Sthitaprajna (The Perfect Sage) - Part I - An Introduction

[Guest guest]

On Sun, 23 May 1999, mmsudan wrote:

>

> Arjuna ask Lord Krishna " What is the Description of "Sthitprajna' man with

> Steady Wisdom? How he sits? How he walks? How he speaks? etc.( Bhagavad

> Geeta: Chapter II, Verse 54) Lord Krishna reply is contained in Verse 55 to

> 72 of this chapter. These few verses contain an excellent description about

> the man of Steady Wisdom. If all the members agree we may discuss these

> verses. I believe these few verses are to be read and understood again and

> again to have a true understanding of the same.

 

Hari Om!

 

This is a great idea and let me thank Sadanandaji and Gummuluruji for

asking me to repost the article that I wrote to Advaita-L more than a

year back. I took this opportunity to revise the article and I have

posted Introduction. This introduction will help everyone to get

greater insights to understand Gita's description of the man of Steady

Wisdom. I will post the remining parts during the next few days. This

is a great discussion topic to understand Vedanta in general and Advaita

in particular. I encourage participation from everyone!

 

Hari Om!

Ram Chandran

 

 

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Sthitaprajna (The Perfect Sage) - Part I - An Introduction

 

The path to self-realization can't be shown but can be experienced. Gita

contains solutions and puzzles for seekers with different levels of

maturity and capacity. The manual of Gita can help us to solve the

puzzles in our life and help us to undertake challenging steps forward.

But when we reach the highest level, we regain our True Human Nature and

all our actions become spontaneous and judgements become unnecessary!

Spontaneity is the law of the nature. The flowers bloom without us

asking and the trees surrender and sacrifice all their possessions

(fruits, stem, leaves and roots). The flower plant, the fruit true,

animals and other creatures including the human beings have to live,

grow and disappear according to the laws of the nature. The True Human

Nature emerges when the mind becomes pure without duality and the life

in the universe is free from conflicts and contradictions.

 

Gita begins with "DHARMA" (chapter 1, verse 1) and ends with "MAMA"

(chapter 18, verse 78). According to Swami Chinmayananda, the word

combination "Mama Dharma" has special significance. Mamadharma stands

for Swadharma which means that each of us has the freedom to define our

moral rules and ethics of living. We are obligated to complete the

duties that are necessary for our living without violating our

Mamadharma. Dharma, a Sanskrit word, means duty or pursuit of social

and personal ideals of behavior. Its literal meaning is "that which

sustains." Every thing that goes with the natural order or state of

things is dharma. The dharma of fire is to heat, dharma of a flower is

to bloom and dharma of a human is "eternal bliss." Mamadharma plays a

pivotal role in determining the Hindu way of life. It implies that an

individual has the obligation to conduct his (her) duties at a level

much higher than the social norms. Social laws suggest the minimum

standard of Dharma where as Mamadharma requires the individual to seek

the highest standard of Dharma! Though the knowledge of right and wrong

are relative and subjective, no one has any excuse committing a crime!

Dharma holds one up to the highest conception of "Right," and expects

everyone to do the "Right" for rights sake, and not for the sake of

obeying the law. The conception of right requires us not to judge others

because the standard of ethics varies by individuals. Both "right" and

"rights" also vary by individuals! We get the right to judge others when

we reach the highest level of spiritual maturity.

 

Gita identifies the person with the True Human Nature by the Sanskrit

name Sthitaprajna (Perfect Yogi). The verses 55 to 72 in chapter 2

discusses the virtues of Sthitaprajna in greater details. According to

Gita, Sthitaprajna attains the Universal Wisdom of Eternal Peace by

abandoning the illusory pain and sufferings. The Lord insists that

eternal peace, happiness, discriminating intelligence and concentration

can be realized only by freeing the mind from sensory perceptions. Gita

does not claim that the task is easy and it gives complete guidance for

achieving the True Human Nature in chapters two to 18. Gita asserts that

it is achievable for everyone who is willing to take the necessary

efforts, discipline and dedication. The Grace of God always comes with

true dedication, discipline and devotion. In Gita, action is much more

important than prayer and Bhakti serves as the catalyst to complete

one's obligations. The reward for the action comes along with action and

action and reward are inseparable! The devotee treats action as the

prayer and prasad (peace) comes automatic when the devotee is sincere!

 

Gita describes the relationships between sensory perception, ego, human

intelligence and divine intelligence. According to Gita, the sensory

perceptions are the barriers for gaining the divine intelligence. Ego is

the byproduct of sensory perception. Ego distracts human intelligence to

lose its discriminating power. Consequently the intellect misidentifies

SELF by body, mind and intellect. The distractions are eradicated only

through spiritual practice (sadhana) outlined in Gita. Those who follow

the spiritual life understand their obligation and perform their duties

without looking for rewards. According to Gita, when a person performs

duties without selfish motives, he (she) demonstrates his (her)

eagerness to seek the Grace of God! It is the Grace that is responsible

for his determination to conduct his (her) duties without hesitation and

reward!

 

Sthitaprajna perceives the world without conflicts and sorrows and

accepts the world as it is! Such persons see perfection of the imperfect

world and they prepare to change their attitude that suits its

preferences. Mahatma Gandhi once said, "The only change that the world

needs, is you!" For a Sthitaprajna like Gandhi, understands that the

attitude determines the outcome and they develop positive mental

attitudes to accept rewards and punishments with equanimity. The

discussion on Sthitaprajna is dedicated to the great sage Vedavyasa, the

assembler, compiler and the propagator of the Hindu Scriptures

including the Bhagavad Gita.

 

What is the right path of our life? The seers who wrote the Upanishads

have this excellent answer: " Life is a bridge; enjoy while crossing it;

but don't build a castle on it." Human beings are endowed with positive

mental attitude from the day of birth. The new born child accepts

everything from his (her) mother and everybody else. The child accepts

the life as it is and we better remember and learn few lessons. With

positive mental attitude, we can accept the realities of life without

resistance and fear. We become the witness of our own life and can

probably accept joy, sorrow, good, bad, tall, short, beauty, ugly,

light, dark, past, present and future. We can learn to stop asking

instantaneous explanations for everything that happens in our life.

Positive mental attitude will help us to accept the our life and stop

forcing others to change. Every verse in Gita discusses the importance

of removing the negative tendencies. Sthitaprajna possesses the positive

mental attitude and Gita describes the qualities in verses 55 to 72.