The Signs of Discrimination

1. In the company of a great sage or spiritual leader (mahanta), there is ongoing discourse on various subjects, ongoing reflection on many opinions, and ongoing consideration of various political philosophies in the minds of those present.
2. There, the best qualities in the world are discussed and explained, and not a single moment is wasted in empty talk.
3. In such places there is discussion about various doubts, the resolution to the questions about what is true and what is false, and many discussions about statements that are made in various scriptures.
4. The path of devotion is properly explained, the meaning of worship becomes clearly understood, and the path of Knowledge is made clear.
5. The spiritual leader takes great delight in desirelessness and has an attitude of disinterestedness in the world. Although he is involved in many activities, he is not attached to them.
6. He can quote passages from many books that he knows by heart. His answers are methodical and relevant to the questions, and his precise speech pacifies the hearts and minds of the listeners.
7. He is loved by many people and his critics can not sidetrack him. There is always a crowd around him, but his inner state cannot be fathomed by anyone.
8. It is natural for him to travel to many places to propagate the path of worship. Therefore he becomes well known to all of the people in the world.
9. He is well known, yet he cannot be found at any one location. Nobody knows what he does, but he is visited by people from many different countries that come and go.
10. He understands the dispositions and minds of many people, and instills thoughtfulness and discrimination within them. With great skill and tact in his explanations, he clears away the doubts from people's minds.
11. Nobody knows how many people follow him. It cannot be estimated how large his group is, or how many people he has put on the path of listening and reflecting.
12. By using relevant examples from prose and poetry he gives many explanations that pleases the minds of the people gathered around him.
13. With such a regular routine of attentive discrimination is always going on around him, how can anyone who comes to him fall into a lack of discrimination?
14. Whatever is known by him is gradually and patiently taught to the people. In this way, all of the people who come to him are made wiser.
15. He teaches others repeatedly in many ways, clearing away the difficulties and doubts of the desireless person.
16. Whatever is possible to be done by himself, he does, and what he cannot do, he gets done through other people. All the while, he never neglects his practice of praising God.
17. By his example, he does what needs to be done. Through his thoughtfulness and investigation, he gets others to think and investigate. By holding to the path of devotion, he inspires others to follow the path of devotion.
18. If he becomes tired of the same old group of people, he moves on and finds a new place. He does not become lazy with respect to doing whatever he can for others.
19. If the spiritual studies and devotional practices are given up by the people, then the spiritual leader will surely lose his status. In such a situation, he should find new people to teach the path of devotion to without delay.
20. He should not get caught up in worldly activities, while at the same time he should not become tired of starting new endeavors. Laziness is of no use in any situation.
21. Sometimes, even when many efforts are made, an endeavor gets spoiled and is a failure, and an ignorant person just helplessly looks on. How can a lazy and dull-minded fool know what needs to be done?
22. To be a leader requires effort and being able to deal with many situations. How can one who is weak in body and mind do such work? Therefore, a person who is strong must be taught in various ways.
23. The leader remains at a place as long as the activities can be managed. When the activity becomes unmanageable, he happily moves on to some other place.
24. One who is free of attachment to worldly activities becomes stronger in desirelessness. He leisurely goes wherever the conditions are favorable.
25. If one seeks greatness, he must be able to set aside comforts. If one only wants comforts, he will not become great. Nothing can be achieved without doing something or without putting in some effort.
26. However much needs to be done, the appropriate amount of work needs to take place. However, the weak and incapable simply make excuses.
27. If the enthusiasm is given up in the beginning, or one loses confidence while the work is going on, how can one achieve any success in worldly life?
28. Worldly life is basically a rotten and destructible thing. However, by utilizing the power of discrimination, it becomes a decent and worthwhile thing, and it gradually loses its power to affect the mind.
29. Such is the nature of worldly life. The mind can understand this through proper observation. One should never give up the perseverance to understand correctly.
30. If perseverance is given up, one suffers over everything. Only the wise person understands the many various opinions and ways of wisdom.