गुणाः कुर्वन्ति दूतत्वं दूरेऽपि वसतां सताम् ।
केतकीगन्धमाघ्राय स्वयं गच्छन्ति षट्पदाः ॥
guṇāḥ kurvanti dūtatvaṁ dūre’pi vasatāṁ satām |
ketakī-gandham āghrāya svayaṁ gacchanti ṣaṭpadāḥ ||
(Subhāṣita-ratnākara)
“The qualities even of sādhus residing afar act as messengers. Bees go on their own to smell the fragrance of ketakī flowers.”
Commentary
As the fragrance of a flower automatically wafts into the environment around the flower without the flower making any concerted effort to spread it, so the qualities of sādhus automatically become known in society without sādhus making any concerted effort to publicize them, and as bees who smell the fragrance of a flower in the air come of their own accord to collect nectar from the flower, so people seeking upliftment upon hearing of the qualities of a sādhu go to visit the sādhu of their own accord to receive guidance from the sādhu.