Gita 12.18 To rise above material dualities, break free from material association

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Bhagavad Gita 12.18 Krishna is continuing to describe the qualities of His devotees that endear those devotees to Him.

And here He is speaking one such quality, one set of qualities, samah shatra ucha mitrecha. They are equipoised towards their friends and their enemies. Samaha shatra ucha mitrecha.

This echoes what was said right at the start, that we are the well-wishing friends of all living beings and are not envious towards anyone. So, here also samaha shatra ucha mitrecha. Equal towards friends and towards enemies.

And be equal in happiness and in honor and dishonor. So, multiple level kinds of dualities are talked about. Honor, dishonor is one duality.

Heat, cold is another duality. Sukha, dukha is another duality. They are equal in all these.

They are detached from material association. They have given up material association. Varjita is to give up.

Varjita is completely give up. This being equipoised amongst dualities is a consistent theme of the Bhagavad Gita. For example, Krishna has enlisted almost identically these three same sets of dualities in 6.7 when he said jitaatmanah prashantasya paramaatma samahitah shitoshna sukha dukheshu tatha manapamanayo.

Jitaatmanah prashantasya. One who has conquered the mind, that person becomes peaceful. Paramaatma samahitah.

This person has attained the supreme. Attained the supreme soul and the person stays equipoised amongst the dualities of heat and cold, happiness and distress and honor and dishonor. So, we could say that Krishna is saying the same thing over here.

Samahasatra ucha mitrecha tatha manapamanayo shitoshna sukha dukheshu. Samahasandra varjitah. Just the order is different, but the same three sets of dualities are talked about here and Krishna speaks.

Now, these dualities can be said to be shitoshna at different levels of our existence. Shita and ushna, heat and cold are experienced at the level of the body. In some parts of the world, say North America or in Alaska or Canada, or even in other parts of India, such as Kashmir, in the winter season, it can become freezing cold.

The temperature can fall several degrees below zero also. And at that time, one may not feel like going out anywhere. So, at such times, at such times, actually, one needs to work towards, people still go for their jobs, people still go for whatever necessary work is there.

So, although it is painful, it is chillingly cold, still people go because they recognize that this is their duty. So, they don't give up, people don't give up their jobs just because they are not having, just because it's too cold or it's too hot. So, we tolerate, physical dualities definitely are troublesome, but we tolerate them and move on.

Same applies to shitoshna, sukha dukheshu. Sukha dukha, it's interesting that it is put as a distinct category. We could say that shitoshna itself, too much shitoshna, too much ushna itself causes dukha.

And when it is neither too hot nor too cold, when the temperature is comfortable, that causes sukha. So, yes, that is true. But Krishna is talking about different levels of existence.

So, sukha and dukha can be said to be at the level of the mind. The mind finds something palatable, something's pleasing, and the mind finds something displeasing. It has its own raga dvesha.

Based on what it has raga for, based on what it is attached to, it finds that as good. Based on what it has dvesha for, it finds that bad. So, sometimes we feel ourselves in a good mood.

Sometimes we feel ourselves in a bad mood. But if we have committed to do something, and if a mother is taking care of her child, even if she is irritated or whatever, she's exhausted, and then she's just got some sleep at night, and when she gets up, and then the baby gets up in the middle of the night and starts crying, the mother will still wake up, although it's dukha for her to get up at that time. It's irritating, but still she gets up and cares for the child.

Similarly, Krishna is stating that our spirituality has to be above our purpose. Our spirituality has to be our purpose, and it has to raise us above duality. Sometimes, you know, say if we are speaking about Krishna, sometimes the audience may be very receptive, and they may offer their receptivity, their attentiveness, that itself is a way of offering respect and honor.

And other times, the audience may just be waiting for the class to end, just looking at the watch, maybe walk out in the middle of the class itself, or, you know, ask very argumentative questions. That itself might be like a disrespect. But those who are dedicated to sharing Krishna's message, whether they get honor or dishonor, they will continue with their service of sharing Krishna's message.

And that is how they will grow. That is how they will move on. That is how they will move closer to Krishna by tolerating the duality.

So Krishna is saying over here that just as these dualities we tolerate at the level of the body, mind, and we could say at the level of the ego, mana, mana is at the level of the ego. Similarly, in terms of relationships, some people may be favorably disposed towards us, and others may be inimically disposed towards us. But either way, whichever way they are disposed towards us, we need to keep finding some way to keep moving onwards in our service towards Krishna.

So, na samaha sanga vivarjitaha, the last point Krishna says is that giving up material association sanga. So actually, it is material association, which makes us take material dualities very seriously. So if we associate, say, with a cricketer, with cricket maniac people, people who are maniac cricket fans, then a victory becomes a cause of great jubilation, and a defeat becomes a cause of devastation.

But if you are not associating with those people, you may read it in the news, yeah, okay, India won, India lost, whatever, in a cricket match. That's okay. It's just one news, we don't take it very seriously.

So, to the extent we associate, we do not do sanga vivarjitaha, to that extent, duality will be very difficult to tolerate and transcend. The positive side of duality will bring elation, and the negative side of duality, the crest will bring elation, the trough will bring dejection, even devastation. And the way to go beyond all this is by recognizing, by actually giving up sanga vivarjitaha.

So, of course, Krishna has said earlier, machitta madgata prana bodhayanta parasparam kathayanta He has said earlier that, my devotees delight in hearing my glories, in enlightening each other about various aspects of my glories. So, it is that sanga which we need to cherish. So, giving up duality, or transcending duality, not becoming affected by duality, that is not just a matter of stoicism.

Stoicism means people who don't show any emotions at all, stoically enduring whatever emotions they may have, whatever difficulties may come in their way, that stoicism is, it can be virtuous in terms of people not getting too emotional, in a person not getting carried away by emotions, but stoicism is not the primary purpose of spiritual practice or spiritual growth. The primary purpose of spiritual growth is absorption in Krishna. And if we are having emotions, and if we don't show emotions, then that is simply concealment, that is not purification.

So, purification means we are not swayed by mundane ups and downs, because we have become absorbed in a higher purpose, because we have become focused deeply in loving and serving Krishna. Thereby, we have gone beyond the world's ups and downs. So, thus by by giving up bad association, and by absorbing ourselves in good association, by embracing good association, seeking shelter in good association,.