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अर्जुन उवाच -
स्थितप्रज्ञस्य का भाषा समाधिस्थस्य केशव ।
स्थितधीः किं प्रभाषेत किमासीत ब्रजेत किम् ॥ ५४ ॥
Arjuna said: What, Oh
Keshava! is the description of the man of steady wisdom, merged in
Samadhi? How does the man of steady
wisdom speak, sit and walk?
(II - 54)
The
questions asked by Arjuna here are significant.
These depict the change blossoming in his mind. He has raised many questions before too. But, those questions were not indicative of
an urge to know. Those questions were
more out of an urge to seek and gain approval of Shri Krishna for his own
arguements rather than an urge to know from Him. Those were efforts to justify own ideas. Now, he seems to be out of the urgency to
convince Shri Krishna and reflect his obvious sincerity to know. “Show me, Oh Krishna, the man described by
you. I want to know him”, asks
Arjuna. It shows that the gates to his
thought world have opened now.
Arjuna’s
questions are interpreted in two ways by scholars. “How will one established in Samadhi be? How does he talk and behave in his worldly
interactions when he comes out of Samadhi state?” Many scholars explain Arjuna’s question this
way. Acharya Shri Vinoba Bhave has a
different explanation. The word Samadhi
is taken by others to be ‘Dhyana Samadhi’ in Patanjali Sutra. The one immersed in Dhyana remains in that
state for a few minutes, hours or even days and then comes out of it to a
normal state. Patanjali does not mention
this state as ultimate. According to
him, ‘Pragnya’ is the step next to Samadhi and Yog is attained if Pragnya is
firm and stable. The ‘Samadhi’ of a
Stthitha pragnaya is Gnyana Samadhi and not the result of Dhyana. There are no variations in this state. It is continuously stable and
changeless. It is the result of an
equipoised buddhi. Shri Krishna had said
in the previous shlokam that Yog is attained if the buddhi is in equilibrium. Patanjali also mentions Yog as the final
destiny. Pragnya is a medium for
that. Samadhi is a step previous to
Pragnya. If Samadhi state is normal,
continuous and unwavering and is attained without need for dhyana, it is called
Pragnya by Patanjali.
There
are two traits of a ‘Stthitha Pragnya’.
It is unwavering, devoid of any doubt, fear and hesitation. It is straight and simple. You may say both are same. If the wheels of a vehicle are not straight,
they wobble and cause erratic vibrations on the vehicle and passengers
inside. On the other hand, if the road
is plain and straight, and the wheels are perfectly straight, you can travel at
high speeds holding a cup full of tea.
Such an equipoised buddhi has a tremendous potential. It can cause revolutionary impact on the
world.
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श्री भगवानुवाच -
प्रजहाति यदा कामान्सर्वान्पार्थ मनोगतान् ।
आत्मन्येवात्मना तुष्टः स्थितप्रज्ञस्तदोच्यते ॥ ५५ ॥
Shri Bhagawan said:
Oh Parttha! When a man completely
casts away all the desires of the mind, satisfied in the Self alone by the
Self, then is he said to one of steady wisdom.
(II - 55)
Shri
Krishna mentions two conditions for being called stthitha pragnya. ‘Prajahaati yadaa kaamaan’ and ‘Aatmanyeva
Aatmanaa tushttha’. One is positive (Be
totally contented and at peace with self.) and the other negative (Totally
eradicate desires). Stthitha pragnya is
total only when both these conditions are met.
{Similar is the case with many such concepts. For instance, Ahimsa or non-violence is total
only when both exist, absence of violence over other lives and presence of love
for them.}
Elimination
of all desires from the mind is equivalent to eradication of mind itself (Mano-nasham). Manas has to be a subordinate to buddhi. Buddhi should take decisions and manas should
abide. It is good if everyone sticks to
own duty and does not cross limits. The
tongue’s duty is to register the taste and help in chewing and swallowing. The duty of manas is to relish the
taste. Decision on what and how much to
be eaten is better left to the buddhi.
There
are four possible ways to eliminate desires.
1. Expansion of desire. A selfish desire is expanded to family or
social dimension. Desire to educate one’s
son is personal. Starting a school in the
village is social. This is expansion of
a desire. Many of the schools for
mentally challanged children have been started in this way. This is the path of Karma Yog. 2.
Analyse all the desires in manas, select of one of those and chase it
with full vigour. The other desires will
evaporate effortlessly. A sudent will be
successful in driving out all other flimsy and unworthy desires, if he
intensely pursues his one desire of coming out with his best in education. This is the path of Dhyana Yog. 3.
Transformation of gross desires into subtler and nobler ones. For instance, Desire to beautify the body
with dresses, ornaments and other make-up items can be transformed into a
desire to decorate the intellect with knowledge in newer fields or a desire to
beautify the mind with higher and sweeter qualities. This is the path of Gnyana Yog. 4.
Instead of classifying the desires as selfish, personal, social, gross
or subtle one, better classify those as ignoble and noble ones and choose and
pursue the nobler ones. This is the path
of Bhakti Yog.
Stthaitha
pragnya is contented and happy with self.
His inner world is peaceful unaffected by the outer world. A basic question is whether the outer world
is a source of pleasure, happiness and joy.
Does a sweet dish give pleasure?
Does cinema offer happiness? Do
friends cause contentment? No. Our experience suggests otherwise. If we are not joyous inside, none of these
outer objects can supply joy and happiness.
And if the interior is filled to the brim with joy and contentment,
presence or absence of any outer object is ineffective in causing grief. In fact, these do not matter at all. Desires ignite the mind and cause hurricanes
inside, thereby multiplying restlessness.
One who has realized this can be at peace and totally contented in
self. The desires in him also vanish
easily.
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दुःखेष्वनुद्विग्नमनाः सुखेषु विगतस्पृहः ।
वीतरागभयक्रोधः स्थितधीर्मुनिरुच्यते ॥ ५६ ॥
He whose mind is not shaken by adversity,
who does not hanker after happiness, who has become free from affection, fear
and wrath, is indeed the Muni of steady wisdom.
(II - 56)
Pleasure
and pain are inseparable siamese twins.
If one appears, the other has to follow.
Yes. One is visible and the other
is invisible at the moment. Pain
disturbs and upsets us. But, pleasure
has equal or may be, more power to disturb.
Most of us seek and welcome pleasure and do not want pain. So, moments of pain are borne patiently with
the fond hope that it will go away soon.
There have been so many who have come out of worst and long painful
moments. Moments of pleasure, especially
sudden and unanticipated ones, may be dangerous. A patient undergoing treatment in a hospital
won a bounty of ten millions in a lottery.
In doctor’s opinion, he had a weak heart and sudden shocks may cause
damage. The doctor took up the
responsibility of conveying the news of prize money. “Do you know?
You got a prize of five lakhs in a lottery.” He started with a low amount and observed the
eyes for patient’s reaction. The doctor
probably thought of gradually increasing the amount, if the patient received
the news well. “Oh! If it was true, I’ll
give you half the amount”, said the patient and the doctor swooned on hearing
this.
Pain
wants to be welcomed, but, there is hardly anyone who welcomes pain. Hence, it accompanies pleasure. Like the fish, we are so overwhelmed
receiving the pleasure that the accompanying pain is invisible to us. The bait for catching fish is a worm fixed to
a sharp hook. The fish is lured by the
worm and is trapped by the hook. It
comes only for the worm and not for the hook.
In its eagerness to grab the food, the hook becomes invisible. It resents on being trapped. One who seeks pleasure seeks nothing but
worry and grief. The one unattached and
unconcerned with pleasure is not disturbed by pain too.
Attachment
(Raga), fear (Bhaya) and anger (Krodha) are the effects of desire. Attachment is born as a result of repeated
union of senses and the objects. There
are many forms of attachment. Vasana is the
accumulation of attachments buried deep inside and is carried forward to
future, even the next births. Kama is
the attachment with an object at the present moment. Hope that this will materialize is also a
form of attachment. The urge to get the
same again and again is Lobha or avarice.
Fear and Anger are the resultant emotions against the factors resisting
fulfilment of a desire and factors curtailing the pleasure of a fulfilled
desire. It is fear, if the forces are
deemed as stronger and anger, when the forces are percieved to be weaker. Anger and fear are one and the same, but in
different costumes. All these three are
absent in a Stthitha Pragnya.
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यः सर्वत्रानभिस्नेहस्तत्तत्प्राप्य शुभाशुभम् ।
नाभिनन्दति न द्वेष्टि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥ ५७ ॥
He who is everywhere unattached, not
pleased at receiving good, nor vexed at evil, his wisdom is fixed.
(II - 57)
It
is but natural that a favourable experience soothes the mind. Shri Krishna asks us not to allow it to stick
and stay fixed in our mind. Are you
pleased at your marriage or any such occassion?
OK. But, why indulge excited
extravagance and pomp and show?
Similarly, when the experience is adverse or unfavourable, do not allow
the bitter taste to linger on. Never
allow it to grow in such a huge magnitude that discretion is clogged.
The
mind is in a frenzied excitement at a favourable and likeable experience. This excitement is intoxicating. Euphoria is the right word for this
state. Intoxication staggers intellect
and judgement. We lose an opportunity to
analyse the experience and learn and improve from it. This is a regular scene in our nation,
whenever the cricket team wins. The
exact reverse happens on adverse situations.
The body is too exhausted to work.
The mind shrinks and is engulfed by grief. The discretionary faculty is dampened by this
darkness due to exhaustion and sorrow.
Depression is the term used for such a state. Again, an opportunity to analyze the
experience and learn and improve from it, is lost. (This also an oft repeated scene in our
Nation whenever the cricket team loses.)
Any
and every experience should be a learning experience. An experience should be a step upwards in our
elevation. It ceases to be such, when we
qualify the experience as sweet, bitter, favourable or unfavourable. It should be just an experience.
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यदा संहरते चायं कूर्मोsङ्गानीव सर्वशः ।
इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥ ५८ ॥
विषया विनिवर्तन्ते निराहारस्य देहिनः ।
रसवर्जं रसोsप्यस्य परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते ॥ ५९ ॥
Also when, like the tortoise drawing in its limbs, he can
completely withdraw the senses from their objects, then his wisdom becomes
steady.
Objects fall away from the abstinent man, leaving the
longing behind. But, his longing also
ceases, who sees the Supreme.
(II – 58, 59)
The senses loaf in the
outer world and are not of any use for the inner world. The eye can see objects outside, but can not
peep inwards. Senses are of no use in
the thought world. In fact, it is not
proper to say that the senses loiter in the external world. They remain at their allotted place. They open their gates outwards. The mind goes out through these open gates
and roams around chasing objects. The
mind returns carrying the raga or attachment for the various pleasurable
objects. The raga brought in by the mind
disturbs the inner tranquility. Here,
Shri Krishna gives a beautiful analogy of a tortoise. The tortoise withdraws its four legs and its
head into its shell. We have five
sensory organs. “It is better to
withdraw the senses inward like the tortoise”, says Shri Krishna. If the eyes were not there? The deemed beauty of a female form will not
disturb us. Patanjali calls this effort
as Pratyahara; Denial of food to senses or starving the senses is Pratyahara.
Should we, then pluck
out the eyes or plug the ears and nose?
This has been attempted by many sadhus.
Is it an effective effort? Shri
Krishna explains in the next verse.
When the senses are
deprived of their objects, the sensory experience or the union of the senses
with the objects is avoided. But, the
affection for the objects in the mind? It
is very much there. A patient does not
watch TV or munch his favourite food items.
Does it mean, he is detached to these pleasures? No.
Attachment for these survives in him during his illness period. The eyes do not see. It is the mind that sees. The ears do not hear. It is the mind that hears. The eyes and other senses become defunct,
when the mind is filled with intense desire.
(Sant Tulasidas was intensely desirous to meet and be with his
‘beautiful’ wife. Dark night, thunderous
rain and flooded stream could not stop him.
When he had to cross the stream, he held on to a corpse flowing along
the stream, taking it for a log of wood.
His senses of vision and touch had become ‘dead’) Similar is the experience of one immersed and
lost in Divine thoughts. The senses of a
stthitha pragnya become ineffective and attachment inside is absent.
Starving the senses as a
practice, a training to gain desirelessness, is useful. The tongue is starved on upavasa or fasting
days. Conscious and measured feeding
(Mitaahaar) is detachment from taste.
Upavasa on a couple of days in a month is a training to become a
Mitaahaari on the other days and get rid of attachment to taste. Conscious and measured eating is a swabhava
or nature, while upavasa is an act.
Practise of Upavasa is essential to attain that nature. It is no use to fast outwardly and relish a
feast in the mind. Fasting becomes
meaningful, if resorted to with a purpose of becoming a conscious and measured
eater and ridding self of the attachment to taste. It is the same for other efforts like Puja,
Japa, Dhyana, etc. Mind must be present
in each of these acts. At the same time,
discarding these acts with a complaint that the act is merely ritualistic and
mind is unable to focus. The purpose of
these acts has to be repeatedly remembered and effort continued. Success is bound to be there.
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यततो ह्यपि कौन्तेय पुरुषस्य विपश्चितः ।
इन्द्रियाणि प्रमाथीनि हरन्ति प्रसभं मनः ॥ ६० ॥
The turbulent senses, Oh Son of Kunti, do
violently snatch away the mind of even a wise man, striving after perfection.
(II - 60)
Shri
Krishna talks about the stubbornness of the senses. I went on that way yesterday with a
friend. He stopped at a shop and bought
some potato fry. I relished eating
it. Today, I go by the same path on some
important work. My eyes go out and
search for the shop, without my consent.
It is merely a day’s acquaintance.
The tongue wants to continue association with the ‘tasty’ potato
fry. It was only the tongue that tasted
the fry. But, the other senses volunteer
to help the tongue as if to strengthen its desire to relish the taste once
again. The eyes go in search of the shop
and confirm the availability of the object.
The ears take pleasure in listening to the sound of potato chips being
fried in oil. The nose plays its part by
enjoying the smell of potato being fried.
The legs stop its assigned task of reaching a different spot on a
different mission and wait for indications to move towards the shop. The hands reach for shirt pockets to check
available cash. OooH! Each one of these is hijacked by the desire
of one. How is the mind. It is unsteady and and in a quandary. Whether to restrain the senses and continue
with the planned work or to put off the planned work to experience and enjoy
the desire of the tongue. All these
senses join hands to destabilize the intellect and force it to approve their
own plan. If this is the state of affair
for a mere one day old attachment, think of the effect of older and still older
ones carried through so many births.
Yes. The senses are strong and
stubborn and are capable of stumbling a man, even a wise man at times.
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तानि सर्वाणि संयम्य युक्त आसीत मत्परः ।
वशे हि यस्येन्द्रियाणि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥ ६१ ॥
The steadfast, having controlled them all, sits focussed on
Me as the Supreme. His wisdom is steady,
whose senses are in control.
(II - 61)
“Overpower the senses,
focus the mind on Me and totally rely on (leave everything to Me)” says Shri
Krishna. A karmayogi works unattached
and as a duty. Eashwara Bhakthi or devotion
to God is inevitable for him too. Most
of us would like to have God as our errand-boy.
He must listen to and approve our proposals. He must grant our demands. He must attend to our calls. Look at the prayers we offer to Him. “Oh God! I must win first place in the
comprtition”. (If all the participants were
to place the same demand, what a pitiable position he will be in!). “Oh God! please restore the object I
lost”. (How beautiful it would be if the
prayer was, “It is your wish whether I get it back or not. Strengthen my mind so that it is not perturbed
in any eventuality”). “My wife is
seriously ill. Please protect her from
jaws of death”. (How rediculous! We did not stipulate the period for which she
must live. Or are we demanding eternal
life for her?). We first decide what
will be beneficial to us and then call Him to facilitate that. Pity Him!
He is entrapped in a Tsunami of such prayers. Yes.
He is ready to be at our beck and call.
He is willing to become a servant of us;
Not the egoistic and arrogant ‘us’;
Not the ‘us’ plunged in sensual pleasures. But, devotee, surrendered devotee among us
for whom, “There is no ‘me’ and ‘mine’.
Only ‘He’ and ‘His’. There is
nothing else other than Him”. He has
come running even for petty chores of such a devotee.
There is a Vedik prayer
in daily ‘Sandhya Vandanam’. “May that
which is good for me, be bestowed on me by You”. There is a story in Upanishad. God appears before a devotee and asks him
seek a boon. The devotee replies, “Oh
God! I am unaware of what is good for
me. You only know that. Give me that you know is good for me”. In Mahabharatha, Duryodhana approached mother
Gandhari and sought her blessings for success in the battle. She blessed him with these words. “May you win, if you are on righteous
path”. What an apt and noble blessing!
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ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते ।
सङ्गात्सञ्जायते कामः कामात्क्रोधोsभिजायते ॥ ६२ ॥
क्रोधात्भवति सम्मोहः सम्मोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः ।
स्मृतिभ्रंशाद् बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति ॥ ६३ ॥
Thinking of objects, attachment to these is formed in a
man. From attachment longing and from
longing grows anger.
From anger comes delusion and from delusion loss of
memory. From loss of memory comes the
ruin of discrimination and he perishes with the ruin of discrimination.
(II – 62, 63)
For pragnya to
stabilize, conquest over senses is essential.
Shri Krishna elaborates on this in the next four verses. Step by step to fall is described in the
first two verses and step by step to rise in the next two.
We come across many, who
fail and fall, despite hectic spiritual pursuits. An in depth study of their lives will show
that they failed because they were trapped in the web of sensual pleasures.
The fall begins with
thoughts on objects. For instance, we
see a posh car or house or an attractive woman.
It was a simple act by the eyes.
If it was as simple as that, it would be just appearance and
disappearance of an object. But, we must
scan our interior, whether any impression has been left over there after this
act. If the act has caused even a minor
ripple of desire within, then, yes, it is not a simple act. This ripple has the potential to grow into
huge Tsunami of desire, warns Shri Krishna.
“I merely admired beauty”. “I do not want. I only was amazed by man’s /God’s
creation”. Many of us will try to brush
off. “She is beautiful.” “It is dazzling”. These are desires in diguised words. These words picturize the state of our own
mind and not the objects. If beauty was
in the object, then it should appear beautiful to all. There are many who are not at all attracted
by an object, which is most attractive for you.
Concept of feminine beauty is different in different areas and
communities. In Africa, larger lips are
considered beautiful. In China, boney
cheeks and small eyes are beauty. In
Bharat, larger eyes and long hair are considered to be marks of beauty. An appreciator of beauty tends to see beauty
everywhere. The beautiful shades of
green in trees, bright and colourful dawn, a smiling child, landscape, splash
of colours in feathers of a cock, etc.
There umpteen number of beautiful objects all around us. Do we observe these? Desires have caused so furious storm inside
us that the beauty in these is not registered by us.
Thought on objects leads
to affection for those. Desire takes
birth from this affection. Advertisements are based on this phenomenon. First aim is to catch the eyes, again and
again. These are so designed as to leave
an impression in the mind. The next
obvious result will be born a desire to buy.
Anger is born out of
desire. Anger is born when the desire is
obstructed. Anger arises when the desire
is not fulfilled. We can find this
aspect prominently in children. This can
also be found in spoilt youth, who has never faced a ‘no’ in his
childhood. A desire can never be
fulfilled. The more one tries to feed
and satiate desire, the more intensely the desire grows. King Yayathi is a glaring example to
highlight this. His sexual desire had
not dimmed, despite his attaining oldage.
He begs his sons to transfer his old bodyfor his youthful one. The youngest son agrees to this. Yayathi becomes youthful again and continues
to chase his sexual urge. Another
hundred years pass and his desire never seemed to deminish. He realizes that desire can never be fufilled
by feeding the desire. It is more like
adding oil to douse a fire.
There seems a folly in
this explanation of Shri Krishna’s words.
He words are, “Krodha will be born from Kaama” and not “Krodha will be
born on non-fulfillment of Kaama.” If
there were to be no obstruction in the path of desire fulfillment? Will Krodha be born or not? Anger is a meaning to the word ‘Krodha’ and
‘restlessness or turbulance is also a meaning.
Whether or not the desire is fulfilled, whether or not there is any
hurdle to the effort for fulfillment, the moment a desire is born turbelence or
unrest also sets in the mind. It grows
with the intensity of the desire.
Sammoha is born from
Krodha. Sammoha is a sort of hypnotized
or intoxicated state due to ‘Moham’. Sammoham
is the cause for ‘lovers’ jumping hand-in-hand to death. In fact, ‘Love’ in most cases is nothing but
desirous infatuation. The obstinacy to
get everything desired is the rsult of Sammoham. We have seen children hitting their heads
against the floor in their obstinacy to get their own demands fulfilled. They are blinded to the harm caused to self. The passionate desire of a politician that
his son should take over reins of power from him is an glaring case of ‘Moha’
for son, similar to that found in Dhritarashtra. The urge to retain power till death, refusing
to let the next generation take over, is a case of Moham for chair
(power). The wish to get built a grand
tomb for one’s body after death and preparing everything towards the same even
when alive is a case of Moham for the body.
Moham blinds and stuns memory.
Memory is registration of experience ‘as it is’, without any
destortion. Moham distorts memory by imprinting
desire it.
The intellect,
descretionary faculty of our mind, is destroyed by loss of memory. Memory is only a part of human
intellect. Yet, loss of memory impairs
the whole of Budhdhi. Memory is the
reference for any descretion and decison by the intellect. So, loss of memory will result in loss of the
descretionary aspect of the intellect, i.e. Budhdhi. The demolition of this descriminating faculty
of Budhdhi is a total loss for a man.
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रागद्वेष वियुक्तैस्तु विषयानिन्द्रियैश्चरन् ।
आत्मवश्यैर्विधेयात्मा प्रसादमधिगच्छति ॥ ६४ ॥
प्रसादे सर्व दुःखानां हानिरस्योपजायते ।
प्रसन्नचेतसो ह्याशु बुद्धिः पर्यवतिष्ठते ॥ ६५ ॥
But, the self-controlled man, moving among objects with
senses under restraint, and free from attraction and aversion, attains to
tranquillity.
In tranquillity, all sorrow is destroyed. For the intellect of him, who is
tranquil-minded, is soon established in firmness.
(II – 64, 65)
The innumerable objects
of sensual pleasure lure and try to bog us down. Firm self descipline, non-attachment to
objects and absence of desire or aversion, will guarantee peace and tranquility
for anyone, even if surrounded by pleasure objects in plenty. It is wrong to presume that retirement to a forest
or a recluse, away from worldly objects will assure peace. The presence or absence of objects is
immaterial.
Desire for some objects
and aversion for others is the prime cause for restlessness and turmoil in
mind. It is akin to an insane person lashing
self with a whip and wailing in pain. He
should be taught to swing the lash without hurting self. We chase objects and the momentous pleasures
from those, and simultaneously wail in grief.
We should train our mind in two aspects;
self-control and elimiation of desires and contempts. We can live in total peace even amidst
objects. This state of mind is called
Prasadam.
We Hindus have a
practice of recieving ‘Prasadam’, from the Naivedyam offered to the God at the
end of a ‘Pooja’. It is a symbolic way
of destributing the Divine Grace. Peace
and Joy mark Divine Grace. Prasadam is
serene calmness born out of purity of mind.
A mind unperturbed by pleasurable objects, a mind contented, a mind free
from desires as well as aversions, is fit dwelling for peace, tranquility and
joy or Prasadam.
Peace vanquishes all
grief, in effect the vasanas. Vasanas
are collection of subtle impression of all desires, from earlier births. These cause moham and hence grief. Life mission is to eliminate all vasanas. Stthitha Pragnya succeeds in this mission
through Buddhi Yog.
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नास्ति बुद्धिरयुक्तस्य न चायुक्तस्य भावना ।
न चाभावयतः शान्तिरशान्तस्य कुतः सुखम् ॥ ६६ ॥
The unsteady has no knowledge of the Self. Nor has he meditation. To the unmeditative, there is no peace. And how can one without peace have happiness?
(II - 66)
Shri Krishna assures
that union with Godhood is the next step to Prasadam. In the previous four shlokams, He had
explained thoughts in the mind can lead step by step to demolition of self (62
and 63) and Elevation and Liberation of self (64 and 65). In this verse, He reaffirms the same link
between mind and Joy, in different words.
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इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन्मनोsनुविधीयते ।
तदस्य हरति प्रज्ञां वायुर्नावमिवाम्भसि ॥ ६७ ॥
For the mind, which follows in the wake of wandering senses,
carries away his discrimination, as a wind carries away (from its course) a
boat on the waters.
(II - 67)
A boat takes us across a
river or the sea. It may also sink us
down into the waters. This depends on whether the boat is in control of its
sailors or the wind. The one whose
Buddhi is firm glides across this ocean of worldly life, surrounded by the
whirls of objects and allurements. The
others , not in perfect control sway along the currents of desires and
passions. The mind chasing sense objects
hijack their Buddhi.
Manas and the Buddhi are
entwined and not separate. If it were
so, we could have firmed up our Buddhi, while allowing the manas to dwell in
sensual pleasures. We just have one of
the two options; either the manas is subordinate to Buddhi or vice versa.
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तस्माद्यस्य महाबाहो निगृहीतानि सर्वशः ।
इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥ ६८ ॥
Oh Mighty armed! Therefore, his knowledge is steady, whose
senses are completely restrained from their objects.
(II - 68)
What does Shri Krishna
mean, when He suggests total restrain of senses from their objects? Does He mean that the senses of spiritual
seekers be ineffective and disfunctional?
Should the seekers be deprived of ‘knowledge of world’ acquirable,
through these senses? No. Shri Krishna can never suggest this. He himself has lived a complete worldly
life. The torrents of worldly
experiences entering our within, through the senses, should not be allowed to
cause disturbance and turbulance within.
This is His suggestion.
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या निशा सर्व भूतानां तस्यां जागर्ति संयमी ।
यस्यां जाग्रति भूतानि सा निशा पश्यतो मुनेः ॥ ६९ ॥
That which is night to all beings, in
that the self-controlled man wakes. That
in which all beings wake, is night to the self-controlled Muni.
(II - 69)
This
verse defines our vision of world. The
ignorant sees and the wise also sees.
That which is visible to the later is invible to the former, while that
seen by the former is not seen by the later.
When an electric engineer sees an electric lamp, he knows or tries to
know the source, type, and strength of power, used in its illumination. An ignorant is dazed by the illumination
without a visible ‘oil’. An enlightened
man sees the world through his ‘enlightened’ vision and is able to see it ‘as
it is’. He knows the nature of the
objects. An ignorant, on the other hand,
sees the world through his prism called ‘mind’ and transposes his own ‘vision’
on the world and hence sees the world not ‘as it is’ but, as he wants it to be
seen. He is defective within, but blames
the world as being defective. He is ever
tossed around by the momentous pleasures and pains into phases of euphoria and
depession. The enlightened, on the other
hand, is ever in joy, unperturbed by waves of pleasures and pains. The world, as seen by a lay man is, thus
different from the world as seen by the wise.
That which is dark and gloomy night for the ignorant is a bright Sunlit
day for the wise and vice versa. That
which is unwelcome for him is recieved with glee by the enlightened and that
which is ‘sought after’ for the idiot, is ignored by the wise.
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आपूर्यमाणं अचलप्रतिष्ठं समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् ।
तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी ॥ ७० ॥
As into the ocean, brimful and still,
flow the waters of all rivers, even so the Muni into whom enter all
desires. He and not the desirer of
desires attains to peace.
(II - 70)
Rivers from all
directions reach the seas, but the sea level does not rise. Water flow through the rivers is not
restricted to avoid overflow in the seas.
Similarly, the Stthitha Pragnya is firm and unperturbed, even while
being ever surrounded by worldly, pleasurable objects. Contact between his senses and the objects is
inevitable. But, this contact does not
stimulate waves of disturbance in him.
Such a man is called a ‘Muni’. He
attains supreme peace and joy. The
others in wild chase behind objects neither experience joy nor peace.
The modern sociologists
suggest an opposite thesis. According to
them, the more a man indulges, the happier is he. Happiness quotient is dependant on the
quantity of consumption. Development of
Nations is also calculated by these
learned ones on the basis of ‘per capita consumption’. They have probably chosen an easier path, as
it is easy to quantify and measure goods and objects consumed. The whole bunch of scientists, industrialists,
traders, artists, and advertisers are involved a frenzied momentum to generate
more and more consumption. Shri Krishna
begs to differ.
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विहाय कामान्यः सर्वान्पुमांश्चरति निःस्पृहः ।
निर्ममो निरहङ्कारः स शान्तिमधिगच्छति ॥ ७१ ॥
एषा ब्राह्मी स्थितिः पार्थनैनां प्राप्य विमुह्यति ।
स्थित्वास्यामन्तकालेsपि ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृच्छति ॥ ७२ ॥
That man, who lives devoid of longing,
abandoning all desires, without the senses of ‘Me’ and ‘Mine’, he attains
peace.
This is to have one’s being in Brahman, Oh
Parttha!. None, attaining to this,
becomes deluded. Being established
therein, even at the end of life, a man attains to oneness with Brahman.
(II – 71, 72)
Shri Krishna concludes
Sankhya Yog by an essence of all that He covered in the chapter. Arjuna merely wanted an escape route from the
battle field. Shri Krishna, however,
showed him a path towards Liberation from the bonds of this worldly life. He transformed basic approach of Arjuna, not
merely towards war, but life itself.
War, by now, had become unimportant for him.
Shri Krishna used the
opportunity offered by Arjuna for a grand new creation. He used Arjuna’s grief for his divine
upliftment. In other words, He
transformed a piece of ordinary coal into an invaluable Diamond crystal.
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ॐ तद्सदिति श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतासूपनिषत्सु ब्रह्मविद्यायां योगशास्त्रे श्रीकृष्णार्जुन संवादे साङ्ख्ययोगो नाम द्वितीयोsध्यायः ॥
Thus concludes ‘Sankhya
Yog’, the second chapter in the grand dialogue between Shree Krishna and
Arjuna, called the Shreemad Bhagawad Geetha, which is verily an Upanishad,
elaborating on ‘The Divine Knowledge’ and also describing the ‘Way to Godhood’.
\\\\\ HARIH OM TAT SAT \\\\\
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