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BG 13.8 — 13.8 Humility, unpretentiousness, non-injury, forgiveness, uprightness, service of the teacher, purity, steadfastness, self-control.
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अमानित्वमदम्भित्वमहिंसा क्षान्तिरार्जवम् |
आचार्योपासनं शौचं स्थैर्यमात्मविनिग्रहः ||१३-८||

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


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

Word-by-word meanings

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 hi

Commentaries

Non-dualism. The individual self and Brahman are one. The world is appearance (maya). Liberation through knowledge.

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,

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Swami Gambirananda

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

This interpretation draws on the Advaita tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

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