Sharing Sanjivani (Sanjivani - Life Saving Herb)

Chapter (41)What is the difference between a steady and an unsteady person?

What is the difference between a steady-STHITAPRAGNA and an unsteady person?

              A person who remains steady in all the situations, everywhere and for all the time is considered as ‘Sthitapragna’ .A Sthitapragna –Sadhak has total control over his mind. His conscious is alert 24*7.His soul never sleeps .He remains alert in day and night.

       Let’s consider what does Lord Krishna here mean by DAY and NIGHT .Every living being is a part of Almighty. When he gets birth on the earth, he forgets about his unification with Almighty. He forgets that he is a part and particle of the Universal God. This ignorance is considered as night on the road to Salvation and eternal knowledge. The true knowledge of Universe and God keep us awaken and this awakening of soul is considered as a ‘Day” in terms of yoga.

       Now the person who are involved in worldly pleasures and busy in accumulating wealth and riches are sleeping. The persons who spend time is eating ,roaming and gambling and tries to satisfy their senses by consuming material luxurious things, who remains busy in collecting property, who engage all the time is acquiring degrees and designations, power and prestige, who run after name and fame, who think that material things would give then true pleasures are sleeping and life on earth is just like ‘night’ for them. As they seem to God running after perishable things which would never give them eternal peace or pleasure.

Just as when we see a child crying over broken toys or fighting for toys with one-another we advice them not to cry over toys and not to fight for them here Lord Krishna advices Arjun that whatever is visible on the earth prosperity and wealth, power and position are bound to decay with passing of time and nothing on earth could give you eternal peace of mind. All worldly things are perishable .They are bound to destroy one day so one should awaken from this sleep of soul and when his soul awaken from this ignorance it is ‘day time’ for him.

A sthitapragna awakens in the night when other common human beings sleep. And by controlling all his senses by overpowering his mind and then his intellect he tries to divert his mind and intellect totally in search of Almighty’s holy shrine and do penance to get mercy of Lord. His ways of meditation may be different. He may follow’ Gyan Yoga’, ‘Karma Yoga’ or ‘Bhakti Yoga’to find out Lord’s mercy and enjoy heavenly shower but the life on earth is a day time for him 24 * 7.

While a person who is not steady or Sthitpragna’ remains busy in collecting worldly materialist luxurious gadgets o satisfy his needs and necessity , to enjoy their consumption, to entertain their senses and live life like all the other creatures , animals and birds because all the living on this earth feel hunger, urge for sex, feel tiredness and want to sleep in the same way. Here too all the animals and birds are not greedy and jealous, they do not feel proud or hurt and harm anybody without any reason, they do not harass their own kind in any situation but a man is worse than animals and birds, creatures and other livings on this earth in the sense that they not only consume worldly resources for their basic needs and necessities they spoil things. They store and collect things for the future and they want to accumulate things out of their greed and there is no limit to his greed. This ignorance is considered here as night. When each and every worldly material thing is perishable and nothing could remain in ones’ possession after death, nobody can carry his luxuries bungalows, cars or anything for his entertainment with him after death why should he remain busy in accumulating these things?

Just as we laugh at kids fighting over toys .Almighty may be laughing over our ignorance when we spend our whole life in collecting things which would be somebody else after our death and these worldly things were possessed by somebody else before we born on this earth.

A Sadhak knows this hence he remains alert when other people sleep in their journey on earth from their birth to death and waste the precious moments of life as we waste our half of the life sleeping during night. This ignorance is ‘night’ for Sadhak and hence he remains alert ‘day and night’ on the earth after his birth till his death that he should not waste any moment uselessly and remain busy in search of Almighty’s holy shrine  and surrender to him. He could get Salvation for him and he could find out ways of welfare of the mankind also.He could show the right path to the all human beings whoever follows him.

When a Sthitpragna thinks worldly life on earth as night , how could he keep himself away from being involved with other relations? How could he make his living on earth without getting involved in worldly affairs?

Let’s try to understand from Lord Krishna….