Interpretation

Mental tapas: manah-prasada (serenity of mind — a naturally peaceful, undisturbed inner atmosphere), saumyatva (gentleness — a quality of softness and non-aggression in one's very presence), maunam (silence — inner silence more than external; the silence of the ego-chatter), atma-vinigraha (self-restraint — mastery over one's own reactions and impulses), and bhava-samshuddhi (purity of intention — acting from clean, unmixed, uncontaminated motives). Mental austerity is the hardest and most essential: without it, all other practices remain superficial. A clean, still, clear, gentle, pure mind is the flower of all spiritual effort.