jyeṣṭhatvaṁ janmanā naiva guṇair jyeṣṭhatvam ucyate |
guṇāt gurutvam āyāti dugdhaṁ dadhi ghṛtaṁ kramāt ||
(Unknown Source)
“Seniority [alt., superiority, excellence] is not because of birth. Seniority is recognized because of qualities. Greatness comes from qualities, just as milk, yoghurt, and ghee come in order.”
akṛtvā para-santāpam agatvā khala-namratām |
anutsṛjya satāṁ mārgaṁ yat svalpam api tad bahu ||
(Śārṅgadhara-paddhati)
“Without causing pain to others, without bowing to the wicked, and without giving up the path of the sādhus—even whatever little [that can be done or attained] is [actually] a lot.”
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].”
ikṣor agrāt kramaśaḥ parvaṇi parvaṇi yathā rasa-viśeṣaḥ |
tadvat sajjana-maitrī viparītānāṁ tu viparītā ||
(Pañcatantra: 2.38)
“As special taste is gradually produced in segment after segment of sugarcane from the tip onwards, so too it is in friendship with the virtuous [i.e., the sweetness gradually increases as the relationship develops]. It is the opposite [i.e., bitterness gradually arises], however, with the opposite [i.e., the unvirtuous].”
apṛṣṭo’pi hitaṁ brūyāt yasya necchet parābhavam |
eṣa eva satāṁ dharmo viparīta-mato’nyathā ||
(Hitopadeśa: 2.140)
“Even if unasked, say that which is beneficial [i.e., give good advice] to someone whose downfall you do not desire. This is certainly the dharma of the sādhus, and the opposite mentality is otherwise [i.e., not doing so is the way of the unwholesome].”
ayaṁ nijaḥ paro veti gaṇanā laghu-cetasām |
udāra-caritānāṁ tu vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam ||
(Hitopadeśa: Mitra-lābhaḥ, 71)
“‘This is mine,’ or ‘this is someone else’s,’ is the supposing of the small-minded, whereas for those of magnanimous character, the world itself is a family.”
muhūrtam api jīveta naraḥ śuklena karmaṇā |
na kalpam api kṛṣṇena loka-dvaya-virodhinā ||
(Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍārgāra)
“Let a person live for even a moment engaged in virtuous conduct and not for even a kalpa (epoch) in wickedness which is detrimental to both worlds [i.e., one’s present life and one’s afterlife].”
mṛgayati khalo doṣaṁ na jātu guṇam |
maṇimaya-mandira-madhye paśyati pipīlikā chidram ||
(Attributed to Madhvācārya)
“The wicked search for faults and never for qualities, just as ants look for holes inside a jeweled temple.”
abhyāsād dhāryate vidyā kulaṁ śīlena dhāryate |
guṇair mitrāṇi dhāryante akṣṇā krodhaś ca dhāryate ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 2390)
“Knowledge is maintained by practice. A family is maintained by good conduct. Friends are maintained by good qualities. And anger is maintained by the eyes.”
