Chapter 13 Shloka 7

अमानित्वमदम्भित्वमहिंसा क्षान्तिरार्जवम्।

आचार्योपासनं शौचं स्थैर्यमात्मविनिग्रह:।।७।।

The essence of the kshetragya is Absence of pride, unpretentiousness, non-violence, forgiveness, simplicity, proximity to the spiritual Master, purity, steadfastness and self control.

Chapter 13 Shloka 7

अमानित्वमदम्भित्वमहिंसा क्षान्तिरार्जवम्।

आचार्योपासनं शौचं स्थैर्यमात्मविनिग्रह:।।७।।

Listen to what the Lord now says, that it is very difficult to know the kshetragya. He says that ‘If one desires to know the kshetragya, it is essential to understand what I am now saying. If you translate these qualities into your life, you will indeed know the essence of the kshetragya.’

Absence of pride, unpretentiousness, non-violence, forgiveness, simplicity, proximity to the spiritual Master, purity, steadfastness and self control.

Amaanitvam (अमानित्वं) – Absence of pride

1. Renounce pride in your qualities.

2. Renounce all desire for honour and reverence from the world.

3. Renounce pride in individuality.

4. Renounce egoistic pride in yourself.

5. The absence of ego is essential.

6. Your aspiration is to meet with the Lord; humility is a necessary pre-requisite.

After all, what are you proud of?

All the attributes you possess are gifted to you by the Lord. Your body as it is – beautiful, healthy – is a creation of the Lord. If you possess wealth, assess your personal capacity to earn it. If you had to employ a servant, how much would you pay for someone like yourself? Whatever you have today is a gift of destiny. There are many who are more intelligent, shrewd and hard-working, yet much poorer than you.

The Lord warns us not to be proud. In fact:

1. The richer a person is with noble and positive attributes, the humbler he will be.

2. If he is very wealthy, but does not have a heart as large as his purse, what is he proud of?

3. Accord to the other as much honour as the esteem in which you hold yourself. They are the ones who have enriched you with their respect and regard.

4. If you are rich in knowledge, share with others as much knowledge as you possess.

5. The greater an individual considers himself to be, the humbler he should become; he should acknowledge the Grace of the Lord and learn gratitude.

Adambhitvam (अदम्भित्वं) – Unpretentiousness

Pretentiousness is when:

a) you seek credit for qualities that you do not even possess;

b) you seek others’ esteem on false grounds;

c) you seek to humble all others;

d) you only want others to listen to you.

Just consider! Do you possess the attributes that will command the other’s respect? Is your intellect the most superior? If you consider your intellect to be the highest, you are living a lie. If you know that your intellect is not the greatest, then why this pretentiousness?

Enough has been said; the fact is that wherever there are good qualities, there is humility. The Lord has given you all. If you lived even a little bit in the Truth or in reality, you would be freed of all pretentiousness.

Dambh (arrogance) is the attribute of one who is devoid of any positive qualities, not of one endowed with qualities.

Ahimsa (अहिंसा) – Non-violence

What can one say about non-violence when:

a) you have already driven away the true owner of your body – the Supreme Kshetragya?

b) you are the perpetrator of violence where your true essence is concerned?

c) you have already annihilated the divine wealth that existed in you.

d) you were a divine manifestation of the Lord Himself; by vitiating this divinity with your ego, you have caused injury to that Supreme Essence of Brahm.

e) you have caused grievous harm to your own Self.

Renounce this violence that you have thus been indulging in and you will become the embodiment of ahimsa or non-violence.

Kshama (क्षमा) – Forgiveness

1. One does not forgive for the sake of the other but in order to gain one’s own peace of mind.

2. Forgive yourself – why fill enmity in your mind and thus torture it?

3. Why torture yourself for the mistake of another?

4. If you nurture enmities and grudges within, you are the loser yourself.

5. If the knot of ill feeling is tied within the mind, it will lead to mental aberrations.

6. If you allow temper to rise within you, it is your intellect that will be the sufferer.

7. Then who is it who suffers for whose fault? Would you like to suffer punishment for the fault of another?

If you do not learn how to forgive, you will continually bear punishment for the mistakes of others. Then why not forgive yourself?

Let us put it this way; forgive everyone for your own sake. Relinquish all grudges and criticism for your own peace of mind and your own happiness.

Arjavam (आर्जवम्) – Simplicity

1. The absence of deviousness, crookedness.

2. Simplicity.

3. Adherence to Truth.

4. When the exterior reflects the internal state.

You are a spiritual aspirant; it is incumbent on you to imbibe this quality. If the Lord is your witness, your interaction will necessarily reflect your internal simplicity and lack of deceit.

Acharya Upasana (आचार्य उपासना) – Proximity with the spiritual Master

The true spiritual aspirant will inevitably abide in proximity with his spiritual Master.

a) Where else will he learn of the Truth?

b) It is only through this proximity that he will be able to gain proof of Truth lived in life.

c) One cannot know the Truth without following the example of the spiritual teacher.

d) If one has no faith in the spiritual teacher, it will indeed be difficult to gain anything from him.

e) If one does not serve the spiritual teacher, one will not experience love for him – nor will one be able to understand his injunctions.

Shauch (शौचं) – Purity

In order to understand the complete connotation of purity, let us first see the scope of impurity:

a) What can be a greater impurity than untruth?

b) What can be a greater lie than the establishment of the ego?

Conversely, what can be a greater tapas or forbearance than adherence to the Truth? And what greater purifier than tapas?

If one desires to know the truth about the kshetragya, internal purity is an essential pre-requisite.

Sthairya (स्थैर्यम्) – Steadfastness

Who can possess a greater steadfastness than one whose intellect is never ruffled by circumstance? Such a one-pointed intellect is ever fixed in the Truth.

Atma Vinigrah (आत्म विनिग्रह)- Self control

Another name for Atma Vinigrah is love.

1. Atma vinigrah is self control.

2. The effacement of the body, mind and intellect unit along with the sense faculties, is Atma vinigrah.

3. To take control of oneself is Atma vinigrah.

4. To control the mind’s tendency to tread the downward path or the path of preya is Atma vinigrah.

Little one, such self control or Atma vinigrah becomes an easy task:

a) when one begins to love the Lord;

b) when one is attached to the Truth;

c) when the desire for the supreme state is born;

d) when one is devoid of attachment.

The Lord says, if the kshetragya is to be known, it is imperative that the spiritual aspirant practice the aforesaid qualities in life.