Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 16, Verse 1-3

श्रीभगवानुवाच |
अभयं सत्त्वसंशुद्धिर्ज्ञानयोगव्यवस्थिति: |
दानं दमश्च यज्ञश्च स्वाध्यायस्तप आर्जवम् || 1||
अहिंसा सत्यमक्रोधस्त्याग: शान्तिरपैशुनम् |
दया भूतेष्वलोलुप्त्वं मार्दवं ह्रीरचापलम् || 2||
तेज: क्षमा धृति: शौचमद्रोहोनातिमानिता |
भवन्ति सम्पदं दैवीमभिजातस्य भारत || 3||

śhrī-bhagavān uvācha
abhayaṁ sattva-sanśhuddhir jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ
dānaṁ damaśh cha yajñaśh cha svādhyāyas tapa ārjavam
ahinsā satyam akrodhas tyāgaḥ śhāntir apaiśhunam
dayā bhūteṣhv aloluptvaṁ mārdavaṁ hrīr achāpalam
tejaḥ kṣhamā dhṛitiḥ śhaucham adroho nāti-mānitā
bhavanti sampadaṁ daivīm abhijātasya bhārata

śhrī-bhagavān uvācha—the Supreme Divine Personality said; abhayam—fearlessness; sattva-sanśhuddhiḥ—purity of mind; jñāna—knowledge; yoga—spiritual; vyavasthitiḥ—steadfastness; dānam—charity; damaḥ—control of the senses; cha—and; yajñaḥ—sacrifice; cha—and; svādhyāyaḥ—study of sacred books; tapaḥ—austerity; ārjavam—straightforwardness; ahinsā—non-violence; satyam—truthfulness; akrodhaḥ—absence of anger; tyāgaḥ—renunciation; śhāntiḥ—peacefulness; apaiśhunam—restraint from fault-finding; dayā—compassion; bhūteṣhu—toward all living beings; aloluptvam—absence of covetousness; mārdavam—gentleness; hrīḥ—modesty; achāpalam—lack of fickleness; tejaḥ—vigor; kṣhamā—forgiveness; dhṛitiḥ—fortitude; śhaucham—cleanliness; adrohaḥ—bearing enmity toward none; na—not; ati-mānitā—absence of vanity; bhavanti—are; sampadam—qualities; daivīm—godly; abhijātasya—of those endowed with; bhārata—scion of Bharat

Translation:

 The Lord said: Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge and yoga, alms-giving, control of the senses, sacrifice, study of the Sastras, austerity, and straightforwardness.

Harmlessness, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, absence of crookedness, compassion to beings, absence of greed, gentleness, modesty, and absence of fickleness.

Energy, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence of hatred, and absence of over-pride, (these qualities) belong to one born of a divine state.

Commentary:

The Gita gives prominence to practise (sadhana). The spiritual goal is very near when the mind is purified. So the manner and means of purifying the mind are clearly stated in many places and here, ‘daivisampat’ is particularly intended to teach the disciple the science of self-purification. Twenty-six qualities are mentioned here. The aspirant for Moksha like the good student at his desk, should cultivate those qualities with determination and assiduous practice (abhyasa). He should not only acquire them but protect them as one would protect a treasure safely, never allowing anything to drop away from it.

Daivisampat is divine wealth, and the Lord scatters it among the people at large and says, “O ye mortals! Do not set your heart in worldly treasures, do not get entangled in the meshes of sense-enjoyments, for they shall cause misery birth after birth. Here are the precious jewels of spiritual illumination. Take them, take them all, for they are yours, and you shall be truly rich and wealthy when you possess them.” Therefore the wise and the thoughtful should quickly take hold of the treasure, and with the knowledge treasure attain oneness with Paramatma!

Abhayam: Among all the virtues, the Lord first takes up what may be described as the ‘lion’ among good qualities-fearlessness (abhayam). One should pause and think why fearlessness is given the first place among a number of other virtues equally great and adorable. (1) Fear is the source of all evil, and from fear arises all other bad qualities. Men cheat, betray, fight, kill, dominate, suppress truth, and do every evil thing, out of fear. All weakness is caused by fear. Man suffers misery by fear. Men cling to this life, wife and children, houses and positions on account of fear. The whose Samsara is built on fear. So if this tear is eradicated all other evil and weakness, disappear gradually. Fearlessness will bring with it all the other shining virtues which lead to liberation. So it is the virtue of daivisampat. In the game of Tug-of-war, the first man and the last man are selected for their strength and weight. In this tug-of-war with the evil forces, fearlessness is chosen as the captain to lead the team of virtues on the battle-field of everybody’s heart. The Upanishads declare that abhayam, is the state of Brahman.

Abhayam vai Janaka praptosi.

Thus, Abbayam, the first virtue declared by the Lord should be practised by every seeker for spiritual realisation.

Sattvasamsuddhih: Perfect purity of the mind is stated next. The mind should be as pure as the purest mirror. Not a speck of dust should be there. Not a trace of worldly thoughts, sensual tendencies, vicious inclinations should be there. As the mind gets pure, the Atmic light is clearly perceived in it. True knowledge and joy fills the mind.

Jnanayogavyavasthitah: Though different yogas are taught in the Gita, here and there the superior excellence of jnanayoga is mentioned as Atmajnana, which is the goal of spiritual life. (Sarvam karmakhilam Partha jnane parisamapyate.) All works and yogas culminate in jnana. Therefore the Lord mentions it in the beginning, and the seekers should take to knowledge and cross over delusion and ignorance.

Danam: Charity which includes every kind of help offered to others without expectation of any return from them. Gift of lands, money, food, water service, education, knowledge, all offerings come under, ‘danam.’

Damah: The control of the internal organs is included in ‘Sattva samsuddhih‘, and so here the control of external organs is mentioned. Self-restraint both internal and external is the pre-requisite of all spiritual progress. Proper emphasis is given to these virtues in the Gita.

Yajnah: Tapo-yajna, yoga-yajna, svadhyaya-yajna, jnana-yajna these are the yajnas most necessary for spiritual life.

Svadhyayah: The study of the Gita, Upanishads, Brahmasutras, Yoga-Vasishta, Bharata, Bhagavata, Ramayana, etc., and books of this type should be read and their essence absorbed through deep thought and meditation. This is Svadhyaya.

Tapah: This is explained in the 17th Discourse. It is absolute purity in word, thought and deed and not the mortification of the flesh.

Arjavam: Straight-forwardness in thought, word and deed. This is called ‘Trikaranasuddhi,’ – because thinking, speaking and acting form the triple function of all men. Where there is harmony among the three, there is truth. Poisonous reptiles are crooked in their movements, and hence if man is crooked in his character, he is like a reptile.

Ahimsa: Non-injury towards any creature in thought, word or deed.

Satyam: 1. Truth in thought word and deed, 2. Adherence in Atma, the One Reality.

Akrodhah: Absence of anger. Krodha is man’s deadly foe in every way. obsessed by it man loses all discrimination and destroys himself by cruel behaviour towards elders and Gurus. So the Lord has already warned man against it (Krodhat bhavati sammohah). Under its power man is transformed into a demon, horrible to look at, with red eyes, sweating, shaking abusing and attacking. Freedom from this Demon is therefore the primary duty of man in his life, both secular and spiritual.

Tyagah: Tyagenaike amṛtatva manasuḥ – By Tyaga alone, Moksha is attained – so says the Upanishads. Taking refuge in Paramatma by giving up attachment for objects is tyaga. Giving up evil thoughts, evil actions, evil ways of life, is tyaga. Renunciation of all desires for enjoyments is tyaga. Surrendering all the fruits of actions to God is tyaga. Internal renunciation is of more significance than formal external renunciation.

Santih: Peace, calmness of mind. The mind should be like a waveless lake and not like a turbulent ocean. Perfect peace is attained only when the mind merges in Atma. Where there is no peace there is no happiness (asantasya kutah sukham). Taking refuge in God and giving up desires is the way to peace.

Apaisunam: Not pointing out bad qualities in others, not carrying tales against others. Why should one concerned with the evil of others? It is enough if he cleanses his own heart filled with innumerable evils.

Daya bhuteshu: Kindness and compassion towards all beings are mentioned several in the Gita. Brahmajnana is most closely associated with universal compassion. The seekers should cultivate this virtue along with Bhakti, Jnana and Vairagya.

Alolatvam: Indulgence in several pleasures should be abandoned completely. The sense-organs lose their power by yielding to the temptations of the flesh and are incapacitated to think and grasp higher truths. So they should be withdrawn from sense-objects (pratyahara) and established in Atma. The mind should not waver from the chosen ideal.

Mardavam: Gentleness in word and deed. Hardness and harshness should be abandoned. This is the attitude of a man of Sattvic nature.

Hrih: This is the mark of an evolved human being. 1. He is ashamed of himself if he does anything wrong, when he utters a lie, or when he injures another, or when he acts contrary to Sastraic injunction. 2. The seeker should question himself about his spiritual progress, and when he has not made proper advance, he should feel ashamed of his niggardly and sluggish attempts in securing his own good. 3. When one comes across great men of purity and perfection, experienced in Brahmajnana, he should feel ashamed of himself, and strive for perfection like them.

Achapalam: The wandering mind should be brought to rest in Atma.

Tejah: The light of Brahman.

Kshama: Forbearance, forgiveness. One should think of God-men like Suka and their exceptional forbearance and love for all. When the pairs of opposites overtake him he should remain firm and unmoved.

Dhritih: The seekers should be steadfast and firm. As man thinks of the unreality of the world and the blessedness of Paramatma, he becomes bold and firm in all the functions of his life. Like the Meru mountain, he should be immovable under the most difficult circumstances.

Saucham: 1. External purity of the person, house etc., 2. Internal purity of the senses and the mind, and freedom from bad thoughts and feelings.

Adrohah: Abandoning hatred and betrayal of others.

Natimanita: One should not be proud and imagine that he should be adored and worshipped by others. This is a very important point for all seekers to remember. Lacking in this, many advancing souls in spiritual life have fallen down before attaining Self-realisation.

One should think of Hanuman, his humility and devotion, his egolessness, his utter self surrender to Rama. Such a man alone can achieve the Highest.

Thus Daivisampat includes twenty-six virtues. These should be cultivated carefully and assiduously by all people who wish to advance in spiritual life.

Question: How many and what are the qualities of Daivisampat?

Answer: They are twenty-six 1. Fearlessness, 2. purity of heart, 3. steadfastness in knowledge and yoga, 4. alms-giving, 5. control of the senses, 6. sacrifice 7. Study of the Sastras, 8. austerity, 9. straightforwardness, 10. harmlessness, 11. truth, 12. absence of anger 13. renunciation 14. peacefulness, 15. absence of crookedness, 16. compassion to beings, 17. absence of greed, 18. gentleness, 19. modesty, 20. absence of fickleness, 21. engergy, 22. forgiveness 23. fortitude, 24. purity 25. absence of hatred, 26. absence of pride these are the qualities born of a divine state.