Divine Qualities-shanti (Gita Satsangh 16.2)

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Dandavat pranams to all!!!

 

As we continue our Gita sangha examining each divine quality, shanti is the next listed divine quality in verse 2 of Chapter 16. Shanti here means peace of mind, tranquility, or equanimity of mind. Of course, to have this peace of mind, one must have the other divine qualities, which by the very nature of their source, lead to peace of mind. When one is surrendered, then desires have been quashed. If desires have been quashed and all actions are performed in a spirit of tyaga or renunciation, the fruits thereof surrendered to the Lord, then there will be peace of mind, which comes with the understanding that any sense of ownership is but an illusion.

 

 

Ahimsaa satyamakrodhas tyaagah shaantirapaishunam; Dayaa bhooteshvaloluptwam maardavam hreerachaapalam. 2. Harmlessness, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, absence of crookedness, compassion towards beings, uncovetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of fickleness,

Of shanti, Swami Chinmayanandaji said this: "PEACEFULNESS (Quietude --- Shanti) --- If a seeker is capable of living, conscious of Truth harming none, keeping an even temper, in a spirit of renunciation, inspite of all disturbing environments and happenings around, then he is the one who shall come to experience peace and quietude in himself. Even in the midst of a stormy life and outrageous circumstances, such an individual can successfully keep his inward balance and intellectual poise."

 

It does not matter what is happening externally; the inner peace bestowed by grace is unaffected. The Lord elaborates on this quality in great detail in Gita Chapter 2.56-72. Bringing us back to the destruction of desire, some of these verses address it as the source of both anger and the destroyer of inner peace. When any of these emotions begin to arise, remembrance of surrender and its meaning will easily quell the rising tide. In the ability to accept all things as the vibhuti or prasadam, a gift, of the Lord, comes the ability to remain untouched and unaffected by whatever happens around us.

Duhkheshwanudwignamanaah sukheshu vigatasprihah;Veetaraagabhayakrodhah sthitadheer munir uchyate.56. 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.

Yah sarvatraanabhisnehas tattat praapya shubhaashubham;Naabhinandati na dweshti tasya prajnaa pratishthitaa.57. He who is everywhere without attachment, on meeting with anything good or bad, who neither rejoices nor hates, his wisdom is fixed. (BG 2.57)

 

Our resident Acharya, Sadaji said it thus in a recent perspective and it bears repeating here as an example:

 

"Abhyaasa (constant practice) and vairaagya (withdrawal from attachments) that Shree Krishna emphasizes again and again are the essential ingredients - abhyaasenatu kounteya vairaagyena ca gRihyate. Obstacles do arise, since the nature of the world is to change. Changing set-ups will never be all the time conducive to ones mental liking. However their impact is reduced by understanding that they are all mithyaa or have no absolute validity. This recognition becomes increasingly factual as the mind start abiding in the knowledge of the self. Thus by recognizing the higher nature of oneself and recognizing the lower nature or the falsity of the worldly objects and people, one slowly transcends the emotional attachments so that the mind does not get affected by these local interactions as it becomes immune to them.

 

It is similar to how one regards the incidents in the dream after one is awake. The effect of this mental modification is whatever that comes in the course of the time is intrinsically accepted as part of either praarabda or Iswara prasaada. Externally the jnaani’s BMI will act as required but internally one gets established as saakshii for all the external happenings. Emotional involvement will decrease leaving intellectual or objective actions needed for the changing circumstances. This is an evolution rather than a revolution, just as a flower-bud slowly blossoms into a beautiful fragrant flower with all its glory. In nature every beautiful creation evolves into perfection...

 

....Alternately the jnaani understands that the pleasures and pains come and go due to praarabda, and they are taken as vibhuuti of the Lord. Praarabda is what one experiences and where one does not have any control. Conversely whatever circumstances or events that one face during ones life where one does not have any choice (that covers all the past and all the future), can be taken as praarabda. Due to this, BMI will undergo the pains and pleasures that come and go because it is part of the prakRiti, but jnaani can stand apart and watch the drama of life. Hence Krishana says – duHkheShu anudvigna maanaH, sukheShu vigataspRihaH, viita raaga bhaya kRodhaH, sthitadhiiH muniruchyate-, ups and downs at the body level will not affect the jnaani. It is taken as bhagavat prasaada or vibhuuti of the Lord. All prakRiti is His maayaa only. Hence there are no emotional reactions other than wonder at the beauty that permeates in all. Such a jnaani, who firmly abides in that knowledge, Krishna says, is His greatest Bhakta. That is the very fulfillment of life itself." advaitin/message/47787

 

The Lord tells us the importance of shraddha or faith in the final analysis. This allows us to continue our quest no matter what the obstacle, seeing it as prasadam or a gift of the Lord. Read the Gita, study it closely, have faith in His words, contemplate upon it again and again, follow His instructions, given freely for those who heed them, and the gift of peace will be yours!!!

 

Shraddhaavaan labhate jnaanam tatparah samyatendriyah;Jnaanam labdhvaa paraam shaantim achirenaadhigacchati.The man who is full of faith, who is devoted to it, and who has subdued all the senses, obtains (this) knowledge; and, having obtained the knowledge, he goes at once to the supreme peace. (BG 4.39)

Hare Krishna!!!