EQUANIMITY OF MIND ALONE BESTOWS IMMORTALITY

By: Leena Ahuja
 

EVERYONE has to encounter grief in the form of misery, agitation, affliction, disappointment and the like which befall the mind during the course of one's life in the world. Life is not all fun, all pleasure. Often difficulties come. And life and work mean upsetting of the mind often. The mind's natural tendency is to go up and down. Every experience of the external world throws the mind into waves, just like dropping a stone in a lake. We lose our mental balance thereby. This oscillating tendency of the mind ruins our progress and welfare. To expect high intellectual and spiritual development in a mind, which has not achieved a measure of inner stability, is simply impossible.
 

A strong mind, a steady mind is the greatest asset we can have in life. A flimsy mind, shaken by passing fancy, will not be helpful for a fulfilled life. It is the calm and steady mind that turns out the largest quantum of work, not the excited unsteady one. So, the training of the mind is the greatest work we have to do, whether it is for worldly life or higher life. The whole of spiritual education as well as religion have only this objective: How to make this mind strong, steady and can instrument for the fulfilment of life. How to keep the mind steady, even when unsteadying influences work on it, is the central theme in the philosophy of life and work given by Lord Krishna in the Gita. The central message of the Gita is: �Make the mind your friend, don't make it your enemy� (6:5-6). Very often our mind is our own enemy and we suffer thereby.
 

One, who is equanimous in joy (sukha) and sorrow (dukha), profit and loss, victory and defeat, is a man of steady wisdom (2:38). This evenness of mind (samatava) is known as yoga (2:48). An even-minded person is one who is totally free from restlessness and agitations of the mind. His mind can never be disturbed. His mind is ever poised in perfect equilibrium. In the best or worst of environments and circumstances, he is just the same. In joy or sorrow, he is unperturbed, calm and composed. Treat him with honour or dishonour, he is unaffected, sedate and serene.
 

Our life is a constant interaction between our senses and the objects of the world. This brings about joy and sorrow alternates. These will always be there anytime, anywhere, in any context or circumstances. It will not be all joy or even all sorrow, but joy and sorrow alternatively. If joys-sorrows are something inevitable in the context of sense-object interaction, what is a man of wisdom to do? He should understand their place well and forbear them, i.e. meet them with an unfailing and ready acceptance. Lord Krishna points out that these are transitory. They always come and go. Neither does the joy endure nor does the sorrow. Both will emerge only to subside. Towards them, the only attitude called for is one of forbearance or tolerance. What cannot be cured must be endured! It develops the strength of the mind. The capacity to bear pain and other unpleasant experiences without anxiety and weeping and without the intention to react is a tremendous capacity. This kind of strengthening of the mind and control of the sensory system is very important for any decent human being. Virtue and morality cannot thrive without this kind of self-discipline.

The capacity to have attitude-control is a tremendous capacity. We cannot control what others do to us, but we can certainly control our attitude towards those things. That is in our hands. If somebody says that I am a fool, I become wretched and depressed. That man, who called me a fool, is dead and gone, but I am still living a depressed life because somebody once said I was a fool. To put our mind in somebody else's pocket is the most unfortunate thing we can do. And so, we must learn to put it in our own pocket; that can come only when the mind has that balance.
 

Somebody abuses me, immediately I abuse back. We always say action and reaction are equal and opposite. That is the mechanical law. But in the case of human beings, it can be altered. If the action is one unit, reaction can be ten units or can be zero unit. That shows we are free. We can regulate our reaction. We always have to be in situations controlled by others. This control rests with others. What does then rest with us? We have got a wonderful internal generator from which many things can be generated. Any kind of a development, treatment or situation coming from the world can be neutralized by our internal generator. The unfavourable impact of every external situation can thus be neutralised by us. There is no poverty in the heart of man, no weakness in the mind. For reinforcing the mind with the strength of spiritual wisdom, a sense of forbearance must be cultivated constantly. When delusion drops and wisdom dawns, then itself will the intolerance also leave.

One cannot have a steady mind without sensory restraint and sublimation. Throughout the Gita, sensory restraint has been pointed out as the most pronounced note of spiritual life. Anyone indifferent to disciplining the senses will not be able to make any progress in cultivating evenness of the mind. In whose control are the senses, his or her wisdom is steady (2:61). The powerful sensory system of the human being drags away the mind of even a wise man (2:60). We should have a very strong sensory system but it must be under control. Just like for a journey, we should have a powerful set of horses. Then only we can reach our destination. But, they must be under our control. Otherwise, it will be horse's journey, not ours.

The sensory system should be controlled by the (buddhi) or intelligence should not be controlled by the sensory system. The Gita does not want us to leave the sensory world and to lead an ascetic life in some corner. Live in the world, live in the midst of sensory objects, have property, have money, but don't become a slave of these. Do something to strengthen yourself against the energies that have the tendency to pull you down.

The ability to be indifferent, to remain unaffected by the external results, favourable or unfavourable, can come only by spiritual sadhana or practice. No benefits is going to come to us thereby unless our mind is trained. All happiness and peace come from and in the mind; they don't come from outside. When the mind is properly trained, it becomes peaceful. The ability to be affected and unaffected belongs to the mind and intelligence. So, we have to culture in the mind and intelligence level a practice, by virtue of which the ability to rise above the external or objective results will be there. Spiritual pursuits greatly strengthen the mind. By regular exposure to spiritual wisdom through the study of scriptures and attending satsangs (holy congregations), the mind and intelligence get a repeated chance of being exposed to what the nature of Truth is. Meditation greatly helps in enriching the mind and strengthening the skill, ability, qualities and virtues of the mind and intelligence.

Unless meditation practice is taken up, it is not possible to attain the above mentioned state. Because in meditation alone we come face to face with the mind and can screen, scan and examine our mind so as to arrive at a proper assessment about oneself. So in order to bestow upon the mind a number of virtues, qualities and abilities, an exclusive mind-discipline known as dhyana or meditation will have to be taken up at least for an hour or so daily. Unless this is done, one cannot become stable-minded.

One, who possesses an unstable and unsteady mind, cannot undertake any enquiry into the nature of oneself. According to Gita, the courageous one who is even-minded in joy and sorrow, that person alone can achieve immortality; he or she can realise the Atman or Self which is immortal. Whoever is not subdued or swept by these repeatedly emerging mental alternates is the only verily fit for liberation (2:15).

Equable vision, Gita says, signifies the pinnacle of spiritual vision. Lord Krishna upholds equable vision as the essence of Divine vision and attainment: �Brahman (Nirakar), the Supreme Reality, is noted for its 'equalness'. It is untainted by evil. It is devoid of all defects. Being so, those whose mind is established in equilibrium are indeed poised in God too.� (5:19)

By the practice of equable vision becoming strong and predominant, our preferences and prejudices dwindle, likes and dislikes lose their potency, desire and hatred vanish, leaving the mind of its own natural spiritual purity and evenness. Evenness becomes the pronounced expression of the mind and the mind becomes taintless. As is God taintless and equable, so becomes the mind too because of its equal vision. Evenness being the nature of God, the mind given to evenness becomes the same as God. And hence, an evenmind is a Godly mind. No more is the Ultimate Reality to be thought of separately or contemplated upon. The even-mind is itself seated in God, by virtue of its evenness. The practice of evenness makes the seeker God itself.
 

Handling the mind is extremely difficult. When the mind has been accustomed in a particular way, we cannot change it so easily. To get this sameness of vision is difficult, for mind is always restless. After listening to so much about samatava or evenness. Arjuna also realised that its practice would be difficult because of the desultory nature of the mind (6:33). Furthermore, he adds that the mind being restless, turbulent, strong and unyielding, he considers its control and discipline as difficult as �trying to catch the air� (6:34). Lord Krishna states that although the mind is restless and difficult to control, yet it can be controlled by practice (6:35).
 

All great things are difficult but practice makes a man perfect. Even climbing a small hill is difficult. The location of our ancient temples on top of the hills signifies that to gain spiritual perfection one needs to put in a great deal of self-effort. We should earnestly and constantly tread the path of self-development shown to us by our revered Gurudev Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj and regularly do sewa (selfless service) simran (God-remem-brance) and satsang so as to make our mind strong, steady and an instrument for the fulfilment of life.
 

Equanimity of mind is highly needed today all over the world, because man has become more subject to tension, sorrow, unfulfilment and suicidal tendencies. We can succeed to abolish war, violence and crime from society only by this qualitative enrichment of human life. The Atman (self), cannot be grasped by the eye, ear or any other organ. The right perception will be had only by the gift of wisdom, the favourableness of one's own intelligence. When the intelligence becomes properly illumined and the illumined intelligence befriends us, then only will we be able to perceive the Ultimate Reality. So we must make our mind befriend us in all circumstances.

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