Ārjava (
Sanskrit: आर्जव) literally means sincerity, straightness, and non-hypocrisy.[1] It is one of the ten yamas in ancient Hindu and Jaina texts.[2]
Definition
Ārjav means straightness, sincerity, and harmony in one’s thought, words, and actions towards oneself and towards others.[1]Kane translates arjava as straightforwardness.[3] It is described in ancient Indian texts as “self-restraint from hypocrisy", and "the absence of hypocrisy”. It is included as one of several virtuous restraints in an individual's path to spirituality. The Maharashtrian poet Vāmana in Avigita, at xvi.1, posits arjava is a form of honesty and purity in a person, and an essential virtue so that one may treat everyone equally, whether that other is one’s child, wife, relative, friend, a stranger, or someone hostile or oneself without any discrimination.[1]
The ethical concept of arjava is synonymous with Adambha (अदम्भ, composite word from अ+दम्भ). Adambha also means non-deceitful, straightforwardness, and sincerity.[4] It is listed as a virtue in the Indian Epics.[5]
Literature
Arjava is one of the ten yamas listed by
Śāṇḍilya Upanishad,[2] as well as by Svātmārāma.[6][7] The other nine are:
In some texts, such as by
Adi Sankara, this virtue is called as bhavasamsuddhi, and explained as purity of motive and freedom of mind from hypocrisy, both in one’s social conduct and within oneself where one’s thoughts, words, and actions resonate.[1] It is a virtue that empowers one to act and live without anxiety, anger, prejudice, inner conflict, or confusion. It is also discussed in
Bhagwad Gita in verse 17.16.[9]
The Mahābhārata, in book 12, chapter 60, lists adambha (non-hypocrisy) as a virtue along with akrodha (non-anger), kshama (forgiveness), and others.[5] In chapter 278, the epic explains how and why hypocrisy arises, suggesting that it derives from the sin of covetousness, greed, and attachment to superficial possessions.[10]
Patanjali's treatise on Yoga lists only five yamas, which includes non-covetousness and non-possessiveness (asteya and aparigraha respectively), but does not include arjava.[11]
See also
Ahiṃsā – Ancient Indian principle of nonviolencePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Akrodha – Important virtue in Indian philosophy and Hindu ethics
Asteya – Non-stealing, a virtue in Indian religionsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Brahmacharya – Motivated abstinence from worldly pleasures
Dāna – Concept of charity in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism
"Arjava". Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Archived from
the original on 26 December 2014.
^
ab"Śāṇdilya-Upanishad of Atharvaṇaveḍa". Thirty Minor Upanishads. Translated by Aiyar, K. Narayanasvami. Kessinger Publishing. 1914. pp. 173–176.
ISBN978-1164026419.
^Kane, Pandurang Vaman (1974). "History of Dharmaśāstra". Ancient and Mediæval Religious and Civil Law in India. 2 (1): 5.
OCLC134943.
^"Adambha". Sanskrit English Dictionary. Archived from
the original on 27 December 2014.
^
abProudfoot, Ian (1987). Ahiṃsā and a Mahābhārata Story. Faculty of Asian Studies, Australian National University. p. 185.
ISBN978-0-7315-0143-4.
^Svātmārāma; Pancham Sinh (1997).
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika (5 ed.). Forgotten Books. p. 14.
ISBN9781605066370. अथ यम-नियमाः / अहिंसा सत्यमस्तेयं बरह्यछर्यम कश्हमा धृतिः / दयार्जवं मिताहारः शौछम छैव यमा दश
^
abSovatsky, Stuart (1 January 1998). Words from the Soul: Time East/West Spirituality and Psychotherapeutic Narrative. State University of New York Press. p. 21.
ISBN978-0-7914-3949-4.
^The Bhagavad Gita. Translated by Chapple, Christopher Key. State University of New York Press. 2009. p. 649.
ISBN978-1-4384-2842-0.