The Eight Qualities from Hindu Dharma

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The Eight Qualities from Hindu Dharma  

The eight gunas or qualities are : daya, ksanti, anasuya, sauca, 

anayasa, mangala, akarpanya, asprha.  

"Daya" implies love for all creatures, such love being the very 

fulfilment of life. There is indeed no greater happiness than that 

derived by loving others. Daya is the backbone of all qualities.  

"Ksanti" is patience. One kind of ksanti is patiently suffering 

disease, poverty, misfortune and so on. The second is forgiveness 

and it implies loving a a person even if he causes us pain and 

trouble.  

"Anasuya" you know is the name of the sage Atri's wife. She was 

utterly free from jealousy : that is how she got the name which 

means non-jealousy. Heart-burning caused by another man's prosperity 

or status is jealousy. We ought to have love and compassion for all 

and ought to be patient and forgiving even towards those who do us 

wrong. We must not envy people their higher status even if they be 

less deserving of it than we are and, at the same time, must be 

mature enough to regard their better position as the reward they 

earned by doing good in their previous life.  

"Sauca" is derived from "suci", meaning cleanliness. Purity is to be 

maintained in all matters such as bathing, dress, food. There is a 

saying often quoted even by the unlettered: "Cleanliness makes you 

happy and it even appeases your hunger". To see a clean person is to 

feel ourselves clean.  

In Manu's listing of dharmas that are applicable to all, ahimsa or 

non-violence comes first, followed by satya (truthfulness), asteya 

(non-covetousness; non-stealing is the direct meaning), sauca 

(cleanliness) and indriya-nigraha (subduing the senses or even 

obliterating them).  

The fifth Atmaguna is "anayasa". It is the opposite of "ayasa" which 

denotes effort, exertion, etc. Anayasa means to have a feeling of 

lightness, to take things easy. One must not keep a long face, wear 

a scowl or keep lamenting one's hardships. If you lose your cool you 

will be a burden to yourself as well as to others. Anayasa is a 

great virtue. In many of our rituals there is much bodily exertion. 

When we perform a sraddha we have to remain without food until 2 or 

3 in the afternoon. There is no end to the physical effort we have 

to put in to conduct a sacrifice. Here anayasa means not to feel any 

mental strain. Obstacles, inevitable to any work or enterprise, must 

not cause you any mental strain. You must not feel any duty to be a 

burden and must develop the attitude that everything happens 

according to the will of the Lord. What do we mean when we remark 

that the musician we listened to yesterday touched the "tara-sthayi" 

so effortlessly? Does it mean that he performed a difficult musical 

exercise with ease? Similarly, we must learn to make light of all 

the hardships that we encounter in life.  

What is "mangala", the sixth guna? Well, "mangala" is mangala. There 

is mangala or an auspicious air about happiness that is 

characterised by dignity and purity. One must be cheerful all the 

time and not keep growling at people on the slightest pretext. This 

itself is extremely helpful, to radiate happiness wherever we go and 

exude auspiciousness. It is better than making lavish gifts and 

throwing money about.  

To do a job with a feeling of lightness is anayasa. To be light 

ourselves, creating joy wherever we go, is mangala. We must be like 

a lamp spreading light and should never give cause for people to 

say, "Oh! he has come to find fault with everything". Wherever we go 

we must create a sense of happiness. We must live auspiciously and 

make sure that there is happiness brimming over everywhere.  

"Akarpanya" is the next guna. Miserliness is the quality of krpana 

or miser. "Akarpanya" is the opposite of miserliness. We must give 

generously and whole-heartedly. At Kuruksetra Arjuna felt dejected 

and refused to wage war with his own kin. In doing so, according to 

the Gita, he was the guilty of "karpanya dosa". It means, 

contextually, that he abased himself to a woeful state, he became 

"miserly" about himself. Akarpanya is the quality of a courageous 

and zestful person who can face problems determinedly.  

"Asprha" is the last of the eight qualities. "Sprha" means desire; a 

grasping nature. "Asprha" is the opposite, being without desire. 

Desire is at the root of all trouble, all evil and, all through the 

ages, it has been the cause if misfortunes. But to eradicate it from 

the mind of men seems an almost impossible task. By performing rites 

again and again and by constantly endeavouring to acquire the Atmic 

qualities one will eventually become desireless. Says Valluvar: 

Parruga parrarran parrinai apparrai  

parruga parru vidarku  

Tirumular goes a step further. "It is not enough, " he says, "to be 

attached to Isvara who is without attachment and be free from other 

attachments. You must be able to sever yourself from the attachment 

to Isvara himself".  

Asai arumingal, asai arumingal  

Isanodayinum asai arumingal  

The Buddha calls desire thirst. Intense desire for an object is 

"trsna". ( The Buddha calls it "tanha" in Prakrt). His chief 

teaching is the conquest of desire.  

Desirelessness is the last of the eight qualities. The first one, 

daya, is the life-breath of Christianity. Each religion lays 

emphasis on a particular quality, though all qualities are included 

in the teachings of Buddha, Jesus Christ, the Prophet Mohammed, Guru 

Nanak, Zoroaster, Confucius and the founders of all other religions. 

Even if these qualities may not have been pointedly mentioned in 

their teachings, it is certain that none of them would regard people 

lacking them with approval.

http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part16/chap5.htm,