In the following Sloka, the lord talks about the greatness of samata, or equanimity
समः शत्रौ च मित्रे च तथा मानापमानयोः ।
शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु समः सङ्गविवर्जितः ॥१२- १८॥
SamaH shatrau cha mitre cha tathaa maanaapamaanayoH
ShiitoshhNasukhadukheshhu samaH saN^gavivarjitaH
SamaH – Behaves in the same fashion : shatrau cha mitre cah – towards enemies and friends : tathaa – in the same way : maanaapamaanayoH – towards honour and insult :ShiitoshhNa – towards cold and hot : sukhadukheshhu – towards happiness and sorrow : samaH – is equal : saN^gavivarjitaH – free from attachment
SamaH shatrau cha mitre cha means one who never distinguishes
between people by treating them as his friends or enemies, in other words, he treats everyone equally. Similarly, he never reacts differently whether people honour him or insult him. In everyone’s life the pairs of opposites come – hot and cold, health and disease, happiness and sorrow- the moment we describe something as beautiful, ugliness is born. When we say someone is tall, we have automatically defined short. Therefore, there is nothing in isolation in this world and the pairs of opposites are the nature of life. A wise devotee is one who is able to understand and accept these differences. As we gain equanimity, we become peaceful and when we become peaceful, we become close to the Lord.
Imagine that as you enter the house, your wife/husband receives you inside with love and respect – I can see eyebrows raised!! – that’s why I said, “imagine”. Jokes apart, if we extend love wherever we go, if we treat every person that we meet, in this way, we can spread cheer and happiness around us.
Swami Chinmayananda used to say, “To love and to be loved is the fulfillment of human life” If we are able to show love towards everyone and we are also able be to get the love of everyone, then this is the greatest success in life. A true devotee treats all equal and yet never becomes attached to anyone.
The concepts discussed in this sloka have also been discussed in our earlier post on Chapter 6 – “Loving Enemies, Loving Friends”!
