Yāvadarthānuvartitā

parigraho hi duḥkhāya yad yat priyatamaṁ nṛṇām

parigraho hi duḥkhāya yad yat priyatamaṁ nṛṇām |
anantaṁ sukham āpnoti tad vidvān yas tv akiñcanaḥ ||
sāmiṣaṁ kuraraṁ jaghnur balino’nye nirāmiṣāḥ |
tadāmiṣaṁ parityajya sa sukhaṁ samavindata ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.9.1–2)

“Acceptance (parigraha) of whatever is most dear to human beings leads to suffering. One who understands this and is without anything (akiñcana) [i.e., possessionless], however, attains boundless peace. [When] An osprey with a piece of meat was attacked by other powerful ones without meat, then he gave up the meat and attained peace in full.”

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yāvatā syāt sva-nirvāhaḥ svīkuryāt tāvad artha-vit

yāvatā syāt sva-nirvāhaḥ svīkuryāt tāvad artha-vit |
ādhikye nyūnatāyāṁ ca cyavate paramārthataḥ ||
(Nāradīya Purāṇa; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.108)

“As much as shall be necessary for one’s accomplishing [of one’s goal], that much a knower of utility [i.e., a person who knows how to attain one’s goal] should accept. One becomes deviated from the ultimate goal (paramārtha) as a result of excess and deficiency.”

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mahāntas te sama-cittāḥ praśāntā

mahāntas te sama-cittāḥ praśāntā
vimanyavaḥ suhṛdaḥ sādhavo ye |
ye vā mayīśe kṛta-sauhṛdārthā
janeṣu dehambhara-vārtikeṣu ||
gṛheṣu jāyātmaja-rātimatsu
na prīti-yuktā yāvad-arthāś ca loke ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.5.2–3; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.17, 69; Bhakti Sandarbha: 186; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.82)

“Service to the mahats is said to be the door to mukti of various types, and attachment to those who are attached to women [is said to be] the door to darkness. The mahāntas [lit., ‘the great’] are they who are of equal mind, tranquil, free from anger, friendly, and virtuous, and alternately, they who (1) have made affection [i.e., prema] for me, Īśa, their aim, (2) [they] who are unpossessed of affinity for homes, wives, children, friends, and persons fixed upon affairs related to bodily maintenance, and (3) [they] who are possessed of only so much wealth [as is necessary] in this world.”

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ataḥ kavir nāmasu yāvadarthaḥ

ataḥ kavir nāmasu yāvadarthaḥ
syād apramatto vyavasāya-buddhiḥ |
siddhe’nyathārthe na yateta tatra
pariśramaṁ tatra samīkṣamāṇaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.2.3)

“Therefore, a wise person should accept articles [only] as necessary, being non-neglectful and of resolute mind. Should one’s object be attained otherwise [i.e., should what is necessary for one’s sustenance come of its own accord], then one should not endeavor for it, seeing clearly the labor therein [i.e., seeing the unfavorable consequences of unnecessarily endeavoring for what one already has attained].”

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