GITA Chapter 2 (62-72)
गीता द्वितीय-अध्याय श्लोक(62-72)
स्थितप्रज्ञ की विधि – ‘इन्द्रिय-निग्रह’
(Technique to achieve stability of mind – ‘Control of senses’)
ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः संगस्तेषूपजायते ।
संगात्संजायते कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते ॥2-62॥
हो जिस विषय पर ध्यान, उससे ही तो हो आसक्ति |
पूरी न हो यदि कामना, फिर क्रोध की उत्पत्ति ||2-62||
क्रोधाद्भवति सम्मोहः सम्मोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः ।
स्मृतिभ्रंशाद् बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति ॥2-63॥
क्रोध से सम्मोह, फिर हो भ्रमित, शक्ति स्मरण की |
नाश हो बुद्धि का, भ्रष्ट स्मृति से, गति हो मरण की||2-63||
रागद्वेषवियुक्तैस्तु विषयानिन्द्रियैश्चरन् ।
आत्मवश्यैर्विधेयात्मा प्रसादमधिगच्छति ॥2-64॥
राग-द्वेष रहित विषय में इन्द्रियों का हो भ्रमण|
आत्म-वस मन शांत कर दे, स्वनियंत्रित आचरण||2-64||
प्रसादे सर्वदुःखानां हानिरस्योपजायते ।
प्रसन्नचेतसो ह्याशु बुद्धिः पर्यवतिष्ठते ॥2-65॥
ऐसी प्रशन्नता से ही सब दुखों का अभाव हो|
प्रशन्न–चित्त में ही स्थिर बुद्धि का प्रभाव हो||2-65||
नास्ति बुद्धिरयुक्तस्य न चायुक्तस्य भावना ।
न चाभावयतः शान्तिरशान्तस्य कुतः सुखम् ॥66॥
बुद्धियोग बिना न निश्चय-बुद्धि, न ही भावना|
भावना-बिन हो न शान्ति, अशान्त बिन-सुखकामना||2-66||
इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन्मनोऽनुविधीयते ।
तदस्य हरति प्रज्ञां वायुर्नावमिवाम्भसि ॥2-67॥
इन्द्रियों में जिस किसी के संग करता मन रमण |
वही करती, वायु जल में नाव सम, बुद्धि-हरण ||2-67||
तस्माद्यस्य महाबाहो निगृहीतानि सर्वशः ।
इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥2-68॥
अतः विषयों से पृथक हो, इन्द्रिय नियंत्रित रहें|
जिसकी सब प्रकार, बुद्धि उसकी प्रतिष्ठित कहें ||2-68||
या निशा सर्वभूतानां तस्यां जागर्ति संयमी ।
यस्यां जाग्रति भूतानि सा निशा पश्यतो मुनेः ॥२-69॥
संयमी जिस ज्ञान में रहते हैं जागृत,
उससे अनजान दुनिया रात मान सोती
सभी-प्राणी भौतिक सुखों के हित जागते,
मुनियों की दृष्टि में वह रात ही होती ||2-69||
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं-
समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् ।
तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे
स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी ॥२-70॥
सब तरफ़ से जल समुद्र में समा जाते,
जलधि परिपूर्ण प्रतिष्ठित रहते अचल|
उसी तरह भोग-कामना से शान्ति नहीं,
शान्ति वहीं, भोगों से भी रहें अविचल||2-70||
विहाय कामान्यः सर्वान्पुमांश्चरति निःस्पृहः ।
निर्ममो निरहंकारः स शान्तिमधिगच्छति ॥२-71॥
छोड़ सब कामनाएं बिना आकान्क्षाएं जो विचरता|
निर्मम अहंकार रहित हो, वह शान्ति प्राप्त करता ||2-71||
एषा ब्राह्मी स्थितिः पार्थ नैनां प्राप्य विमुह्यति ।
स्थित्वास्यामन्तकालेऽपि ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृच्छति ॥2-72॥
अर्जुन! यही है आध्यात्मिक स्थिति
न हो मोहित कभी भी इसमें जा कर
ब्रम्ह–निर्वाण पद को प्राप्त करता
अंत समय भी इस-स्थिति को पाकर||2-72||
Those whose attention is always about sensual objects, get attached to those objects. Attachment arouses desires and when one does not get what one desires, irritation is aroused, and from irritation stems anger and frustration. (2-62)
From anger, stems delusion (false beliefs or assumptions); delusion causes loss of one’s confused mind; the confused mind makes a person lose his/her ability to reason and lose their power to solve his/her problems. When one loses his/her power to reason, the person will suffer ultimate death and destruction. (2-63)
But the disciplined wise man (Karmayogi) who has control over his senses, enjoys all the sense-objects but remains free from attraction and emotional distractions. Such a person gains peace and purity of the self. (2-64)
One who can control his senses by practicing the regulated principles of freedom from attachment, attains purity of self and gets rid of all miseries and grief. A person with internal purity soon develops steady wisdom and a clear, unclouded intelligence. (2-65).
One who cannot control his senses is the one who is lacking in steady wisdom and intelligence, and also lacks proper feelings or sentiments (thoughts). A person who cannot think properly and make decisions with a clear mind, cannot have peace of mind, and without peace of mind there can be no happiness. (2-66)
The mind of those who run after or pursue material pleasures and sensual objects, is often clouded and let on the wrong path. His attached mind will distract the intellect in the direction of the sensual pleasure, just as the wind blows away the boat floating on the water. (2-67)
Therefore with senses under control and distracted from sensual objects, one does have the ability to reason out properly. He also gains peace of mind leading to eternal bliss and happiness. (2-68)
When it is night for all others, i.e. when all beings are not able to see the reality (out of ignorance they are not awakened),the wise man is always awake (spiritually). When others are involved in the sensual pleasure, and deceived (deluded) by sensual objects i.e. when all being are awake in the world of desires, the wise man who knows the truth and has realized God, shuts his eyes to daylight and the misleading material objects that attract other people, and considers it night. He is not easily deceived. (2-69)
As the river enters the ocean without affecting the ocean or disturbing it, so the desires enter the person who has obtained Supreme peace and does not disturb him, but not the person who is already filled with desires and wants more and more. Wiseman becomes the ocean itself, undisturbed by the rivers of information flowing into him from all sides. (2-70)
By giving up all desires, freeing oneself of all attachments and without constantly thinking of oneself or of one’s possessions, only then, one may live in realistic peace. (2-71)
O ARJUNA, this is the state of a person who has truly realized God. After obtaining Supreme Bliss by realizing God, this person cannot be deceived by any of life’s evils. Until the time of death one remains firm in this state and ultimately achieves Supreme Peace and tranquillity. (2-72)
LEARNING:
- One may enjoy all worldly pleasure but without being attached. One becomes emotionally attached, if he pays undue attention with the sensual pleasure. Don’t pay attention to sense objects. Never under-estimate the strength of ‘kam, krodh. Lobh, moh and ahankar’- lust, anger, greed, excessive attachment and ego- which are enemies that must be vanquished in order to advance towards our goal.
- Biology tells us that your emotions are chemicals, and these chemicals are released by the brain. We control these chemicals. However, over time, these chemicals can change you and control you. The emotions not only rewire your brain, but they also rewire your body. The cells lose the capacity to absorb nutrients. They grow less and they rejuvenate less. Thus, your entire cellular and DNA structure can be changed by your behaviour.
- It is the attachment that create desire; and if the desire is not fulfilled, anger overpowers him.
- In the state of anger, you are literally poisoning your system. It can be verified by your blood test. Your system turns toxic. Your very chemistry is altered.
- Individuals who had trouble controlling expressions of anger were four times likelier to need more than four days for their wounds to heal, compared with counterparts who could master their anger.
- Anger increases blood pressure, heart beat rates and adrenalin levels.
- Experts say it’s because anger triggers an excessive release of stress hormones, increased oxygen demand by the heart’s muscle cells and causes platelets (which are the blood cells that form clots) to get sticky causing blockage and a heart attack.
- Try to be a Man-of-Steady-Wisdom: Characteristics of a person with steady wisdom (stable mind) are as follows:
- Sthithprajana person speaks the truth yet does not hurt anyone’s feelings; that he does not bring an illusory pleasure through flattery.
- The stithaprajna is stable: he is not prey to random gusts of passion but sticks to righteous behaviour, having overcome all desires.
- At the same time, he does not surrender himself to inertia or inactivity but throws himself into action;
- he is not driven by the psychological burden of the goal, but rather by the imperative of effort.
- Since he is nishkama, without desire, he is neither shattered by failure nor elated by success.
- To him, victory and defeat, pleasure and pain, honour and dishonour, friend and enemy are all alike -he judges himself, not by the fickle opinions of others, but by whether or not he has fulfilled his dharma, the ethical path that he has laid down for himself.
The Lord also indicates to Arjuna the practical method, by which he should struggle hard, in order to reach the eminence of perfection as a Man-of-Steady-Wisdom.
We come across some loss in life; whether it is loss of a relationship, material possession, societal status, job opportunity , or a project, it is ignorance to slip into remorse or come up with bargaining measures to undo the loss. Our pain is not real but emanates from our attachment to ego and its inconsequential desires.
- When desires are getting fulfilled and our ego is feeling great, there is elation, and
- when it turns the other way , there is deep depression.
Our simplistic solution to this complex problem is not to seek to fulfill our desires and pamper our ego which gives all the power to loss because we cannot deal with non-fulfillment of desire.
When you pay attention to fulfill your desire, there will always be unhappiness. If we get what we desire, there is craving for more and if desires are unfulfilled, it leads to anger and frustration. Anger give rise to delusion, delusion to confusion of memory and confusion of memory to loss of intellect.
When intellect is lost, beings form perishes. The eternal self then leaves the body with senses and mind and goes to a new one. One who steadies his intellect will not perish or change the body. He will become non perishable being and may dwell in the same body
If we cultivate mindfulness towards non-fulfillment of desire, the curse of loss turns into a boon of transcendence.
Once we capitalize on this enlightened attitude to give up obsessive desire for gratification and possession, loss becomes a trivial incident rather than a life-defining negative experience.
With practice, the consequent mental state reflects the abode of eternal peace. Then, when confronted with life’s circumstances whether positive or negative we experience neither exultation nor depression but remain balanced and detached.
Bhagwati Prasad Gupta 