Bhagavatgita a detailed study-chapter 6-yoga of meditation

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7.jithaathmanah praSaanthasya paramaathmaa samaahithaH

SeethoshNasukhadhuhkheshu thaThaa maanaapamaanayoH

 

The Self of one, who has controlled himself and is serene, remains always settled in situations of heat and cold, of joy and sorrow.

 

Jithaathmaa is one who has controlled his self, meaning his individual self, jeevathmaa, comprising of body, mind and intellect, (the Athman or the Suprenme self, the paramathman is not meant)

 

Hence as a result of this he remains praSaantha, calm.

 

Param aathmaa samaahithaH- His real self , aathman , is referred to as param aathman to distinguish it from the jeevaathma. His Self is integrated in Brahman in all the situations like that of heat and cold,

joy and sorrow.

 

The experience of heat and cold belongs to the body and felt through the indhriyas. When the mind attaches itself to the indhriyas the sensations give rise to joy or sorrow. The idea of honour and disgrace, maana and apamaana pertain to the thought, that is the intellect.

 

The one whose thoughts are centered in Brahman does not identify himself with body, mind and intellect and hence the opposites of heat and cold, joy and sorrow and honour and disgrace do not affect him.

 

 

 

8. jnaanavijaanathrpthaathmaa kootasTho vijithendhriyaH

 

yuktha ithuchyathe yogee samloshtaaSmakaanchanaH

 

The yogi who is contented with knowledge and wisdom and has full control of his senses is said to be integrated in yoga and remains immutable like the anvil, treating the potsherd, stone and gold equally.

 

. The sage who is detached from the body and mind through jnana and vijnana is not affected by anything that happens to him and hence he is kutastha, immutable and unshakable like the anvil of the ironsmith which , even though repeatedly hit does not undergo any change like the piece of iron that is placed on it, which alone changes in shape, being red-hot. The Self is called kutastha as is unaffected by the changes in the body, mind and intellect which are like red-hot iron, full of raga. (raga means colour especially red, signifying rajas.) So the one who has identified with the Self remains unaffected by the changes which pertain only to body, mind and intellect.

 

Such a yuktha, treats a potsherd, a stone and gold equally. Potsherrd is something that is of no use and no one cares to pick it up. Stone o is not so and could be used for various purposes by various people. Gold is desired by all. But to an yogi of integrated intellect, who dwells in Brahman always, all things are the same , denoted by the word samaloshtaaSma kaanchana. He experiences the joy of the Supreme Self, compared to which everything else is like the potsherd only.

 

This samathva or attitude of equality of all things extends also towards all people. This is explained in the next sloka.

 

9. suhrth mithaari udhaaseena maDhyastha dveshyabanDhushu

saaDhushvapi cha paapeshu samabudDhiH viSishyathe

 

The yogi who has equanimity towards a wellwisher, friend, enemy, the indifferent, the neutral, those who hate and the realtives and also towards the good and the sinners, excels.

 

 

In the chapter two, sloka 48, Krishna said `samathvam yoga uchyathe.' Yoga is equanimity. This is denoted by samabudDhi here. Krishna was going to elaborate on the practice of the yoga of medtitation for which the requisites have been described in the foregoing slokas. After saying that one must have the same attitude towards the opposites and remain calm under all circumstances , now the concept is extended to include the nonchalance towards all, friend and foe.

 

 

A suhrd is one who does good without expecting anything in return. While mithra is one who befriends for a purpose. Ari is an enemy or adversary and udhaaseena is an indifferent person. Madhyastha is a mediator, dhveshya is one who hates you and bandhu is a relation. In short he treats all alike without having likes and dislikes. It is interesting to note that the words mithra and ari are juxtaposed with one another and so are the words dhveshya and bandhu. This implies that the pairs are interchangeable. A mithra who is friendly for some specific purpose can become an ari , an adversary when the purpose is not fulfilled. Similarly a bandhu will soon become dhveshya. One who shows bitterness or hatred towards you is often a relative as we see around us in this world. As these characteristics belong to the non-self, the yogi ,who is united with his Self is not bothered about it. He ignores the container and sees only the content