ambhojinī-vana-vihāra-vilāsam eva
haṁsasya hanti nitarāṁ kupito vidhātā |
na tv asya dugdha-jala-bheda-vidhau prasiddhāṁ
vaidagdhī-kīrtim apahartum asau samarthaḥ ||
(Nīti-śatakam: 18)
“Vidhātā [i.e., Brahmā, or, destiny], [even] when exceedingly angered,
may destroy a swan’s fun
of playing in a cluster of lotuses,
but he cannot destroy
the widely renowned fame
of its skill in separating milk from water.”
haṁsasya corddhva-gamane gatir bhavati niścalā |
tattvātattva-viveko’sti jala-dugdha-vibhāgavat |
ajñāna-jñānayos tattvaṁ vivecayati haṁsakaḥ ||
(Śiva Purāṇa: Rudra-saṁhitā, Sṛṣti-khaṇḍa, 15.10–11)
“A haṁsa’s [i.e., a swan-like sādhu’s] upward movement is unwavering [like a swan’s flight], and he has the ability to discriminate between the real and the unreal as though separating milk from water [like a swan]. A haṁsa ascertains the nature of ignorance and knowledge.”
tat tu laukika-sad-bandhu-buddhyā prema bhayādi-jam |
vighnaṁ nirasya tad-gopa-gopī-dāsyepsayārjayet ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.217)
“With desire for servitude to the gopas and gopīs and the mentality of a real, worldly friend [i.e., relating to Śrī Kṛṣṇa as one’s true and dear friend just as husbands, sons, and others are related to in worldly life], one should overcome the obstacles produced by fear and so forth [e.g., reverence, lack of faith, and shyness] and obtain that prema.”
