Sage Gautama has underlined 8 important qualities that one should possess. They are are follows:
- Soucham - Cleanliness of body.
- Shanthi (Kshama) - This means one should have patience and forebearance. In Tamil this translates to Sakipputhanmai and Porumai.
- Anasuya - Non-jealousness, meaning one should not be jealous.
- Akaarpanyam - Kaarpanyam means miserliness. Akaarpanyam means the opposite, that is, one should not be a miser. Most importantly, one should not be miserly with oneself (as said by Krishna in Bhagavad Gita). Many people think lowly of oneself and have very low self-esteem. Akaarpanyam especially applies to these people.
- Dhaya - Being Humane and having Compassion.
- Anaayaasam - One should do things without complaining. In fact, one should never crib or complain about anything.
- Mangalam - Always wishing well for others. Always wanting good things to happen in the world.
- Detachment - In Tamil it is called Pattrinmai. Remaining detached so that we don't develop pride and arrogance.
It is common knowledge that Hinduism has laid down lots of Samskaras (or rituals) during one's life. Sage Gautama tells that the objective of doing all the Samskaras is to gain the above mentioned 8 qualities. Good karma always fetches good gunas (qualities)!
