Chapter 2.4 Samkhya Yoga (Yoga of Knowledge) - Slokas 55-72
Sthitha Prajna Svabhaava – (The nature of a man of steady wisdom)
In sloka 54, Arjuna asked a question to Lord Krishna, “How does a man of steady wisdom talk, how does he sit and how does he walk?”. Basically, how does he (she) behave in his (her) life, with reference to working, dealing with people, etc.?
The Lord answers it in detail in the last 18 slokas of Chapter 2. We will discuss each sloka.
Sloka 55. Sri Bhagavan uvaacha
“Prajahaati yadaa kaamaan sarvaan partha mano-gathaan
Atman evathmanaa tushtah sthitha-prajnas tadochyate”
Sloka 55. The Blessed Lord said,” When one casts off his (her) desires and is satisfied in The Self by The Self, he (she) is said to be a person of steady wisdom”.
This is Veda Vyasa at his very best, powerfully and concisely describing Sri Krishna’s description of a perfect God-man (Highly evolved person).
“Atman eva atmanaa tushtah”– “Satisfied in the Self by the Self” is the essence of the life of a jnani. He does not compete with anyone. He does not desire anything. He does not need anything. He is content irrespective of whatever happens around him since he is focused on the Lord that is within him. He may be interacting with his family, or working in his job, or meditating or chanting mantras, but his focus is on the subject (the Atman, The Self or The Lord), not on the objects around him. This is what I would like to call “open eyed meditation”.
Lord Krishna describes a perfect sage further as follows :
Sloka 56. “His mind is not shaken by adversity, he does not seek pleasures, he is free from fear, anger and attachment” (to objects, people, money and power)
Sloka 57. “He neither rejoices nor hates” (anyone or any circumstance)
Sloka 58. “Like a tortoise, the sage withdraws his limbs from all sides when coming in contact with sense objects.”
This ability of a person to withdraw his (her) senses at any time from surrounding tempting objects (e.g. an ice cream for a diabetic person) is called Pratyaahaara . The example given here is a tortoise, withdrawing into its shell when sensing danger from the outside.
“Poisonous snakes fatally hurt people. But the snake charmer easily handles them. More than that, he has a few of them coil, creep and writhe about his body. The senses likewise, are treacherous in the case of the ordinary man. But they are ever tame and a servant to the knower of Atman.” – Sri Ramakrishna
Sloka 59. “The sense stimulating objects turn away from the abstinent man. But his longing for them also turns away on seeing the Supreme.” (The Lord).
Let us discuss with an example. Let us say a person loves sweets. Then one day, he (she) takes a vow that he(she) is not going to eat sweets anymore as a vratam or penance (tapas). He sees his friends enjoying sweets in a birthday party. He strictly refuses sweets when offered. But his longing for sweets may remain. This desire for sweets also slowly dissipates (goes away) when he chants the Lords name and constantly focuses on the Lord within him. Slowly but surely, this Vaasanaa (tendency) for attachment to sweets leaves him (her).
Slokas 60-61. “The senses are turbulent and they violently carry away the mind of a wise man though he is trying his best to control them. Having restrained them, he should sit steadfast, intent on Me.” (The Lord).
“Beware of your thoughts and everything will be alright with you”- Sri Ramakrishna
In the next two Slokas, Sri Krishna dissects how a man goes down to destruction in this world by not being careful in avoiding pitfalls.
Sloka 62.
“Dhyaayato vishayaan pumshah sangas teshupajaayate
Sangaat samjaayate kamah kaamaat krodho bhijaayate”
Sloka 63.
“Krodhaad bhavati sammohah sammohaat smrti-vibhramaha
Smrti- bhramsaad buddhi-nasho buddhi-nashaat pranashyati”
Sloka 62. “When a man thinks of objects, attachment for them arises; from attachment, desire is born; from desire, arises anger.”
Sloka 63. “From anger, comes delusion; from delusion, loss of memory; from loss of memory, the destruction of discrimination; from destruction of discrimination, he perishes.”
Sri Krishna is the greatest psychologist. The Lord systematically describes the downfall of a person while striving to live his life in a controlled manner. In His Lordly opinion, Sri Krishna says that the root cause of downfall of a person is attachment, which leads to desire and from then onwards, it is downhill. If he does not get what he wants, he gets angry, which leads to loss of memory, then he loses his discriminative capacity, and from that point on, makes emotional decisions, having lost the discriminative power of what is right and wrong.
What happens if the person controls his senses?
Slokas 64-65
“The self-controlled man, moving among objects, with his senses under control, free from likes and dislikes, attains peace. In that peace, all pains are destroyed: because the intellect of the tranquil-minded becomes steady”.
What happens if the person does not control his senses?
Slokas 66-67
66.“The unsteady does not know The Self (Atman), and to him no meditation (on The Self) is possible, to the unmeditated, no peace. If there is no peace, how can there be happiness?”
67. “Because the mind, which follows the wandering senses, carries away his discrimination as the wind carries away a boat on the waters.”
Lord Krishna then tells Arjuna that the Jnani is not disturbed any further and stays steady in his wisdom. He then describes how the sage becomes one with Brahman.
Sloka 70. “He (Self Realized person) attains Peace into whom all desires enter as waters enter the ocean which, filled from all sides, remains unmoved: but not the “desirer of desires”. (one who cherishes desires).
Sloka 71. “That man attains Peace, who lives devoid of longing, abandoning all desires, and without the feeling of “I” and “mine”.
Sloka 72. “This, O Partha (Arjuna), is the Brahmic state. Attaining this, no one is deluded (confused). Being established in it, even at the time of death, a man gets into oneness with Brahman.”
Thus ends Chapter 2, titled Samkhya Yoga, the Yoga of Knowledge. Here, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna to fight the righteous war and explains the perishable nature of the body and about reincarnation. He teaches Arjuna about the Imperishable nature of Atman, the Self. Sri Krishna tells him to fight with evenness of mind, single pointed, focused on the goal and without attachment to the results. He describes how a person perishes by having intense desires and attachment to objects without sense control. He explains in detail how a person of Self-Knowledge interacts with the world of objects with his senses under total control and attains Peace and merges with Brahman by living his (her) life in this manner.
Hari Om!
Dr.Shanmugam