Commentary on the Dhammapada–by Swami Nirmalananda Giri 
The Unworthy and the Worthy
The following relates to any who claim to be spiritual and even teach others,
not just monastics.
"The man who wears the yellow-dyed robe but is not free from stains himself, without self-restraint and integrity, is unworthy of the robe. But the man who has freed himself of stains and has found peace of mind in an upright life, possessing self-restraint and integrity, he is indeed worthy of the dyed robe."
Free from stain
Although the bhikkhu (monk) may wear cloth that is dyed, his mind should be free from the stains of anything external.
The illumined soul
Whose heart is Brahman's heart
Thinks always: "I am doing nothing."
No matter what he sees,
Hears, touches, smells, eats;
No matter whether he is moving,
Sleeping, breathing, speaking,
Excreting, or grasping something with his hand,
Or opening his eyes,
Or closing his eyes:
This he knows always:
"I am not seeing, I am not hearing:
It is the senses that see and hear
And touch the things of the senses."...
The lotus leaf rests unwetted on water:
He rests on action, untouched by action.
There are two ways to be in the stainless condition: to always keep our consciousness
immersed in God through japa and meditation, and to be incapable of being stained
by any thing. This latter is the state of the liberated being, but those of
us struggling toward liberation can manage the former if we really try. Of course
we also have to work at ridding ourselves of the stains (samskaras)
accumulated in the past. And always we must remain aware that, however pure
we may make ourselves, we are "stainable" until fully liberated.
Self-restrained
Unworthy is he that is "without self-restraint." Animals, infants, children, and unworthy men and women are instinctual rather than rational. However intelligent they may be, and capable in other areas of life, they do not restrain themselves–usually because they do not wish to. Others, approaching worthiness, would like to restrain the instinctual impulses that lead them back into pre-human patterns of behavior, but do not know how. For a while they struggle against the forces of their lower nature and then fail, falling into despair, denial, or hypocrisy. These unhappy souls are especially victimized by two vicious kinds of people: 1) the libertines who not only assure them that "repression" is negative and harmful, and urge them to indulge their chaotic instincts and even expand and elaborate on them, and 2) the "righteous" who attempt to show them how "bad" they are and how "displeasing to God" are their impulses and actions, instilling fear and self-disgust in them, but offering no real practical solution to their dilemma and frustration. Both of these types are degraders and destroyers of their victims. It is rare indeed to encounter a third type: those who, like Buddha, can not only reveal the cause of their problems, but can also show the means to eliminate both cause and symptom. These are the yogis–whatever their philosophy or whatever they may call themselves–who can show the practical way out of the labyrinth of confusion, not relying on the whimsy of any force external to the seeker, but on his innate nature which he can awaken and unfold according to an exact and verifiable methodology. And this methodology they offer freely without demand of any sort on any level.
This latter point is essential, because Buddha says the worthy are self-restrained,
not ruled by another. Trading the bondage of our lower nature for the ideas
and demands of an "authority" is merely trading one form of enslavement for
another. Again, only yoga (in a very broad sense) enables us to awake, arise,
and free ourselves.
One thing our reluctant egos like to do is torment us with ideals so high that they cannot be attained. "You should not need to...Only once should be sufficient...If it was real...Well, if it was...If you were..." etc., etc., etc. Buddha, however, is speaking to people who are not perfect and who should accept that and work onward. The ego likes to condemn us for even needing discipline or restraint ("What kind of a person...?"), but that is a ploy to maintain its hold over us.
By telling us that self-restraint is needed, Buddha is acknowledging that we need restraint. He does not think he is speaking to bodiless beings of perfect knowledge. He does not condemn us for needing his teaching, and neither should we. It is easy to think a worthy person is one who cannot be touched by the impulses or desires of lower nature, but Buddha sees it differently. He who masters himself must have something to master. He who is purified must have once been impure. Krishna tells us:
Desire flows into the mind of the seer
But he is never disturbed.
The seer knows peace:
The man who stirs up his own lusts
Can never know peace.
There we have it. Even the sage may experience the impulse of negativity, but he is unmoved by it. So being tempted or "hard pressed" by evil or folly is no fault in itself. Yes, we shall grow beyond these impulses in time, but until then we can remain untouched. Regarding this, Swami Yukteswar Giri, the guru of Paramhansa Yogananda, wrote a song in which he says: "Desire, my great enemy, with his soldiers surrounding me, is giving me lots of trouble.... That enemy I will defeat, remaining in the castle of peace." Here, again, the simile of the lotus leaf unwetted, afloat on the water, is apt.
Integrity
Integrity is the third necessary trait of the worthy. In an era where the drive for "getting ahead" and for material gain and personal power are so prevalent–even obsessive–the idea of integrity as more important than any of them is not only shunted aside it is mocked and despised. I cannot think how long it has been since I even heard the world "self-respect" come up in a conversation, book, or lecture. Egotism and arrogance are tacitly considered virtues, whereas self-effacement and humility are looked upon as marks of either stupidity or Oriental craftiness. Frankly, although I do not hesitate to write on metaphysical subjects of cosmic significance or of mystical and esoteric arcana, I find myself stymied when confronted with a need to expound the simple virtue of integrity. I just do not know where to begin in addressing those who, like myself, live in a society that has been stripped of nearly all virtue in every aspect of public and personal life. Those once-cited historical models of virtue are busily being "debunked" and besmirched by the fabrications of revisionist "historians" who are frantic to prove that virtue is not only non-existent but impossible except in the minds of fools who live in fantasy. The "real world" they present to us is not only devoid of Divinity, it is also devoid of genuine humanity. Is there anything more inhuman than contemporary "Humanism"?
Some translators use "truthfulness" or "truth" rather than integrity to underline the ideal of living true to our true nature. But rather than expound at great length on what integrity means, I will tell you how to get it: turn within and evoke it from your own essential being. It will put you out of step with much of "life" but that is the idea, is it not? At least it is Buddha's idea–and, I hope, it is yours.
Peace of mind
According to Buddha, those who possess purity, self-restraint, and integrity
will find "peace of mind in a upright life." There is no other way for individuals,
associations, nations, and the world. And peace does exist only in the mind,
not in the uneasy cease-fires or political apathy that the world means by "peace."
Those who speak or act for world peace do good. But those who become peaceful
do best. For peace, like unrest, is contagious, and is an inward state. The
meditator does more for peace and "world order" than any other. If we look at
the great peacemakers and world teachers we will see that every one of them
without exception was firmly rooted in the consciousness of Spirit. This is
why Gandhi was called Mahatma: Great Soul. He was manifesting his spirit through
his life. And we can do the same. I lived for some time with Sri Kaka Sahib
Kalellkar, who was Gandhi's personal secretary and his personal attendant in
jail. He told me that Gandhi spent his nights in meditation so intense that
each morning he could see the change that had been produced in him by his inward
turning. Meditation was the secret of Gandhi's personal holiness and power for
social transformation. Setting the inner life right, he perfected the outer
life, seeing God in all–even in his murderer. Longfellow was right: "Lives of
great men all remind us we may make our lives sublime, and in passing leave
behind us footprints on the sands of time." If we follow in the footsteps of
Buddha and Gandhi we shall do the same.
1) Dhammapada 9 and 10. Buddha is making a play on words.
The word for robe and stain (of passion) are very similar, the only difference
being in the pronunciation of a single vowel. [Go back]
2) Bhagavad Gita 5:8-10 [Go back]
3) Samskaras: Impressions in the mind produced by previous actions or experiences; prenatal tendencies. [Go back]
4) Bhagavad Gita 2:70 [Go back]
