- Vivek - ability to discriminate between the real and unreal and the permanent and impermanent
- Vairagya - ability to be dispassionate about the world
- Mumuksutvam - burning desire for liberation from the bondage of this world
- Shatsampati - the six fold qualities of a ideal student.
While these qualities are enumerated for a seeker of the higher, the six fold qualities of an ideal student are equally applicable in the secular world. These qualities are as follows:
- Sama - control of the mind. The nature of the mind is to wander, again and again bring it to focus on your ultimate goal.
- Dama - control the sense organs. Control the amount of input your senses bring you and control the amount of talking you do - only talk when it is absolutely necessary and shut down any unnecessary sources of input. This will help preserve your energy.
- Uparati - self-withdrawal from the external world. When one controls the mind and sense organs, automatically our capacity to not be affected by disturbances created by external objects increases.
- Titiksha - To endure and suffer for the cause. The quality of forbearance or endurance.
- Sraddha - To have faith that you will find the answers to your questions even though you might not have all the data. Sraddha drives sincere effort even though the path or the answers are not immediately clear.
- Samadhana - Tranquility. When you are focused on a the vision of where you want to go, you are not easily affected by ups and downs, especially downs.
The above six qualities - to have a vision, to have faith in the vision, to endure for the cause and to do so by controlling the mind and the sense organs are essential for any success whether secular or spiritual.
References:
Talks on Sankara's Vivekachoodamani - Swami Chinmayananda pp 36-42, Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, Mumbai, India (2000).
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