apūrvaḥ ko’pi kośo’yaṁ vidyate tava bhārati |
vyayato vṛddhimāyāti kṣayamāyāti sañcayāt ||
(Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra)
“How extraordinary is this treasury of yours, O Bhāratī (Sarasvatī)! By spending [i.e., distributing it], it increases, and by stocking [i.e., keeping it to yourself], it depletes!”
api mānuṣyakaṁ labdhvā bhavanti jñānino na ye |
paśutaiva varā teṣāṁ pratyavāyāpravartanāt ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 2052)
“For those who even after attaining human birth do not become educated, being [born as] an animal would have been better as they would [in that case] not engage in degrading behavior.”
harṣa-sthāna-sahasrāṇi bhaya-sthāna-śatāni ca |
divase divase mūḍham āviśanti na paṇḍitam ||
(Mahābhārata: Svargārohana Parva, 5.48)
“Thousands of occasions for joy, and hundreds of occasions for fear day by day affect the foolish but not the wise.”
śāstrāṇy adhītyāpi bhavanti mūrkhā
yas tu kriyāvān puruṣaḥ sa vidvān |
sucintitaṁ caiṣadham āturāṇāṁ
na nāma-mātreṇa karoty arogam ||
(Hitopadeśa: 1.164)
“Even after studying the śāstras, fools remain [fools], whereas a person who engages in practice [of the knowledge they have studied] becomes [truly] learned, just as a well-considered medicine for sick persons does not remove a disease with only its name [i.e., the medicine has to actually be taken properly, and so also knowledge has to actually be put into practice properly for it to be realized and one to attain the benefit such knowledge produces].”
oṁ athāśvalāyano bhagavantaṁ
parameṣṭhinam upasametyocāva |
adhīhi bhagavan brahma-vidyāṁ variṣṭhāṁ
sadā sadbhiḥ sevyamānāṁ nigūḍhām |
yathācirāt sarva-pāpaṁ vyapohya
parātparaṁ puruṣaṁ yāti vidvān ||1||
tasmai sa hovāca pitāmahaś ca
śraddhā-bhakti-dhyāna-yogād avaihi ||2||
na karmaṇā na prajayā dhanena
tyāgenaike amṛtatvam ānaśuḥ |
pareṇa nākaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ
vibhrājate yad yatayo viśanti ||3||
vedānta-vijñāna-suniścitārthāḥ
sannyāsa-yogād yatayaḥ śuddha-sattvāḥ |
te brahmalokeṣu parānta-kāle
parāmṛtāḥ parimucyanti sarve ||4||
(Kaivalya Upaniṣad: 1–4; Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad: 3.2.6)
“Om. Now, Āśvalāyana approached illustrious Brahmā and said, ‘O illustrious One, please teach me Brahmā-vidyā, which is most excellent [among all types of knowledge], ever-adhered to by the sādhus, and secret, and by which the wise soon become absolved of all sin and attain the Supreme Puruṣa,’ and to him [i.e., to Āśvalāyana], the Grandsire [i.e., Lord Brahmā] verily spoke, ‘You can realize [the Brahma-vidyā you wish to attain] through the practices of śraddhā, bhakti, and meditation. Neither by karma, nor by progeny or wealth, but only by renunciation can you attain immortality, which is beyond heaven and shines hidden in the cave [i.e., heart]. Ascetics [lit., those who strive (for it)] enter it. Completely determined upon the object of realization established by Vedānta and of purified nature by virtue of practice of sannyāsa, the ascetics in the planes of Brahmā [i.e., in the various planes through the material universe] at the time of the final end [i.e., at the time of the dissolution of the material universe] overcome death and become completely liberated [from entanglement in saṁsāra, i.e., they realize Brahman].”
sā ca bhaktiḥ śāstra-jñāna-pūrvikaivānuṣṭheyā tam eva dhīro vijñāya prajñāṁ kurvīta brāhmaṇaḥ iti śravaṇāt |
(Vedānta-syamantaka: 3.13)
“That bhakti [i.e., the bhakti learned from śrī-guru by which one attains the fulfillment of life (puruṣārtha)] is to be performed preceded by [i.e., after having properly acquired] knowledge of śāstra, since it is heard [in Bṛhadārayaṇka Upaniṣad: 4.4.21], ‘After verily understanding that [i.e., the Ātmā], a sagacious seeker of Brahman should engage in contemplation [of the Ātmā].”
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.”
naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛtir labdhā tvat-prasādān mayācyuta |
sthito’smi gata-sandehaḥ kariṣye vacanaṁ tava ||
(Bhagavad-gītā: 18.73)
“[Arjuna to Kṛṣṇa:] O Acyuta, by your grace, my misunderstanding is dispelled, and remembrance has been attained by me. I am steady, free from doubt. I shall follow your instruction.”
kaccid etac chrutaṁ pārtha tvayaikāgreṇa cetasā |
kaccid ajñāna-saṁmohaḥ pranaṣṭas te dhanaṁjaya ||
(Bhagavad-gītā: 18.72)
“O Pārtha, has this [i.e., the Gītā] been heard by you with a one-pointed mind? O Dhanañjaya, has your misunderstanding born of ignorance been fully dispelled?”
evaṁ vimṛśya guṇato manasas try-avasthā
man-māyayā mayi kṛtā iti niścitārthāḥ |
sañchidya hārdam anumāna-sad-ukti-tīkṣṇa-
jñānāsinā bhajata mākhila-saṁśayādhim ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.13.33)
“Deliberating in this way and becoming certain, ‘The three states of the mind [i.e., wakefulness, dreaming, and deep sleep] are manifest in me because of my illusion,’ completely cut away the foundation of all doubts [i.e., the ahaṅkāra] with the sharp sword of knowledge in the form of inference and the statements of the sat [i.e., the teachings of sādhus and the śāstra], and worship me situated in the heart.”
