Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5.20 - Stable Intellect

 

A living entity cannot achieve real happiness by enjoying material pleasures. These pleasures are only temporary and bring duhkha, or misery.

A person who is not perturbed by the occurrence of good or bad events, is steady in his intellect and is established in the eternal essence, is free from entanglements in this world. This quality is called sthira-buddhi, or self-intelligence.

Na prahrsyet priyam prapya nodvijet prapya ca apriyam

Whether one receives something agreeable or disagreeable in this world depends on the body he happens to be in and the karma he has accumulated through his previous life actions. So it is essential that one remains equiposed in such situations and does not become elated when he attains an agreeable situation and does not become dejected when he meets with an disagreeable situation. Such people are described as sthira-buddhir meaning steadfast in intelligence. They are not bewildered because they do not identify themselves with joy and sorrow. They remain steady in their intellect and plant their mind in the stability of atma or soul. For more detail watch video www.youtube.com

May Swaami who is the sun removing darkness of misinterpretation of Sri Bhashyam and moon granting the aspirations of his devotees live forever in Thirumala and bless us all with His grace. Amen..!!!. .. , , , . ,,,, ,, . - .. . . . . .

He who is not elated or dejected by pleasant or unpleasant situations

When the jiva, or individual soul, does not get elated nor dejected by the results of his actions, he attains moksha or liberation from material existence. This is the result obtainable for one who is situated in the equanimity resulting from perception of the Atma or eternal Soul residing equally in all living entities.

Such a person never rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments over obtaining something unpleasant; he is self-intelligent and unbewildered; his intellect is steady; he has asammudha or transcendental happiness, and is also a knower of Brahman, brahmavid brahmani sthitah.

Bhagavan Shri Krishna describes this state as 'tad buddhayas' meaning healthy because such a person has the inner strength to control his senses, and does not delight in the pleasures of the world which are in fact sources of misery. Such pleasures, when taken for granted, bring with them the daughter of Kala or Time and her army of death and mortal fever which binds the soul securely to this Samsara of repeated births.

He who is steady in his intellect

A person who does not get elated over pleasure or dejected over grief is called a man of steady intellect. Such a person is free from all attachment and fear, and he has renunciation and equanimity of actions.

The Bhagavad Gita is a profound moral text that has influenced writers such as Thoreau and Tolstoy. It is a conversation between Krishna and Arjuna on the eve of the battle of Kurukshetra, which represents a clash between good and evil.

Shree Krishna explains to Arjuna that performing one’s social duties is the path to liberation, while avoiding them leads to hellish rebirths in various incarnations. He also compares karm sanyas (renunciation of action) with karm yog (action performed in devotion). He urges Arjuna to pursue karm yog, as it is more appropriate for him. He explains that doing one’s duty with devotion is a far greater reward than simply enjoying the fruits of one’s labor. It is the only way to gain immortality.

He who is firmly established in the eternal essence

The person who is firmly established in the eternal essence, the soul, is beyond the influence of all activities and reactions arising in this material world. He neither rejoices upon getting something pleasant nor grieves on experiencing something unpleasant. This kind of equanimity is called self-intelligence.

This spiritual knowledge destroys ignorance. And the person who is enlightened with this knowledge reaches a state of faultless consciousness, nirdosam. He is not entangled by the different activities of the material world and becomes free from the spell of samsara.

Bhagavan Krishna compares karm sanyas yog (the path of renunciation of actions) and karm yog (the path of working in devotion). He emphasizes that the destinies of men, whether auspicious or inauspicious, are determined by God according to their antecedent causes but not by His choice. The omniscient God knows all antecedent and consequent events, but He doesn't change the consequences by His choice. He only acts to satisfy the purpose of His plan.