Sthitaprajna - Gita Chapter 2 Verses 64 & 65

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Verses 64 & 65

raga-dvesa-vimuktais tu visayan indriyais caran

atma-vasyair vidheyatma prasadam adhigacchati

 

But the self-controlled man, moving among the objects with the senses

under restraint and free from attraction and repulsion, attains to

peace.

 

prasade sarva-duhkhanam hanir asyopajayate

prasanna-cetaso hy asu buddhih paryavatisthate

 

In that peace all pains are destroyed: for the intellect of the

tranquil-minded soon becomes steady.

 

Sthitaprajna (Perfect Yogi) has no attachment or aversion and has the

Purity of Spirit (verse 64).

Sthitaprajna attains the "WISDOM" which is free from illusory sorrows

(verse 65). Bhagavan insists that we can attain peace, happiness,

discriminating intelligence and concentration only by freeing the mind

from sensory perceptions.

 

This is our job to develop our own ethical values (Mamadharma) and

discipline our life. Swami Chinmyanada explains the role of Gita in

shaping our daily life in the book, "A Manual of Self-unfoldment,"

published by the Chinmaya Mission. Gita strongly suggests us not to have

any preconceived notions! Prejudices reflect our attachment to objects

and they initiate hatred and anger. The moment we allow the sense organs

to take control, we lose our discriminatory power, the gift of God and

destroy our identity! When flowers bloom, they don't get any pleasure!

They give pleasure to the surroundings! They use their sense organs to

eat and drink (fertilizer and water!) with no preconception to the food

they eat, the air they breathe, the light they catch, the wind they

touch or the water they drink! Any person who can give happiness to all

without prejudice will certainly attain tranquility. Will anybody ever

challenge that this is not true? Let me clarify what I mean by

"flexible."

 

Flexibility means developing an attitude to be happy with what we have

and not to demand objects that we don't have. Also, we do need to

develop skills and attitude to encounter different environments. Let me

give a recent experience of my son who filled up an application for a

summer job. There were lots of questions in the application form to

evaluate his work habits. Persons with greater number of skills with the

flexibility to undertake more tasks in a diverse work environment get

selected for a job. Vasana is a complex terminology and requires

careful scrutiny. It is almost impossible to explain what it really

means because it is highly personal! The presence or absence of an

object is not a necessarily a cause for Vasana but the root cause is the

attachment to the object. Attachment is a twin evil. When we become a

slave to an object of our liking, we create hatred toward other objects.

Due to our attachment to french fries, we show our dislike for

broccoli. Some childhood Vasanas are no more a threat to matured

adults. The Hindu Trinity: Brahma, Vishnu and Siva are symbolic

reminders to the endless cycle of the creation, perpetuation and

destruction of Vasanas. A simple method to destroy a Vasana is to

develop a Vasana for another object. Ideally, we have to find a way not

to create any Vasana. According to Gita, if we divert our attachment

toward the Supreme we can get liberation from the cycle of creation,

perpetuation and destruction.