Sthitaprajna - Gita Chapter 2, Verses 54-55

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Sthitaprajna - Gita Chapter 2, Verses 54-55

 

In Verse 54, Arjun asks Lord Krishna to describe the characteristics of

the Perfect Sage (Sthitaprajna). Sthitaprajna represents the qualities

of the realized human soul. Lord Krishna explains his answers in verses

55 to 72. The person who realizes the true nature becomes the

Sthitaprajna. In Gita, Arjun's enquiry started with one question,

followed by more questions such as - "Who am I? "; "Where am I? "; And

"What am I?"

 

Bhagavan Shri Krishna points out in verse 55 that a stable human

behavior implies separation of "SELF" from the mind! When the mind

engages in selfish desires, it evaluates success and failures

(pleasure and sorrow), it never gets the freedom. The mind needs

diversion from selfish to unselfish desires to get the freedom. Mahatma

Gandhi, a perfect sage, has shown that through unselfish service to the

people, he was able to free the mind from desires. Gandhiji was able to

puts away all his desires and focus his mind and soul on the Supreme

Reality. Gandhiji was a soft talker, a fast walker and never a

quitter! When a Sthitaprajna such as Gandhiji speaks, everybody

listens. The spiritual person acts for the social cause and for the

community welfare without looking for an iota of material benefit.

Such a person attains the state of a perfect sage (Sthitaprajna).

 

No single individual has any control over his (her) action in this

world. For example, an individual who takes a flight from USA to India

requires the collective actions and cooperation of visible and invisible

entities of the world. The conduct, cooperation, and the service of

thousands of actors from different parts of the world become necessary

for the flight to materialize. Is it possible for anyone to identify

all these actors, the cause for their actions and the rewards for their

actions? The answer is obviously no! Any individual contribution to any

cause or the effect becomes infinitesimal if we measure the direct and

indirect actors from all parts of the world. How do we determine success

and failure? What is success? What is failure? For what time period do

we measure success and failure? All such questions will have plenty of

answers without any agreeable solution to satisfy everyone. The mind

that fails to understand the chain of actions and reactions rejoices

over success and regrets over failures. The duality of success and

failure indulges the mind to create endless loops of desires, successes

and failures. When the mind perceives success from an action, ego

emerges to propel more actions and more ego. If it perceives failure

from an action, it fuels more actions in order to succeed and an endless

loop emerges. In either case, ego occupies and keeps the mind in

motion. The only way to restore stability is remove all desires from

the mind learn to be content.

 

Do we behave like a perfect sage at any time in our real life? The

answer is Yes! We as adults while playing a game with our little child

behave like a perfect sage. We spontaneously regain our true nature and

express unconditional love to the child. We concentrate more on playing

the game to keep the child happy and have no problems in losing! At the

same time, success or failure of the game affects the child and the

child shows its emotions. The coaches of all major sports repeat the

message of Gita to the players as follows! "Give your best while playing

and don’t worry about the results and never allow your emotion to drain

your energy!" This bottom line message is the central theme of Gita.

Gita asks us to pursue our life with greater goals and higher motives

and perform our duties with the best of our abilities.

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namaste.

 

My thanks to Shri Ram Chandran for re-posting the sthitaprajna lakshaNas

as requested. I will put in some additional comments here based to some

extent on Shri Shankara's bhagavdgItAbhAshhya and Shri

Madhusudanasaraswati's GUDhArthadIpika.

 

BG 2.54:

 

The origin of the word sthitaprajna:

 

Sthita nishcalAham brahmasmIti prajna yasyan sah sthitaprajnah

(The one who has a definite view that I am Brahman is the sthitaprajna)

 

Arjuna asks four questions in this verse.

1. How do people address and make conversation with a sthitaprajna?

2. How does a sthitaprajna make conversation?

3. How does a sthitaprajna sit?

4. How does a sthitaprajna move around?

 

The questions basically mean what is a sthitaprajna's attitude in

relation to the life of men and women of society?

 

BG 2.55:

 

In this verse Shri Krishna gives answer to the first question of Arjuna.

The meaning of the verse (given by Shri Ram Chandran in his post) is in

essense the same as of verse in Katha u. 2.3.14 and Br^hadAraNyaka u.

4.4.7. When all the desires in the mind are cast off, and when a person

becomes satisfied in himself with himself. he is said to be a man of

steady wisdom.

 

Here the wording kAmAn ... manogatAn ... is significant.

The desire that arises in the heart is because of the antahkaraNavr^tti.

When the desire in the mind is cast off, it means there is no

antahkaraNavr^tti. That is, a sthitaprajna is one who does not have

antahkaraNavr^tti. The desires etc are only properties of the manas

and not of the Atman. Hence they are ones which can be cast off.

 

AtmanyovAtmanA tushhtah: satisfied in the Self alone by the Self.

The sthitaprajna is satisfied in the innermost Self alone by the Self,

his own Self, without desiring any acquisitions. A question can be asked:

If all the desires in the mind are given up and man has nothing to cherish

in it as a desirable object of personal attainment, does the mind become

wholly aimless and vacant? Shri Krishna's answer to that question is

that the sthitaprajna becomes, after renouncing all the desires in the

mind, AtmanyevAtmanA tushhTah - satisfied in his own heart with

himself.

 

Regards

Gummuluru Murthy

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