Gita says Sthitaprajna is one who casts off the desires and stays in his own self. Here they are talking about getting rid of all desires but is this possible? There are so many distractions in this materialistic world. These objects pull us away from our own self. These objects could either be positive or negative. But if we have the balance, we can face them easily. We may not be able to change the world around us but we can change the way we view this world. We can change our thinking which will help us to navigate this world much better. Bhagvan talks about this issue in the next verse.
Yah sarvatratraanabhisnehas tat tat praapya subhaasubham!
naabhinandati na dvesti tasya prajnaa prathistitaa!!
He who is every where without attachment, on meeting with any good or bad, who neither rejoices nor hates, his wisdom is fixed.
So far we understood who is stithaprajna. But is this possible for a common man to be like this?
We have to turn to God by gaining control on our mind. To do this we need dedicated practice & dispassion. We have to first understand what we want to achieve and we also have to believe that we can reach that goal. There are so many distractions in this materialistic world. These objects throw us off balance. Bhagavan gives a simple solution in this next verse.
Yadaa samharate chaayam kurmaangaaniva sarvasah!
Indriyaanindriyaardheyas tasya prajna prathistitaa!!
Like Tortoise with draws all its limbs on all sides, he withdraws his senses from sense objects, then his wisdom becomes steady.
For a student in school, there should be nothing more important than his studies. All other issues fall behind studies. In a similar way the seeker of higher wisdom should be careful and have to think about God all the time. All other karmas should be handled as required. Then we can avoid falling into the vicious cycle of material world. When ever there is threat to our spiritual world, we have to retract our senses like a tortoise.
We have to understand the importance of God in our lives. We have to realize that self realization is the goal of life. When a kid is offered some candy and money, the kid will choose the candy over the money. Because he does not comprehend the value of the money. The humans are also the same when it comes to choosing material objects over the God. We are not even in a state to understand the gravity of the mistake we are making.
Tools to attain Balanced mind
Understanding the goal of life:
We need to understand why we came to this earth and where we need to go. What is the goal of human life? Understanding this is not that easy and we need a Guru in our life. Our scriptures also help us to walk this path. If we do not get a grasp of this path, we will be lost in this materialistic world.
Journey of life towards our goal:
If we know where we are traveling then we can take some precautions and prepare for the journey. We can learn from the teachers who already traveled through this path. We do not have to reinvent the path. We have to use the experience of our elders.
Physical fitness:
We got this human form after several thousands of janmas. So we have to make sure that we do not neglect the physical health. We may not like what is good for our health. We give importance to taste only. Some one might prefer some kind of soda instead of drinking water when they are thirsty. Is this fair to abuse our bodies like that?
Maintaining good mental health:
We have to stay away from the situations that can destabilize our stability. We need to be vigilant not to fall for greed, anger, lust, and fear. These distracting qualities will make us drift from our path and away from our goal. We need to fill our mind with good and positive thoughts. We need to adopt good qualities like love, forgiveness, openness, good company and spiritual mind. This kind of positive thinking will keep our mental health in balance.
Following the Dharma:
If we do not follow the principles that are prescribed by our scriptures, we will suffer in this world. No matter how much we can justify our negative actions, we can not avoid the consequences of our karmas. Following the dharma will make us reach the balanced state of mind easily.
Introspection and self analysis:
We have to make an effort to tease the reality in every action that we resort to. We have to constantly improve our thinking and attitude. We have to be careful about the distractions in our journey. We can not take a detour because some thing looks good along the way. But we can enjoy and appreciate the things that present in front of us but not get distracted. If we look outward all the time, we will lose track of our path. We cannot have mental balance by turning outward.
Earning and spending:
This is the biggest hurdle in our life and it is hard to separate ourselves from this vicious cycle. We have to understand what really makes us happy. It may be important to have enough money to survive in this world but we have to draw a line somewhere. Otherwise we distance ourselves from the mental peace and balance in the life. A person with a steady state of wisdom will also appear to be earning and spending money but only difference is they know where to draw the line. We have to understand that if something like wealth is not giving happiness, we have slow down and find the truth.
Soul searching and Meditation:
If we follow the points that we talked about then we can stay mentally balanced. Then our mind will stay in steady state of wisdom. If we have balance through out the day then it is easy to focus during the meditation. Baba said to surrender every action that we undertake in every day routine. Then we get the introspection whether to go through that particular action. This kind of surrender will protect us from wrongdoings.
Stithaprajna (steady state of wisdom) is very natural with this state. But for a student in this path, this will be a practice oriented task. That's why Lord Krishna talked about all these principles so that we can learn to follow them and ultimately reach our goal that is Self realization.
OM SRI SAI RAM!
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