Prestige

autsukya-mātram avasāyayati pratiṣṭhā

autsukya-mātram avasāyayati pratiṣṭhā
kliśnāti labdha-paripālana-vṛttir eva |
nātiśramāpanayanāya na ca śramāya
rājyaṁ sva-hasta-dhṛta-daṇḍam ivātapatram ||
(Abhijñāna-śākuntalam: 5.6)

“[Mahārāja Duṣyanta:] Position (pratiṣṭhā) reduces only eagerness [i.e., the longing to attain it], and the task of maintaining the acquired [position] causes only distress. Kingship, like an umbrella the pole of which is held in one’s own hand, leads neither to hardship nor to any great removal of hardship.”

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dambha-nyāsa-miṣeṇa vañcita-janaṁ bhogaika-cintāturaṁ

dambha-nyāsa-miṣeṇa vañcita-janaṁ bhogaika-cintāturaṁ
sammuhyantam ahar-niśaṁ viracitodyoga-klamair ākulam |
ājñā-laṅghinam ajñam ajña-janatā-sammānanāsan-madaṁ
dīnānātha dayā-nidhāna paramānanda prabho pāhi mām ||
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.39)

“This person cheated by the fraud of deceitful renunciation (sannyāsa) [i.e., who has cheated himself and others by making a hypocritical show of renunciation], afflicted by constant thought of enjoyment, completely agitated day and night, overwhelmed by exhaustion from [his own] contrived undertakings, a transgressor of your orders, ignorant, and maddened by honor from the ignorant masses—O Lord of the humble, O Reservoir of grace, O Supreme Bliss, O Prabhu! Please protect me.”

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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.”

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baḍa kīrti haile caitanya nāhi pāi

baḍa kīrti haile caitanya nāhi pāi |
‘bhakti-vaśa sabe prabhu’—cāri-vede gāi ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 2.10.279)

“[Even] If one acquires great renown, one does not attain Caitanya. The four Vedas sing, ‘Prabhu is completely captivated [only] by bhakti.’”

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abhimānaṁ surāpānaṁ

abhimānaṁ surāpānaṁ gauravaṁ rauravaṁ samam |
pratiṣṭhā śūkarī-viṣṭhā trayaṁ tyaktvā hariṁ bhajet ||
(Viṣṇu-sūkti: 99)

“Pride is like drinking liquor. Reverence [i.e., being revered] is like Raurava [loosely, hell]. Pratiṣṭhā is like pig-stool. Avoid these three and worship Hari.”

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pratiṣṭhāśā dhṛṣṭā śvapaca-ramaṇī me hṛdi naṭet

pratiṣṭhāśā dhṛṣṭā śvapaca-ramaṇī me hṛdi naṭet
kathaṁ sādhu-premā spṛśati śucir etan nanu manaḥ |
sadā tvaṁ sevasva prabhu-dayita-sāmantam atulaṁ
yathā tāṁ niṣkāsya tvaritam iha taṁ veśayati saḥ ||
(Stavāvalī: Manaḥ-śikṣā, 7)

“The low-class shrew of desire for pratiṣṭhā is dancing in my heart, so how will the pure prema of the sādhus ever touch it? O mind! You should always serve the unrivaled chieftain of Prabhu’s devotee so that he will immediately banish this shrew and instill pure prema therein [i.e., within your heart].”

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pratiṣṭhā-rajjūbhir baddhaṁ

pratiṣṭhā-rajjūbhir baddhaṁ kāmādyair vartma-pātibhiḥ |
chittvā tāḥ saṁharantas tān aghāreḥ pāntu māṁ bhaṭāḥ ||
(Vraja-vilāsa-stava: 1)

“I have been bound with the ropes of pratiṣṭhā by the highwaymen of kāma and so forth. May the soldiers of Agha’s Foe [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s bhaktas] protect me by cutting away these ropes and routing these highwaymen.”

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sarva-tyāge’py aheyāyāḥ

sarva-tyāge’py aheyāyāḥ sarvānartha-bhuvaś ca te |
kuryuḥ pratiṣṭhā-viṣṭhāyā yatnam asparśane varam ||
(Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 20.370)

“It is best that they [i.e., one-pointed bhaktas of Śrī Bhagavān] shall try to be untouched by the stool of pratiṣṭhā, which is the cause of all anarthas and difficult to abandon even after the renunciation of all else.”

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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.”

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