. A family is maintained by good conduct. Friends are maintained by good qualities. And anger is maintained by the eyes.”
vidyā-tapaḥ-prāṇa-nirodha-maitrī-
tīrthābhiṣeka-vrata-dāna-japyaiḥ |
nātyanta-śuddhiṁ labhate’ntar-ātmā
yathā hṛdi-sthe bhagavaty anante ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.3.48)
“The inner self does not attain such great purification by learning [i.e., worship of the devatās], austerity, prāṇāyāma, good will, bathing at tīrthas, rites, charity, or japa as [its does] when Bhagavān Ananta is situated in the heart.”
sa kiṁ guruḥ sa kiṁ tātaḥ sa kiṁ putra sa kiṁ sakhā |
sa kiṁ rājā sa kiṁ bandhur na dadyād yo harau matim ||
(Garga-saṁhitā: 10.62.11)
“One who shall not focus his mind on Hari—is he a guru? Is he a father? Is he a son? Is he a friend? Is he a king? Is he a relative?”
arir mitraṁ viṣaṁ pathyam adharmo dharmatāṁ vrajet |
suprasanne hṛṣīkeśe viparīte viparyayaḥ ||
(Padma Purāṇa; Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 1.109, 10.262)
“When Hṛṣīkeśa is highly pleased, then enemies become friends, poison becomes salutary, and adharma becomes dharma. When the opposite occurs [i.e., when Hṛṣīkeśa is displeased], the opposite ensues [i.e., friends become enemies, nutriments becomes poison, and dharma becomes adharma].”
tvaṁ tu sarvaṁ parityajya snehaṁ svajana-bandhuṣu |
mayy āveśya manaḥ samyak sama-dṛg vicarasva gām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.7.6; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 66)
[Kṛṣṇa:] “But you [i.e., O Uddhava] should completely forsake all affection for relatives and friends, fully absorb your mind in me, and, being of equal vision, wander the earth.”
antaḥsāra-vihīnānāṁ sahāyaḥ kiṁ kariṣyati |
malaye’pi sthito veṇur veṇur eva na candanaḥ ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 1603)
“What can a companion [alt., assistant] do for those who lack inner substance? Even bamboo situated in the Malayas is just bamboo and not sandalwood.”
