Brahmanubhuti Talk 47
(Characteristics of Sthitaprajna – 4)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPg_fGuOCiE
Today, let us contemplate on one of the qualities of a Sthithaprajna – love and affection.
Let us look at the Shloka 57, Chapter 2 of Bhagavad Gita, which speaks about the characteristics of Sthithaprajna.
“Yaha sarvatra anabhisnehaha tattatprapya shubhashubham, naabhinandati na dvesti tasya prajna pratistitha”
The question comes – Sthithaprajna has realized his oneness with Brahman, with the infinite. He has understood the world as Maya, appearance. Does he have love or affection? Is he like dry wood? Is he like a stone – no attachment, no connection with the world? Actually, he has Sneha. One who is Enlightened has Sneha, affection or love for all. He is not dry. He is full of love and affection. What is this love and affection? He is finding himself free from the bondages of body and mind. Freedom expresses as love; you cannot have love in bondage. When you are suffering, what you call as love is more of an attachment. You are hanging on to somebody, because you yourself are feeling limited.
The real love comes when you feel free inside. Your freedom is expressed as love. When you are not free, love becomes attachment. You love somebody to get something out of somebody, because you are deriving something. There is an attachment. Whereas for a person who is a Jnani, his love is free from attachment. He has a feeling of expansion, inner freedom, which expresses love. In that love, there is no attachment. There is no expectation from anybody. ‘Anabhisnehaha’ means no attachment at all. It is the Pure Love. The Pure Love also manifests as compassion. He is full of love and compassion, but no attachment at all. The attachment leads to grief, pain, and suffering, whereas the Jnani’s attachment doesn’t lead to suffering, neither for him, nor for others. ‘Shubhaashubham’ – ‘shubha’ means good, rather favourable. ‘Ashubha’ means unfavorable situation. ‘Prapya naabhinandati na dvesti’ – by getting it, neither he will rejoice, if something favourable comes, nor hate something which is unpleasant. Such a person is an Enlightened One.
Again I have to remind you, that these are the characteristics of the Enlightened One. For a spiritual aspirant or yogi, you have to imbibe these qualities in your life. For a person who is a Sadhaka, it becomes a spiritual practice, to imbibe these qualities. For a Jnani, this becomes natural. For a person who is Jnani, he has no attachment to anything. Neither the people nor any promise of happiness after death, going to some Loka, enjoying something. He knows the temporary nature of everything. Once you know that everything is temporary, you will not get attached at all. With His Viveka or Jnana, in the discrimination, he has understood that everything is temporary. Only his Self, Atma, Brahman is permanent and infinite.
So, out of that understanding, love and compassion flows. But there is no attachment whatsoever. Such is the state of a Jnani.
Pranams