दु:खेष्वनुद्विग्नमना: सुखेषु विगतस्पृह: |
वीतरागभयक्रोध: स्थितधीर्मुनिरुच्यते || 56||
duḥkheṣhv-anudvigna-manāḥ sukheṣhu vigata-spṛihaḥ
vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ sthita-dhīr munir uchyate
duḥkheṣhu—amidst miseries; anudvigna-manāḥ—one whose mind is undisturbed; sukheṣhu—in pleasure; vigata-spṛihaḥ—without craving; vīta—free from; rāga—attachment; bhaya—fear; krodhaḥ—anger; sthita-dhīḥ—enlightened person; muniḥ—a sage; uchyate—is called
Translation:
He whose mind is not troubled in sorrow, who does not hanker after pleasures and is free from attachment fear and hatred, is called the sage of steady wisdom.
Commentary:
The characteristics of sthitaprajna are further elaborated here.
Mind not troubled in sorrow: The mind of the sthitaprajna is not troubled by the sorrows. disasters and calamities of life. The sun who is far above the storm clouds is not affected by thunder, lightning, and rain. In the same way, pain and pleasure are the natural reactions of the mind to external phenomenon, and Atma being above the mind (i.e.) transcending the mind, is not affected by its modifications. It remains as the witness of the mind, in the same way, as the Sun is just the witness of what is happening in the lower region of the earth. Vasishta explains to Sri Rama that just as arrows cannot powder a mountain, just as the sea-waves cannot move the mountain on the shore, just as the lotus creeper cannot bind an elephant, even so the sorrows and troubles of the world cannot affect the Jivanmukta, the sthitaprajna.
Who does not hanker after pleasures: The Stitaprajna does not hanker after the pleasures of the body and the senses. He is not thrown off his Self-state when pleasant and delighted things come to him. Pain and pleasure are just two different waves of the mind. One wave is called pleasure and another is called pain. Both are caused by the contact of the mind with external objects. If the object is agreeable, there is a wave of pleasure. If the object is undesirable, there is a wave of pain. The sthitaprajna whose mind is firmly established in Atma is not moved one way or the other when pleasant and unpleasant things occur. The Jivanmukta has found himself one with the ocean of bliss, and as such how can he think of attaching himself to any kind of material pleasure? He knows that these little pleasures are only ripples on the surface of the ocean of bliss and that they are shadowy reflections of his own Self. No one can cling to the pleasures of a dream when he awakens from the dream. If really he desires such pleasures, it only shows that he has not yet fully awakened from the dream. So also, he who clings to worldly pleasures arising from the senses and sense objects is not a Sthitaprajna. Attachment to people, places, and objects takes away the intellect. People are helplessly tied with the rope of attachment. One has to learn to cut this rope with the sword of knowledge of the Absolute and become detached and free. We have the shining example of Suka, as the Sthitaprajna par excellence. If today we come across a man of such caliber who can look upon pain and pleasure with an equal eye, verily we have to honor him as a Jivanmukta.
Free from attachment, fear, and hatred: Again, it is pointed out that the Sthitaprajna is free from attachment, fear, and hatred. To the man of knowledge, everything appears as Atma, in the same way as everything appears as material objects to the ignorant man. What then can he desire? Whom can he fear or hate? The same truth is declared in the Esavasya Upanishad also.
For the wise man who knows that everything is that one Atma, there can be no delusion and no sorrow. He has realised that all that exists is only the Supreme Self and nothing else. Fear and hatred arise only when there is a second thing. When all this is one indivisible Satchidananda Absolute, where is fear and where is hate? He is himself everything. Can he hate himself? Can he fear himself? No. That is the state of the Jivanmukta, the Sthitaprajna – supreme and transcendental.
Munih: The sage who is engaged in speechless absorption in the Self is a Muni. Only such a strong-willed man of action can ascend the peak of the Soham (I am he), mount. The idle and the lethargic have no chance of winning the goal. The sage who has acquired one-pointed concentration in the Self is Sthitaprajna.
Swami Vivekananda Says —
Arjuna asks: “Who is a person of established will?” [Krishna answers:] “The man who has given up all desires, who desires nothing, not even this life, nor freedom, nor gods, nor work, nor anything. When he has become perfectly satisfied, he has no more cravings.” He has seen the glory of the Self and has found that the world, and the gods, and heaven are … within his own Self. Then the gods become no gods; death becomes no death; life becomes no life. Everything has changed. “A man is said to be [illumined] if his will has become firm, if his mind is not disturbed by misery, if he does not desire any happiness, if he is free of all [attachment], of all fear, of all anger.[Source]
Question: What further qualities of the sthitaprajna are mentioned here?
Answer: He is not distressed by sorrow, does not hanker after pleasure, is free from attachment, fear and hatred.
