Sthitpragna (स्थितप्रज्ञ): A 5000 year old word becoming more relevant with time
- In Religion
- 12:06 PM, Feb 16, 2022
- Bankim Shukla
Let’s start with cricket and soccer, imagine a debutant enters dressing room of Sachin Tendulkar, Smriti Mandhana or Lionel Messi and asks a question; What would be the description of a great player who would play a great cover drive or do a header? A better one... You are married for n number of years; your spouse has cooked great food and delicacies all your life and on one find fine day, you ask a question; What would be the description of a great cook who will make this great delicacy? Not sure about facial or verbal reaction of Sachin, Smriti or Lionel but reaction of a spouse is left to imagination! Nevertheless... this is how the journey of स्थितप्रज्ञ (Sthitpragna) started. Arjun may have spent at least 50 years of his life with one who himself is an epitome of Sthitpragna (one with steady intellect) but asks a similar question on description of स्थितप्रज्ञ in the middle of a battleground.
स्थितप्रज्ञस्य का भाषा समाधिस्थस्य केशव |
स्थितधी: किं प्रभाषेत किमासीत व्रजेत किम् ||
O Keshav (Sri Krishna), what is the description of one whose intellect is steady (स्थितप्रज्ञ) and situated in divine consciousness? How does that enlightened person talk? How does he sit? How does he walk?
In today's context, the question could be ... How does a स्थितप्रज्ञ person (person with steady intellect/wisdom) act in a contemporary society surrounded by VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world? Definitely not for Rishis up in the Himalaya or the caves... it seems Sri Krishna realized the need for this Q & A for people in a present-day society almost 5000 years down the road. This question and answers by Sri Krishna in the last 18 verses of 2nd chapter forms the nectar of Bhagvad Gita. Call it magic of 18. 18 chapters, 18 days of war, 18 fleets of army and so on. As Bhagavad Gita is a nectar of all Upanishads to gather, let us find the answers in the form of two short stories from Upanishad era.
सर्वोपनिषदो गावो , दोग्धा गोपाल नन्दन:| पार्थो वत्स: सुधीर्भोक्ता , दुग्धं गीतामृतं महत्
(All the Upanishads are likened to the cows. The milker is Krishna, the son of Gopala. Partha is likened to the calf, while the drinkers are the wise ones. The nectar of Gita is the milk)
King Janaka (father of Sita..) of Videha kingdom was not just a king but was a Rishi-king. Though a king, he was a student of Rishi Yagnavalkya and will attend daily discourses in Rishi’s gurukul ashram away from town. Other disciples used to envy and murmur that because Janaka is a king, he has a seat reserved in front row in daily discourses. Rishi Yagnavalkya was very well aware but kept quiet. One day fire broke out in Videha. As soon as fire was visible from gurukul, all disciples started running towards their huts to grab their possessions (At the most... few pairs of clothes and a vessel (Kamandal...) and save their lives... King Janaka calmly remained in place and proceeded towards Videha only after Rishi Yagnavalkya instructed him to leave and save his kingdom.
Rishi Vyas’s son Sukhdev expressed his desire to gain higher knowledge. Rishi Vyas, though himself an enlightened individual recommended him to go to Videha town and learn from King Janaka. Casting his doubts in mind that how can a royal king be more knowledgeable than son of a Rishi, Sukhdev reluctantly went to Videha. King invited him inside the palace with respect and sensed dilemma of Sukhdev. He told Sukhdev that his admission as a disciple will be subject to passing a test. Sukhdev will start early in the morning, carry a pot full of oil on his head, go around entire town of Videha, observe every street end landmark, talk to residents and come back in the evening. On return, he will narrate every landmark and the person he talked to and in this entire process not a drop of oil should fall off from the pot.
Takeaway... Both King Janaka and Sukhdev had their senses focused on external world and fully responsive but from deep within, they were calm, composed, unruffled, unrattled, selfless, fearless, unattached to results ... Matching description of person with steady intellect (स्थितप्रज्ञ) from Sri Krishna...
प्रजहाति यदा कामान्सर्वान्पार्थ मनोगतान् |
आत्मन्येवात्मना तुष्ट: स्थितप्रज्ञस्तदोच्यते ||
O Partha (Arjuna), when one discards all selfish desires and cravings of the senses that torment the mind, and becomes satisfied in the realization of the self, such a person is said to be transcendentally situated.
दु:खेष्वनुद्विग्नमना: सुखेषु विगतस्पृह: |
वीतरागभयक्रोध: स्थितधीर्मुनिरुच्यते ||
One whose mind remains undisturbed amidst misery, who does not crave for pleasure, and who is free from attachment, fear, and anger, is called a Rishi of steady wisdom.
Humanity will thank Arjuna for not recognizing स्थितप्रज्ञ in Sri Krishna all his life till Kurukshetra war and as a result humanity gets nectar of Bhagvad Gita. But humanity will forever be indebted to Rishi Vyas (नमोस्तुते व्यास विशाल बुद्धे) for capturing a minute detail of Sri Krishna’s smile when dejected and shaken Arjuna requests him to bring chariot in the middle of two armies after refusing to fight... this smile represents epitome of स्थितप्रज्ञ of Sri Krishna and is directed at entire humanity and not just Arjuna or any one in Mahabharata...
तमुवाच हृषीकेश: प्रहसन्निव भारत |
सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये विषीदन्तमिदं वच: ||
“O Dhritarashtra, thereafter, in the midst of both the armies, Shree Krishna smilingly spoke to the grief-stricken Arjun”
What can we interpret of that स्थितप्रज्ञ smile living in a contemporary world?
- Even in the midst of an impending deadly war, I am स्थितप्रज्ञ and smiling... You be one and smile...
- You are a warrior and eventually you will end up fighting battles of miseries due to Adhyātmika (pertaining to the body and mind), Adhidaivika (pertaining to the difficulties imposed by society, community, nation and other living entities) and Adhibhautika (inflicted upon us by natural disturbances from earthquakes, famines, droughts, floods, epidemics...). Better be स्थितप्रज्ञ and fight.
- Your confusion, grief and fear will vanish the moment you realize that you are not body-mind, elevate yourself to higher consciousness and realize your true self/nature which is Sat-Chit-Anand (Eternal-Consciousness-Bliss) ...
- Every day you wake up with small and big storms in mind, exaggerate things, blow them out of proportion and are always in fight or flee mode with accelerator pedal pressed on sympathetic nervous system... make a sincere attempt to be स्थितप्रज्ञ. Ashtanga Yoga / Raja yoga can be the beginning.
On a lighter note... going back to our mention of Sachin, Smriti, Lionel and spouse in the beginning... billion people either watching, and shouting in stadium or on TV with Sachin, Smriti and Lionel unruffled must have qualities of स्थितप्रज्ञ to an extent. If a spouse not only explains with a smile in great detail but smiling cooks a delicacy, do not forget to appreciate a quality of स्थितप्रज्ञ. A स्थितप्रज्ञ person though rare but can be anywhere.. in our own home or out in society. Unfortunately, a real स्थितप्रज्ञ person is not going to put a स्थितप्रज्ञ tag on sleeve and one will have to find and recognize one.. If you do, ensure to appreciate…
No wonder why we say.. कृष्णं वंदे जगद्गुरुम्…
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