Subhashita #0030

The guru or the spiritual master has a very serious responsibility on his shoulders. Unless he properly trains his disciples in the science of bhakti, the disciples cannot overcome their anarthas and cross over the ocean of birth and death. It is therefore recommended by śāstra that the guru should be strict with the disciple. When the guru is strict, the disciples immediately show many good qualities without much effort.

In the past, children in gurukul would be taught by teachers who were compassionate in their hearts but were very strict externally. The sage Patañjalī says in the introductory part of his mahā-bhāṣya — "yaḥ udātte kartavye anudāttam karoti khaṇḍikopādhyāyaḥ tasmai capeṭām dadāti anyat tvam karoṣi iti" — "If any student incorrectly utters a mantra in a low-pitch where a high-pitch is expected, the teacher immediately slaps him and says — utter it properly!"

This merciful chastisement by the guru immensely helps the disciple later in life. A subhāṣita-verse specifies the importance of such strictness:

gīrbhir gurūṇāṁ paruṣākṣarābhis

tiraskṛtā yānti narā mahattvam

alabdha-śāṇotkaṣaṇā nṛpāṇāṁ

na jātu maulau maṇayo vasanti

"[While giving instructions], the disciple who is chastised by the guru by using harsh words attains immense greatness later in life. Its true! A diamond which has not been severely tested, polished and subjected to stress does not find itself on top of the king's crown."

— (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, sāmānya-nītiḥ, page 173, verse 760)

Subhashita #0029

When Krishna and the gopīs attained pre-adolescence, the parents of the gopīs were forced by society to marry off the gopīs to other cowherd men. After the marriage was performed, the gopīs did not go immediately to the homes of their in-laws. They stayed at the homes of their parents but were severely restricted in going out anywhere.

These conditions were already intolerable, and on top of that the scorching summer season arrived. The days would be scorching, but the nights would be even worse, for these nights burnt the gopīs even more in the fire of viraha (separation). On one particular night, Sri Radha in her mood of separation experienced a burning sensation throughout her body and looking at the moon, she started talking to herself in a fit of madness as follows:

sāyaṁ nāyam udeti vāsara-maṇis candro nu caṇḍa-dyutir

dāvāgni katham ambare kim aśaniḥ svacchāntarīkṣe kutaḥ?

hantedaṁ niraṇāyi pāntha-ramaṇī-prāṇānilāśāśayā

dhāvad ghora-vibhāvarī viṣadharī bhogasya bhīmo maṇiḥ

"[Why is this bright moon-like orb burning me? Sri Radha argues with herself as follows:] Is this the sun? No it can't be, because the sun doesn't rise in the night. Is it the moon? It can't be, because the moon would never burn my body. Is it a forest fire? Can't be, because there can't be a forest fire in the sky. Is it some flash of lightning? Can't be, because the sky is completely clear. How can there be a lightning in a clear sky?

Oh yes! Now I understood! This must be a big sparkling jewel on the hood of a large snake eagerly running in my direction to snatch away my life!"

— (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Page 302, Verse 117).

Subhashita #0028

Proper enjoyment is not possible in this material world. It is full of varieties of fear at each moment. Bhartṛhari describes the entire situation in a beautiful subhāṣita-verse:

bhoge roga-bhayaṁ kule cyuti-bhayaṁ vitte nṛpālād bhayaṁ

māne dainya-bhayaṁ bale ripu-bhayaṁ rūpe jarāyā bhayam

śāstre vādi-bhayaṁ guṇe khala-bhayaṁ kāye kṛtāntād bhayaṁ

sarvaṁ vastu bhayānvitaṁ bhuvi nṝṇāṁ viṣṇoḥ padaṁ nirbhayam

"[Life is fearful at each and every step] — In enjoyment there is fear of disease; in noble birth there is fear of falling from its high standards; in earning wealth there is the fear of kings and governments; a person having great respect in society has the fear of infamy; even powerful armies fear their enemies; beautiful people fear old-age; in becoming a learned scholar there is always the fear of someone knowing better than us; and people with good qualities always have to fear the rascals.

And [if all these fears are kept aside] the fear of death is a constant companion. [What a damned world] where everything is fraught with fear! Lord Viṣṇu's abode alone is free of fear."

— (Vairāgya-śataka of Bhartṛhari, Verse 31, Haridāsa-variation)

Subhashita #0027

Vaishnava culture and Indian culture in general is famous for its hospitality towards guests. As devotees, we are expected to feed our guests royally, sumptuously and without any reservations. If we act in a miserly way while feeding guests who come to our home or to the temple, it reflects badly on vaiṣṇava culture and annoys the Lord. A guest is a representative of all the gods, and especially a vaiṣṇava guest is considered as the representative of the Supreme Lord.

On a particular day, a temple organized a feast where varieties of rice, dāl, vegetables etc. were being served. One particular devotee was in-charge of serving pure golden colored ghee on the rice.

Now since pure ghee is an expensive food-item, this devotee wanted to save as much ghee as possible. Thus, he would serve only a few drops on each plate.

A poet was sitting in one of the rows. When the poet saw the tiny amount of ghee being served on his plate, he quickly composed the following witty Sanskrit poem:

sañcāriṇī kāñcana-vallarīva
vidyul-latā vā patitā nabhastaḥ
ghṛtasya dhārā patitā na jāne
divaṁ gatā vā 'tha bhuvaṁ gatā vā

"[The poet said to the ghee-server]: O my goodness! What was that? Was that a golden chain running away from me? Or was that a golden flash of lightning falling from the sky? That stream of golden ghee, where did it go? Did it disappear in the sky or did it enter the earth? [Wherever it went, I am pretty sure that it did not fall on my plate of rice] :-) ".
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— (Composed by an unknown author. Inspired from a Marathi poem composed by Keśava-suta).

Subhashita #0026

When Srila Rupa Goswami retired from government service, he saved a part of his retirement pension for his personal emergency. This is a good practice for sādhūs because in times of emergency, one should not have to borrow a loan from someone. A sādhu who doesn't have any creditors is a happy sādhu, and such a sādhu can perform bhajana peacefully.

The last thing a sādhu would want is to see the angry face of a demanding creditor. Therefore, intelligent souls save enough money so that they may not have to borrow a loan ever in life. The following subhāṣita-verse illustrates this point:

loka-dvaya-prati-bhayaika-nidānam etad-

dhik prāṇinām ṛṇam aho pariṇāma-ghoram

ekaḥ sa eva hi pumān param asti loke

kruddhasya yena dhanikasya mukhaṁ na dṛṣṭam

"Alas! Taking a loan is one of the most disturbing acts in the world. It spoils this life [because one is always in anxiety about paying it back] and [if not paid back] it spoils one's next life [because one gets a severe reaction]. A truly fortunate person in this world is one who never has to see the frowny face of an angry creditor."

— (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Ṛṇam, page 98, verse 3)

[PS: If one does not pay back a loan, one has to pay multiple times the same amount in his/her next life. Therefore śāstra suggests that if someone dies while a loan is pending, the son should take responsibility and try to pay it back. This will avoid the sinful reaction for the father.]

Subhashita #0025

One of the most important lessons to be learnt by a devotee in spiritual life is to not be carried away too much by the uncharitable opinions of others. This may also include the uncharitable opinions of devotees who are not like-minded to oneself. The world has become full of people who don't hesitate to find faults in others yet are extremely sensitive when someone finds a fault in them.

We perform Krishna-bhakti for our own purification, and anyone who tries to bring down our enthusiasm for sevā is a person fit to be ignored. Various people have various insecurities in their lives and they may vent it out on us in order to feel secure. The intelligent devotee learns early in spiritual life never to be influenced by any unwanted remarks made by others.

Bhartṛhari — one of the most expert Sanskrit grammarians of all times has framed the following subhāṣita-verse:

jāḍyaṁ hrīmati gaṇyate vrata-rucau dambhaḥ śucau kaitavaṁ

śūre nirghṛṇatā munau vimatitā dainyaṁ priyālāpini

tejasviny avaliptatā mukharatā vaktary aśaktiḥ sthire

tat ko nāma guṇo bhavet sa guṇināṁ yo durjanair nāṅkitaḥ

"[Some people have a way of finding faults in everyone] — they perceive gentle behavior as weakness of character; they perceive a strict follower of rituals/vows as a proud pretender; an honest person as a hypocrite; a brave person as cruel; an introvert as a fool; a sweet talker as a bootlicker; an influential person as haughty; an extrovert as overly talkative and a peaceful sage as incompetent of material progress. Name one good quality that these rascals have not maligned with their fault-finding!"

— (Nīti-śataka of Bhartṛhari, Verse 54)

Subhashita #0024

Association of rogues always brings about a humiliating and distressful situation for the sādhūs (the saintly souls). Sometimes an aspiring sādhu may make friends with such rogues for some temporary benefit, but it always brings upon misfortune on the aspiring sādhu. This is illustrated by the following subhāṣita-verse:

haṁso 'dhvagaḥ śramam apohayituṁ dinānte
kāraṇḍa-kāka-baka-koka-kulaṁ praviṣṭaḥ
mūko 'yam ity upahasanti lunanti pakṣān
nīcāśrayo hi mahatām apamāna hetuḥ

"A swan was tired due to traveling the entire day. [Since he had not yet arrived back to his home], he decided to relieve the fatigue by entering into flocks of ducks, crows, cranes and geese. Wherever he went they all attacked him, roughed up his feathers and laughed on him, calling him a mute. Therefore, taking shelter of rogues is always a source of humiliation for the saintly souls."

— (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Asat-saṁgati-nindā, page 88, verse 13)

(Originally posted on Facebook on 15th April 2015).

Subhashita #0023

One can never escape his/her karma. The Purāṇas say that just as a calf is able to locate its mother among a million cows, karma is able to locate its reciever similarly and thus, one can never escape what is destined for him. Those who have nothing but bad karma written in their previous lives have no other option but to suffer the results. Bhartṛhari describes it using the following subhāṣita-verse:

khalvāṭo divaseśvarasya kiraṇaiḥ santāpite mastake

vāñchan deśam anātapaṁ vidhi-vaśāt tālasya mūlaṁ gataḥ

tatrāpy asya mahāphalena patatā bhagnaṁ sa-śabdaṁ śiraḥ

prāyo gacchati yatra bhāgya-rahitas tatraiva yānty āpadaḥ

"A bald man's head was burning by the strong rays of the sun. He decided to find some relief from the heat, and by the arrangements of providence he found shelter under a palm-tree. Even after finding relief with such great difficulty, a coconut fell on him, breaking open his head with a loud cracking noise. Truly, wherever an ill-fated person goes, his misfortunes follow him."

— (Nīti-śataka of Bhartṛhari, Verse 90)

(Originally published on Facebook on 14th April 2015).

Subhashita #0022

As a devotee, Srila Rupa Goswami expects us to be a 'kavi', or an expert in aesthetic taste. Human life is meant for tasting bhakti-rasa. It may be okay if a newcomer in Krishna-bhakti may not be immediately able to appreciate the deeper aspects of Krishna-bhakti and its rasas. However, the same cannot be said about someone who has been practicing for more than a decade or two.

If one remains an arasika — a person devoid of any taste for bhakti-rasa, one has not sufficiently utilized the human form of life.

Once, in an assembly of such expert rasika poets, there arrived a person who had no knowledge of arts, music or literature. This one person was sufficient to single-handedly bring down the entire mood of the assembly. Seeing such an arasika, Bhartṛhari composed the following verse:

sāhitya-saṅgīta-kalā-vihīnaḥ

sākṣāt paśuḥ puccha-viṣāṇa-hīnaḥ

tṛnaṁ na khādann api jīvamānas

tad-bhāgadeyaṁ paramaṁ paśūnām

"Persons devoid of any taste in literature, music or arts are verily like animals without tails and horns.

[but still there is a difference between animals and such people].

The only difference is that the animals eat grass for surviving, while such people do not, and this should be considered the supreme good fortune of the animals [for if such people started eating grass, the poor animals would have nothing left to eat]."

— (Nīti-śataka of Bhartṛhari, Verse 12)

(Originally posted on Facebook on 12th April 2015).

Subhashita #0021

kṛṣṇo devaḥ kali-yuga-bhavaḿ lokam ālokya sarvaṁ

pāpāsaktaṁ samajani kṛpā-sindhu-caitanya-mūrtiḥ

tasmin yeṣāṁ na bhavati sadā kṛṣṇa-buddhir narāṇāṁ

dhik tān dhik tān dhig iti dhig iti vyāharen nu mṛdaṅgaḥ

"Seeing that all the souls in Kali-yuga are addicted to sinful activities, Lord Krishna appeared as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the ocean of mercy. However, to those people who do not see Mahāprabhu as Lord Krishna, does the mṛdaṅga not criticise them by saying — dhik tān, dhik tān dhik dhik?"

— (Śrī-śaci-nandanāṣṭakam by Srila Narahari Sarakāra, Verse 9)

[Import: The mṛdaṅga produces the sounds dhik tān. Another meaning of the term 'dhik' is 'fie' and another meaning of the word 'tān' is 'upon them'. So 'dhik tān' means 'fie upon them'. Thus, Sri Narahari Sarakara says that even the mṛdaṅga calls out 'dhik tān dhik tān' to those who do not accept Sri Chaitanya Mahāprabhu as Krishna."]

(Originally posted on Facebook on 11th April 2015).

Subhashita #0020

Misers are everywhere and in every field of life. Some are misers in giving money to the needy, while some others are misers in giving the gift of knowledge.

There is also a special category of devotee misers who although have received the wonderful treasure of Krishna-bhakti, do not distribute it to others. Seeing all these varieties of misers, a Sanskrit poet composed the following subhāṣita-verse:

kṛpaṇaḥ sva-vadhū-saṅgaṁ
na karoti bhayād iha
bhavitā yadi me putraḥ
sa me vittaṁ hared iti

"If a son is born to me, he will grow up to squander away all my wealth" — Thinking in this way, the miser refuses to sleep with his wife.

— (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Kṛpaṇa-nindā, page 71, verse 16)

(Originally posted on Facebook on 9th April 2015).

Subhashita #0019

When someone cracks a witty joke, an expert personality knows how to reply by cracking another witty joke. This is illustrated by the following subhāṣita:

kva tiṣṭhatas te pitarau
mamevety aparṇayokte pari-hāsa-pūrvam
kva vā mameva śvaśurau
taveti tāmīrayan sasmitam īśvaro 'vyāt

"[Lord Shiva does not have any parents, so Aparṇā (Pārvati Devi) jokingly said to him]: 'Do you think you have parents as good as mine?' [In other words, at least in this regard you are lesser than me]. Lord Shiva laughed and replied, 'Do you think you have in-laws as good as mine?'
May that Lord Shiva protect us all."

— (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Śiva, Page 4, Verse 30)

(Originally posted on Facebook on 8th April 2015).

Subhashita #0018

Traditionally, before a student would begin studying the Vedas, the knowledge of the six limbs of the Vedas would be imparted to him. Vyākaraṇa or Sanskrit-grammar is the first and foremost limb of the Vedas. Pāṇini says 'mukhaṁ vyākaraṇaṁ smṛtam' — "Sanskrit Grammar is the effulgent face of the Vedas". The students first learn grammar for many years in the Gurukula before being taught the Vedas. By learning Sanskrit grammar, one learns how to pronounce words correctly. A subhāṣita-verse speaks about the importance of learning grammar:

yadyapi bahu nādhīṣe tathāpi paṭha putra vyākaraṇam
sva-janaḥ śva-jano mā bhūt sakala śakala sakṛc chakṛt

"O Son! Even if you don't study much of anything else, at least study grammar properly. By doing so, you will avoid the mistake of mispronouncing sva-jana (relatives) as śva-jana (dogs), or the mistake of mispronouncing sakala (entire) as śakala (partial), or the mistake of mispronouncing sakṛt (once) as śakṛt (stool)."

— Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Vaiyākaraṇa-praśaṁsā, page 42, Verse 2)

[Import: While singing in Sanskrit, although its true that Krishna accepts the mood of the devotee and does not consider the mistakes in pronunciation, this should not become a sorry excuse for deliberately not learning the correct pronunciation. Many times we mispronounce and say — yasya prasādān na gatiḥ kuto 'pi. This is incorrect and it is an offensive statement which means — "By the guru's mercy, one cannot make any advancement."

The correct pronunciation is — yasyāprasādān (with the long ā in the middle), not yasya prasādān. Sometimes we say — he rādhe vraja-devike ca lalite he nanda-śūno kutaḥ — O Radha! Lalita! O fat girls of Nanda, where are you?" The correct pronunciation is nanda-sūno not nanda-śūno. As devotees, we should try to improve our pronunciations as much as possible, because the Śrīmad-bhāgavatam says that a single mispronunciation caused Vṛtāsura to be killed by Indra.]

(Originally posted on Facebook on 7th April 2015).

Subhashita #0017

Wherever there is an excessive pursuit of wealth, there will always be the struggle to maintain one's high standard of living. Thus, one will not be able to find time to study scriptures or in some cases even perform the basic devotional activities. The greater the pursuit of wealth, the lesser time one gets for svādhyāya (self-study). This is illustrated by the following subhāṣita-verse:

kuṭilā lakṣmīr yatra prabhavati na sarasvatī vasati tatra

prāyaḥ śvaśrū-snuṣayor na dṛśyate sauhṛdaṁ loke

"Wherever the crooked mother-in-law named Lakshmi (controlling deity of wealth) resides, the daughter-in-law Saraswati (controlling deity of knowledge) does not reside there. This is because usually, one cannot easily find the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law getting along with each other."

- (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Lakṣmī-svabhāva, Page 62, Verse 10)

[Import: Lakshmi devi is Lord Vishnu's wife, and Lord Brahma is born out of Lord Vishnu's navel. Thus, he is considered as the son of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi devi. The wife of Lord Brahma is Saraswati devi and therefore Lakshmi and Saraswati are related to each other as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law respectively. Usually, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law do not get along very well. This example is used to show that pursuit of wealth and pursuit of knowledge do not get along very well.

The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.10) says that one should earn as much as required to maintain oneself happily and should not strive for more. One should spend the rest of his/her time cultivating bhakti, or else the valuable chance for acquiring god-realization may be lost in this human form of life.]

(Originally posted on Facebook on 6th April 2015).

Subhashita #0016

Jyotiṣa, or astrology is one of the six limbs of the Vedas. It is common practice in India to consult an astrologer after a child is born, or before a marriage is arranged. However, some individuals become too dependent on astrologers and many of these astrologers are not trained well enough.

In the recent years, many shortcut techniques to learn Jyotiṣa have been invented, and many so-called astrologers just study a book or two and start making a business out of astrology. In the śāstra, it is said — 'ati sarvatra varjayet' (too much of anything is to be avoided). This includes over-dependence on astrologers. Sometimes people end up taking an incorrect decision in life just because they did not depend on Krishna, but rather depended on an astrologer.

The Sanskrit term for astrologer is "gaṇaka". A person once went to a pseudo-astrologer on seeking some financial advice and invested some money according to the advice given. The astrologer charged a hefty fees. After a few months, the money was lost and the astrologer refused to give a refund. The person who was cheated of his money, thus composed the following subhāṣita-verse:

gaṇikā-gaṇakau samāna-dharmau

nija-pañcāṅga-nidarśanāv ubhau

jana-mānasa-moha-kāriṇau tau

vidhinā vitta-harau vinirmitau

"A gaṇaka (pseudo-astrologer) is actually similar to a gaṇikā (prostitute). Both are expert at showing pañcāṅga — The so called astrologer shows his pañcāṅga (five astrological charts) whereas the prostitute shows her pañcāṅga (five secret body parts — two breasts, two buttocks and genitals). In this way, both bewilder and deceive the ordinary simple-minded souls and have been created by Lord Brahmā for snatching away the wealth of such ordinary people."

— (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, ku-gaṇaka-nindā, page 44, verse 2)

Subhashita #0015

When a householder is blessed with financial prosperity by Krishna, he should not be a miser and should give sufficient charity to worthy people. This will ensure that he will be blessed with similar wealth in future lives.

If not charity, he should at least spend it for enjoyment so that he will be happy in this life. A miserly person who neither gives away a share of his money in charity nor enjoys it himself will end up losing that money to others by arrangements of providence. An example of this is the story of Avantī-brāhmaṇa in the 11th Canto of the Bhāgavatam. A subhāṣita-verse illustrates the same point:

dātavyaṁ bhoktavyaṁ sati vibhave sañcayo na kartavyaḥ

paśyeha madhu-karīṇāṁ sañcitam arthaṁ haranty anye

"In times of prosperity, one should either give charity or enjoy the wealth, but one should not try to save it like a miser. [One who keeps piling up money like a miser is sure to lose it some day]. Just see how the honey stored in the hive by the bees is taken away forcibly by someone else!"

— (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Dāna-praśaṁsā, Page 69, Verse 17)

[Import: The honey-bees neither give away the honey stored in the hive, nor do they enjoy it themselves. It stays there only to be taken away some day by someone else forcibly. A similar fate awaits the miser who neither wishes to give charity nor wishes to enjoy his hard-earned money.]

Subhashita #0014

In times of need, everyone shows good behavior. The true test of character is when one shows good behavior even when it is not expected. A Sanskrit verse demonstrates this point:

ārtā devān namasyanti

tapaḥ kurvanti rogiṇaḥ

nirdhanā dānam icchanti

vṛddhā nārī pati-vratā

"The distressed automatically start paying obeisances to the gods [for they have no other option]. The diseased naturally perform various austerities [for they have no other option]. The poverty-stricken desire to give big donations [for they do not have the option of doing it in real life] and an old lady automatically shows devotion to her husband [for all hope of attracting paramours is lost]."

— (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Sāmānya-nītiḥ, page 157, Verse 168)

[Import: Therefore saintly souls advise that 'dharma' or true religion must be performed even when there seems to be no selfish results being offered in return.]