Asat-saṅga

mātāpy ekā pitāpy ekā mama ca tasya pakṣiṇo

mātāpy ekā pitāpy ekā mama ca tasya pakṣiṇo |
ahaṁ munibhir ānītas sa cānīto gavāśanaiḥ |
ahaṁ munīnāṁ vacanaṁ śṛṇomi gavāśanānāṁ sa śṛṇoti vākyam |
na tasya doṣo na ca me guṇo vā saṁsargajā doṣa-guṇā bhavanti ||
(Unknown Source)

[A parrot explains why he and his brother speak and act very differently:] “Although the other bird and I have the same mother and the same father, I was taken by sages, and he was taken by cow-eaters [from our parents’ nest when we were young]. I hear the speech of sages, and he hears the statements of cow-eaters. So, there is no fault on his part or any quality on my part. Faults and qualities are produced by association.”

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tulayāma lavenāpi na svargaṁ nāpunar-bhavam

tulayāma lavenāpi na svargaṁ nāpunar-bhavam |
bhagavat-saṅgi-saṅgasya martyānāṁ kim utāśiṣaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.18.13 and 4.30.34; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.284, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.228; Bhakti Sandarbha: 134, 247; Prīti Sandarbha: 31, 112)

[The sages at Naimiṣāraṇya to Sūta Gosvāmī and the Pracetās to Bhagavān:] “We cannot equate Svarga or non-repetition of birth, much less benedictions had by human beings, with even an instant of association with those who are attached to Bhagavān.”

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sādhūnāṁ sama-cittānāṁ mukunda-caraṇaiṣiṇām

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?”

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brahma-hatyā surāpānaṁ steyaṁ gurv-aṅganāgamaḥ

brahma-hatyā surāpānaṁ steyaṁ gurv-aṅganāgamaḥ |
mahānti pātakāny āhuḥ saṁsargaś cāpi taiḥ saha ||
(Manu Smṛti: 11.54)

“Killing a brāhmaṇa, drinking wine, stealing, and intercourse with the guru’s wife are called extreme sins (mahāpātakas), as is association with them [i.e., with persons who commit them].”

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ye māṁ bhajanti dāmpatye tapasā vrata-caryayā

ye māṁ bhajanti dāmpatye tapasā vrata-caryayā |
kāmātmāno’pavargeśaṁ mohitā mama māyayā ||
māṁ prāpya māniny apavarga-sampadaṁ
vāñchanti ye sampada eva tat-patim |
te manda-bhāgā niraye’pi ye nṛṇāṁ
mātrātmakatvān nirayaḥ susaṅgamaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatan: 10.60.52–53; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 16)

“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Rukmiṇī Devī:] The desirous who by means of austerity and performance of rites worship me, the master of apavarga [i.e., mokṣa, or, the bestower of prema-bhakti, the ultimate puruṣārtha beyond even mokṣa], for the sake of matrimony [i.e., to enjoy the pleasures of being married] are deluded by my māyā. O Mānini! Those who desire [material] wealth [even] after attaining [alt., propitiating] me, who am the master of that [i.e., of wealth] and the wealth of apavarga, are unfortunate, since that [i.e., wealth] is present even in hell [alt., in births in lower, hellish species and conditions], and hell is a good condition for [such] persons on account of [their] being fixated upon the elements [i.e., on enjoying pleasures of sense objects].”

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taṁ sukhārādhyam ṛjubhir

taṁ sukhārādhyam ṛjubhir ananya-śaraṇair nṛbhiḥ |
kṛtajñaḥ ko na seveta durārādhyam asādhubhiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.19.36′; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 153)

“What grateful person would not worship he who is easily propitiated by persons who are sincere and of undivided shelter yet difficult to propitiate for the unvirtuous [i.e., those who are the opposite]?”

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kalpayitvātmanā yāvad

kalpayitvātmanā yāvad ābhāsam idam īśvaraḥ |
dvaitaṁ tāvan na viramet tato hy asya viparyayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.12.10)

[Translation based on Bhāvārtha-dīpikā:] “As long as the jīva is not capable by means of the ātmā [i.e., by virtue of self-realization, ātma-sākṣātkāra] of determining this [i.e., the body, senses, and so forth] to be a guise [i.e., a mere false appearance], then duality [i.e., perception of distinctions such as, “He is a man; she is a woman,”] does not cease, and certainly thereby one’s misapprehension [i.e., one’s mentality of enjoyment] remains.”

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uṣṭrāṇāṁ ca vivāheṣu

uṣṭrāṇāṁ ca vivāheṣu gītaṁ gāyanti gardabhāḥ |
parasparaṁ praśaṁsanti aho rūpam aho dhvaniḥ ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha)

“At the marriages of camels, donkeys sing songs, and they each praise one another, ‘What beauty! What tune! [i.e., the donkeys praise the “beauty” of the camels’ figures, and the camels praise the “tunes” in which the donkeys sing].’”

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sat-saṅge svarga-vāsa

sat-saṅge svarga-vāsa |
asat-saṅge sarva-nāśa ||
(Bengali saying)

“In the association of sādhus, residence in Svarga occurs [i.e., one feels as though one is in Svarga], while in the association of the asat, total ruination occurs [i.e., everything is spoiled].”

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