Conclusion:
By now, it transpires that the above twenty-six qualities are all divine attributes of God and they constitute man’s spiritual wealth. These ‘Soul Qualities’ from Bhagvad-Gita make man God-like. A God-seeker should strive to obtain all of them. The more he manifests these virtues, the more he reflects the true inner image of God in which he is made. He ever holds before his aspirations the criteria of the Supreme Perfection. Thus, to evoke the qualities of 'goodness' particularly (Satwa-guna) the sadhak has to establish himself in the mode/status of a qualified Brahmin (good and intellectual man) on the basis of truthfulness, forgiveness, equality, tolerance, purity, knowledge (specific and general) and faith in the transcendental service of Godhead. A true sadhak is very compassionate by nature. He is not cold or distant in his relationships; in fact he is kind and considerate in his dealings with others. In the Bhagavad-gita, Krsna describes Himself as suhrdam sarva-bhutanam, "the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities." Thus, a sadhak is deeply concerned that every living being is awakened to his eternal relationship with Him. He is the true friend of everyone: A devotee always appreciates the activities of other devotees. A pure devotee never thinks of himself as great; he always thinks that other devotees are greater than him. There is the natural humility in a sadhak devotee. He/she is not materially motivated for name, fame or any temporary acquisition. He sincerely appreciates the qualities of others, thinking himself to be comparatively unfit and unqualified. Such humility is not a matter of personal preference or choice, limited to a few devotees here and there. Rather, it is a part of the surrendering process and is a direct result of spiritual advancement. The qualities of arrogance, pride, anger, conceit, harshness, etc., are described as those of the demonic nature, not conducive to liberation but to bondage. The Spiritual Seekers are purified of these lower qualities by the process of devotional service (nasayamy atma-bhavastha). Therefore, genuinely advanced devotees will automatically exhibit all the good characteristics of the demigods (Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.18.12). The saintly qualities of a devotee are proportionate to his spiritual advancement. A progressive devotee sadhak not only develops humility, but he gradually attains all 26 qualities of a spiritual seeker as described by the Lord .These qualities are self-manifesting and cannot be acquired through external means.
A true sadhak (Spiritual Seeker) does not make anyone his enemy. He is truthful, magnanimous, mild and merciful. He is always clean and don’t hanker for possessions and has no material desires. He is steady and controls his senses. He does not desire any respect for himself. Here we have a perfect description of the completely surrendered devotee. With such definitive information and criteria available, there is no room for speculating as to who is truly surrendered, and who is not. It's not that he says one thing and does another. Such a self-realized acarya is,therefore, worth worship by all conditioned souls, since he has achieved qualitative oneness with the Supreme. The heart of a devotee is the abode of the Lord (sadhunam hrdayam tv aham). The essence of his existence is the Lord. Therefore, a devotee sees everything in relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He has no enemies; politics and diplomacy have no place in the person of such a devotee. So when truly advanced devotees sadhaks interact with one another, the atmosphere is surcharged with spiritual bliss. The spiritual fragrance of an advanced devotee sadhak is so attractive that by his very existence with such qualities, he/she is a preacher par excellence. In fact, the whole world can be energised and united by the presence of one pure devotee of the Lord endowed with such spiritual values.
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*Mr. V. P. Bhatia, MBA (HRM) , Life Member of the NIPM (National Institute of Personnel Management), Kalkata, who retired as Assistant Director from the MHA, GOI, is doing research on Ethical Values from Indian scriptures, E-mailID: vpbhatia39@yahoo.com, and blogspot : http://www.vedicethicsvalues.blogspot.com/
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REFERENCES:
Bhagvad-Gita As It Is::His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada: The Bhakti Vedanta Book Trust, Mumbai (1986)
The 26 Qualities Of A Devotee: BY PADMAPANI DAS
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