Of Bouquets & Brickbats – Bhakti Yoga 19

तुल्यनिन्दास्तुतिर्मौनी सन्तुष्टो येन केनचित् ।
अनिकेतः स्थिरमतिर्भक्तिमान्मे प्रियो नरः ॥१२- १९॥

Tulyanindaastuthirmauni santushhTo yenakenachit.h
AniketaH sthiramati bhaktimaan me priyo naraH

Tulyanindaastuthi – one who treats praise and censure equally : mauni – one who is peaceful : santushhTo – one who is happy / contented :
yenakenachit.h – by whatever means possible : AniketaH – one who is not attached to his home : sthiramati – one whose mind is stable : bhaktimaan – that person who is full of devotion : me priyo naraH such a man is dear to me

“Tulyanindaastuthi” means one should treat praise and insult equally. That person who is waiting to be praised always gets disappointed. In the scriptures it is said that, those who praise us are never close to us. Sant Tulsidas has said, “nindkeniyare raakiye” – niyare raakiye – keep them near you, who? nindake – those who insult you,” This is because those who correct us and criticize us often are those who are truly fond of us. We should learn to accept any criticism as something that is done to improve us.

“mauni” does not just mean one keeps his mouth shut. It refers to those whose mind is not affected by other things. For eg, when we are driving and we stop at the red light, we do not switch off the car and it keeps on revving up. So too, when we are meditating, our mind is revving up. “mauni” refers to one whose mind is at peace.

SantushhTaH – is one who is happy – yenakena chit.h – by any means possible. “When my friend was getting married her aunt came and told her, Congratulations my dear!, “I’m sure you’ll look back and remember today as the happiest day of your life.” My friend said, “But Aunty, I’m only getting married tomorrow,” The aunt winked and replied, “”I know,” , that’s why I said, you will remember today as the happiest day of your life”. We should understand that the happiness that is derived from worldly objects and attachments is fleeting, but that derived from devotion will be everlasting.

AniketaH means one who does not have the feeling of mine regards material possessions and sthiramati means stable minded. Once in a mental hospital, the doctor came to know that one of the patients had saved another from a suicide attempt by pulling him out of a bath tub. So he called him and said, “”Mr. James, your records and your heroic behavior indicate that you’re ready to go home. I’m only sorry that the man you saved later killed himself with a rope around the neck.” “Oh, he didn’t kill himself,” James replied. “I hung him up to dry. This is asthira mati!! On the contrary, sthira mati – means whose mind and intellect (mati) is sthiraM (stable) and also not affected by attachments and desires for worldly objects.”. The lord says that such a person with all these qualities and who is full of devotion to me, is dear to Me!

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