Gita 05.20 – Equanimity is meant to make us not emotionless, but purposeful

Thank you Bhagavad Gita 5.20 so Krishna is speaking here about the person who is on the stage of liberation and how does that person act na praharshet priyam praapya na praharshet does not delight in does not become jubilant priyam praapya na praharshet priyam praapya na dvijet praapya cha priyam na dvijet na dvijet that means this person na udvijet is not agitated or not dejected praapya cha priyam sthira buddhir asam mudho sthira buddhir na dvijet praapya cha priyam sthira sthira is very steady buddhir sthira buddhir asam mudho one who is not at all disturbed not illusioned asam mudho Brahma with brahmanisthitaha such a person is the knower of brahman and brahmanisthitaha is situated in brahman so brahmanisthitaha was the phrase that was used in the previous verse also tasmad brahmanisthitaha so here it is continued the same theme is being continued even the same word is also used so that this person is situated in brahman na praharishet priyam praapya na udvijet praapya cha priyam so this is the theme which has come repeatedly in the Bhagavad Gita that don't be elated amidst gain and don't be dejected amidst loss so what is the point of this is it meant to sentence us to a emotionless barren existence no it is primarily meant to help us have a focused purposeful existence in this world if our goal is in this world itself then what happens in this world will affect us hugely so naturally if I have no goal beyond this world to become famous to become wealthy to become powerful these are my goals then if I am unable to attain a goal then naturally I will be miserable I will be frustrated and if I achieve it then I will be in the 7th heaven I will be ecstatic I will be just jumping up and down in joy so now but the problem is this world itself is temporary and everything in this world is temporary therefore what we attain in this world doesn't last for long and ultimately those who make this world their goal are left with nothing at the end of life even if they succeed even if they are among the few rare few who succeed in achieving that goal so therefore for one who has made something beyond this world the eternal world, the goal then what happens in this world is not very consequential so the point of not being elated amidst success and not being rejected amidst failure is not meant to make us emotionless it is meant to make us purposeful to make us purposefully stay focused on life's ultimate goal now when we do this how does a person do like this that is not elated or rejected amidst happiness and distress so sthira buddhir asamudho sthira buddhir sthira buddhi means sthira is steady buddhi is fixed intelligence so asamudho both of them are related asamudho is mudho is to be deluded now a person who is mudha mudha means foolish the word mudha is often used to refer to a donkey or a person who has donkey like intelligence that means not very intelligent asamudho sthira buddhir asamudho now these two are related because if the intelligence is not steady then the intelligence will get deluded so if I am not able to fix my intelligence on what is the most important if we keep oscillating thinking maybe this is important maybe that is important then we will not be able to achieve anything worthwhile because as it is said that if you want to get water you have to go 100 places you have to dig deep at one place and the right place of course so similarly sthira buddhir the intelligence is fixed asamudho now what can make the intelligence unfixed what can make the intelligence waver is when we get deluded naturally when we get deluded first it is the mind which gets deluded and afterwards the intelligence gets deluded this has been discussed in where first the mind starts contemplating dhyayato and then as the sequence moves forward smuti brahmashad buddhinasho buddhinashad pranashyati it comes in the 63rd verse so basically asamudho that means one is not deluded sthira buddhir asamudho so the person is fixed not affected by illusions of this world naisthitaha the person who is situated like this is the knower of brahman and is situated in brahman so just as a person who has say a million dollars then if say a 5 rupee coin falls out of the pocket then that person with a million dollars has an abundance mentality I have so much and the 5 rupee coin falls off the car falls off his pocket while he comes out of the car and there is a beggar nearby and the beggar immediately pounces on that coin and the beggar looks up anxiously will this man claim it this man smiles, you take it and now on the other hand say that beggar is just walking along and suddenly he slips and the coin falls off his pocket falls off his hand and it slips and falls ahead and then immediately another beggar wants to pounce on him and he will fight I got it possession in the intent of ownership some people argue so the second beggar will say its mine and the first beggar will want to fight why did the millionaire not bother to fight because the millionaire has so much that this loss doesn't matter so similarly when we are brahma with brahmanisthitaha when we know our spiritual nature and when we are situated in our spiritual nature so knowing and being situated actually to be situated is higher than to know though of course both of them help each other so some people may know that I am brahman but still they may not be situated at brahman level because their desires keep driving them down to the material level but one who is brahma with brahmanisthitaha that person is experiencing spiritual happiness and because of experiencing spiritual happiness what happens at the material level is so na praharishet priyam prapya so when priyam prapya comes when a five rupee coin somebody gives or no dvijet prapya cha priyam or the five rupee coin falls away so from the point of view of spiritual happiness material pleasures are like five rupee gains and material losses are like five rupee losses and that's why its not worth getting emotionally worked up about it and they are not blind they are not emotionless but they have so much higher things to do with their emotions there are so many higher things to experience and relish with their consciousness that they find it unnecessary and unnecessary to let their emotions get involved in something which is inconsequential something which is petty they stay unaffected so this verse we can also apply to us as sadhakas that the more we stay equipoised the more amidst happiness and distress the more we can also be spiritually purposeful and the more we can also become knowers of brahman and eventually become situated in brahman so the verse can be a description of the siddha and it can be a prescription for the sadhaka siddha is how they are so we are describing them and it can be a prescription this is how you should behave so by which the sadhaka can progress on the journey towards becoming a siddha thank you.