Shloka

अमानित्वमदम्भित्वमहिंसा क्षान्तिरार्जवम् |
आचार्योपासनं शौचं स्थैर्यमात्मविनिग्रहः ||१३-८||

Transliteration

amānitvamadambhitvamahiṃsā kṣāntirārjavam .
ācāryopāsanaṃ śaucaṃ sthairyamātmavinigrahaḥ ||13-8||

Translations

Dr.S.Sankaranarayan

13.8. Absence of pride; absence of hypocricy; harm-lessness; patience; uprightness; service to the preceptor; purity [of mind and body]; steadfastness; self-control;

Shri Purohit Swami

13.8 Humility, sincerity, harmlessness, forgiveness, rectitude, service of the Master, purity, steadfastness, self-control;

Sri Abhinav Gupta

13.8 See Comment under 13.12

Sri Ramanuja

13.8 ‘Amanitva’ means freedom from superiority complex towards eminent people. ‘Adambhitva’: ‘Dambha’ is the practice of Dharma for winning fame as a virtuous person; freedom from it is Adambhitva. ‘Ahima’ is absence of tendency to injure others by speech, mind and body. ‘Ksanti’ is the tendency of keeping the mind unmodified even when harmed by others. ‘Arjava’ means having a uniform disposition towards others in speech, mind and body. ‘Acaryopasana’ means being intent in prostrating, estioning, performing service etc., in regard to the teacher who imparts the knowledge of the self. ‘Sauca’ is the competence of the mind, speech and body, as enjoined by the Sastras, for the knowledge of the self and the means of this attainment. ‘Sthairya’ is possessing unshakable faith in the Sastras concerning the self. ‘Atma-vinigraha’ means the turning away from all objects that are different in nature from the self.

Sri Shankaracharya

13.8 Amanitvam, humility-the ality of a vain person is manitvam, boasting about oneself; the absence of that is amanitvam. Adambhitvam, unpretentiousness- proclaming one’s own virtues is dambhitvam; the absence of that is adambhitvam. Ahimsa, non-injury, absence of cruely towards creatures; ksantih, for-bearance, remaining undisturbed when offened by others; arjavam, sincerity, uprightness, absence of crookedness; acarya-upasanam, service of the teacher, attending on the teacher who instructs in the disciplines for Liberation, through acts of service etc.; saucam, cleanliness-washing away the dirt from the body with earth and water, and internally, removing the ‘dirt’ of the mind such as attachment etc. by thinking of their opposites; sthairyam, steadiness, perseverance in the path to Liberation alone; atma-vinigrahah, control of the aggregate of body and organs which is referred to by the word ‘self’, but which is inimical to the Self; restricting only to the right path that (aggregate) which naturally strays away in all directions. Further,

Swami Adidevananda

13.8 Modesty, absence of ostentation, non-injury, patience, sincerity, service of the preceptor, purity, firmness and self-restraint;

Swami Gambirananda

13.8 Humility, unpretentiousness, non-injury, for-bearance, sincerity, service of the teacher, cleanliness, steadiness, control of body and organs;

Swami Sivananda

13.8 Humility, unpretentiousness, non-injury, forgiveness, uprightness, service of the teacher, purity, steadfastness, self-control.

Commentaries

Swami Sivananda

13.8 अमानित्वम् humility? अदम्भित्वम् unpretentiousness? अहिंसा noninjury? क्षान्तिः forgiveness? आर्जवम् uprightness? आचार्योपासनम् service of the teacher? शौचम् purity? स्थैर्यम् steadiness? आत्मविनिग्रहः selfcontrol.Commentary These are the alities that constitute wisdom or lead to wisdom. These are the attributes of the man whose mind is turned towards the inner wisdom. If these characteristics are seen in a man in their entirety? you can infer that the knowledge of the Self has dawned in him.Humility It is the negation of vanity. It is absence of selfesteem or selfpraise. The basis of pride is the consciousness of possessing something (wealth? knowledge? strength? beauty and virtuous alities) in a larger measure than others. A proud man possesses at least something but a man of vanity possesses nothing and yet he thinks he is superior to others. Vanity is exaggerated pride. A humble man dislikes respect? honour and praise. He shuns fame and distinction. He never shows his knowledge? ability? prowess? etc. He never praises himself.Absence of hypocrisy Hypocrisy is the desire to appear what one is not. A Sannyasi has some virtues and a little theoretical knowledge derived from books. He pretends to be a liberated sage. This is religious hypocrisy. A man in whom this is absent is simple and modest. He never advertises his own virtuous alities in order to get respect? name and worship from others. He will never disclose any meritorious or charitable act done by him. He is free from pedantry. He will never sell his knowledge in order to achieve fame.Ahimsa Noninjuring of any living being in thought? word and deed. He who practises Ahimsa places his feet very carefully on the ground and avoids stepping on any living creature. If he perceives any living creature in front of him he stops and turns to the other side. His heart is full of compassion.Kshanti Forbearance? patience? forgiveness. This is a true symptom of knowledge. The man of wisdom puts up with everything. He is not affected a bit when others injure him. He never retaliates. He bears insult and injury calmly.Arjavam Straightforwardness. The man of wisdom is upright or straightforward. He is free from cunningness or diplomacy? doubledealing or crookedness. He is ite frank? candid or openhearted. He does not hide anything. His thoughts and words agree. He speaks his mind openly to the people. He is as simple as a child in his speech. He has a heart as pure as a crystal. He never cheats others.Service of the teacher Devotion to the preceptor? worship of the Guru doing acts of service to him who teaches BrahmaVidya or the means of attaining liberation. Acharya is the Master in whom the divine wisdom is embodied. Service of the Guru enables the aspirant to attain Selfrealisation. The aspirant adores his Guru as Brahman? God Himself. He worships him as Lord Vishnu. He superimposes on him all the attributes of Brahman or Lord Vishnu. He realises Brahman in and through his Guru. This is the fruit of devotion to the Guru. For a student of Vedanta devotion to the Guru is absolutely necessary. Even for a correct understanding of the scriptures the guidance of a Guru is necessary.Purity is of two kinds? external and internal purity. External purity is cleansing of the physical body with earth and water. Internal purity is cleansing of the mind of the dirt of attachment? hatred and other passions? by the method of Pratipaksha Bhavana? i.e.? by cultivating the opposite positive virtues? and by the recognition of the evil in all objects of the senses.Steadfastness The aspirant never leaves his efforts on the path of salvation even though he comes across many stumbling blocks on the path. This is steadfastness or firmness. No meditation on Brahman is possible with a fickle mind.Selfcontrol is control of the aggregate of the body and the senses. The senses and the body which naturally run externally towards the sensual objects are checked and directed on to the path of salvation. No meditation is possible in a body wherein the senses are out of control and distract attention.