Let us just think for a moment what a wonderful gift of God this human life is. Out of abundant mercy, the Almighty has provided us with a splendid opportunity to uplift ourselves and gradually evolve towards the higher realms of existence with the goal of realising the Ultimate, thus putting an end to this cycle of rebirths. Aadi Sankaracharya in his Vivekachoodamani says that a human birth is extremely rare to obtain for all beings ( `jantoonaam narajanma durlabham' ) . Endowed with discriminating faculty, a man can strive for redemption by working out his karma. A plethora of scriptures is available to help us in this great task besides the lives, teachings and works of several sages and savants who were born in this world to guide humanity. The significance of this life should be well understood by all to make use of this golden opportunity in the proper way. This life is not to be frittered away in worthless and fleeting worldly pursuits which bring only sorrow and misery in their wake. We should clearly understand that our sojourn in this world is short and we should make the most of our existence. There is a sense of urgency in this endeavour as we do not know when our life will be snatched away. In other words, we should strive to lead a virtuous life.

Today man is possessed of selfishness, greed, and desires and he wants to establish his superiority over others. Lord Krishna states in the Gita that desire, anger and greed are the gateways to Hell that cause the ruin of the soul and hence one should avoid all these.

Trividham narakasyedam dvaaram naashanamaatmana:
Kaama: krodhastathaa lobhastasmaadetattrayam tyajet
(Bhagavadgita 16-21)

In the context of living a near perfect life, our scriptures have dealt extensively with the following supreme virtues or desirable personal qualities which everyone should try to cultivate : humility, truthfulness , compassion, patience, detachment, positive thinking, contentment, universal love, cleanliness both internal and external and freedom from jealousy. Of course, it is a tall order to ask anyone to cultivate all these qualities ; the fact is that we should try our best to cultivate as many of these as we can . The Gita says that one should try to elevate oneself by one's own efforts and one should not demean oneself (uddharedaatmanaatmaanam naatmaanamavasaadayet ), for one's own self is his relation as well as his enemy depending on the nature and direction of one's efforts.

Humility: This is the most important of all traits but is very difficult to cultivate. Real education shines in humility. Gitacharya refers to the twin traits of education and humility as vidyaavinayasampanne . The feeling of "I" and "Mine" should be totally eradicated in order to foster this trait. Great men and noble souls with abundance of knowledge and sadhanas to their credit always conduct themselves in a humble and unassuming way. Kanchi Paramacharya says in a discourse that the purpose of namaskara or prostration before saints and sages is to instil in us this great quality of humility or vinaya. He equates vinaya with wealth. Vinaya is the only route to spiritual wealth. When we prostrate we shed our ego and consider ourselves as the lowest of the low. Vinaya in its wake acquires for us the grace of God.

Truthfulness or satyam: This is a fundamental requirement for one's elevation in spirituality. Truthfulness should relate to thought, word and deed. Brahman itself is described by the Upanishad as Truth, Knowledge and being Endless ( satyam jnaanamanantam brahma ) . Satyam vada, satyaanna pramaditavyam are also Upanishadic statements meaning that one should always speak the truth and not swerve from truth. Lord Krishna in the Gita says that words which do not cause any annoyance to others and are truthful, sweet and doing good , the study of the Vedas and other scriptures, and the practice of chanting Divine names are collectively known as penance of speech.

Anudvegakaram vaakyam satyam priyahitam cha yat
Svaadhyaayaabhyasanam chaiva vangmayam tapa uchyate
(Gita 17-15 )

It is said that satyam or truthfulness has 12 components. Abstaining from uttering falsehood, only saying the truth, completing what has been undertaken, sweetness of speech, serving elders and teachers, strict observance of austerities, belief in God, cultivating association with noble souls, fulfilling parents' wishes, internal and external cleanliness , sense of shame in doing ignoble deeds and not aspiring for more than what is needed are these twelve.

Compassion: Compassion is a divine trait. The forms in which compassion expresses itself are said to be:

Paropakaaro daanam cha sarvadaa smitabhaashanam
Vinayo nyoonataabhaavasveekaara samataa mati:

Helping others, charity, always speaking with a smiling face, humility, feeling very small and powerless, and equality of vision are the hallmarks of compassion.

An attempt should be made to empathise with our less fortunate brethren in the society and to help them to the extent possible. This is not to misconstrue that we are at a higher level and are doing a favour to others . On the other hand we should think that it is our good fortune and God-given opportunity to be of service to others. If there is no recipient, there cannot be a giver. When we help people by gifting something we should feel apologetic that we could give only this much and not more ( hriyaa deyam )* . Vedanta Desika in his Dasavatarastotram describes Vamanavatara using the word vadaanya to describe the frame of mind of Mahabali. Vadanya signifies that the giver should feel he has not given enough and asks the recipient whether he needs more. Compassion also means redressal of the suffering of any of God's creations and giving happiness to them without any self-interest.

Patience: Patience is a noble virtue. Committing acts with impatience is sure to land us in trouble. We should analyse the pros and cons of each situation and then act. It is said intolerance is a crime and tolerance begets bliss. In the Mahabharata the great Vidura says that those who are tolerant may be ridiculed as powerless ; in fact, this is not a defect but a great strength. To be tolerant to the faults of others is not easy to come by . One can win the whole world through tolerance. The Pandavas showed great restraint and patience in the face of several atrocities committed against them by Duryodhana and ultimately they succeeded defeating all the evil elements.

Detachment: The need to cultivate detachment from the pleasures of the world is emphasised by our scriptures. This does not mean that we should altogether renounce the world and live the life of a recluse. One should not be carried away by joys and sorrows but be aware of the pitfalls of worldly life. . We should, in the first instance, try to understand the futility and evanescence of worldly pursuits and chart out a proper course of action. The Vedas and Upanishads speak of the need for contemplating upon and realising the goal of human life by analysing the prospects of achieving higher values. In fact detachment results from discriminatory thinking and is an essential constituent of Sadhana Chatushtaya.

Positive Thinking: We should cultivate the art of adopting a positive approach when we are confronted with a problem. We should fight negative thinking and its detrimental outcome. A positive outlook helps us to look at failures in the proper perspective and arrive at corrective measures without becoming disenchanted and disappointed. In fact, every failure gives us an invaluable insight by teaching us how to avoid pitfalls in our later attempts. We should not lose heart but gradually learn to take failures in their stride. Swami Vivekananda has exhorted people to cherish positive thoughts and has remarked that by dwelling too much upon negativism, the whole country was going to ruin.

Contentment: Contentment in life is a great virtue though of course difficult to practise. Contentment is a state of mind that gives lasting inner peace . Greed wreaks havoc in one's life. Any amount of riches cannot make one happy and there will be craving for more and more. Just as more fuel kindles the fire more and makes it brighter, desires grow stronger with the attainment of fruits. The first verse in the Ishaavaasyopanishat says that the entire universe is the abode of God and man should enjoy what has fallen to his lot in a spirit of detachment and should not aspire for the wealth and possessions of others. Only contentment can give a sense of fulfilment. It is extremely difficult to wean our mind away from the attractions of wealth, material enjoyment, self-esteem and fame. But by constant endeavour, determination and developing dispassion it becomes possible to gradually discipline our mind to avoid the pitfalls of such lures. A contented man is internally poised and will be able to achieve great results. The need to act according to the scriptures which alone are our guides is emphasised by the Lord in the Gita. The Gita says that greed has its origin in Rajoguna ( rajaso lobha eva cha )*. In answer to a question by Arjuna as to what compels a man to commit sin even involuntarily, the Lord replies desire and anger are the enemies of man which bring about his downfall. As desire conceals Real Knowledge and deludes the embodied soul, it should be one's attempt to kill desire.

Universal love: Another great virtue is universal love. It is said that love is God. Selfless love towards all beings, human and subhuman, should be cultivated. In other words one should not think, speak or do anything that will harm any creation of the Lord. Harm done to any one is harm done to the Lord. One should cultivate the habit of considering all as one's own people, treating all as oneself everywhere. As God resides uniformly in every created being, looking upon everyone as the embodied universal Self is tantamount to loving God. By loving God without any inhibition, a spiritual seeker gets a constructive direction to his emotional processes.

Cleanliness: Cleanliness is another important discipline to be cultivated. This includes both mental and physical cleanliness. We should try to keep our mind clean without any ill will and jealousy towards anyone, and without entertaining any bad and impure thoughts . Practising detachment aids and ensures mental cleanliness.

The role of karmayoga is to cleanse the mind of impure thoughts. Mental purification is obtained by performance of Vedic rituals and other ordained duties of one's life with a sense of dedication ; meditation on God practised by such a pure mind will lead to immortality.

Freedom from Jealousy: Jealousy is the root cause of all evils and is the most undesirable quality which makes one always unhappy. One should always avoid getting jealous of others' prosperity, achievements, status and wealth. Jealousy goes against the human trait of universal love. Shurpanakha in the Ramayana , Duryodhana in the Mahabharatha and the chief of gods Indra are notable examples of those who have ruined themselves by their jealousy. If others are better placed than us in any respect, it is due to their well-earned merits and good deeds.