Gita 05.20 – The holy name connects us with spiritual reality and protects us from being overwhelmed by material reality

Greater. All the struggle was eminently worth it. Bhagavad Gita 5.20 This was Krishna is telling Arjuna that na praharishet priyam prapya, do not be disturbed, do not be delighted to the point of being disturbed, if one gets the desirable.

And similarly, na dvijet prapya ca priyam, do not be agitated to the point of being dejected, if one doesn't get the desirable. Sthirabuddhir asammurho, be situated with a steady intelligence, sthirabuddhir asammurho, asammurho means undisturbed, when you are studying with a student, this is sthirabuddhir asammurho, then brahmavit brahmanistitah, brahmavit, brahmavit means the person is actually situated in knowledge of brahman and is not only situated as having knowledge of brahman, but actually realized that knowledge and so is situated in brahman, brahmavit brahmanistitah, so this was basically talking about a balance between living at the spiritual level and being aware of the material level. So some people think that to be transcendental means to be oblivious of everything material, but transcendence is not obliviousness, transcendence is actually regaining a healthy sense of perspective based on a correct perception of reality, I'll repeat a healthy sense of perspective based on a correct sense of reality, so obliviousness would mean that one is not just aware of anything at all, just like when we go to sleep, we are oblivious to everything else, we are just not aware of anything, so that is not exactly how a serious devotee should be, completely oblivious to other things, no, a devotee is aware of the worldly things and that's why it is said that the devotee is aware when good or bad happens at the material level, when one does something pleasurable or when one gets something pleasant or one gets something unpleasant, so the devotee is aware of what is happening and the devotee also feels that happening, that means to put a simple example, it's not that a devotee is so oblivious to the food, the devotee thinks that I am not the body and the soul, so whatever food is put for me, I don't care about it at all, I just eat whatever is there and I won't even notice what is there, now that could be in one sense transcendence, but that is again based on an incomplete understanding of the nature of transcendental reality, Krishna in the transcendental reality is also connected with the material world in the sense that the material things are also energy and prasad moreover is not material, it is spiritualized, so to be conscious of prasad is also to be conscious of Krishna and say when one is conscious of the taste of prasad, one will notice if it is made properly or not made properly and when one notices that it is made properly or not made properly, accordingly one will feel the reaction, if it is a sweet rice and it's cooked properly, one will feel it a pleasant experience taking it and if it is not cooked properly one might find that experience unpleasant, so one has to notice that but one doesn't get carried away by that, one doesn't lose a sense of perspective, so that keeping a sense of perspective happens when one is also perceiving the higher spiritual reality, that's why it's a Brahma with Brahmani sthita, to be situated in the Brahman platform and to be aware of the Brahman platform, both theoretically and experientially both one is at that level, so at this stage in the Bhagavad Gita Krishna has not talked about himself too much, that's why he's talking in general about the Brahman platform but what applies for the Brahman platform also applies for him, for Krishna, so if we have proper knowledge of Krishna and if we are having some experience of Krishna, then we will be able to deal with material ups and downs with a proper sense of perspective, with a healthy sense of balance and calmness, so chanting is a very powerful way to root ourselves in Brahma with Brahman sthita, when we chant properly, when we remember Krishna steadily by chanting or by whatever other activities we find helpful for us in remembering Krishna, then by that we'll be able to become rooted strongly in spiritual reality and then we'll be able to face the ups and downs of life and the more we face the ups and downs of life calmly, the more we will also be able to focus on Krishna, that means this will be symbiotic, if I chant properly then I won't be so shaken by world's ups and downs, if I'm not so shaken by world's ups and downs then they will not affect me the next day when I'm chanting and the next day when I'm able to chant well then again whatever ups and downs can come, I'll be able to cope them, so in this way we will become more and more Brahman with Brahman sthita by the regular practice of chanting till ultimately we develop prema.