By: Michael Frank
Source: The Daily Guardian https://epaper.thedailyguardian.com/view/2414/the-daily-guardian-chandigarh/15
Dated: May 10th, 2025

Virtue has a bad reputation. People treat it like a checklist for being “good” or a bland alternative to real fun. But what if virtue is not a rulebook at all? What if it is a hidden design—something real, flowing beneath the noise?

Think of a river. When it flows freely, it nourishes. Block it, and you get stagnation, disease, flood. Virtue works the same way. It is not forced goodness — It is our natural current, once the blockages are cleared.

The challenge? Distractions scream. Cravings seduce. Virtue whispers. It does not chase or beg to be seen. It just is. Unless we learn to feel it, we might miss it entirely.

This is not about morality. It is about recognition. Each of the seven essential virtues—Peace, Joy, Love, Bliss, Purity, Power, Truth—is not something we build from scratch. It is something we uncover. Something already alive in us, waiting beneath the clutter.

And it begins with Peace—the stillness that moves everything. Not passivity, but presence. When fear quiets, peace speaks—not with volume, but with gravity. Like the calm of a deep pool, it holds everything without struggle. Real peace does not pause life—it lets it flow.

From this stillness, Joy—the lightness that lifts everything—rises like sunlight on the water’s surface. Joy does not arrive because we have earned it. It bubbles up when we stop trying so hard to hold everything together. Joy reminds us that lightness is not frivolity—it is freedom.

As joy opens us, we feel Love—the force that unites. Love is the river’s reach, flowing into every crevice, nourishing everything in its path. Not sentiment, not possession—just the quiet pull toward connection. Love does not restrict—it expands.

Beneath the movement, there is Bliss—the quiet delight of simply being. Deeper than joy, it hums below the surface like the current under calm water. Bliss is not excitement—it is presence. Not something to chase, but something we touch when we no longer resist the moment.

In that depth, we discover Purity—the state of being undistorted. The river does not try to be pure—it is, when nothing clouds it. Purity is clarity, the unfiltered transparency that appears when there is nothing to hide and nothing to force.

And in that clarity, we feel Power—the strength of alignment. Not the power of pushing, but the strength that comes from moving in harmony with what is. Like a river shaping stone over time, true power flows with what is real—it does not resist, but it never yields its direction.

Beneath every current is Truth—the foundation of everything. Like the riverbed shaping the course of flow, truth holds steady, untouched by preference or opinion. It does not shout to be noticed. It simply is—quiet, constant, sure.

These virtues are not traits we earn. They are not trophies. They are what is left when the noise drops out. Peace when fear fades. Joy when striving ends. Purity when distortion clears.

And once you feel them—even once—you never forget. They are not dull. They are alive. Familiar. Flowing.

Virtue is not a burden. It is a rediscovery. A return to the natural course. And just like water, it always finds the path of least resistance—moving not with effort, but with grace.

How do we uncover this flow of virtue deep within us? We spend time in bringing each one to the surface. We take time to really feel the energy of that virtue, use it in our lives, re-affirm it and go deeper and deeper each time, until we ultimately become full of all the virtues. It is through meditation and connection with the source of all virtue – the Supreme Being, that we have the power to delve that deeply into the silence, and rediscover our true nature.

Michael Frank is a teacher of Raja Yoga Meditation
with the Brahma Kumaris and is based in Halifax, Canada.