A Gnani knows that the world has no power to
disturb him. He alone empowers the world to disturb him. A Gnani is one who
does not disturb the world nor does he disturb others. A Gnani accepts the Raga
Dvesha of others. He is not a threat to anyone. His mind is free from emotional
problem.
Anything will become a burden if I am very
particular about the results of my action. A Gnani accepts the result of his
actions with equanimity. You can move with people but avoid emotional
dependence on the world. Dependence is sorrow. Independence is Happiness. We
have to depend on things and people but learn to manage them. Efficiency
increases naturally when the mind is calm. A turbulent mind is a block for all
our resources. A calm mind can take a right decision. Any decision involves a
risk (wild risk or a calculated risk). Prepare your mind and say ‘I am ready
for any result’. This resolve will make me face any situation with ease. Say to
yourself that ‘I am ready for any karmapalan’. This will reduce my anxiety. A
hundred percent free mind is impossible. Any emotion is a thought. Any thought
can continue in my mind only if I permit. I train my mind to divert unhealthy
thoughts that comes. Therefore, a mantrajapa is very useful when my mind goes haywire
and restless. Then the mind will calm down.
A Gnani practices samatvam or equanimity. Life is
a continuous confrontation of pairs of opposites Viz., Heath, ill health, which
are continuous opposite experiences. We have to train our mind to remain equanimous.
Reaction can make the situation worse. It will increase the pain caused by the
situation. If I leave it, the impact of the pain will be lesser and lesser.
Remove the emotional content from the pain. Then there remains only biological
pain and it will come down. Acceptance will quieten the mind. Stress is
emotional disturbance only. Stress reduces our immunity. Many diseases are
already inside our body and immunity is keeping them under control. These
diseases will flare up due to stress and due to loss of immunity. For
maintaining good physical health, our mind should be free from emotional
disturbances. This also helps in keeping mental health and harmony. They are
useful in maintaining intellectual health also. Bhagavad Gita helps in keeping
spiritual health, which is the primary purpose of Bhagavad Gita. We will have
mental refinement, which will help in absorbing Vedantic teaching.
Absorption, retention and assimilation of
knowledge give unique joy, peace and fulfillment at the mental level, which is
called Jivan Mukthi. Therefore, knowledge represents the value wherever he
(Gnani) gets an opportunity (ver13 to ver20 of 12 Ch BG). There is a saying
“When the going gets tough the tough gets going”. The one who is mentally
strong and who mentally enjoys endurance, that person alone can maintain
equanimity and emotional immunity (he is a Gnani).
Every painful situation is an opportunity for
increasing emotional immunity. Never nourish Raga Dvesha. Remember that nobody
will be with us all the time. Therefore, my mind should be ready for a losing
situation also. A mind, which is prepared to lose the losable, is the mind of a
Sanyasi. In life, every pleasant thing is losable including our own health. One
who is not prepared to lose the losable is insane. According to Vedanta, a
Gnani does not depend on things, people and situations.
A wet clay Ball will stick to the ground and will
not rise up. A rubber Ball when falling on the ground will bounce back. A sound
mind will bounce back even after a tragic disturbance, after a mourning period.
Living in the past, losing the present and future is an unintelligent way of
life. The toughest discipline is speech control. More dependence is not
progress. Less dependence is a progress. That is called internal progress. You
have to become independent and not depend on anybody. A spiritual person
(Gnani) will remain calm in spite of different set of conditions around him
including food. Liberation is never possible without spiritual wisdom.
A spiritually ignorant person will say, I am a
small individual struggling to survive in this vast universe. Vedanta says that
the whole universe including the body and mind and the Galaxy are all a spec in
me who is infinite Consciousness. Me referred here is ‘I’ the chaitanya tatvam.
I am a spec in the world is “Samsara”. Life is a burden for a Samsari. Life is
a blessing for a Sanyasi. The aim of Vedanta is making the vision meaningful. I
am an ocean and all galaxies are like bubbles is the Vedantic vision. Adi
Sankaracharya refers to this in his famous Viveka Chudamani (when the body
falls for a Gnani).
How does a tree look at the event when its leaves
fall? Tree will remain and the leaves fall one by one. Everybody is a leaf in a
tree called ‘Brahman’, which is infinite and everlasting. You can use the world
as the stepping-stone but hold on to God for stability, peace and Happiness. For
a spiritual seeker, World is the means and God is the end.
Be Blissful.
S.Sekar
Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com
