In the previous Sloka we discussed about how the Self is one’s own best friend as well as the worst enemy. The next Sloka gives the advantage of conquering one’s lower self.
जितात्मनः प्रशान्तस्य परमात्मा समाहितः ।
शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु तथा मानापमानयोः ॥६- ७॥
jitaatmanaH prashaantasya paramaatmaa samaahitaH
shiitoshhNasukhaduHkheshhu tathaa maanaapamaanayoH .. 6.7.
God is present in the mind of that person who remains calm when faced by the pairs of opposites such as cold and heat, joy and sorrow, honour and dishonour.
shiitoshhNa - in cold or heat : sukha dukheshu - in happiness or sorrow : tataa - as well as: maana apamaanyoH - in honour or dishonour : jitaatmanaH - the self controlled man: prashaantasya - who is very calm : (in his heart): paramaatma samaahitaH - the Supreme Lord resides permanently.
In this Sloka, the pairs of opposites are described by the words cold and heat , happiness and sorrow, honor and dishonor. They represent all the worldly objects and experiences. Cold and Heat are used to represent all the favorable and unfavorable circumstances. This Sloka talks of a person who remains calm whenever something good or bad happens.
Sukha is the pleasure that a person gets when something good happens and Dukha is the sorrow that he gets when something bad happens. These are the responses that a person has to good or bad circumstances.
Also good or bad circumstances are a result of past actions, while joy or sorrow are experiences of present actions. A self controlled person remains balanced and calm in both.
People who are in advertising have a knack of making even unfavorable events sound favorable. In a company, the advertising department and the production department played their annual cricket match. They play only one match a year and the advertising team lost. The advertising team put up a sign in the notice board, “This season has been good for the advertising dept. because they lost only one match. On the other hand, the production dept. had a bad season, and were able to win only one match”.
The yogi is one who is able to treat bad or good circumstances in the same manner. The third term used is maana apamaana. These also denote something favorable and unfavorable. However this is used to denote those actions where some one else is involved. You are honored or respected by others and dishonored or treated badly by others. So this term is used to denote those actions where others are involved. A self controlled person treats praise and criticism equally, respect and disrespect in the same manner.
A person would be able to remain calm in all circumstances, only when he realizes that the external world and everything associated with it is impermanent. Only when he has become one with God who is permanent, such an awareness and contentment can come from him. So, when a person is able to remain calm in the face of good or bad circumstances, joy or sorrow, respect or disrespect, it follows that God and the happiness of God realization are firmly rooted in Him. In terms of the previous Sloka also, we can say that His Divine nature rules supreme and he becomes divine.
How does a person who has realized his divine nature behave? We shall discuss this in our next post..
