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).