Chapter II (VERSE 64) & CHAPTER XVIII (VERSE 37)
Sankhya Yoga – The Yoga of Knowledge
CHAPTER II
Verse 64
रागद्वेषविमुक्तैस्तु विषयानिन्द्रियैश्चरन् ।
वियुक्तैस्तु
आत्मवश्यैर्विधेयात्मा प्रसादमधिगच्छति ॥ २-६४॥
But the self-controlled man, moving among objects, with his senses under restraint, and free from both attraction and repulsion, attains peace.
He alone — who, with perfect self-control, goes through life among the infinite number of sense-objects, each impinging upon him and trying to bind him with its charm, and approaches them with neither love nor hatred — comes to enjoy PEACE. By running away from the sense-objects, nobody can assure for himself any inner peace; because, the inner disturbance depends not upon the presence or the absence of the sense-objects in the outer-world, but essentially upon the mind’s agitations for procuring the desirable objects, or for getting rid of the undesirable objects.
But a Master-of-Wisdom, with perfect self-control, moves among the objects of the world with neither any special love, nor any particular aversion, for them. Wherever I go, my shadow must play all around me according to the position of the light; but the shadow can neither entangle me with love, nor can destroy me with hatred! The outer world- of-objects is able to whip that man who lends the power to the objects to smother him!!
Supposing there is a lunatic who is whipping himself and weeping in pain; his sorrows can be ended only when he is persuaded not to take the whip in his hand. He could be advised, even if he kept the whip in his hand, not to swing his arms in the fashion in which he is doing! Similarly, here, the mind woos the objects and gets beaten. It is told, as an advice, that an individual who lives in self-control, will no longer lend his own life’s dynamism to an object to persecute him — through his own sentimental aversion to, or love for, that object.
When the lunatic is taught not to wield the whip and strike himself, he is immediately saved from the sorrows of the whip. Similarly, when a mind is trained in these two aspects: (a) to live in self-control, and (b) to move among the sense-objects, with neither an attachment for, nor an aversion to them, the disturbances and agitations in the mind caused by the sense-enchantments are all immediately brought under control. This condition of the mind is called tranquillity or peace (Prasada).This is symbolically represented in the sweet-distribution after every Puja in all religions, and is called among the Hindus as Prasada (or Bhog), meaning that, one who has, during the ritual, practised perfect self-control and God contemplation, comes to enjoy, as a result of his action, a tranquillity in the mind which is termed as Spiritual Grace, or Divine Peace (Ishwara Prasada).
Here, as far as a Vedantin is concerned, Prasada is mental purification. That mind is considered as pure, which feels in itself the least sense-disturbances. One who has learnt to live in self-control and has trained himself to live among the sense-objects in a spirit of the least attachment
to, or aversion for them, has the least disturbance, because of the ineffectiveness of the sense-objects upon him. Thereby, his mind automatically becomes more and more calm and tranquil, and is considered as pure (Prasada) for purposes of the spiritual life.
Moksha Sanyasa Yoga – The Yoga of Liberation Through Renunciation
CHAPTER XVIII
Verse 37
यत्तदग्रे विषमिव परिणामेऽमृतोपमम् ।
तत्सुखं सात्त्विकं प्रोक्तमात्मबुद्धिप्रसादजम् ॥ १८-३७॥
That which is like poison at first, but in the end like nectar, that “pleasure” is declared to be SATTWIC (pure) , born of the purity of one’s own mind, due to Self realisation.
That “happiness” which, in the beginning, is like poison and very painful, but which, when it works itself out, fulfils itself in a nectarine success, is the enduring “happiness” of the ‘good’ (Sattwic). In short, “happiness” that arises from constant effort is the “happiness” that can yield us a greater beauty and a larger sense of fulfilment. The flimsy “happiness” that is gained through sense indulgence and sense-gratification is a joy that is fleeting, and after its onslaught there is a terrific under-current that comes to upset our equilibrium and drag us into the depths of despondency.
The joy arising out of inner self-control and the consequent sense of self-perfection is no cheap gratification. In the beginning its practice is certainly very painful and extremely arduous. But one who has discovered in oneself the necessary courage and heroism to walk the precipitous “path” of self-purification and inward balance, comes to enjoy the subtlest of happiness and the all-fulfilling sense of inward peace. This “happiness” (Sukham), arising out of self-control and self discipline, is classified here by the Lord as Sattwic “happiness.”
BORN OUT OF THE PURITY OF ONE’S OWN MIND (Atma Buddhi Prasaada-jam) — By carefully living the life of the ‘good’ (Sattwic) and acting in disciplined self-control, as far as possible in the world, maintaining the Sattwic qualities in all their “component parts,” one can develop the ‘Prasaada‘ of one’s inner nature. The term ‘Prasaada‘ is very often misunderstood in ritualistic language.
The peace and tranquillity, the joy and expansion, that the mind and intellect come to experience as a result of their discipline and contemplation are the true “Prasaada.” The joy arising out of spiritual practices, provided by the integration of the inner nature, is called ‘Prasada‘ which is the Sattwic “happiness,” Prasaada-jam. In short, the sense of fulfilment and the gladness of heart that well up in the bosom of a cultured man, as a result of his balanced and self-disciplined life of high ideals and divine values of life, are the enduring “happiness” of all Men-of-Perfection, of all true men of religion.