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yathā kharaś candana-bhāra-vāhī bhārasya vettā na tu candandasya

yathā kharaś candana-bhāra-vāhī bhārasya vettā na tu candandasya |
evaṁ hi śāstrāṇi bahūny adhītya cārtheṣu mūḍhāḥ kharavad vahanti ||
(Suśruta-saṁhitā: Sūtra-sthāna, 4)

“As a donkey carrying a load of sandalwood knows its weight but not the [fragrance of the] sandalwood, so even after studying numerous śāstras, those ignorant of their meaning simply carry them [in their minds] like donkeys [i.e., they never experience the substance that makes the labor of their study and memorization meaningful—the wisdom the śāstras convey].”

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adhigatam apy adhyayanam aprabhāṣitam arthataḥ

adhigatam apy adhyayanam aprabhāṣitam arthataḥ |
kharasya candana-bhāra iva kevalaṁ pariśrama-karaṁ bhavati |
(Suśruta-saṁhitā: Sūtra-sthāna, 3)

“Even mastered recitation [of a text] without explanation of the meaning [of the text] becomes merely a cause of [fruitless] fatigue like a donkey’s load of sandalwood.” 

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adhītya caturo vedān sarva-śāstrāṇy anekaśaḥ

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].”

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so’cirād eva rājarṣe syād acyuta-kathāśrayaḥ

so’cirād eva rājarṣe syād acyuta-kathāśrayaḥ |
śṛṇvataḥ śraddadhānasya nityadā syād adhīyataḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.29.38)

“O royal sage! That [i.e., fully performed bhakti-yoga—prema-bhakti] will certainly manifest soon for one who shall take shelter in Acyuta-kathā, hearing and studying it with śraddhā continuously.”

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yaḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-padāmbhoja-bhajanaikābhilāṣavān

yaḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-padāmbhoja-bhajanaikābhilāṣavān |
tenaiva dṛśyatām etad anyasmai śapatho’rpitaḥ ||
(Tattva Sandarbha: 6)

“This [treatise, viz., Bhāgavata Sandarbha] is meant to be studied only by one whose sole aspiration is worship of the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. A curse [i.e., a prohibition on studying it] is cast upon anyone else.”

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hari-bhaktiḥ kevalato vedānta-grantha-vācanābhyāsāt

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].”

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na dharma-śāstraṁ paṭhatīti kāraṇaṁ

na dharma-śāstraṁ paṭhatīti kāraṇaṁ
na cāpi vedādhyayanaṁ durātmanaḥ |
svabhāva evātra tathātiricyate
yathā prakṛtyā madhuraṁ gavāṁ payaḥ ||
(Hitopadeśa: Mitra-lābha, 17)

“Neither reciting dharma-śāstras nor studying the Veda are means for [reforming] a wicked person. The svabhāva [i.e., one’s conditioned nature] alone prevails herein, just as cows milk is naturally sweet.”

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mauna-vrata-śruta-tapo-’dhyayana-sva-dharma

mauna-vrata-śruta-tapo-’dhyayana-sva-dharma-
vyākhyā-raho-japa-samādhaya āpavargyāḥ |
prāyaḥ paraṁ puruṣa te tv ajitendriyāṇāṁ
vārtā bhavanty uta na vātra tu dāmbhikānām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.9.46; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha 168)

“O Puruṣa [i.e., O indwelling Regulator], the means to apavarga [i.e., mokṣa]—silence, rites, hearing [i.e. learning the Vedas], austerities, studying, [observing one’s] svadharma, explaining [i.e., teaching the Vedas to others], [residing in] solitude, japa, and samādhi [i.e., meditation]—generally here [i.e., in saṁsāra], however, become mere livelihoods of those of uncontrolled senses, and sometimes, however, not even that for the deceitful [since the fruitfulness of deceitfulness is uncertain].”

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kaccid etac chrutaṁ pārtha

kaccid etac chrutaṁ pārtha tvayaikāgreṇa cetasā |
kaccid ajñāna-saṁmohaḥ pranaṣṭas te dhanaṁjaya ||
(Bhagavad-gītā: 18.72)

“O Pārtha, has this [i.e., the Gītā] been heard by you with a one-pointed mind? O Dhanañjaya, has your misunderstanding born of ignorance been fully dispelled?”

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ācāryāt pādam ādatte pādaṁ

ācāryāt pādam ādatte pādaṁ śiṣyaḥ svamedhayā |
kālena pādam ādatte pādaṁ sabrahmacāribhiḥ ||
(Cited in a commentary to Mahābhārata: Udyoga-parva, 44.16)

“A student acquires one-fourth from the ācārya, one-fourth by by his own intellect, one-fourth in time, and one-fourth from fellow students.”

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