Passage 5

Tap any word for its meaning.

In plain words

How is it to be grown? We must treat him with kindness in thought, word and deed. That is what we have been calling titikṣā. A man who cannot attain such titikṣā can never attain divinity at all. Kṣamā is Satya, kṣamā is Dharma, kṣamā is the Veda, kṣamā is Ahiṃsā, kṣamā is everything; in all the worlds, kṣamā is of the greatest worth.

To attain kṣamā, keep four kinds of purity

Now, if we are to attain such kṣamā, what must we do first? We must keep four kinds of purity: purity of things, purity of mind, purity of speech, and purity of action, that is, of the body. First, what is purity of things? The clothes we wear, the food we eat, the vessels we cook in, the house we live in and every article we use must all be kept clean. This is what they called purity of things. Whatever things we use in daily life, whenever and however we use them, all of them must be pure. Next, purity of mind. Purity of mind is this: to give no opening at all to attachment and aversion, no place to hatred, envy and such vices, to grow a breadth of heart that does good even to one who has done us harm, and to have the quality of never hurting others, whatever the circumstances. Moment after moment we hurt the hearts of others. We revile others. We wound the hearts of others. We cannot bear to see the good of others. We seethe with envy at those who stand higher than we do. This is impurity of the mind. When such impurity enters the mind, a man is no longer human; he turns into a demon. So if we would prove ourselves truly human, we must cultivate a pure mind. We must recognise the truth that the divinity present in all is one.