Wealth

kā vidyā hari-bhaktir eva na punar vedādi-niṣṇātatā

kā vidyā hari-bhaktir eva na punar vedādi-niṣṇātatā
kīrtiḥ kā bhagavat-paro’yam iti yā khyātir na dānādijā |
kā śrīḥ tat-priyatā na vai dhana-jana-grāmādi-bhūyiṣṭhatā |
kiṁ duḥkhaṁ bhagavat-priyasya viraho no hṛd-vraṇādi-vyathā ||8||
bhagavān: bhadram | ke muktāḥ?
rāmānandaḥ: pratyāsattir hari-caraṇayoḥ sānurāge na rāge
prītiḥ premātiśayini harer bhakti-yoge na yoge |
āsthā tasya praṇaya-rabhasasyopadehe na dehe
yeṣāṁ te hi prakṛti-sarasā hanta muktā na muktāḥ ||9||
bhagavān : bhavatu |
kiṁ geyaṁ vraja-keli-karma kim iha śreyaḥ satāṁ saṅgatiḥ
kiṁ smartavyam aghāri-nāma kim anudhyeyaṁ murāreḥ padam |
kva stheyaṁ vraja eva kiṁ śravaṇayor ānandi vṛndāvana-
krīḍaikā kim upāsyam atra mahasī śrī-kṛṣṇa-rādhābhidhe ||10||
bhagavān: bhadram |
(Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭakam: 7.8–10; cited in Alaṅkāra-kaustubha: 8.233–234, 236)

“Bhagavān: What is knowledge?
“Rāmānanda: Hari-bhakti alone [is knowledge], and not, rather, expertise in the Vedas and so on.
“Bhagavān: What is glory?
“Rāmānanda: The renown, ‘He is devoted to Bhagavān’ [is glory] and not that produced by giving and so on.
“Bhagavān: What is wealth?
“Rāmānanda: Fondness for him [i.e., Bhagavān, is wealth], and certainly not an abundance of money, people [i.e., relatives, friends, followers, man-power, or otherwise], villages [i.e., land, property, social influence, etc.] and so on.
“Bhagavān: What is suffering?
“Rāmānanda: The separation of one dear to Bhagavān [is suffering], and not the pain of a wound in the heart or otherwise.
“Bhagavān: Very well. Who is liberated?
“Rāmānanda: Hanta! Those of rasa-laden disposition [alt., nature] who have close contact with [alt., affinity (āsakti) for] those possessed of loving attachment (anurāga) to Hari’s feet and not [rather close contact with or affinity for] attachment (rāga) [to objects of the senses (viṣaya)], [who] have fondness (prīti) for bhakti-yoga filled with a profusion of prema related to Hari, and not [rather] for yoga [i.e., jñāna-, karma-, or aṣṭāṅga-yoga, etc.], and [who] have conviction in the body suitable for he of fervent love (praṇaya) and not [rather conviction] in the [worldly] body, are liberated, and not [rather] the liberated [i.e., those who think themselves liberated].
“Bhagavān: Let it be. What is to be sung?
“Rāmānanda: The acts of play in Vraja.
“Bhagavān: What is the highest good (śreyas) here [in this world]?
“Rāmānanda: The association of the sat.
“Bhagavān: What is to be remembered?
“Rāmānanda: The name of Agha’s Foe.
“Bhagavān: What is to be meditated upon?
“Rāmānanda: The feet of Mura’s Foe.
“Bhagavān: Where is one to be stationed?
“Rāmānanda: In Vraja alone.
“Bhagavān: What is delighting to the ears?
“Rāmānanda: The play in Vṛndāvana alone.
“Bhagavān: What is the object to be approached [i.e., worshiped] here?
“Rāmānanda: The object of worship is the [two-fold] brilliance known as Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā.
“Bhagavān: Very well.”

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ayaṁ svasty-ayanaḥ panthā dvijāter gṛha-medhinaḥ

ayaṁ svasty-ayanaḥ panthā dvijāter gṛha-medhinaḥ |
yac chraddhayāpta-vittena śuklenejyeta pūruṣaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.84.37)

“This path whereby the Puruṣa [i.e., Śrī Bhagavān] shall be worshiped with śraddhā by means of purely obtained wealth is auspicious for a twice-born householder.”

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jñātibhir vibhajyate naiva coreṇāpi na nīyate

jñātibhir vibhajyate naiva coreṇāpi na nīyate |
dāne naiva kṣayaṁ yāti vidyā-ratnaṁ mahādhanam ||
(Unknown source)

“It is not dividable by relatives, it cannot be taken away even by a thief, and it is not depleted even by giving [it away]. The jewel of knowledge is the greatest wealth.”

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Vṛtrāsura-stuti

Vṛtrāsura-stuti

Six verses illustrating the nature of pure prīti for Bhagavān spoken by Vṛtrāsura.

Excerpted from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 6.11.22–27.

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arthendriyārthābhidhyānaṁ sarvārthāpahnavo nṛṇām

arthendriyārthābhidhyānaṁ sarvārthāpahnavo nṛṇām |
bhraṁśito jñāna-vijñānād yenāviśati mukhyatām ||
na kuryāt karhicit saṅgaṁ tamas tīvraṁ titīriṣuḥ |
dharmārtha-kāma-mokṣāṇāṁ yad atyanta-vighātakam ||
tatrāpi mokṣa evārtha ātyantikatayeṣyate |
vijñāyātmatayā dhīraḥ saṁsārāt parimucyate |
traivargyo’rtho yato nityaṁ kṛtānta-bhaya-saṁyutaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgatavatam: 4.22.33–35; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 1)

“For human beings, continuous thought [alt., coveting] of wealth and objects of the senses, because of which one becomes diverted from [one’s] knowledge [of śāstra] and realization [of śāstra’s object] and enters primitivity [i.e., inanimate life forms], is destructive of all arthas [i.e., detrimental to the attainment of all the puruṣārthas]. One who desires to cross over the fearsome darkness [i.e., saṁsāra] should never foster attachment (saṅga) to that which is perpetually [alt., exceedingly] destructive of dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa. Even therein [i.e., among the four puruṣārthas], mokṣa alone is regarded as being the ultimate artha, since an artha belonging to the tri-varga [i.e., the three puruṣārthas of dharma, artha, and kāma] is forever fraught with fear of death [alt., time, i.e., is perpetually subject to inevitable loss and thus incapable of ever producing true fulfillment].”

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yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ

yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ |
tato’dhanaṁ tyajanty asya svajanā duḥkha-duḥkhitam ||
sa yadā vitathodyogo nirviṇṇaḥ syād dhanehayā |
mat-paraiḥ kṛta-maitrasya kariṣye mad-anugraham ||
tad brahma paramaṁ sūkṣmaṁ cin-mātraṁ sad anantakam |
vijñāyātmatayā dhīraḥ saṁsārāt parimucyate |
ato māṁ sudurārādhyaṁ hitvānyān bhajate janaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.88.8–10)

“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Yudhiṣṭhira:] I will gradually take away the wealth of one whom I favor. Then, [when he is] devoid of wealth and troubled by troubles [one after another], his relatives reject him. When he will [in this way] become unsuccessful in his endeavors and disinterested in the pursuit of wealth, then, once he has formed friendships with those devoted to me, I will bestow my favor upon him. Then, after realizing in essence the Supreme Brahman [i.e., me], subtle, purely conscious, eternal, and endless, and becoming steadfast, one is fully liberated from saṁsāra. Thus [i.e., because of how I in this way favor my bhaktas by depriving them of worldly wealth and enjoyment], a person leaves me, who am most difficult to worship [because of how I favor my bhaktas], and worships others [i.e., other devatās, such as Bhagavān Śiva, who do not favor their bhaktas in this manner that I do].”

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anto nāsti pipāsāyās tuṣṭis tu paramaṁ sukham

anto nāsti pipāsāyās tuṣṭis tu paramaṁ sukham |
tasmāt santoṣam eveha dhanaṁ paśyanti paṇḍitāḥ ||
(Mahābhārata: 12.317.21)

“Thirst [i.e., desire] has no end. Satisfaction is the greatest happiness. Therefore, the wise see satisfaction alone as the wealth here [i.e., in this world].”

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tāvad bhayaṁ draviṇa-deha-suhṛn-nimittaṁ

tāvad bhayaṁ draviṇa-deha-suhṛn-nimittaṁ
śokaḥ spṛhā paribhavo vipulaś ca lobhaḥ |
tāvan mamety asad-avagraha ārti-mūlaṁ
yāvan na te’ṅghrim abhayaṁ pravṛṇīta lokaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.9.6)

“So fear, grief, longing, humiliation, and immense greed on account of wealth, the body, and companions, and so the false [alt., wicked] temperament of ‘mine’—the root of distress—remain as long as a person does not embrace your fearless feet.”

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bhidyate bhrātaro dārāḥ pitaraḥ suhṛdas tathā

bhidyate bhrātaro dārāḥ pitaraḥ suhṛdas tathā |
ekāsnigdhāḥ kākiṇinā sadyaḥ sarve’rayaḥ kṛtāḥ ||
arthenālpīyasā hy ete saṁrabdhā dīpta-manyavaḥ |
tyajanty āśu spṛdho ghnanti sahasotsṛjya sauhṛdam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.23.20–21)

“[Even] United and greatly affectionate brothers, wives, parents, and friends are all immediately turned into enemies and divided by twenty cowries [i.e., even by an extremely small amount of money]. For even a small amount of wealth, they quickly become disturbed, inflamed, and inimical, reject one another, give up their affection, and destroy one another.”

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