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.]