Subhashita #0009

Always avoid extreme familiarity with anyone, for it makes people take you for granted. Two similar sounding verses illustrate this point:

Verse 1:

atiparicayād avajñā santata-gamanād anādaro bhavati
malaye bhilla-purandhrī candana-taru-kāṣṭham indhanaṁ kurute

"Extreme familiarity leads to contempt, and visiting someone's home constantly leads to disrespect. The aborigine lady who stays in Malaya-hills [a hill consisting only of sandalwood trees] ends up using sandalwood as her cooking-fuel." (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Sāmānya-nītiḥ, page 169, Verse 723)

Verse 2:

atiparicayād avajñā santata-gamanād anādaro bhavati
lokaḥ prayāga-vāsī kūpe snānaṁ samācarati

"Extreme familiarity leads to contempt, and visiting someone's home constantly leads to disrespect. Those who reside in Prayag [an extremely holy place where Ganga, Yamuna and Sarasvati meet] end up bathing by pulling water from local wells." (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Sāmānya-nītiḥ, page 169, Verse 722)

[Import: The aborigine lady does not understand the value of sandalwood, and ends up using it as cooking fuel. The people residing in Prayag do not understand the value of bathing daily in the holy rivers. Better to keep a distance if we find someone disregarding us due to extreme familiarity.]

(Originally posted on Facebook on 27-March-2015).