Great Throughts Treasury

This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.

Atharva Veda, or Atharvaveda

Sacred Text of Hinduism and One of the Four Vedas meaning "knowledge"

"Eat whatever one gets and appease the hunger; and sleep wherever one finds shelter. Do not store food for another day or build a house wherein to pass one's days. Escape the entangling coils of the senses and of the ego that prompts them."

"Enhancement of individual growth and success shall unequivocally lead to national prosperity."

"Enthusiasm and Superiority exist side by side."

"Enshrine the Feet of the Guru within your heart; your pains, enemies and bad luck shall be destroyed."

"Even now we should engage ourselves in such actions that lead to national development, growth and progress."

"Even the strong hand the bold player conquers, as the skilled gambler heaps up his winnings at the proper time. Upon him that loves the game (the god), and does not spare his money, (the game, the god) verily bestows the delights of wealth."

"Even when the stony cliff echoes your voice and responds when you cry, will not the Softest, Sweetest, Love-filled Heart of God respond? When there is no response, infer that there is something wanting in the cry; perhaps, the cry is hollow, insincere, mere play-acting set to a pattern, addressed to someone alien to oneself, taken to be far away and distant as a tyrant or task master."

"Every man should first desire to acquire maximum knowledge, to engage himself in the noblest of deeds, earn social respect, success, fame and prosperity, authority and then act accordingly in order to realize them."

"Every being is a pilgrim destined to reach Madhava and merge in Him; but most people have forgotten the road; they wander like lost children, wasting precious time in the by-paths."

"Every fall makes a dent; every fault has to be corrected; and every sin has to be cleansed. Everyone is a prisoner."

"Every moving thing I have held fast. Eye and breath I have held fast. I have held fast all limbs in the deep gloom of the night."

"Every person should listen only to good and should abhor anything that is evil or bad."

"Everybody should try to free himself from the negative qualities like hatred, jealousy and wickedness."

"Everybody should work hard to achieve success, growth and prosperity.But, this can be possible only when our health is good."

"Everything depends on the will of Providence; it all happens according to the Divine Plan."

"Follow 'this' path... it is easily accessible and the cart can move freely on it.... treading on which the brave ones do not get vanquished and which also provides better prospects for earning wealth."

"Everything changes with the change in attitude."

"Fill the World with Love. Love will warn you against advising another to do something which you are unwilling to do; your conscience will tell you that you are living in a lie."

"Fearlessness leads to immortality."

"For happy and congenial marital life, the husband and wife must have faith, understanding and trust in each other. The wife should always be respectful towards her husband. The husband also should be caring and loving towards his wife so that the bond between them becomes stronger day by day and both of them enjoy a happy and satisfied married life."

"Fight shy of the medicine which thy mother and thy father, thy sister and thy brother let out against thee, I shall cause thee to live unto old age."

"For the body to perform to the optimum level it is necessary that all the doors work perfectly."

"For the fool, the mind is a formidable dinosaur; for the intelligent, the mind is an angel."

"For a married woman, detachment from the father's clan is natural because she begins a totally new life with her husband, which is literally her second birth."

"For their own purposes, they enshrine the Lord in the heart; all pain, suffering and disease are taken away."

"Four directions has the heaven, and also four the earth, (from these) the gods created the embryo. May they open her that she shall bring forth."

"Four steps are laid down in the scriptures to help man succeed in this effort; Discrimination between the Permanent and the Impermanent; withdrawal from the process of catering to the senses; Positive control of the feelings, thoughts, and pursuits; and incessant yearning for Liberation from all bonds."

"From near thy vicinity, from near thy distance (do I call), remain here, do not follow; do not follow the Fathers of yore. Firmly do I fasten thy life's breath."

"Forbearance, compassion and incorruptible virtue are the three pillars of a happy life. Only such a life can be called civilized; the rest is barbarian existence."

"From thy entrails, canals, rectum, and abdomen; from thy belly, guts, and navel I do tear out the disease."

"From thy eyes, thy nostrils, ears, and chin--the disease which is seated in thy head--from thy brain and tongue I do tear it out."

"From thy thighs, knees, heels, and the tips of thy feet--from thy hips I do tear out the disease seated in thy buttocks, from thy bottom the disease seated in thy buttocks."

"Gain is deposited in my right hand, victory in my left. Let me become a conqueror of cattle, horses, wealth, and gold."

"Get free from negative qualities like violence, anger and hatred. We should never be indignant and resentful."

"From thy heart, thy lungs, viscera, and sides; from thy kidneys, spleen, and liver we do tear out the disease."

"Give them up - give up the pleasures of corruption; you are entangled in them, you crazy fool, like an animal grazing in the green fields."

"God is all-powerful; God is everywhere; God is all knowing. To adore such a formidable limitless principle, man spends a few minutes out of the 24 hours and uses a minute idol, image or picture. It is indeed ridiculous; it is practically futile. Adore Him so long as you have breath and so long as you are conscious. Have no other thought than God, have no other aim than knowing His command; no other activity than translating that command into action. That is what is meant by Surrender. Surrender yourself unto Him."

"God is the source of all Love; Love God, Love the World as the vesture of God, no more and no less. Through Love, you can merge in the Ocean of Love."

"Go wherever your mind desires...go to the land you wish."

"God has not made any man wholly bad or wholly good; your likes and dislikes are inducing you to label them as such."

"God protects the virtuous ones and fulfill their wishes. He guides us, just like a guardian and prevents us from going astray."

"Good and bad cannot be kept together in the same vessel; then the good also will turn bad. Night and light cannot coexist."

"God too is a reality, ever present in us and in every being; but we miss Him, as we miss the movement of the earth."

"God is naturally pervading all places. Sometimes He is hidden, and sometimes He is revealed; thus God has made the world of His making. He Himself wakes us from sleep. No one can estimate His value, although everyone has tried, over and over again, to describe Him."

"God is one but the ways to reach Him are many."

"Good thoughts inspire us to engage in good actions."

"Great as are the directions (of space) and the intermediate direction on either side, great as are the regions and the vistas of the sky; to these art thou superior."

"Grief is a friendly reminder, a good task-master; even a better teacher than joy."

"Happiness will not come from happiness; but only from pain. We know the value of standing in shade only after roaming in the hot day sun."

"Hardly anyone loves the Lord's Name; how rare is that place which is in bloom."