Guhyavarta Tu Kasyapi Prakashya Naiva Kutrachit. Yagnavalkya explains, ‘One should not reveal any information that should be kept quiet or not worthy of being disclosed. Such information should not be spoken or revealed in public.’
Narad has glorified such quality by saying to the Rishis Nar-Narayana: ‘I have never revealed any information worthy to be kept quiet or secretive.’ This directly attacks the repulsive nature of people to gossip.
Some people’s tendency to gossip can often bring about information that really should not be revealed in that way. Often such talk may hurt people or indeed be simply false. Nobody likes to be talked about in public and so we should all use a bit more care when speaking in public.
The second directive in this Shloka looks at giving respect to those who are worthy of respect. Shatanand explains the hierarchy in living beings and the fact that those who are higher in status should always be given due respect.
Kapil Muni has explained this hierarchy in nature of living beings (starting at the lowest level):
1. Those inanimate lifeless objects such as dried grass.
2. Animate objects with vital breath such as green grass.
3. Those with knowledge and sense of touch such as a tree.
4. Those with a sense of taste such as fish.
5. Those with a sense of smell such as wasps.
6. Those that understand sound such as snakes.
7. Those that understand and find distinction through their sense of sight such as birds.
8. Those with a proper set of teeth (upper and lower teeth).
9. Those with many legs.
10. Those with four legs.
11. Those with two legs.
12. A member of the four castes.
13. A Brahmin.
14. Those learned in the Vedas.
15. Those with political or economic status.
16. Those that remove doubt and instil faith.
17. Those that act in accordance to Dharma.
18. Those that renounce desire for worldly objects.
19. Those that devote their mind, wealth and resources to God.
20. Those with full devotion to God, who are always in his service.
21. Those that see God in everything, in all forms in nature and so meditate upon God in this way.
Thus, we can realise the development of nature’s entities as they progress one-by-one. God is in every form mentioned above. Those that recognise this and praise all - plants and creatures great and small, who duly practice the great Dharma of Ahimsa for this reason and who in every act are in the service of God and God’s creatures, are considered to be of the highest status in nature. They are fully developed and the best amongst living beings.