May Gītā: 16.1-3

śhrī-Bhagavān uvāca:

abhayaṁ sattva-samśuddhir 
jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ
dānaṁ damaś ca yajñaś ca 
svādhyāyas tapa ārjavam 

ahimsā satyam akrodhas 
tyāgaḥ śāntir apaiśunam
dayā bhūteṣv aloluptvaṁ 
mārdavaṁ hrīr acāpalam

tejaḥ kṣamā dhṛtiḥ śaucam 
adroho n'ātimānitā
bhavanti sampadaṁ daivīm 
abhijātasya bhārata

‘The Supreme Divine Personality said: O scion of Bharat, these are the saintly virtues of those endowed with a divine nature—fearlessness, purity of mind, steadfastness in spiritual knowledge, charity, control of the senses, sacrifice, study of the sacred books, austerity, and straightforwardness; non-violence, truthfulness, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, restraint from fault-finding, compassion toward all living beings, absence of covetousness, gentleness, modesty, and lack of fickleness; vigor, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, bearing enmity toward none, and absence of vanity.’

Bhagavad Gītā 16.1-3

Chapter 16 attempts to characterise our potential nature as good or bad, divine or demonic. 26 virtues shown here, and 6 negative traits (slokas 4-5), are defined. Cultivating the former takes us closer to liberation whereas the latter bounds us to the constant toil of a worldly existence.

What a list! I would like to think that we can consistently walk the path of good action, thought and deed everyday but being human is extremely messy sometimes. We fall, we fail, we can hurt, we are hurt.

Maybe we can reframe the ‘to be and not to be’ list for daily life creating space for trying and the inevitable mistakes that will follow. Compassion and forgiveness after the initial flurry of anger allows room for growth where admonishment will trap us in corners. After all, trying and failing is better than not trying at all. Listening whilst attempting to stand in another person’s shoes gives room for our human-ness and opens up the possibility for collective change.

– Louise Newton