Sthitaprajna - Gita Chapter 2 Verse 58

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Verse 58:

yada samharate cayam kurmo 'nganiva sarvasah

indriyanindriyarthebhyas tasya prajna pratisthita

 

When, like the tortoise which withdraws its limbs on all sides, he

withdraws his senses from the sense-objects, then his wisdom becomes

steady.

 

This verse illustrates the behavior of the perfect sage using a

compelling example. Bhagavan reminds us that "steady and discriminating

wisdom" imply that we have to act instantaneously. What does the

tortoise do when it sees an external interference to its path of

movement? It moves quickly inside its protective shell! The perfect sage

also acts like the tortoise and withdraws the senses from the objects of

pleasure! Gita contains plenty of hidden treasures such as this example

of the tortoise. Animals in general always look for a shelter outside

rather than inside. During crisis times, monkeys climb over the top of

trees and rats and rabbits jump and run toward holes and gaps. A

tortoise is on the other hand tucks "in" instead of running. Bhagavan

implicitly reminds that all external objects are obstructions to the

spiritual path. Spiritual seekers should take the shelter inside rather

than outside!

 

The example of the tortoise is also important for another reason. Try to

recollect the moral of the famous Panchatantra story about the tortoise

and the rabbit. Tortoises are slow and steady and rabbits are fast and

volatile. According to the story, the slow and steady tortoise was able

to win the race. The rabbit is a subtle reference to the material life

style and tortoise is the reference to the spiritual life style.

Material life style can yield many successes but ultimately ends in

failure. The slow and steady spiritual life style can bring the ultimate

success. When tortoise tucks inside the shell, it shuts up all external

contacts and hence protected! The spiritual seekers can learn a lot from

the tortoise to turn their attention inside and withdraw external

sensory perceptions.