Bhagavad Gita - Daily - II 2:57 II

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|| Shree Hari ||

Ram Ram

 

|| 2-57 ||

 

yah sarvatraanabhisnehas, tat tat praapya subhasubham

naabhinandati na dvesti, tasya prajnaa pratisthita

 

" He, who remains unattached under all conditions , not delighted at receiving

pleasant, nor dejected by unpleasant, is stable in wisdom. "

 

From " Gita Prabodhani " in Hindi, page 57 by Swami Ramsukhdasji

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Chapter 2, Verse 57 is as follows;

 

YaH = he who

Sarvatra = everywhere

Anbhi-SnehaH = without attachment

Tat = that

Tat = that

Praapya = having obtained

Shubha-Ashubham = good and evil

Na = not

Abhi-Nandanti = rejoices

Na = not

DveShti = hates

Tasya = his

Pradnyaa = wisdom

Prati-Sthitaa = is fixed / firmly established

 

 

English translation:-

 

He who is unattached everywhere, who does not rejoice nor loathe as he obtains

good or evil respectively, his wisdom is firmly established.

 

Comment:-

 

This verse addresses Arjuna's question of " How does an enlightened soul relate

with the external environment? "

 

This mortal world is a mixture of good and evil. An ordinary person is bound to

undergo pendulum like natural oscillations i.e. from an extreme position of

happiness to the subsequent swing to another extreme position of sadness and

vice versa. It is very difficult to disassociate with these natural swings as

long as you are part of the closed system. The moment you step out of that

closed system, you will develop a fine technique of not being swayed by these

natural oscillations i.e. between weal and woe.

 

His intelligence is firmly set in wisdom, who receives whatever comes his way

without undue excitement or joy, without pain or revolt. He does not praise a

blooming flower similarly he does not condemn a fading flower.

 

A human life is a packaged deal of combinations of both favourable and

unfavourable experiences spread over the entire life span of an individual. You

cannot aspire only for favourable outcomes for yourself and unfavourable

outcomes to others. Right from birth to death, one has to acknowledge and accept

this packaged deal of both SukhaH and DukhaH i.e. pleasure and pain. The ratio

of SukhaH to DukhaH varies from person to person based on his `Purva-Krutam'

i.e. accumulation of good deeds in the previous births.

 

It reminds me of a very famous verse from Santa Tukaaraama, " Bahuta

Sukrutaanchee Jodee, MhaNunee Vitthalee Aavadi " i.e. I am indeed fortunate to be

a dear devotee of Lord Vitthala i.e. Lord Vishnu; as I must have done some

things right in my previous births.

 

It also reminds me of a famous song from a popular movie called `Sound of

Music': " I must have done something good. "

 

The only viable alternative to this packaged deal concept is to go beyond SukhaH

and DukhaH i.e. pleasure and pain by constant study and practice of scriptures

and developing an attitude of dis-passion towards the external environment. This

is precisely stated by Lord Krishna, " Abhyaasena Tu Kaunteya, VairaagyeNa Cha

Gruhyate " i.e. O Arjuna, only by constant practice and non-attachment, you will

be able to control your restless mind (BG: Verse 35 / Chapter 6).

 

Another verse in BG (5-22) also points out a way to transcend from SukhaH and

Dukhah, it is through realization that what we call SukhaH today would be soon

turning into a DukhaH:

 

" The delights that are contact- born are verily the wombs of pain; they have, O

son of Kunti, a beginning and an end; no wise man rejoices in them. " .

 

" For the man who sees from the peak of a hill; the tall trees, the grassy

plains, the ups and downs and everything below seem alike. The knower of the

Brahman likewise sees Divinity alone in everything. He makes no distinction

between the good and the bad or between the superior and the inferior. " ……………Shri

Ramakrishna Paramahansa

 

Most people develop attachments to whatever they do, whomever they like and

wherever they go. As a consequence they lead a miserable life as attachments

bring in sorrows and sufferings. They rejoice when agreeable and pleasant things

happen to them and sulk otherwise. They interpret that the rest of the world is

unkind and cruel to them. They fail to appreciate that it is the direct result

of their wrong associations and relationships with the external world. The

moment they drop their clinging attachments to the rest of the world, they start

leading a life of peace and bliss.

 

He, who without attachment squarely meets life with all equanimity and poise, is

one who is established in wisdom. To avoid facing an evil and to strive for

lingering ever in the experience of what you perceive to be good is to lead a

precarious life.

 

An enlightened Yogi experiences the best and the worst in life with equal

detachment, as he is firmly established in the True and the Eternal i.e. the

very Self itself.

 

Thanks & Best Regards,

Shrikant Joshi

 

 

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|| Shree Hari ||

Ram Ram

 

All Sadhaks can participate in discussion / clarification of the verses.

 

OTHER REQUESTS FROM SADHAKS -

 

Please feel free to take the lead in any of these areas so that all

sadhaks may benefit.

 

- Introduction to Chapters (GT MODERATOR FROM SADHAK SANJIVANI)

- Chapter Summary - Principles and Laws emanating from it.(N.B. VYAS)

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- Yes, Epilogue / Important Facts in each verse good to bring out.

- Any subtle thoughts / interpretation (MIKE)

- In-depth explanation of " Om Tat Saditi Srimadbhagavadgitaasu,

Upanishadsu..... " is a very good idea. (GT MODERATOR FROM SADHAK

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From Gita Talk Moderators

Ram Ram

-----------------------------

[Guest guest]

|| Shree Hari ||

Ram Ram

 

|| 2-57 ||

 

yah sarvatraanabhisnehas, tat tat praapya subhasubham

naabhinandati na dvesti, tasya prajnaa pratisthita

 

" He, who remains unattached under all conditions , not delighted at receiving

favorable, nor dejected by unfavorable, is stable in wisdom. " 57

 

Comment:—

 

[in the previous verse, Lord Krsna explained that a man of stable wisdom remains

unperturbed, while discharging his duty. In this verse, he explains, that such a

man remains stable in favourable and unfavourable situations, resulting from

past deeds.]

 

'Yah sarvatranabhisnehah'— He remains free of all attachments i.e., he is not

attached to his body, senses, mind, intellect, family and possessions. He is

neither attached to them nor identifies himself with them. He remains untainted

by them. Despite his physical association with senses, objects, circumstances

and individuals etc., he remains quite unattached.

 

'Tattatprapya subhasubham nabhinandati na dvesti— He remains untainted and

unaffected by good and bad, favourable and unfavourable circumstances.

Experiencing good or pleasant, he is not delighted. This delight means mental

joy and expression of joy through words. By encountering evil or unfavourable,

he is not dejected. This dejection means mental suffering and despair, and the

thought why and how this situation has occurred, and how to get rid of the

unpleasant situation. He remains untainted in favourable and unfavourable

circumstances, resulting from destiny.

 

The expression, 'tat, tat', signifies that meeting with all agreeable and

disagreeable persons, incidents, objects and circumstances that can possibly

cause mental perturbations; he neither rejoices in them nor hates them whenever,

wherever, and however, he may meet with them.

 

Tasya prajna pratisthjta1— His determinate intellect, now becomes stable in God.

He understands that he is entirely unconcerned with the good and evil of the

world, because these always change, while he (Self) always remains the same.

There is no modification in the self, while in the evolutes of matter, there is

always modification. Man identifies himself with the body and regards the

modification of the body as modification in his own self. But when he realizes

the two as separate, his intellect becomes stable.

 

Another sentiment or interpretation is, that eternal and infinite God cannot be

perceived by the intellect, which is limited. But when the intellect merges in

God, then there remains nothing besides God. This is situating the intellect in

God or being of steady wisdom.

 

A Karmayogi is ever active. Therefore, the Lord, in the fifty-sixth verse,

mentions that he neither craves for success (pleasure) nor is he perturbed in

failure (sorrow), while in this verse He declares that he is neither delighted

at receiving the agreeable nor dejected at the disagreeable.

 

 

From " The Bhagavadgita - Sadhak Sanjivani " in English, page 208 - 209 by Swami

Ramsukhdasji