na jātu kāmān na bhayān na lobhād
dharmaṁ tyajej jīvitasyāpi hetoḥ |
nityo dharmaḥ sukha-duḥkhe tv anitye
jīvo nityo hetur asya tv anityaḥ ||
(Mahābhārata: Svargārohana Parva, 5.50)
“Never—neither because of desires, nor because of fears, nor because of greed—forsake dharma, even for the sake of [one’s] life. Dharma is eternal, whereas pleasure and displeasure are temporary. Life is eternal, whereas its means [i.e., the body] is temporary.”
duṣkaraṁ parama-jñānaṁ tarkeṇātra vyavasyati |
śrutir dharma iti hy eke vadanti bahavo janāḥ |
na tv etat pratisūyāmi na hi sarvaṁ vidhīyate ||
(Mahābhārata: 8.49.48–49)
[Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa recounts to Arjuna a statement of Indra:] “Complete understanding [of dharma] is difficult to attain. In this regard [i.e., in regard to proper understanding of dharma] one ascertains it with reasoning. Many persons says, ‘Dharma is śruti.’ While I do not oppose this [i.e., this view], it is not applicable to everything.”
tarko’pratiṣṭhaḥ śrutayo vibhinnā
nāsāv ṛṣir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam |
dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ
mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ ||
(Mahābhārata: Vana-parva, 313.117; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.17.186, 2.25.57)
“Reasoning is inconclusive, the Śrutis are variegated, and one whose opinion is not distinctive is not a ṛṣi. The nature of dharma is [thus] hidden in secret. [Therefore,] That by which a mahājana has gone is the path.”
śruti-pramāṇo dharmo hi vṛddhānām iti bhāṣitam |
sūkṣmā gatir hi dharmasya bahu-śākhā hy anantikā ||
(Mahābhārata: 3.200.2)
“The means of knowing (pramāṇa [of]) dharma is hearing [i.e., learning from those who understand it], and [in regard to dharma] there is a saying of the wise: ‘The course of dharma is subtle, many-branched, and without end.’”
anavāpyaṁ ca śokena śarīraṁ copatapyate |
amitrāś ca prahṛṣyanti mā sma śoke manaḥ kṛthā ||
(Mahābhārata: 5.36.43)
“Through grief, there is nothing to be attained, the body becomes afflicted, and adversaries rejoice. The mind should never succumb to grief.”
ahany ahani bhūtāni gacchantīha yamālayam |
śeṣāḥ sthāvaram icchanti kim āścaryam ataḥ param ||
(Mahābhārata: Vana-parva, 313.116)
“Day by day, living beings here [i.e., in this world of saṁsāra] go to the abode of Yama [i.e., they die]. Those who remain [living, however,] seek permanence [i.e., they hope for, expect, and pursue a permanent life within their so evidently impermanent surroundings]. What is more astonishing than this?”
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 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.”
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.”
ūrdhva-bāhur viraumy eṣa na ca kaścic chṛṇoti me |
dharmād arthaś ca kāmaś ca sa kim arthaṁ na sevyate ||
(Mahābhārata: Svargārohana Parva, 5.49)
“With arms upraised, I shout this, but no one listens to me. From dharma come artha and kāma. [So,] Why is it [i.e., dharma] not followed?”
