Bhagavadgita says that a Stithaprajna is a person of
steady state of wisdom always in a balanced state. What is a balanced state of
Intellect? How do we attain this? What could be the obstacles in this path?
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. Bhagavan talks about this issue in this verse.
Yah sarvatratraanabhisnehas tat tat praapya subhaasubham!
naabhinandati na dvesti tasya prajnaa prathistitaa!!
He who is everywhere 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. Whenever 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. Someone 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 cannot 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 cannot take a detour because
something 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
throughout 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 TAT SAT!
