Facing Change with True Equanimity
All religions and schools of thought have held equanimity to be a great virtue, to be cultivated as a prerequisite to attaining the status of a jivanmukta or realised soul. The mind of Rama has been portrayed thus: Prasannatamyoh nagatabhiskem, na cha mamalo vanwasdukhtah He was neither elated at being crowned the king, nor saddened at the prospect of going into the wilderness. Later the sage-king Bhartrihari defined the man of equanimity: "Let those who are worldly-wise praise or condemn, let riches come or go as they please, let death mow one down now itself, or let it come centuries later the man of equanimity is not deterred from his determined and steadfast march on the path of righteousness". Shakespeare captured it in essence when he wrote: "Ripeness is all Kipling wrote of the two impostors, victory and defeat, which lead one to a total loss of equanimity. The essence of the Olympics too, is in participant tion, not in win Ning or losing. Buddha laid great emphasis on the ideal of equanimity: "Realise the utterly transitory nature of the universe and all causal phenomena. Having realised that, one would be prepared to face change, however drastic. That would lead one away from fear and to a mindset which is without any ripples of disturbance". The eight-fold path laid down by the Sakyamuni is indeed an ideal way to attaining equanimity. If transitory phenomena do not affect a person, he will live in a state of awareness, which is choice less, and, as there is no choice to be exercised, enlightenment is bound to follow. The grief and anguish that arise of expectations is not there. Expectation arises because one seeks the fruit of actions. The Bhagavad Gita puts this concept as the core of its philosophy: Sukhdukhe samekritwa labhalabho, jayajayah, to have the same attitude for pain or pleasure, gain or losses, victory or defeat. "If you are firm in your belief in this, Arjuna, any righteous act, however unpleasant its consequences may be, would carry no taint no sin", Krishna said. By dissolving his doubts, Arjuna attained total equanimity of mind and could concentrate on the task ahead with all his energy. A supreme example of equanimity is Maharaja Janaka, who is also known as Videh- literally meaning without a body, for he had long lost all sense of attachment with the sensory pleasures that the corporeal body would provide. Not that he was an abstaining ascetic. He has been described as a Mahabhogi and a Mahayogi. He enjoyed all the pleasures which the world could offer, but it would matter nothing at all, if he were to lose all his material pos sessions and had to live the life of a starving mendicant. He would be in a state of bliss in any circumstance. It is said that once he was bathing in the Ganges with an ascetic. A mes senger brought the news that his great palace was on fire. Smoke could be seen billowing up in the distance. Janaka's reaction was one of total nonchalance. Is it then a wonder that Vyasa sent his son Shukadeva to Janaka to learn the intimate knowledge of Brahman? The Isa Upanishad explains that every material or non-material object in this world is the Lord's and no one should covet the possessions of anyone else. If this attitude is ingrained in our thinking, our minds will be calm and without any disturbance. We will truly be in a state of equanimity. True happiness and fearlessness is nothing but that. These are the essential conditions in the journey of self-discovery and attainment of samadhi- the culmination of the path outlined by Patanjali in his immortal Yogasutra.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Girish Bhandari and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Girish Bhandari and Speaking Tree ,Times of India
Facing Change with True Equanimity
All religions and schools of thought have held equanimity to be a great virtue, to be cultivated as a prerequisite to attaining the status of a jivanmukta or realised soul. The mind of Rama has been portrayed thus: Prasannatamyoh nagatabhiskem, na cha mamalo vanwasdukhtah He was neither elated at being crowned the king, nor saddened at the prospect of going into the wilderness. Later the sage-king Bhartrihari defined the man of equanimity: "Let those who are worldly-wise praise or condemn, let riches come or go as they please, let death mow one down now itself, or let it come centuries later the man of equanimity is not deterred from his determined and steadfast march on the path of righteousness". Shakespeare captured it in essence when he wrote: "Ripeness is all Kipling wrote of the two impostors, victory and defeat, which lead one to a total loss of equanimity. The essence of the Olympics too, is in participant tion, not in win Ning or losing. Buddha laid great emphasis on the ideal of equanimity: "Realise the utterly transitory nature of the universe and all causal phenomena. Having realised that, one would be prepared to face change, however drastic. That would lead one away from fear and to a mindset which is without any ripples of disturbance". The eight-fold path laid down by the Sakyamuni is indeed an ideal way to attaining equanimity. If transitory phenomena do not affect a person, he will live in a state of awareness, which is choice less, and, as there is no choice to be exercised, enlightenment is bound to follow. The grief and anguish that arise of expectations is not there. Expectation arises because one seeks the fruit of actions. The Bhagavad Gita puts this concept as the core of its philosophy: Sukhdukhe samekritwa labhalabho, jayajayah, to have the same attitude for pain or pleasure, gain or losses, victory or defeat. "If you are firm in your belief in this, Arjuna, any righteous act, however unpleasant its consequences may be, would carry no taint no sin", Krishna said. By dissolving his doubts, Arjuna attained total equanimity of mind and could concentrate on the task ahead with all his energy. A supreme example of equanimity is Maharaja Janaka, who is also known as Videh- literally meaning without a body, for he had long lost all sense of attachment with the sensory pleasures that the corporeal body would provide. Not that he was an abstaining ascetic. He has been described as a Mahabhogi and a Mahayogi. He enjoyed all the pleasures which the world could offer, but it would matter nothing at all, if he were to lose all his material pos sessions and had to live the life of a starving mendicant. He would be in a state of bliss in any circumstance. It is said that once he was bathing in the Ganges with an ascetic. A mes senger brought the news that his great palace was on fire. Smoke could be seen billowing up in the distance. Janaka's reaction was one of total nonchalance. Is it then a wonder that Vyasa sent his son Shukadeva to Janaka to learn the intimate knowledge of Brahman? The Isa Upanishad explains that every material or non-material object in this world is the Lord's and no one should covet the possessions of anyone else. If this attitude is ingrained in our thinking, our minds will be calm and without any disturbance. We will truly be in a state of equanimity. True happiness and fearlessness is nothing but that. These are the essential conditions in the journey of self-discovery and attainment of samadhi- the culmination of the path outlined by Patanjali in his immortal Yogasutra.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Girish Bhandari and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Girish Bhandari and Speaking Tree ,Times of India