Bhagavad Gita 13.7
अमानित्वमदम्भित्वमहिंसा क्षान्तिरार्जवम्। आचार्योपासनं शौचं स्थैर्यमात्मविनिग्रहः॥
amānitvam adambhitvam ahiṁsā kṣāntir ārjavam ācāryopāsanaṁ śaucaṁ sthairyam ātma-vinigrahaḥ
Translation
Humility, absence of pretense, non-injury, patience, uprightness, service of the teacher, cleanliness, steadiness, self-restraint.
Reflection
Try one of these nine qualities today. Pick the one you most resist.
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Thirteen
Now Krishna pivots. After the inventory of the field, a long catalogue of qualities. The catalogue will run five verses. He will call all of it jnana, knowledge. The choice is striking. Knowledge here is not a content, not a doctrine to memorize, but a way of carrying oneself. Humility comes first because pride blocks every other quality from arriving. Then no pretense, no performance of holiness. Non-injury as the baseline ethical posture. Patience as the temperature of the practitioner. Uprightness, the straight line between inner and outer. Service of the teacher anchors the rest. Cleanliness inside and out. Steadiness of resolve. Self-restraint. These are not bonus virtues for advanced students. They are what knowledge actually looks like.