nāpṛṣṭaḥ kasyacid brūyān na cānyāyena pṛcchataḥ |
jānann api hi medhāvī jaḍaval loka ācaret ||
(Manu Smṛti: 2.110)
“Unless asked, do not speak to anyone, and do not speak to someone who asks improperly. Even while knowing, an intelligent person should act like a dullard [when it is unbefitting to disclose one’s knowledge].”
dharmārtham api neheta yātrārthaṁ vādhano dhanam |
anīhānīhamānasya mahāher iva vṛttidā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.15.15)
“A person devoid of wealth should not desire [alt., endeavor for] wealth even for the sake of dharma or one’s sustenance. Desirelessness [alt., non-endeavoring] [itself] provides the livelihood of one who is desireless [alt., non-endeavoring], as it does for a large snake [i.e., python].”
ye sarva-nairapekṣyena rādhā-dāsyecchavaḥ param |
saṅkīrtayanti tan-nāma tādṛśa-priyatā-mayāḥ ||
anyeṣām iva teṣāṁ ca prāpyaṁ ced hṛn na tṛpyati |
aho nanda-yaśodāder na sahe tādṛśīṁ gatim ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.1.21–22)
“If the attainment of those who, without regard for all of this [i.e., all the aforementioned sādhyas and sādhanas of karmīs, jñānīs, and other bhaktas], desire only servitude to Rādhā and engage in saṅkīrtana of his name [i.e., the name of Kṛṣṇa, the relisher of the rāsa dance], filled with such fondness [i.e., the extraordinary prema of the gopīs, the recipients of the very essence of Bhagavān’s grace], is like that of others [i.e., is the same as that of the Yādavas, Pāṇḍavas, and so forth], then my heart is not satisfied. Aho! I cannot tolerate such a destination [being that meant] for Nanda, Yaśodā, and others [i.e., for the people of Vraja led by Nanda and Yaśodā, since an equal result for those who are great and those who are lesser is not befitting].”
śrīr guṇā nairapekṣyādyāḥ sukhaṁ duḥkha-sukhātyayaḥ |
duḥkhaṁ kāma-sukhāpekṣā paṇḍito bandha-mokṣa-vit ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.19.41)
“[Kṛṣṇa to Uddhava:] Embellishment is qualities beginning with indifference [i.e., and not crowns and so forth]. Happiness is overcoming [worldly] suffering and happiness [i.e., and not mere worldly enjoyment]. Suffering is regard for the pleasure of sense objects [i.e., and not being burned in a fire, etc.]. A paṇḍita is one knows bondage and liberation [i.e., and not simply one who is knowledgeable or explains śāstra].”
niṣkiñcanā mayy anurakta-cetasaḥ
śāntā mahānto’khila-jīva-vatsalāḥ |
kāmair anālabdha-dhiyo juṣanti te
yan nairapekṣyaṁ na viduḥ sukhaṁ mama ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.17)
“They who have nothing [i.e., no possessiveness towards anything mundane], who are of mind attached to me, who are peaceful, prideless, and affectionate to all jīvas, who are of mind untouched by desire, and who serve me, know the happiness of indifference [i.e., of having no concern for anything apart from Bhagavān], not others [i.e., no one else can experience such happiness].”
nirapekṣaṁ muniṁ śāntaṁ nirvairaṁ sama-darśanam |
anuvrajāmy ahaṁ nityaṁ pūyeyety aṅghri-reṇubhiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.16)
[Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] “I always follow one who is indifferent, contemplative, peaceful, free from enmity, and of equal vision so that I may be purified by the dust of his feet.”
nirapekṣa na haile dharma nā yāya rakṣaṇe |
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.3.23)
“[Śrīman Mahāprabhu:] If one is not nirapekṣa [i.e., impartial, indifferent, independent], dharma cannot be upheld.”
ko’tibhāraḥ samarthānāṁ kiṁ dūraṁ vyavasāyinam |
ko videśaḥ savidyānāṁ kaḥ paraḥ priyavādinām ||
(Pañcatantra)
“What is too heavy for the capable? What is far for the assiduous? What is a foreign land for the learned? Who is a stranger for those who speak kindly?”
yat tatra saṁsidhyati vastv ihāpi
sampadyate tat kila nāsti bhedaḥ |
kintv asya tatra vraja-bhū-caritra-
dṛṣṭi-śrutibhyāṁ bhavitā sa śokaḥ ||
tasmin jagannātha-mukhābja-darśanān
mahāprasādāvali-lābhataḥ sadā |
yātrotsavaughānubhavād api sphuraty
ullāsa evātmani naiva dīnatā ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.239)
“That reality which is fully manifest there [i.e., in Puruṣottama Kṣetra] is also manifest here [in Dvārakā]. There is certainly no difference [between the manifestations here and there], but there [i.e., in Puruṣottama Kṣetra] that sorrow [i.e., the sorrow that arises from feeling the absence of the attainment of one’s Iṣṭa-devatā] will occur as a result of seeing and hearing of his līlā [that takes place] in the land of Vraja [by means of watching dramatic enactments and the like of that Vraja-līlā and hearing songs and so forth about that Vraja-līlā while you are present in Puruṣottama Kṣetra, and thus because of this unrest in your heart you will not feel any special joy there]. There [i.e., in Puruṣottama Kṣetra], as a result of the sight (darśana) of Jagannātha’s lotus face, obtaining varieties of his mahāprasādam, and observing his numerous of outings and festivals, [some degree of] delight certainly arises in the heart continuously, but humility certainly does not.”
prema-dhana vinu vyartha daridra jīvana |
dāsa kari vetana more deha’ prema-dhana ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.20.37)
“Without the wealth of prema, life is meaningless and poor. Please make me your servant and grant me a salary of the wealth of prema.”
