daive puruṣakāre ca
daive puruṣakāre ca karma-siddhir vyavasthitā |
(Yājñavalkya-saṁhitā: 1.349)
“Accomplishment of actions is determined by destiny and virility.”
Sūkti Sudhākara
pūrva-janma-kṛtaṁ karma
pūrva-janma-kṛtaṁ karma tad daivam iti kathyate |
tasmāt puruṣakāreṇa yatnaṁ kuryād atandritaḥ ||
(Hitopadeśa: 1.31)
“Karma accrued in previous births is called daiva (“destiny”). Therefore, endeavor with virility and without sloth.”
avaśendriya-cittānāṁ
avaśendriya-cittānāṁ hasti-snānam iva kriyā |
durbhagābharaṇa-prāyo jñānaṁ bhāraḥ kriyāṁ vinā ||
(Hitopadeśa: Mitra-lābha, 18)
“The practice of those who are of uncontrolled senses and mind is like the bathing of an elephant, and without practice knowledge is for the most part a burden like an ornament on an unfortunate woman [i.e., a widow].”
tasmād vaco manaḥ prāṇān
tasmād vaco manaḥ prāṇān niyacchen mat-parāyaṇaḥ |
mad-bhakti-yuktayā buddhyā tataḥ parisamāpyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.16.44)
“Therefore, with the intellect fixed with bhakti [i.e., śraddhā] upon me, one whose ultimate shelter is me should control the speech, mind, and prāṇas. Then, he reaches success.”
vācaṁ yaccha mano yaccha
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.”
sad-guroḥ sakāśād
sad-guroḥ sakāśād vedāntādy-akhila-śāstrārtha-vicāra-śravaṇa-dvārā yadi sā āvaśyaka-parama-kartavyatvena jñāyate, punaś ca … yadi viparīta-bhāvanā-tyājakau manana-yogyatā-mananābhiniveśau syātāṁ, tataḥ śraddadhānaiś ca sā bhaktir upāsana-dvārā labhyate |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 7)
“If, through hearing deliberation upon the meaning of all the śāstras beginning with Vedānta from a sad-guru, that [i.e., bhakti] is understood to be the supreme necessary duty, and furthermore … if they [i.e., listeners] develop capability for contemplation, and absorption in contemplation, which dispel contradictory notions, then that, bhakti, is attainable through upāsana by those endowed with śraddhā.”
na karma niṣphalaṁ kuryān
na karma niṣphalaṁ kuryān nāyatyām asukhodayam |
(Manu-smṛti: 4.70; cited in Amṛta-ṭīkā to Hari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇam: Maṅgalācaraṇa, 1)
“One should perform neither an action that is useless [i.e, has no purpose and will prove fruitless] nor one that gives rise to unhappiness in the future.”
anubandhaṁ ca saṁprekṣya
anubandhaṁ ca saṁprekṣya vipākāṁś caiva karmaṇām |
utthānam ātmanaś caiva dhīraḥ kurvīta vā na vā ||
(Mahābhārata: 5.34.9; Vidura-nīti; Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha)
“A wise person should act, or not [act], only after carefully considering the cause and effects [i.e., benefits and harm] of actions, as well as one’s own capacity [i.e., to perform the action].”
anubandhān avekṣeta
anubandhān avekṣeta sānubandheṣu karmasu |
sampradhārya ca kurvīta na vegena samācaret ||
(Mahābhārata: 5.34.8; Vidura-nīti)
“One should act [only] after examining and deliberating upon the causes and effects of actions. One should not act out of impulse.”
śuddha-bhaktimatāṁ svata eva
śuddha-bhaktimatāṁ svata eva śuddhāntaḥ-karaṇatvāt prāṇi-mātrāvajñā prāyo na sambhavet | karma-miśra-bhaktimatāṁ tu sā sambhaved eva yāvad antaḥ-karaṇasyāśuddhiḥ, tasya śuddhau satyāṁ tu sā na tiṣṭhet … |
(Excerpt from the Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭikā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.29.25)
“Because the antaḥkaraṇas of those engaged in pure bhakti are pure of their own accord, disrespecting any living being is generally not possible [for them]. For those engaged in karma-miśra-bhakti, however, this [i.e., disrespecting others] is certainly possible as long as impurity of the antaḥkaraṇa remains. When it becomes pure, however, this [i.e., disrespecting others] does not remain.”