VIGOUR — BRILLIANT GLOW (Tejas) — This is not a mere physical glow of complexion produced by good food and ample rest. Nor is it just an exterior beauty arising out of careful tending of the physical structure and planned nourishing of the pads of flesh around the sage. The glow of spirituality is not literally a painted halo around him, glimmering as a ring-of-fire. The brilliance of his intellect, the twinkling joy in his eyes, the thrilling fragrance of peace around, the serene poise in his activities, the dalliance of his love for all, the light of joy that ever shines forth from the innermost depths of his being — these constitute their resistible attraction of the personality of the sage, who, with abundant energy, serves all and discovers for himself a fulfilment in that service.

FORGIVENESS — PATIENCE (Kshamaa) — The context in which the word is used here should increase the depth of its meaning. It is not merely “a capacity to patiently live through some minor physical or mental inconvenience, when insulted or injured by others.” It is a subtle boldness that is shown by a man in facing the world around with an unruffled serenity even in the face of the most powerful opposition and provoking situations.

FORTITUDE (Dhriti) — When an individual daringly meets life he cannot expect, all the time, happy situations, favourable circumstances and a conducive arrangement of chances in his field of activity. Ordinarily, a weak man suddenly feels dejected and is tempted to leave his field of work when it is only half done. Many lose their chances of achieving the Highest, and desert the field of action, almost at the moment when, perhaps, victory is round the corner! In order to stick to his guns, man needs a secret energy to nurture and nourish his exhausted and fatigued morale, and this sacred energy welling up in his well-integrated personality is ‘FORTITUDE.’ Strength of faith, conviction in the goal, consistency of purpose, vivid perception of the ideal and a bold spirit of sacrifice cultivated diligently — all these form the source from which fortitude trickles down to remove exhaustion, fatigue, despair and so on.

PURITY (Shoucham) — The word indicates not only the inner purity — purity of thoughts and motives — but it also suggests, the purity of environments, cleanliness of habit and personal belongings. As a result of an over-emphasis on subjective purity, today, we find in our society, an utter neglect of external purity. Clean clothes and civic-habits have both become rare in our society. Even the devotee-class is unmindful about these, although our religion emphasises that purity and cleanliness are unavoidable disciplines for a seeker.

ABSENCE-OF-HATRED (Adroha) — Harmlessness (Ahimsa) was a virtue explained in the previous stanza. Here the same virtue is repeated not only for the purpose of emphasis but also to indicate a slightly different shade of meaning. The term here should mean more than “ABSENCE OF HATRED.” Just as an individual will never have, even in his dream, any idea of injuring himself, a true seeker, in his recognition of the Oneness in all living creatures, must come to feel that to injure anyone is to injure himself.

ABSENCE OF OVER-PRIDE (Na-ati-maanitaa) — To leave off one’s exaggerated notions of self-honour is, immediately to relieve oneself from thousands of avoidable excitements and responsibilities. Life is as light as a feather to one who has renounced his over-exaggerated pride while to a Coriolanus, life becomes a heavy cross, to be carried painfully, as it mercilessly cuts through the living flesh on his shoulders.

The twenty-six qualities described above give us a complete picture of the nature of a man of ‘Divine Estate.’ These qualities are enumerated to serve as a guide to all those who thirst to become “perfect.” To the extent we are able to reorganise our way-of-life and change our vision of the world around us on the above lines, to that extent we shall economise our energies, that are often wasted in idle pursuits. To respect and live these twenty-six values of life completely, is to assure ourselves of a right way-of-living.

HERE FOLLOWS A DESCRIPTION OF THE DEMONIAC (ASURIC) NATURE:

Tajah, vigour, not the brightness of the skin; ksama, forgiveness, absence of internal perturbation when offened or assulated-absence of anger has been explained by us as the calming down of a perturbed mind; thus, forgiveness and absence of anger are distinguished; dhrtih, fortitude, a particular function of the mind which removes the tedium of the body and organs when they become exhausted, and being rejuvenated by which the body and organs do not feel any fatigue; saucam, purity-is of two kinds: external, with the help of earth and water; and internal, the cleanliness of mind and intellect, the absence of such impurities as trickery, attachment, etc.; purity of these two kinds; adrohah, freedom from malice, absence of the desire to injure others, absence of hatred; na-atimanita, absence of haughtiness-too much self-esteem (mana) is atimanah; one having that is atimani; its abstract form is atimanita; absence of that, na-atimanita, i.e., absence of the feeling of one’s being too honourable. These (alities) beginning with fearlessness and ending with this, O scion of the Bharata dynasty, bhavanti, are; (the alities) abhijatasya, of one destined to have;-what kind of nature?-the daivim, divine; sampadam, nature-of one destined to have divine attributes, of one who is worthy of the excellence of the gods, i.e., of one who would be illustrations in future. Thereafter, the demoniacal nature is now being stated: