asadbhiḥ śapathenoktaṁ jale likhitam akṣaram |
sadbhis tu līlayā proktaṁ śilā-likhitam akṣaram ||
(Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra)
“The words [even] under oath of the wicked are like letters written on water [i.e., completely insubstantial]. The [even] playful words of sādhus, however, are like words written in stone [i.e., they certainly prove truthful].”
sādhūnāṁ sama-cittānāṁ mukunda-caraṇaiṣiṇām |
upekṣyaiḥ kiṁ dhana-stambhair asadbhir asad-āśrayaiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.10.18)
“What purpose do sādhus who are of equal mind and desirous [only] of Mukunda’s feet have with those who are proud of wealth, asat, sheltered in the asat, and [thus] fit to be ignored?”
udaye savitā rakto raktaś cāstamaye tathā |
sampattau ca vipattau ca mahatām eka-rūpatā ||
(Mahābhārata)
“The sun is red while rising, and red while setting as well. In both good fortune and misfortune [alt., prosperity or adversity], the great are uniform [i.e., consistent, unwavering, and steadfast].”
aprekṣya klamam ātmano vidadhati prītyā pareṣāṁ priyaṁ
lajjante dūritodyamād iva nija-stotrānubandhād api |
vidyā-vitta-kulādibhiś ca yad amī yānti kramān namratāṁ
ramyā kāpi satām iyaṁ vijayate naisargikī prakriyā ||
(Vidagdha-mādhava-nāṭaka: 1.11)
“Not considering their own fatigue, they lovingly please others. They feel ashamed as a result of [hearing] their own praise just as others do so as a result of commiting a sin. As far as they become endowed with knowledge, wealth, nobility, and so forth, so also they become humble. This extraordinary, delightful, and natural conduct of the sat [i.e., of sādhus] triumphs.”
sādhavaḥ śāstrānuvartinaḥ |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.25.21; Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.17 in reference to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.5.2)
“Sādhus are [defined as] followers of śāstra.”
sādhur atra sad-ācāraḥ |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 200)
“‘Sādhu’ here (in SB 7.7.30) means one of proper conduct.”
sādhavaḥ kṣīṇa-doṣās tu sac-chabdaḥ sādhu-vācakaḥ |
teṣām ācaraṇaṁ yat tu sad-ācāraḥ sa ucyate ||
(Viṣṇu Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 3.12)
“Sādhus are those who are free from faults, and the word ‘sat’ is a signifier of a sādhu. Their conduct is called sadācāra (proper conduct).”
anyān parivadan sādhur yathā hi paritapyate |
tathā parivadann anyāṁs tuṣṭo bhavati durjanaḥ ||
(Mahābhārata: 1.69.11; cited in Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 1792)
“As a sādhu is certainly pained by speaking ill of others, so the wicked become pleased by speaking ill of others.”
nāyaṁ mārgo hi sādhūnāṁ hṛṣīkeśānuvartinām |
yad ātmānaṁ parāg gṛhya paśuvad bhūta-vaiśasam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.11.10)
“Identifying with the external self [i.e., the body] and killing other living beings is animal-like; it is not the path of the sādhus who follow Hṛṣīkeśa [i.e., the Master of the senses, Bhagavān].”
vajrād api kaṭhorāṇi mṛdūni kusumād api |
lokottarāṇāṁ cetāṁsi ko nu vijñātum īśvaraḥ ||
(Uttara-rāma-carita: 2.7; cited in Caitanya Caritāmṛta: 2.7.73)
“Who has the ability to understand hearts of extraordinary persons, which are [both] harder than a lightning bolt and softer than a flower?”
