Bhagavad Gita Sthitaprajna lakshna - Verses 70 to 72: Swami Dayananda Saraswati's Commentary from Gita Study Program

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ap£ryamanamacalapratisham

samudramapah pravisanti yadvat

tadvatkama yam pravisanti sarve

sa santimapnoti na kamakami Verse 70

 

ap£ryamanam - brimful; acalapratisham - without any motion, well-grounded;

samudram - into this ocean; apah - waters; yadvat - just as; pravisanti -

enter; tadvat - so too; sarve - all; kamah - objects; yam - the one (the wise

person) into whom; pravisanti - enter; sah - he; santim - peace; apnoti -

gains; kamakami - the desirer of objects; na - not

 

Just as water flows into the ocean that is brimful and still, so too, the wise

person into whom all objects enter, gains peace, (remains unchanged); whereas,

the desirer of objects does not gain peace. There are two adjectives

describing the ocean in this verse. The first one, ap£ryamanam, refers to the

ocean being totally filled with water. It requires no more water to be full

because it is already filled to the brim. The second adjective,

acalapratisham, describes the ocean as not moving from place to place in the

same way that a river does, for example. Thus, the ocean is not only full but,

being without motion, it is also well-grounded. The verse also gives some more

information about the ocean. While a pond depends upon a source of water for

its existence, the ocean does not depend upon any other source of water for

its fullness. It does not depend upon the rain for its oceanness, unlike the

rain clouds that depend upon the evaporation of the ocean water for their

cloudness. Nor does the ocean depend upon any entry of water. It does not

become an ocean because river water enters into it. Thus, to be brimful, it

depends on no other factor, no other source of water. The glory of the ocean,

then, is within itself alone.

 

Water enters the ocean from all sides in the form of rain and rivers. But does

the entry of these various forms of water bring about any change in the

fullness of the ocean? If it does, then we can say that the ocean is not full,

that it depends upon other sources for its oceanness. And if no change is

brought about by the water entering into it, then the ocean is full by itself

and the non-entry of water will make no difference in its fullness. By itself,

then, the ocean is full of water. Because it does not depend upon any source

of water for its fullness, neither the non-entry nor the entry of water makes

any difference to it. The ocean is not after the entry of water nor is it

afraid of water entering into it. It has no fear of becoming flooded and

thereby losing it's name, ocean. Nor, in order to be ocean, does it covet

water.

 

A pond, on the other hand, does depend upon rain or some other water to be a

pond. If a pond is dependent upon a particular spring underneath it for

instance, all that is required for it not to be a pond is for someone to put

bore wells all around. The water table will go down, the spring will go dry,

and there will be no water in the pond. A pond can also cease to be a pond if

too much water enters into it. If its banks are broken, there will be water

everywhere. No one will know where the pond is, unless they are wading in the

water and suddenly step into it! Therefore, a pond will no longer be called a

pond if there is too much water entering into it or if no water enters into it

at all. Such changes are possible for a pond, whereas an ocean undergoes no

change whatsoever, regardless of whether water enters or does not enter.

 

THE WISE PERSON

Just as the fullness of the ocean is not affected by the entry or non-entry of

water, so too the wise person's peace of mind is not affected by objects that

enter the mind. These objects enter into such a person just as water enters

the ocean. But he or she is not affected by them because, like the ocean, the

wise person is full - for no other reason than fullness being his or her own

nature. Everyone has this sense of fullness, if only for the time being, when

something desirable happens. But, eventually, the person finds himself or

herself not full. A wise person, on the other hand, does not depend on

anything for his or her fullness because the self is already full, like the

ocean. The self is ananda; it has no limit. Thus, recognition of the self is

the very reason for the person's being full. 'I am' is fullness. I am

fullness. If I am fullness, then the meaning of the word 'I' is not found in a

limited factor like the body, mind, or senses. Therefore, the 'I' should be

understood as it is - and it happens to be ananda. The wise person is one who

is happy without depending upon any object or situation. Like the ocean, he or

she is full by his or her own glory, by his or her own nature. The fullness of

a wise person, the ananda of the person, is not going to increase because of

the entry of some desirable objects. And if such desirable objects do not

enter, the wise person does not lose anything. In either case, no change is

brought about in the person. He or she remains unchanged.

 

If desirable objects enter into the head of a person who is not full, they

create havoc in the person because they have to be gained, experienced, or

owned and there may be no way of doing so. Therefore, the person smarts,

sweats, frets, and fumes. When a person looks upon himself or herself as one

who is lacking, desires only cause problems. And, if such a person is told to

give up all desires, he or she cannot do it. Unless one is full, desires

cannot be given up. They go away only when the person is full. Even if desires

do enter the head of a wise person, they do not create any problems because

whether the desires are fulfilled or not it is all the same to the person.

 

THE DEMISE OF ONE'S EMOTIONAL YO-YO

The word kama in this verse is taken to mean objects - kamyate iti kamah (they

are desired and therefore called kamas). If a person does not know that he or

she is ananda, the person is elated when desirable objects enter and dejected

when undesirable objects enter. Whereas, for the wise person, there is no

difference. He or she is santi alone, meaning that there is no change in the

person whatsoever. The emotional yo-yo is no longer there for him or her.

There may be a ripple of laughter or even roaring laughter sometimes, just as

the ocean seems to be very ecstatic at certain times and simply smiling at

other times. There can be a smile, a laugh or tranquillity.

 

For the ocean, the small waves are its smiles and the huge breakers are its

roaring laughter. If it is not roaring with laughter or smiling, is the ocean

gone? No, it is tranquil in its fullness. Therefore, it is the fullness that

is laughing, the fullness already being there. It can be a laughing fullness,

a smiling fullness, or a tranquil fullness. The other person mentioned in this

verse, the kamakami, is one who has desires, This is not to say that he or she

has a desire for desires. No one wants to have a desire for desires, but this

person definitely has desires for desirable objects. Into this person's mind,

also, sense objects enter; the world enters. When the desirable enters, there

is elation and when the undesirable enters, there is depression. In this way,

the emotions of the person go up and down like a yo-yo.

 

If a wise person can be likened to an ocean, the other-wise can certainly be

likened to a miserable pond that we just saw in the example. When the rains

come, there will be water. Provided there is not too much water or too little,

the pond will remain. But if it is flooded or all its water dries up, the pond

is gone. Similarly, for one who has binding desires, the entry and non-entry

of desirable and undesirable objects bring about changes, which is not the

case for the wise person. This verse, then, gave Arjuna some hope. The

previous verse was a real description of a wise person in the sense that it

takes wisdom for you to be wise and, therefore, you had better gain this

wisdom. This was then followed by the illustration in the present verse, which

likened the wise person to an ocean. Let all the desirable and undesirable

objects enter, like so much water into the ocean! The wise person remains full

and the kamakami does not. Krsna was telling Arjuna here that the one who has

binding desires will always have problems and that by this illustration Arjuna

would know what a wise man is like. Having said this, Krsna then summed up the

section on the sthitaprajna, as well as the entire chapter, in the next two

verses.

 

vihaya kaman yah sarvan pumamscarati nihsprhah

nirmamo nirahankarah sa santimadhigacchati Verse 71

 

yah - the one who; puman - person; sarvan - all; kaman - binding desires;

vihaya - having given up; nisprhah - devoid of longing; nirmamah - without the

sense of 'mine'; nirahankarah - without the sense of limited 'I'; carati -

moves around; sah - he; santim - peace; adhigacchati - gains

 

Having given up all binding desires, the person who moves around, devoid of

longing, without the sense of limited 'I' and 'mine,' gains peace. The wise

person is one who has given up all binding desires and who moves freely in the

world. Whether the person is a king like Janaka or a sannyasi like Sankara,

there is no difference in the freedom of the person. The longing for this or

that is gone because the person is happy with himself or herself. There is no

more longing for situations in order to be secure and happy. Therefore, the

sense of 'mine' is no longer there. Such a person does not have this kind of

attachment to anyone or anything. People hold on to certain people and certain

objects and look upon them as 'mine.' They are like children, who say, 'Do not

touch this. Do not take it away from me. This is my toy.' The only difference

between the 'mine' we had as children and the 'mine' we have as adults is that

the toys have been replaced with other, more sophisticated objects. In fact,

we are nothing but bearded, grown-up children. The 'mine-ness' never goes;

only objects are replaced. Thus, with reference to a few things and people, we

say, 'This is mine.'

 

THERE IS NO 'I' OR 'MINE'

However, when I see that the whole thing, everything, is myself alone,

everything changes. I am the father, the mother, and all the places. When

everything is myself, there is no 'mine.' 'Mine' means that 'yours,' 'his,'

and 'hers' are also there. These are the reasons for all your problems. You

become small in your own eyes. When 'I' and 'mine' are no longer there,

because you know 'I am all of this,' you are wise. When you say, 'I am all of

this' the sense of 'mine' is gone. The 'I' sense is also gone because when

everything is me, there is no 'I.' People think this is vanity, but vanity

only exists when you are small. When you say, 'I am everything,' there is no

vanity. Vanity is only with reference to comparison and pride. When you take

yourself to be 'this much,' there is quantifying in terms of your possessions,

your capacity, your skills, and so on. Then there is ahankara, ego. But when

the ego is bloated to such an extent that 'I am everything,' there is no

ahankara at all! There is only reality, knowledge, Brahman.

 

Ahankara is nothing but a notion, the 'I' notion. When the reality is 'I am

everything,' there is no ego. Ego is only when you compare yourself with

another person, and say, 'He does not have as much as I have' is ego. But

there is no other person at all. All that is there is me. There is no ego, no

doer; there is only aham, 'I.' That, 'I am a doer' is a notion, whereas 'I' is

the self. Therefore, the person under discussion in this verse is one who has

no 'I' or 'mine' sense because everything is himself or herself. If everything

is oneself, where is the question of having a desire? Knowing this, then, the

wise person has no binding desires.

 

HOW A WISE PERSON LIVES IN THE WORLD

The use of the word, carati, here is very beautiful. The wise person does not

run away from the world. Where would he or she go anyway? Having given up all

binding desires, such a person continues to live in the world and may engage

himself or herself in a variety of activities. But the activity itself means

nothing. The person gains only santi, meaning that he or she never changes.

Other people move around because of the pressure of their desires, whereas the

wise person is free from such binding, pressurising desires. People who are

impelled by desires will say, 'This has to be done; only then can I be happy!'

The only difference between a wise person and these people is that the wise

person is motivated but not driven by his or her desires. In spite of moving

around and being active in the world, there is no appreciable inner change

brought about in the person either by desire or by its outcome.

 

When the world enters into the sthitaprajna, the person is santa. And when he

or she enters into the world, engaging in the activities of the world, then

also there is nothing but santi. This was said because of a doubt that can

arise here. It is fine to say that the sthitaprajna is full and when the world

enters into such a person, it merely resolves into his or her fullness. He or

she just sits in one place in this fullness and whatever world enters into the

person, santi alone prevails. What about the wise person who is active?

Activity does not change the person's wisdom. There is no change because there

is no doership or enjoyership, no 'I' notion, in the person. Santi alone

remains.

 

Let the person be engaged in the world or let the world enter into the person.

Either way, it is the same. Whether he or she is enjoying or doing, there is

santi. When the world enters into the person or the person does something, he

or she does not become an enjoyer or a doer. Enjoyership and doership are both

negated in the wise person. Although there is a seeming enjoyership and

doership, essentially, they are not there. This is what we call badhita,

meaning that, through knowledge, the reality of doership and enjoyership,

centred on 'I.' is sublated. When Krsna talked to Arjuna and when Sankara

wrote his commentaries, there was doership. But neither Krsna nor Sankara

looked upon themselves as the doer. Doership, for the wise person, is just

doing. The notion, 'I am the doer,' is not there. This means that the

sthitaprajna continues to be Brahman. Therefore, Krsna concluded.

 

esa brahmi sthitih partha nainam prapya vimuhyati

sthitvasyamantakale'pi brahmanirvanamrcchati Verse 72

 

partha - Oh! Son of Prtha (Arjuna); esa - this; brahmi sthitih - the state of

being in Brahman; enam - this; prapya - having gained; na vimuhyati - is not

deluded; antakale - at the end of life; api - even; asyam - therein; sthitva -

remaining; brahma-nirvanam - liberation; rcchati - gains

 

This is what is meant by being steady in Brahman, Oh! Partha. Having gained

this, one is not deluded. Remaining therein, even at the end of one's life,

one gains liberation. The steady knowledge, jnana-nisha, that had been the

topic of Krsna's teaching from the beginning, is steadfastness in Brahman,

brahma-nisha. In between, karma-yoga was pointed out and Arjuna's question

concerning the definition of a sthitaprajna was answered, this same steady

wisdom being again mentioned. Jnana-nisha means steady knowledge and

brahma-nisha is one whose knowledge is that atma is Brahman. It is this

knowledge, called brahma-nisha, that is being praised here in the last verse

of the second chapter.

 

Sthiti refers to this nisha, or steadfastness in the knowledge. Addressing

Arjuna as Partha, the son of Prtha, Krsna told Arjuna that being a

sthitaprajna is the state, sthiti, of being in Brahman, born of the knowledge

of Brahman. However, once we use the word 'state,' there is a problem because,

being only a state, it will not always be the same. Previously, something was

not and now this something is, in a particular state. Later, using the same

logic, it will be lost when another state is gained, just as the previous

state was lost when this state was gained. When the waking state goes, dream

comes. When the dream-state goes, sleep comes. When sleep also goes, waking

comes. When this particular life is gone, another life comes. Because of

centrifugal force, we find that certain things are in a particular state or

position and when the force is gone, they are no more in the same position.

Similarly, any state is subject to loss, subject to change. Otherwise, it

would not be called a state. It is important to note that we are not

discussing samadhi here, which is a state. The question about what happens

after one comes out of samadhi often arises. The final stage of samadhi,

wherein there are no thought modifications whatsoever, the nirvikalpa-samadhi,

is a state and, therefore, will be lost.

 

Since Krsna used the word sthiti here, one may question how long this state

will last, if indeed it is ever gained. The word 'state' is used in this verse

only for want of a better word and does not mean something that will be lost.

This nisha is knowledge, knowledge of Brahman. It is not that atma goes into

Brahman and sits there. All that is there is atma, the self, and the self

happens to be Brahman. Therefore, it is something to be understood.

 

KNOWLEDGE OF BRAHMAN IS NOT A STATE

There is no Brahman other than atma. Ëtma is Brahman. If atma is Brahman, it

is a matter for understanding. It is not a state; it is knowledge, gaining

which the person is no more deluded. Because knowledge is not a state, the

wise person never dons the cloak of delusion again. Therefore, one's old

ignorance does not come back. Such notions that were based on ignorance, such

as 'I am a jiva, a mortal, a doer, an enjoyer,' also do not return. You may

fret about whether the false notions will come back again. You may think,

'Suppose the doer, the enjoyer, comes back. Again, I will have all the old

problems. Then what will I do? I will have to find another guru. My present

guru will send me away because, having taught me once, he will not want to

teach me again. What will I do? Again, I will have to come back. I will have

to assume another body and everything will start all over again!' There is no

such problem because what we are discussing here is not a state; it is

knowledge. Knowledge gained is gained for good. Ëtma is Brahman. When its

svar£pa, its nature, is understood, there is no more jiva. The individual is

gone. There are no more false notions about oneself and the old delusion does

not return.

 

IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO GAIN SELF-KNOWLEDGE

Krsna then said that, remaining in this knowledge of Brahman, the wise person

gains moksa in this life itself. Living, he or she is liberated. Also, there

is one more piece of information given: liberation is possible even for a

person who is in the last lap of his or her life. The person may be very old.

The ears may no longer hear, the eyes may not see, the liver may not work, the

heart may be palpitating, and the person may always be scratching his or her

head in order to remember things - none of which matters at all.

 

Even if a person is old and is in the last days of his or her life, the person

can know, helped by all life's experiences. The old problems are no longer

there and everything has been tried anyway! It is only those who cannot even

try any longer who tend to think of themselves as lonely. 'I cannot go out

boating or fishing. I can no longer catch any salmon. They move too fast for

me. Now it is deer season and all the deer escape from me. I cannot even drive

a car and I am in an old age home. No one comes to see me except at Christmas

time. Even then my family asks me how I am and goes away again.' For such

people, these are big problems, whereas if a person has some discrimination

and has learned what life can teach, nothing is really a problem for him or

her anymore.

 

Life is meant for all this. Children are born and call you 'Daddy' and then

'Grand-daddy.' When you are a Daddy, you are supposed to be a viveki, one who

can discriminate the real from the unreal, and when you are a Grand-daddy, you

are supposed to be a grand viveki! Naturally, then, such a person is ready. If

all the people go away and he is left with himself, it should not be a

problem. By now, the person should know that nothing is really with him or

her, except some Social Security perhaps. There is no other security. Then,

having some viveka, if the person listens to the sastra the knowledge will

stick. Why? Because the person is mature.

 

MOKâA NEED NOT TAKE TIME

An old person has already gone through all the experiences that make one

wiser. For such a person, one sentence, if presented properly, is enough. He

or she should be mature by this time and, therefore, should have no emotional

problems or raga-dvesas. This kind of mature person, even though close to

death, can gain the knowledge. Earlier in this chapter we saw the story about

King Pariksit that bears this out. A curse was placed on him that he would die

in a week. He went to Vyasa's son, Suka, who was a jnani, and told him that he

had only one week to live. In response, Suka just laughed. 'Why are you

laughing?' the king asked, 'I am going to die in a week!' Suka then explained

why he was laughing. 'You are lucky,' he said, 'You say you are going to die

in a week. This means that you know you are going to be alive for seven days,

whereas I myself have no such guarantee. Since you are sure you are going to

live for seven days, it is definitely a matter for celebration. You are lucky.

My God! You can be Brahman by that time.' Seven days are more than enough time

to change one's whole perspective and, sure enough, in seven days this king

became a jnani. Thus, even if you are suffering from a terminal disease or are

very old, it makes no difference. You can gain moksa, liberation. Sankara then

completed the sentence. If a person about to die can gain moksa, anyone can.

Even as a brahmacari, before one enters the second stage of life which is

marriage, a person who takes to this study can gain moksa. Then, for as long

as he or she lives, the person lives in the knowledge of Brahman.

 

When the ears hear, the eyes see, the mind is thinking, and memory is a

possibility, knowledge can definitely be gained. If a person whose memory is

gone, whose eyes do not see, and whose ears do not hear can gain this

knowledge, all the more possible is the knowledge for one whose body is

healthy and whose mind is bright. There being no doubt that knowledge is all

that is to be gained for one to be liberated, the second chapter comes to an

end.