puṁso’yaṁ saṁsṛter hetur asantoṣo’rtha-kāmayoḥ |
yadṛcchayopapannena santoṣo muktaye smṛtaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.19.25)
“[Vāmanadeva to Bali Mahārāja:] This dissatisfaction with objects and enjoyment [of them] is the cause of a living being’s saṁsāra, and satisfaction with that which is attained of its own accord is known to lead to mukti.”
gurur na sa syāt svajano na sa syāt
pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt |
daivaṁ na tat syān na patiś ca sa syān
na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.5.18)
“One who cannot save you [i.e., a dependent] from impending death [i.e., saṁsāra] should not be a guru, should not be a relative, should not be a father, should not be a mother, should not be a devatā, and should not be a husband.”
bhogā na bhuktā vayam eva bhuktāḥ
tapo na taptaṁ vayam eva taptāḥ |
kālo na yāto vayam eva yātās
tṛṣṇā na jīrṇā vayam eva jīrṇāḥ ||
(Vairāgya-śatakam of Bhartṛhari: 7)
“Pleasures [alt., foods] have not been consumed. We ourselves have been consumed [by them].
Austerities have not been practiced [lit., ‘inflamed‘]. We ourselves have been inflamed.
Time has not passed by. We ourselves have passed by.
Desires have not wasted away. We ourselves have wasted away.”
dina-yāminyau sāyam prātaḥ
śiśira-vasantau punar āyātaḥ |
kālaḥ krīḍati gacchaty āyus
tad api na muñcaty āśā-vāyuḥ ||
(Moha-mudgāra-stotram: 12)
“Day and night, dusk and dawn,
winter and spring revolve.
Time plays on, and life passes away.
Still, the wind of desire does not let up.”
saṁsārera pāra haiyā bhaktira sāgare |
ye ḍubibe se bhajuka nitāicā̐dere ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 1.1.77)
“Anyone who wishes to cross over saṁsāra and dive into the ocean of bhakti should worship Nitāicā̐da.”
parīkṣya lokān karma-citān brāhmaṇo
nirvedam āyān nāsty akṛtaḥ kṛtena |
tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet
samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham ||
(Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad: 1.2.12)
“Having examined the planes attained by karma, a brāhmaṇa reaches disinterest [based on the conclusion], ‘That which is unmade [Brahman] is not attained by that which is made [karma].’ To know in depth that [which is unmade, Brahman], he, with firewood in hand, should only [rather than seeking knowledge of it independently] approach a guru who is learned [in the śāstra] and fixed [exclusively] in Brahman.”
janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam |
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 13.9)
“Repeated [alt., recurrent] deliberation [alt., reflection] upon the predicament of suffering in the form of birth, death, infirmity, and disease [is an integral aspect of true knowledge].”
jalāntaś candra-capalaṁ jīvitaṁ khalu dehinām |
tathā-vidham iti jñātvā śaśvat-kalyāṇam ācaret ||
(Hitopadeśa: Sandhi, 136)
“Knowing the life of embodied beings to be unsteady like the reflection of the moon upon water, endeavor for your eternal welfare.”
vācaṁ yaccha mano yaccha prāṇān yacchendriyāṇi ca |
ātmānam ātmanā yaccha na bhūyaḥ kalpase’dhvane ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.16.42)
“Control the speech. Control the mind. Control the prāṇas and senses. Control the self [i.e., the buddhi] with the self [i.e., the the sāttvika buddhi]. You will not take to the path [i.e., resume the course of saṁsāra] again.”
cittaṁ cittād upāgamya munir āsīta saṁyataḥ |
yac cittas tanmayo’vaśyaṁ guhyam etat sanātanam ||
(Mahābhārata: 14.51.27)
“Returning from the mind (citta) to the mind [i.e., focusing one’s awareness], a sage should sit restrained. As is the mind, so one inevitably becomes. This is the eternal secret.”
