1. For one whose heart
melts with compassion for all creatures; what is the
necessity of knowledge,
liberation, matted hair on the head, and smearing the
2. There is no treasure
on earth the gift of which will cancel the debt a disciple
owes his guru for having
taught him even a single letter (that leads to Krsna
consciousness).
3. There are two ways to
get rid of thorns and wicked persons; using footwear
in the first place and
in the second shaming them so that they cannot raise
their faces again thus
keeping them at a distance.
4. He who wears unclean
garments, has dirty teeth, is a glutton, speaks
unkindly and sleeps
after sunrise -- although he may be the greatest
personality -- will lose
the favour of Lakshmi.
5. He who loses his
money is forsaken by his friends, his wife, his servants
and his relations; yet
when he regains his riches those who have forsaken him
come back to him. Hence
wealth is certainly the best of relations.
6. Sinfully acquired
wealth may remain for ten years; in the eleventh year it
disappears with even the
original stock.
7. A bad action
committed by a great man is not censured (as there is none
that can reproach him),
and a good action performed by a low-class man
comes to be condemned
(because none respects him). Just see: the drinking
of nectar is excellent,
but it became the cause of Rahu's demise; and the
drinking of poison is
harmful, but when Lord Shiva (who is exalted) drank it, it
became an ornament to
his neck (nila-kantha).
8. A true meal is that
which consists of the remnants left after a brahmana's
meal. Love, which is
shown to others, is true love, not that which is cherished
for one's own self. To
abstain from sin is true wisdom. That is an act of charity,
which is performed
without ostentation.
9. For want of
discernment the most precious jewels lie in the dust at the feet
of men while bits of
glass are worn on their heads. But we should not imagine
that the gems have sunk
in value, and the bits of glass have risen in
importance. When a
person of critical judgement shall appear, each will be
given its right
position.
10. Sastric (scriptural)
knowledge is unlimited, and the arts to be learned are
many; the time we have
is short, and our opportunities to learn are beset with
obstacles. Therefore
select for learning that which is most important, just as
the swan drinks only the
milk in water.
11. He is a chandala who
eats his dinner without entertaining the stranger
who has come to his
house quite accidentally, having travelled from a long
distance and is wearied.
12. One may know the four
Vedas and the Dharma-sastras, yet if he has no
realisation of his own
spiritual self, he can be said to be like the ladle (spoon)
which stirs all kinds of
foods but knows not the taste of any.
13. Those blessed souls
are certainly elevated who, while crossing the ocean
of life, take shelter of
a genuine brahmana, who is likened unto a boat. They
are unlike passengers
aboard an ordinary ship that runs the risk of sinking.
14. The moon, who is the
abode of nectar and the presiding deity of all
medicines, although
immortal like amrta and resplendent in form, loses the
brilliance of his rays
when he repairs to the abode of the sun (day time).
Therefore, will not an
ordinary man be made to feel inferior by going to live at
the house of another?
15. This humble bee,
which always resides among the soft petals of the lotus
and drinks abundantly
its sweet nectar, is now feasting on the flower of the
ordinary kutaja. Being
in a strange country where the lotuses do not exist, he
is considering the
pollen of the kutaja to be nice.
16. (Lord Visnu asked
His spouse Lakshmi why She did not care to live in the
house of a brahmana.She
replied:)" O Lord a rishi named Agastya drank up
My father (the ocean) in
anger; Brighu Muni kicked You; brahmanas pride
themselves on their
learning having sought the favour of My competitor
Sarasvati; and lastly
they pluck each day the lotus which is My abode, and
therewith worship Lord
Shiva. Therefore, O Lord, I fear to dwell with a
brahmana".
17. There are many ways
of binding by which one can be dominated and
controlled in this
world, but the bond of affection is the strongest. For
example, take the case
of the humble bee, which, although expert at piercing
hardened wood, becomes
caught in the embrace of its beloved flowers (as
the petals close at
dusk).
18. Although sandalwood
is cut, it does not forsake its natural quality of
fragrance; so also the
elephant does not give up sportiveness though he
should grow old. The
sugarcane does not cease to be sweet though
squeezed in a mill; so
the man of noble extraction does not lose his lofty
qualities, no matter how
pinched he is by poverty.
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