pūjayā hasate bhaktir japatas trasyati sphuṭam |
samādhi-yogāc ca bahiḥ sā bhaktiḥ kena gṛhyate? ||
(Padma Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.544)
“Bhakti laughs at pūjā, fears japa, and is beyond samādhi-yoga. [So,] This bhakti is attainable by whom?”
adhītya caturo vedān sarva-śāstrāṇy anekaśaḥ |
brahma-tattvaṁ na jānāti darvī pāka-rasaṁ yathā ||
(Muktikā Upaniṣad: 2.65)
“[Even] After repeatedly studying the four Vedas and all the śāstras, one does not understand the nature of Brahman, just as a spoon does not know the taste of cooked food [i.e., to realize Brahman one has to not only acquire knowledge of Brahman but also purify the mind of saṁsārika vāsanās].”
abhyāso na hi tyaktavyo abhyāso hi paraṁ balam |
anabhyāse viṣaṁ vidyā ajīrṇe bhojanaṁ viṣam ||
(Subhāṣita-mañjarī)
“Practice (abhyāsa) is never to be abandoned. Practice is indeed the greatest strength. Without practice, knowledge is poison, just as food is poison during indigestion.”
paṭhakāḥ pāṭhakāś caiva ye cānye śāstra-cintakāḥ |
sarve vyasanino mūrkhā yaḥ kriyāvān sa paṇḍitaḥ ||
(Mahābhārata: 3.313.110)
“All the students, teachers, and others who consider śāstra but are addicted to vices are fools. One who engages in practice [of all that is taught in śāstra] is wise.”
paropadeśa-velāyāṁ śiṣṭāḥ sarve bhavanti vai |
vismarantīha śiṣṭatvaṁ svakārye samupasthite ||
(Mahābhārata)
“At the time of giving advice to others, everyone is certainly wise [alt., cultured, proper, etc., or so they think]. When their own duty [alt., tasks, responsibility, difficulty, etc.] arises [however] they then forget all their wisdom [alt., culturedness, propriety, etc.].”
anabhyāsena vidyānām asaṁsargeṇa dhīmatām |
anigraheṇa cākṣāṇāṁ jāyate vyasanaṁ nṛṇām ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha)
“The plight [alt., addictions, vices, depravity, misfortune, distress, etc.] of human beings arises from a lack of practice of knowledge [i.e., a lack of adherence to the education they receive], a lack of association with the wise, and a lack of restraint of the senses.”
paropadeśe pāṇḍityaṁ sarveṣāṁ sukaraṁ nṛṇām |
dharme svīyam anuṣṭhānaṁ kasyacit tu mahātmanaḥ ||
(Hitopedeśa: 1.107; cited in the Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.4.18)
“Erudition in instructing others is easy for everyone; only a few great souls actually practice dharma themselves.”
anabhyāse viṣaṁ śāstram ajīrṇe bhojanaṁ viṣam |
daridrasya viṣaṁ goṣṭhī vṛddhasya taruṇī viṣam ||
(Cāṇakya-nīti: 4.15)
“Without regular practice, śāstra is poison [because it can lead to delusion]. When undigested, food is poison [because it causes disease]. For a poor person, congregating is poison [because one cannot properly host others], and for an elderly man, a young woman is poison [because he cannot fulfill all her needs].”
na svalpam apy adhyavasāya-bhīroḥ
karoti vijñāna-vidhir guṇaṁ hi |
andhasya kiṁ hasta-tala-sthito’pi
prakāśayaty artham iha pradīpaḥ ||
(Hitopadeśa: 1.165)
“Application of knowledge [alt., of the faculty of discrimination] does not do even a little good for one who is afraid of determined action [i.e., putting one’s knowledge and conclusions into practice in the face of obstacles]. What object in this world does even a lamp present in the palm of the hand illuminate for a blind person?”
hari-bhaktiḥ kevalato vedānta-grantha-vācanābhyāsāt
na bhaved yat pañcāṅge kadā kadā kutra vṛṣṭir iti |
tat koṣṭakaṁ sulikhitaṁ teṣāṁ puñjān na caika jala-binduḥ
tadvad bhakti-prāptau tad-ukta-guṇa-bhāk svayaṁ bhūyāt ||
(Sūkti-muktāvalī)
“Hari-bhakti does not manifest just by studying statements in texts on Vedānta, just as not even a drop of water falls from the multitudes of cells in a finely composed pañcāṅga [i.e., almanac] which state when and where there will be rain. To attain bhakti, one must become personally endowed with the stated qualities thereof [i.e., attaining bhakti is not a matter of simply reading and accumulating knowledge of it but rather requires [in additon to acquring proper knowledge of it] that one’s heart, mind, and conduct all become completely pervaded by it and all that is contrary to it be purged therewith].”
