अहिंसा सत्यमक्रोधस्त्यागः शान्तिरपैशुनम् | दया भूतेष्वलोलुप्त्वं मार्दवं ह्रीरचापलम् || २ ||
ahiṁsā satyam akrodhas tyāgaḥ śāntir apaiśunam dayā bhūteṣv aloluptvaṁ mārdavaṁ hrīr acāpalam
ahiṁsā—non-violence; satyam—truthfulness; akrodhaḥ—freedom from anger; tyāgaḥ—renunciation; śāntiḥ—tranquility; apaiśunam—aversion to fault-finding; dayā—compassion; bhūteṣu—toward all beings; aloluptvam—freedom from greed; mārdavam—gentleness; hrīḥ—modesty; acāpalam—steadiness.
“Non-violence, truthfulness, freedom from anger, renunciation, tranquility, aversion to slander, compassion toward all beings, freedom from greed, gentleness, modesty, absence of fickleness—”
This verse continues the enumeration of divine qualities. Non-violence (ahimsa) encompasses not just physical non-harm but also refraining from causing mental or emotional pain through harsh words or manipulative behavior. Truthfulness includes consistency between thought, word, and deed. Compassion toward all beings (dayā bhūteṣu) is the natural outflow of recognizing the one Self in all.
Freedom from fault-finding (apaiśunam) is particularly relevant in the age of social media. Notice how much mental energy is consumed by criticizing others—whether in conversation or online. Each moment spent judging others is a moment of inner peace lost. Practice catching the impulse to criticize and replacing it with either compassionate understanding or simple silence.