Verse 56
Duhkheshwanudwignamanaah
Sukheshu vigatasprihah;
Veetaraagabhayakrodhah
Sthitadheer munir uchyate.
He whose mind is not shaken by adversity, who does not hanker after
pleasures, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a
sage of steady wisdom.
In this verse, Sri Krishna describes
sages of steady wisdom as:
1) Those who have given up craving for
pleasure,
2) Those who remain free from
fear,
3) Those who are devoid of anger.
When the mind craves external pleasures, it
runs to the objects of enjoyment, and is again diverted from divine
contemplation. So, a sage of steady wisdom is one who does not allow the mind
to hanker for pleasure or lament for miseries.
Further, such a sage does not permit the mind
to succumb to the urges of fear and anger. In this way, the mind becomes
situated on the transcendental level.
Fear is worrying for prospective sorrow which
may be caused by bereavement of what is cherished and the projection of the
coming of unwanted things. One must learn to be free from this.
Anger is that disturbed state of mind and
irritated feelings produced of pain from others causing separation from what is
cherished or giving the experience of things not cherished. One must learn to
be free from this.
As the Stitaprajna was described in a verse
earlier, here too Krishna uses only one verse to describe the Stita-Dhi in this verse (sthitadheer munir
uchyate).
Dhi denotes intelligence, buddhi. Intelligence is always
given to knowing or understanding. Buddhi can remain active with its role even
when one remains bodily active.
When buddhi acquires its spiritual steadiness
and composure, one becomes a sthita-dhi.
Krishna makes this point very clear in the
first half of the verse: the sthita-dhi will remain unruffled in duhkhas
(miseries) and un-yearning in sukhas.
It is not that he has no duhkha. The
duhkha-producing events or involvements will be there, no doubt, as they are
unavoidable whenever senses come in contact with their objects.
But these duhkha producing events and
situations will not be able to ruffle his mind and dislodge him from his deeper
moorings bestowed by sthita-prajnata.
Likewise, in sukha, the sukha-producing
events and episodes, his mind will not have any sense of yearning or hankering.
He will not long for any sukha or sukha-producing events or situations.
Whatever yearning was there would have left
because of the sthita-prajnata.
Sthitaprajnata acts like fire in burning the
dry leaves of desires and lingering.
Both sukha and duhkha steep the sthita-dhi in
the unchanging and ever-full Consciousness.
Thus, Arjuna’s question “What will the sthita-dhi
speak” has a conclusive answer in Krishna’s words. In the Knower, the Knowledge
will remain pronounced.
Thus, the sthita-dhi will always highlight
the sthita-prajna state and how it changes one’s perception and interactional
attitude and response so thoroughly.
Love.
