SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 13 Text 8-12
amanitvam adambhitvam
ahimsa ksantir arjavam
acaryopasanam saucam
sthairyam atma-vinigrahah

indriyarthesu vairagyam
anahankara eva ca
janma-mrtyu jara-vyadhi-
duhkha-dosanudarsanam

asaktir anabhisvangah
putra-dara-grhadisu
nityam ca sama-cittatvam
istanistopapattisu

mayi cananya-yogena
bhaktir avyabhicarini
vivikta-desa-sevitvam
aratir jana-samsadi

adhyatma-jnana-nityatvam
tattva-jnanartha-darsanam
etajjnanam iti proktam
ajnanam yad ato 'nyatha

amanitvam--humility; adambhitvam--pridelessness; ahimsa--nonviolence; ksantih--tolerance; ariavam--simplicity; acarya-upasanam--approaching a bona fide spiritual master; saucam--cleanliness; sthairyam--steadfastness; atma-vinigrahah--self-control; indriya-arthesu--in the matter of the senses; vairagyam--renunciation; anahankarah--being without false egoism; eva--certainly; ca--also; janma--of birth; mrtyu--death; jara--old age; vyadhi--and disease; duhkha--of the distress; dosa--the fault; anudarsanam--observing; asaktih--being without attachment; anabhisvangah--being without association; putra--for son; dara--wife; grha-adisu--home, etc.; nityam--constant; ca--also; sama-cittatvam--equilibrium; ista--the desirable; anista--and undesirable; upapattisu--having obtained; mayi--unto Me; ca--also; ananya-yogena--by unalloyed devotional service; bhaktih--devotion; avyabhicarini--without any break; vivikta--to solitary; desa--places; sevitvam--aspiring; aratih--being without attachment; jana-samsadi--to people in general; adhyatma--pertaining to the self; jnana--in knowledge; nityatvam--constancy; tattva-jnana--of knowledge of the truth; artha--for the object; darsanam--philosophy; etat--all this; jnanam--knowledge; iti--thus; proktam--declared; ajnanam--ignorance; yat--that which; atah--from this; anyatha--other.

TRANSLATION

Humility; pridelessness; nonviolence; tolerance; simplicity; approaching a bona fide spiritual master; cleanliness; steadiness; self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification; absence of false ego; the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; detachment; freedom from entanglement with children, wife, home and the rest; even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me; aspiring to live in a solitary place; detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization; and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth--all these I declare to be knowledge, and besides this whatever there may be is ignorance.

PURPORT

Here are some excerpts from this most important purport by Srila Prabhupada:

As for actual advancement in spiritual science, one should have a test to see how far he is progressing. He can judge by these items.

Nonviolence is generally taken to mean not killing or destroying the body, but actually nonviolence means not to put others into distress. Tolerance means that one should be practiced to bear insult and dishonor from others. Simplicity means that without diplomacy one should be so straightforward that he can disclose the real truth even to an enemy.

As for acceptance of the spiritual master, that is essential, because without the instruction of a bona fide spiritual master one cannot progress in the spiritual science.

Cleanliness is essential for making advancement in spiritual life. There are two kinds of cleanliness: external and internal. External cleanliness means taking a bath, but for internal cleanliness one has to think of Krsna always and chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Steadiness means that one should be very determined to make progress in spiritual life. Self-control means that one should not accept anything which is detrimental to the path of spiritual progress.

False ego means accepting this body as oneself. This sense of "I am" is ego, but when the sense of "I am" is applied to this false body it is false ego. When the sense of self is applied to reality, that is real ego. There are some philosophers who say we should give up our ego, but we cannot give up our ego, because ego means identity. We ought, of course, to give up the false identification with the body. One should try to understand the distress of accepting birth, death, old age and disease.

As for detachment from children, wife and home, it is not meant that one should have no feeling for these. They are natural objects of affection. But when they are not favorable to spiritual progress, then one should not be attached to them.

Devotional service to Krsna without deviation means engaging oneself in the nine processes of devotional service--chanting, hearing, worshiping, offering respect, etc.--as described in the last verse of the Ninth Chapter. Beginning from practicing humility up to the point of realization of the Supreme Truth, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, this process is just like a staircase beginning from the ground floor and going up to the top floor.