Sthitaprajna - Gita Chapter 2 Verses 71-72 - Conclusion

[Guest guest]

Hari Om Advaitins:

 

The concluding part of Sthitaprajna Discourse is enclosed. I sent this

posting yesterday and I noticed a problem in the mailing list computer

and many of you wouldn't have received. I am resposting this to make

sure that everyone gets it. I want to thank Sadandandaji and Murthygaru

for their suggestion that I post the Sthitaprajna dicourse again. This

gave me another opportunity to visit these verses and help me to get

more insights. I encourage the members to raise questions regarding any

issues that they feel can bring new insights. I believe that these

verses contain entire spectrum of Hindu Philosophy of Human Life and

consequently they become essential to understand the other sixteen

chapters of Gita. A sequential second part I plan to post in the coming

weeks will link these vesrses to verses in other chapters.

 

I want to thank Murthygaru and Madhavaji for their insights. I request

Shri Sadanandaji who has conducted the Gita Satsang in Virginia Chinmaya

Mission Chapter for several years to post his viewpoints on this topic

and other chapters of Gita. I also request other members to join this

SATSANG and everyone's active participation is important. All of us in

this list have a ROLE to play and we can't escape from our

responsibilities! It is your duty to pointout the errors and omissions

and it is my duty to acknowledge and correct them.

 

Thanks again and forgive me for any errors and omissions.

 

Ram Chandran

List Moderator.

 

Concluding Verses:

Verse 71:

vihaya kaman yah sarvanpumams carati nihsprhah

nirmamo nirahankarahsa santim adhigacchati

 

The man attains peace who, abandoning all desires moves about without

longing, without the sense of mine (possessiveness) and without egoism.

 

Verse 71 defines the nature of a person who suppresses all troubles of

earthly existence. Dr. Radhakrishnan points out the following beautiful

quotation from the Upanishad: mano hi dvividham proktam suddham

cassuddham eva ca asuddham kamasamkalpam suddham kamavivarjitam English

Translation by Dr. Radhakrishnana: " The human mind is of two kinds,

pure and impure. That which is intent on securing its desires is impure;

that which is free from attachment to desires is pure."

 

The pure mind, is like the mind of Yudhistra and the impure mind is

like that of Dhruyodhan. Impure mind contains full of desires and ego

while pure mind has no desires. Impure mind directs one for

self-destruction where as pure mind steers one to the self-realization!

Purity is synonymous to Truth and neither of them can be visualized but

experienced. When impurities are removed, Purity is perceived, similar

to realizing Truth after negating lies! It is like practicing Dharma by

abandoning Adharmas! Asuddham, Asathya and Adharma are easily

recognizable than Suddham, Sathya and Dharma respectively! There are

other word combinations in Sanskrit with similar logical structure which

include "Krama and Akrama,Dhirya and Adhirya,Sowkya and Asowkya,"

"Sowkarya and Asowkarya,Kala and Akala," etc. NASA scientists have

studied and recognized the importance of Sanskrit language structure for

computer applications. An interesting article in the magazine Nature,

discusses the application of Panini's grammatical structure of Sanskrit

for computers. According to this article, the logical structure of

artificial intelligence problems can be analyzed using the grammatical

structure Sanskrit.

 

Verse 72:

esa brahmi sthitih parthanainam prapya vimuhyati

sthitvasyam anta-kale 'pi brahma-nirvanam rcchati

 

This is the seat of Brahman, Oh Arjuna. Attaining to this, none is

deluded. Being established therein, even at the end of life, one attains

to oneness with Brahman.

 

In verse 72, Lord Krishna suggests that it is never too late to reach

the divine state! The subtle message is to remind us that we are better

off to try today than to wait until the day of death! Wisdom (divine

state) is the means of liberation but this wisdom is not exclusive of

devotion to God and desire-less work. The Brahman is revealed only with

total devotion and unselfish service like that shown by Hanuman to Lord

Rama. Unselfish service and total devotion are always united and can

never be separated! Dr.Radhakrishna refers us to a quotation by

Dharmmapada, a disciple of Lord Buddha: " Health is the greatest gain,

contentment is the greatest wealth, faith is the best friend and nirvana

is the highest happiness."

 

Vedanta describes two types of visual perceptions: VISION and

ILLUSION. What one sees through the physical eyes (sense organs) is an

illusion. Vision is an experience from the spiritual eye. Everyone has

the spiritual eye but no one wants to open it! According to our

scriptures, Lord Siva symbolically has three eyes: two physical eyes and

the spiritual eye on the forehead. When Siva opens his spiritual eye,

the world of illusions is destroyed! Blindness is a reference to the

blockage of one's spiritual vision.Mahabharat describes physical and

spiritual blindness beautifully using three major characters

 

Dhrtarashtra, the king of Hastinapur was born blind. He was physically

and spiritually blind. His wife, Kanthari who chose to tie her physical

eyes with a cloth was physically blind but had the spiritual vision.

Their son Dhruyodhan, the crown prince, had physical eyes but was

spiritually blind. Dhrtarashtra had the best opportunity to avoid

sensory perceptions, but he chose to live in the world of illusions.

Dhruyodhan who had no control over his sensory perceptions was totally

blind and destroyed! Kanthari, who had full control over her sensory

perception, was able to open her spiritual eye. Opening of a spiritual

eye symbolically represents total control over sensory perceptions!

 

Skeptics, who live with a materialistic outlook, may question the

practicality of Gita for daily progress. Vedavyasa has ready answers for

those skeptics in Gita, and they should invest their time to find out

the answers. There is no such thing as a free lunch in Gita. If the

skeptics invest their time to understand and follow the directions of

Gita, they can reap the benefits. The returns for their time spent to

read Gita is greater and long-lasting than the returns from reading Wall

Street Journal. Vyasa was very careful to discriminate between divine

(infinite) and human (finite) qualities. Sthitaprajna, an absolute

measure is a divine quality that can be attained only at a divine

state. Gita describes three finite dimensional human qualities: (1)

Satvik - illumination, goodness, and non binding, (2) rajasik - passion,

attachment and agitated mind, and (3) tamasik - inaction, ignorance and

illusions.According to Gita, these three modes are present in all

human beings, though in different degrees. Satvik people are free, calm

and selfless. Rajasik people wish to be always active and cannot sit

still and their activities are tainted by selfish desires. Tamasik

people subject their life to continuous submission to surrounding

environment and they are confused and dull. Gita asserts that a

predominance of one or a combination of one or more of these

characteristics determine human behavior.

 

Episodes in Mahabharat and Puranas describe roles that require various

combinations of satvik, rajasik and tamasik qualities.The roles and

intrinsic qualities of Dhrtarashtra, Kanthari, Kunthi, Yudhistra, Arjun,

Bhim, Nagul, Sagadev, Dhruyodhan, Dutchadhan, Vithura, Karna, Sanjay,

Yudhistra, Kanthari, Bhishma, Dhrona, etc. determine whether they are

satvik, rajasik or tamasik. These episodes dramatize the intrinsic

qualities of those characters to the readers and help them to evaluate

and choose qualities for their personal behavior! The absolute quality,

stithaprajna, represents Pure behavior that can be attained by removing

impure qualities. Each character in Mahabharat including Dhruyodhan

could become a stithaprajna if they remove their impurities. Who can

challenge this contention?

 

It is possible to conduct training courses to upgrade people from

tamasik to rajasik, and from rajasik to satvik. With rigorous practice

and determination, we can become satvik and maintain our satvik nature

for any specified time period! No training or teaching can ever be

possible to move people from satvik to stithaprajna. The movement from

human to Divine is a quantum jump. It requires discipline, devotion,

dedication and determination.

 

Application and practice of modern economic theory can bring measured

happiness for a measured amount of time. However, practice of the

spiritual life stipulated in these verses can take us beyond the finite

dimensional material happiness to eternal happiness. Hindus believe that

Gita is a revelation from Lord Krishna and as such full comprehension is

possible only with His grace. Each individual has the freedom to choose

the level of comprehension as desired.

 

In conclusion, the knowledge of "SELF" can come only from within and

not from outside. In chapter 18, verse 72, Lord Krishna asks Arjun

whether he has removed his delusions and illusions? Verse 73 contains

Arjun's reply and he uses two profound words: "Smrtir Labdha" (memory

regained). The human life is the Grace of God and the seeker forgets

this Truth and seeks to remember the forgotten Truth. Spontaneity is

rule of the Nature and every species other than the human beings follows

this rule. For human beings, Nature is the best training ground to

understand spontaneity. The flowers bloom in the morning spontaneously

without anyone asking! The flowers do not get any reward for their

actions nor do they expect any rewards! The presence of flowers brings

divinity this may explain why we use flowers in all occasions of joy or

sorrow. Trees and plants do not store their wealth but share their

possessions. Animals live, learn from and obey the Nature. Animals only

take what they need from nature, nothing more and nothing less! The

rivers and streams continue to flow day and night and supply water to

plants, animals, birds and the humans. The Hindu spiritual masters

understood the Nature and want us to go along with the Nature. When we

regain the Sthitaprajna we obey the law of nature and enjoy our life

renouncing castles, dreams and worries of the mind.

 

"Life is greater than any art. I would go even further and declare that

the person whose life comes nearest to PERFECTION is the greatest

artist; for what is art without some foundation and framework of a whole

life!"Mahatma Gandhi.

 

 

Om tat sat iti srimad bhagavadgitasupanisatsu brahmavidyayam yogasstre

Sri Krishnarjunasamvade Sthitaprajnanama ‘dhyayah

 

Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Geeta, in the Science of

the Eternal, in the Scripture of YOGA, in the dialogue between Sri

krishna And Arjuna, the discourse on the topic entitled Sithitaprajna

ends.