apragalbhasya yā vidyā kṛpaṇasya ca yad dhanam |
yac ca bāhu-balaṁ bhīror vyartham etat trayaṁ bhuvi ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 2153)
“The knowledge of the timid, the wealth of the miserly, and the arm-strength of the cowardly—these three are useless in the world [because they are never applied and thus never fulfill their potential].”
dharma iṣṭaṁ dhanaṁ nṝṇāṁ |
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.19.39; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa-ṭīkā: 16.270)
[Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa answer’s Uddhava’s question, “What is wealth?”:] “Dharma is desirable wealth [i.e., not cows, horses, etc.].”
anyāya-vittena kṛto’pi dharmaḥ
savyāja ity āhur aśeṣa-lokāḥ |
nyāyārjitārthena sa eva dharmo
nirvyāja ity ārya-janā vadanti ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 1801; Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra)
“Everyone says even dharma performed with unlawful wealth is deceitful. Honorable persons say that same [act of] dharma performed with lawfully earned wealth is genuine [i.e., free from deceit].”
āyuḥ karma ca vittaṁ ca vidyā nidhanam eva ca |
pañcaitāni hi sṛjyante garbhasthasyaiva dehinaḥ ||
(Cāṇakya-nīti: 4.1; cited in Hitopadeśa: 1.27)
“Lifespan, karma, wealth, learning, and death—these five are created for the bearer of the body [i.e.,the jīvātmā) while situated in the womb [i.e., these five are set out for a living being from the time of their birth].”
na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ
kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye |
mama janmani janmanīśvare
bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi ||
(Śikṣāṣṭakam: 4; cited in Padyāvalī 94; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.20.29)
“O Master of the universe,
I desire neither wealth,
Nor men [i.e., assistants, followers, relatives, etc.],
Nor beautiful women [i.e., an excellent wife],
Nor erudition [i.e., intellectual prowess or recognition thereof],
Or otherwise [i.e., mukti].
In birth after birth, O Īśvara,
Let me have unconditional bhakti to you.”
abhyāsānusarī vidyā buddhiḥ karmānusāriṇī |
udyogānusarī lakṣmīḥ phalaṁ bhāgyānusāri ca ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 2391)
“Knowledge follows study [alt., practice]. Intellect follows karma. Fortune follows effort, and results follow destiny.”
sā vidyā yā madaṁ hanti sā śrīr yārthiṣu varṣati |
dharmānusāriṇī yā sā buddhir abhidhiyate ||
(Darpa-dalanam)
“That which removes bewilderment is known as knowledge. That which bestows abundantly upon the desirous is [known as] wealth, and that which follows dharma is [known as] intellect.”
anarthi-tarpaṇaṁ vittaṁ cittam adhyāna-darpaṇam |
atīrtha-sarpaṇaṁ dehaṁ paryante śocyatāṁ vrajet ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha)
“Wealth that does not satisfy the needy, a mind that is not a mirror for meditation, and a body that does not go to the tīrthas shall become lamentable in the end.”
dhana-śiṣyādibhir dvārair yā bhaktir upapādyate |
vidūratvād uttamatā-hānyā tasyāś ca nāṅgatā ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.259)
“Bhakti that is accomplished through wealth, disciples, and so forth is not a limb [of uttama-bhakti] because it loses the quality of being uttama since it is very far from it.”
mana diyā bujha, deha chāḍiyā calile |
dhana vā pauruṣa saṅge keho nāhi cale ||
eteke mahānta saba sarva parihari |
karena īśvara-sevā dṛḍha-citta kari ||
eteke chāḍiyā vipra, sakala jañjāla |
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caraṇa giyā bhajaha sakāla ||
yāvat maraṇa nāhi upasanna haya |
tāvat sevaha kṛṣṇa kariyā niścaya ||
sei se vidyāra phala jāniha niścaya |
kṛṣṇa-pāda-padme yadi citta-vitta haya ||
mahā-upadeśa ei kahila tomāre |
sabe viṣṇu-bhakti satya ananta-saṁsāre ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata 1.13.174–179; 9.174–179)
[Śrīman Mahāprabhu to the Digvijayī Paṇḍita:] “Mindfully understand: when leaving the body and departing, no one departs with wealth or prowess [alt., possessions]. Therefore, all the great ones forsake everything and engage in service to Īśvara with firm resolve. Therefore, O brāhmaṇa, leaving all this rubbish, go and worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s feet immediately. So long as death has not arrived, serve Kṛṣṇa resolutely. Know for certain that this is the fruit of learning: when your mind and wealth are fixed on Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. I tell you this great teaching: ‘Amid everything in unending saṁsāra, Viṣṇu-bhakti [alone] is real.’”
