Divine qualities- apaishunaM (Gita Satsangh 16.2)

April 6, 2010

Dandavat pranams to all!

We are continuing to examine the divine qualities listed in Chapter 16.2. The quality to be explored in this post is apaishunaM, which has been defined variously as absence of crookedness, vilification or backbiting, including an aversion to fault finding in others, even when warranted by their actions. This includes abstaining from gossip, which is usually malicious, even if seemingly harmless.

Ahimsaa satyamakrodhas tyaagah shaantirapaishunam; Dayaa bhooteshvaloluptwam maardavam hreerachaapalam. 2. Harmlessness, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, absence of crookedness, compassion towards beings, uncovetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of fickleness, In his Sankara Bhashya, Swami Gambiranda denotes it as absence of vilification, and further notes that paisunaM means backbiting; its absence is apaisunaM.

In Swami Chinmayananda's Translation and Commentary, he states the following:

"ABSENCE OF CROOKEDNESS (Unmalicious tongue --- Apaishunam) --- The ugliness or beauty of the tongue is ordered by the personality behind it. A shattered entity will seek self-gratification in malicious scandal-mongering, and the soft, fleshy tongue can often become more devastating than the most destructive missile. A seeker who is trying to reach a fuller and more exhaustive self-expression should develop such an inward harmony that his speech should echo the fragrance of his soul. A speech with softness of tone, clarity of expression, honesty of conviction, power of bringing a clear picture in the listener's mind with no veiled meaning, overflowing with sincerity, devotion and love, becomes the very quality of the autobiography of the speaker's personality. To develop, therefore, a habit of such speech would be unconsciously training many aspects in ourselves which are all necessary for the perfect disciplining of the inner equipments. "

When I first began to take a look at this quality, apaishunaM, this old adage came to mind:

"If you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all.

It does not only mean to refrain from speaking ill of others; it also must necessarily mean to refrain from actively listening to ill things spoken of others, even when we do not say anything bad ourselves. This can be a real challenge when we have someone in the family or in a circle of friends who lives for talking about others, usually not in a very flattering light. It is also difficult to manage when someone has done something of which we disapprove, either to us, to someone we love, or even to a stranger. But, developing the habit of silence, both in spoken words and in our inner thoughts in these circumstances is exactly what is meant here.

This can be on more than just the level of our everyday interactions with family and friends. Often I find myself reading the national news and all sorts of horrible things are reported everyday. As I read something I will sometimes feel that judgment and desire to chastise the person who has sinned so badly! And so this quality is one for which I find the need to work on that rising thought and learn to realize that there is so much I do not know about the incident being reported, the history of the "sinner", and furthermore, sometimes the reporting is slanted already, the writer engaging in paishunaM to his or heart's content. One solution is not to read the news or not to listen to friends when they talk or to ignore our family completely, but this is not realistic and truly does not develop the capacity to forbear as much as it develops the capacity to withdraw. There is much greater challenge in rising to the challenge than running away to a cave somewhere to hide from the world, not that the thought has not crossed my mind repeatedly in the last few years!

Note that it is not only meant to encompass slanderous statements, but also statements spoken with the intent to harm the reputation of another, even if they have done something bad. While some would say that it is ok to call a thief a thief, I would counter that this is true in the context of a court of law, or after you have been robbed and the person is running away and you are calling upon the law to catch them. But to go around chanting it to all who will listen goes beyond the need to react to the immediate situation and begins to fall into the category of vilification.

Vilification is defined as follows:

1 : to lower in estimation or importance2 : to utter slanderous and abusive statements against

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vilify

apaishunaM is also called an aversion to fault finding; freedom from jealousy.

http://www.kriya.org/resources__glossary.php

This is distinguished from ArjavaM, which was the subject of an earlier post, and is generally defined as straighforwardness in actions and words with regard to one's own intentions. advaitin/message/47682 Apaishunam is not so general and refers specifically to words, and more specifically, to words we speak about others. This is not limited to what we say behind someone's back, but also to the words we fling at others directly. All should be examined for the honesty and kindness with which they emanate. And they should also be examined for the source from which they emanate.

Exactly where does apaishunaM come from? In order to cultivate the quality of apaishunaM, one must extinguish the quality of paishunaM to the extent it exists. The Lord tells us quite clearly that all have the propensity for both the divine and the demonic qualities. Like the two wolves, one good, one evil, in the native American Indian parable discussed in a previous post, it all depends upon which one you feed. We need to cultivate the divine qualities and extinguish the demonic qualities. To do this, honest self examination must be the lodestar at all times. Without it, self justification becomes the norm.

What would make us want to criticize or vilify another person, or another philosophy or another religion or another anything? What need to look out to criticize? Most psychologists would say that this need stems from a lack of self respect, a lack of self confidence, a lack of self esteem. Notice the appearance of the word "self" in all of these colloquial expressions. When the "self" is viewed as somehow a distinct entity, there becomes a most distinctive need to preserve it as such, to protect it, if you will. When the Self is seen for what It is, universal, existing everywhere without exception, then the need to preserve and protect gives way to the ability to accept and embrace.

In an almost paradoxical twist, it is posited that to know moksha, to know godliness, one has to develop these divine traits, yet one is only really going to have them if one has already attained that understanding born of shedding ignorance. Still, one has to start somewhere. The Lord tells us that each of us who wishes to be free from the illusion of bondage must first be free of the trappings of bondage:

Daivee sampadvimokshaaya nibandhaayaasuree mataa;

The divine nature is deemed for liberation and the demoniacal for bondage. (BG 16.5)

And further, Lord Krishna makes it quite clear in Chapter 16 that the earnest cultivation of daivIsaMpadaH is essential:

Yah shaastravidhimutsrijya vartate kaamakaaratah;Na sa siddhimavaapnoti na sukham na paraam gatim.He who, casting aside the ordinances of the scriptures, acts under the impulse of desire, attains neither perfection nor happiness nor the supreme goal. (BG 16.23)

Tasmaat shaastram pramaanam te kaaryaakaaryavyavasthitau;Jnaatwaa shaastravidhaanoktam karma kartumihaarhasi.Therefore, let the scripture be the authority in determining what ought to be done and what ought not to be done. Having known what is said in the ordinance of the scriptures, thou shouldst act here in this world. (BG 16.24)

Shri Krishna saranam mamah!

April 7, 2010

Namaste:

The following Link provides a detailed list of Divine Qualities and the list is

reproduced here for members to preview:

http://www.atmajyoti.org/hi_gita_commentary_76.asp

The following are the endowment of those born to a divine destiny. Fortunately

we do not have to possess all of these to be yogis, but we should work toward

it. This is a valuable checklist and can reveal who is a real spiritual aspirant

destined to get somewhere.

Fearlessness. Abhaya(m): " Without fear; " fearlessness; a state of steadfastness

in which one is not swayed by fear of any kind; absence of fear.

Purity of being. Sattwasamshuddhi: Purity of being; purity of heart; purity of

feeling; increase of light and purity; purification of one's existence.

Perseverance in yoga and knowledge (jnanayogavyavasthitih).

Giving. Dana(m): " Giving; " gift; charity; almsgiving; self-sacrifice; donation;

generosity.

Self-restraint. Dama: Self-control; control of the senses; restraint; taming;

domination.

Sacrifice. Yajna: Sacrifice; worship; offering; sacrificial ceremony; a ritual

sacrifice; usually the fire sacrifice known as agnihotra or havan.

Study of sacred texts. Swadhyaya: Introspective self-study or self-analysis

leading to self-understanding. Study of scriptures and spiritual texts,

especially those pertaining to the Self.

Austerity. Tapasya: Austerity, practical (i.e., result-producing) spiritual

discipline; self-denial; spiritual force.

Uprightness. Arjava: Straightforwardness; honesty; rectitude; righteousness;

simplicity.

Non-violence. Ahimsa: Non-injury in thought, word, and deed; non-violence;

non-killing; harmlessness.

Truth. Satya(m): Truth; the Real; Brahman, or the Absolute; truthfulness;

honesty.

Absence of anger (akrodha).

Renunciation. Tyaga: Literally: " abandonment. " Renunciation.

Serenity. Shanti: Peace; serenity; calm; tranquility; contentment.

Absence of calumny. Apaishunam: Absence of calumny, slander, or fault-finding.

Compassion for all beings (daya bhuteshu).

Freedom from desire. Aloluptwam: Freedom from desire, lust, or greed.

Gentleness. Mardava(m): Gentleness; kindness; mildness; tenderness.

Modesty. Hri: Modesty; bashfulness; absence of pride.

Absence of fickleness. Achapalam: Determination; absence of fickleness; absence

of change; immovability; fixedness, firmness; steadiness.

Vigor. Tejas: Vigor; strength.

Forgiveness. Kshama: Forgiveness; patience, forbearance.

Fortitude. Dhriti: Determination; determined; steadfast; constant; attraction;

sustaining effort; firmness; patience; endurance; fortitude; courage; strength.

Purity. Shaucha: Purity; cleanliness (of mind and body).

Freedom from malice. Adrohas: Freedom from malice; absence of hatred.

Freedom from pride. Atimanita: Excessive pride; high honor.

================

Enjoy,

Warm regards,

Ram Chandran

advaitin , " Radhe " <shaantih wrote:

>

> " ABSENCE OF CROOKEDNESS (Unmalicious tongue --- Apaishunam) --- The ugliness

or beauty of the tongue is ordered by the personality behind it. A shattered

entity will seek self-gratification in malicious scandal-mongering, and the

soft, fleshy tongue can often become more devastating than the most destructive

missile. A seeker who is trying to reach a fuller and more exhaustive

self-expression should develop such an inward harmony that his speech should

echo the fragrance of his soul. A speech with softness of tone, clarity of

expression, honesty of conviction, power of bringing a clear picture in the

listener's mind with no veiled meaning, overflowing with sincerity, devotion and

love, becomes the very quality of the autobiography of the speaker's

personality. To develop, therefore, a habit of such speech would be

unconsciously training many aspects in ourselves which are all necessary for the

perfect disciplining of the inner equipments. "

April 7, 2010

Namaste dear Shri Ramji:

Thank you for providing the link to this article. It is interesting that Swami Nirmalananda Giriji quotes a translation of the list of divine qualities in 16.1-3, then makes the statement that it is "self explanatory," then providing the list you reproduced below to clarify and expand on what was self explanatory. I must say that I have seen this conclusion in a few other places online. Swamiji then spends quite a bit of time exploring the demonic qualities and references in Chapter 16, such that we also know what to avoid when we see it in ourselves and others.

For myself, I am thankful that Shymaji suggested we stop, slow down, and take a closer look at the divine qualities, as it has prompted me to really ponder each one weekly, thinking about them as I go through my day, sometimes correcting myself when I see myself acting in a demonic fashion (like my reaction when one of the neighborhood boys came into the house with his shoes on to go upstairs to my son's bedroom even though I have told them all a million times not to wear their shoes into the house :-) They may seem self explanatory but they are not self executing! They do not download into the mental/spiritual computer the way software does when you . A certain amount of contemplation and honest self assessment is required.

On that subject, I am providing an excerpt from an article I stumbled upon while googling the term apaishunaM, which struck me as quite relevant to my own personal efforts. It also listed the qualities in Itrans (hopefully correctly) which I appreciated as well!

"What is goodness? It is the finest attributes of HIM (even though HE is described as attributeless, for our own cognition we attribute 100% goodness to HIM). But unfortunately, we do not know what goodness really is. This is where our Vedas and Upanishads help us. Goodness has been defined in different ways by different Maharshis, but in essence, they are all the same. Gautama defines it as AtmaguNAH, ApastaMba defines it as bhUtayogaguNAH, bhAgavata describes it as dharmAH, KrishNa in the Gita describes it as daivIsaMpadaH, manu as dashakaMdharmalakshaNaM, etc. etc..As an illustration, I shall take only the daivIsaMpadaH of KrishNa. In the 16thadhyAya of the Bhagavad GItA, Krishna starts with abhayaM, satvashaMshuddhiH,GYAnayogavyavasthitiH, tapaH, ArjavaM, ahiMsa, satyaM, akrodhaH, tyagaH, shAntiH, apaishunaM, dayAbhUteshu, aloluptvaM, mArdavaM, hrIH, achApalaM, tejaH, kshamA, dhR^itiH, shoryaM, adrohaH, and ends with nAtimAnitA.These are the qualities that one should acquire to be called good. It is only then that one becomes eligible to think of brahma. One should become God-like first to see or reach God. Where, in which religion do you find opposite qualities as the characteristics of a good individual? It is universal.My contention is that, even before discussing whether God is VishhNu, Shiva or KR^ishhNa, let us try to become GOOD men first. We have absolutely no right to discuss a thing which we know nothing about except from books...It is like standing at the bottom of a hill and discussing what is there at the peak. It is just futile to waste our time in discussion. Let us try to go up the hill, overcome obstacles, reach the top and find out for ourselves what there is. The path leading to the top is dharma."

http://www.hindunet.org/srh_home/1996_7/msg00346.html

Hare Krishna!!!!

In His Service and Yours,

Radhe

-

Ram

advaitin

Wednesday, April 07, 2010 11:30 AM

Re: Divine qualities- apaishunaM (Gita Satsangh 16.2)

Namaste:The following Link provides a detailed list of Divine Qualities and the list is reproduced here for members to preview:http://www.atmajyoti.org/hi_gita_commentary_76.aspThe following are the endowment of those born to a divine destiny. Fortunately we do not have to possess all of these to be yogis, but we should work toward it. This is a valuable checklist and can reveal who is a real spiritual aspirant destined to get somewhere.

April 8, 2010

From time to time a good number of posts appear on the topic Deivine qualities.Would it be possible for all those posts to be kept in one place in the form of a PDF file.I request the moderators to consider the possibility of keeping this in files section for the facility of members.Regards,

Jabali Muni.

SarvE bhavanthu sukhinah sarvE santhu niraamayaahSarve bhadrANi pasyanthu maa kaschit duhkhabhAg bhavEt.

Radhe <shaantihadvaitin Sent: Thu, April 8, 2010 12:58:06 AMRe: Re: Divine qualities- apaishunaM (Gita Satsangh 16.2)

Namaste dear Shri Ramji:

Thank you for providing the link to this article. It is interesting that Swami Nirmalananda Giriji quotes a translation of the list of divine qualities in 16.1-3, then makes the statement that it is "self explanatory, " then providing the list you reproduced below to clarify and expand on what was self explanatory. I must say that I have seen this conclusion in a few other places online. Swamiji then spends quite a bit of time exploring the demonic qualities and references in Chapter 16, such that we also know what to avoid when we see it in ourselves and others.

For myself, I am thankful that Shymaji suggested we stop, slow down, and take a closer look at the divine qualities, as it has prompted me to really ponder each one weekly, thinking about them as I go through my day, sometimes correcting myself when I see myself acting in a demonic fashion (like my reaction when one of the neighborhood boys came into the house with his shoes on to go upstairs to my son's bedroom even though I have told them all a million times not to wear their shoes into the house :-) They may seem self explanatory but they are not self executing! They do not download into the mental/spiritual computer the way software does when you . A certain amount of contemplation and honest self assessment is required.

On that subject, I am providing an excerpt from an article I stumbled upon while googling the term apaishunaM, which struck me as quite relevant to my own personal efforts. It also listed the qualities in Itrans (hopefully correctly) which I appreciated as well!

"What is goodness? It is the finest attributes of HIM (even though HE is described as attributeless, for our own cognition we attribute 100% goodness to HIM). But unfortunately, we do not know what goodness really is. This is where our Vedas and Upanishads help us. Goodness has been defined in different ways by different Maharshis, but in essence, they are all the same. Gautama defines it as AtmaguNAH, ApastaMba defines it as bhUtayogaguNAH, bhAgavata describes it as dharmAH, KrishNa in the Gita describes it as daivIsaMpadaH, manu as dashakaMdharmalaksh aNaM, etc. etc..As an illustration, I shall take only the daivIsaMpadaH of KrishNa. In the 16thadhyAya of the Bhagavad GItA, Krishna starts with abhayaM, satvashaMshuddhiH,GYAnayogavyavasthit iH, tapaH, ArjavaM, ahiMsa, satyaM, akrodhaH, tyagaH, shAntiH, apaishunaM, dayAbhUteshu, aloluptvaM, mArdavaM, hrIH, achApalaM, tejaH,

kshamA, dhR^itiH, shoryaM, adrohaH, and ends with nAtimAnitA.These are the qualities that one should acquire to be called good. It is only then that one becomes eligible to think of brahma. One should become God-like first to see or reach God. Where, in which religion do you find opposite qualities as the characteristics of a good individual? It is universal.My contention is that, even before discussing whether God is VishhNu, Shiva or KR^ishhNa, let us try to become GOOD men first. We have absolutely no right to discuss a thing which we know nothing about except from books...It is like standing at the bottom of a hill and discussing what is there at the peak. It is just futile to waste our time in discussion. Let us try to go up the hill, overcome obstacles, reach the top and find out for ourselves what there is. The path leading to the top is dharma."

http://www.hindunet .org/srh_ home/1996_ 7/msg00346. html

Hare Krishna!!!!

In His Service and Yours,

Radhe

-

Ram

advaitin@ s.com

Wednesday, April 07, 2010 11:30 AM

Re: Divine qualities- apaishunaM (Gita Satsangh 16.2)

Namaste:The following Link provides a detailed list of Divine Qualities and the list is reproduced here for members to preview:http://www.atmajyoti.org/hi_gita_commentary_76.aspThe following are the endowment of those born to a divine destiny. Fortunately we do not have to possess all of these to be yogis, but we should work toward it. This is a valuable checklist and can reveal who is a real spiritual aspirant destined to get somewhere.