Bhagavatgita a detailed study chapter5-yoga of renunciation

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19. ihaiva thairjithah sargaH yeshaam saamye sThitham manah

nirdhosham hi samam brahma thasmaath brahmaNi the

sThithaah

 

Those whose mind abides in equanimity conquer birth while being here itself. Brahman remains the same and flawless and hence they reside in Brahman.

 

20. na prhrshyeth priyam praapya na udhvijeth praapya cha

apriyam

sThirabudDhiH asammooDaH brahmavith brahmaNi

sThithaH

 

One with a steady mind, undeluded , a knower of Brahman and abiding in Brahman, would not feel elated having a pleasant experience nor would be depressed on getting something unpleasant.

 

Krishna says that the birth has been vanquished even here in this life by those who have acquired Samathva or even mindedness, There is no plurality in Brahman as it is one only without a second, `ekameva adhvitheeyam.' The sage resides in Brahman alone and therefore he sees no plurality, nothing but Brahman everywhere, as declared by the Upanishad, Sarvam khalu idham brahma.' A brahmavid, knower of Brahman abides in Brahman, brahmani sthithah and hence he neither feels elated on getting something pleasant nor feels depressed on meeting with the unpleasant. He is termed as sthirabudhdhih, one whose intellect is steady, in other words, sthithaprajnah, who is described in the second chapter of the Gita as `dhuhkheshvanudhvignamanaah sukheshu vigathasprhah.' Such a man of wisdom abides in Self and for him there is no work to be done anymore. As Krishna declared in the third chapter of the Gita he has nothing to gain from action or non-action, `Naiva thasya krthaarththena naakrtheneha kaschana.'

 

The knower of Brahman who has attained the state of seeing Brahman everywhere as detailed in the previous sloka `vidhyaavinayasampanne,' has no desires and hence looks upon all worldly experiences as something that pertains to the body, mind and intellect, which are the products of the three gunas. Since he identifies himself with the self, sukha and duhkha which do not touch the self have no effect on him. Hence he conquers birth and death while being in this embodied state because karma does not have any effect on him and does not create bondage which is the cause of birth and death.

 

Such a sage is described by four adjectives namely, brahmavith, brahmaNi sThithaH, sThira buddhih and asammoodaH.

 

He is brahmavith, knower of Brahman, meaning that he knows that everything is Brahman. The world of variegated entities are only the manifestations of the supreme reality like the different shapes and colours of the articles made of clay of which the real essence is nothing but clay, or like the various ornaments made of gold which are in essence nothing but gold. The upanishat says, `vaachaarambhaNam vikaaraH naamaDheyam mrtthikethyeva sathyam.' It means that the names are different but the reality is nothing but clay. Similarly all things are nothing but Brahman in reality.

 

Therefore he is brahmaNi sThithah, established in Brahman because like a goldsmith who sees only gold in all ornaments, he sees only Brahman and his thoughts are always with Brahman only.

 

As a result of this his intellect is sThira unwavering, not being oscillated by any other thought. Hence he is sthirabudDhiH. Consequently he is free from delusion which arise only due to ignorance of reality. Without the knowledge that everything is Brahman, one gets deluded by the opposites such as likes and dislikes, sukha and duhkha, gain and loss etc. all of which arises from an attitude of seeing the world as different from himself.

 

On the other hand those who possess equanimity, yeshaam saamye sThitham manah, are not deluded and they are said to cross over the samsara, the cycle of transmigration while being in their embodiment. They carry on till the body falls and attain salvation.

 

Nirdhosham hi samam brahma- All imperfections are due to the three gunas. Since Brahman is beyond the gunas no imperfections affect Brahman. The self is not affected by the imperfections of the body, mind and intellect. Brahman which is the Self of the self is therefore not contaminated by the imperfections. This statement serves to dispel the doubt that if the world is the manifestation of Brahman whether the imperfections of the world would adhere to Brahman.

 

Just as the clay is the same in all the articles made of clay and gold is the same in all ornaments Brahman is also the same not undergoing any change.