Symptoms of Self-realized person or one in divine consciousness(sthita-Prajna)

1. Symptoms of Self-realized person or one in divine consciousness(sthita-Prajna) What are the qualities of transcendentalist? Arjuna questions(2.54) Krishna Answers General symptoms (2.55) How does he speak (2.56-2.57)  How does he sit (2.58-2.59)  How does he walk (2.64-2.71)

2. General description and characteristics of a self-realized person(Symptoms)  He gives up all material desires of sense gratification born of mental concoction  Thus purified in mind one finds satisfaction in the self alone How does one give up all material desires  One does not give them up artificially  But by complete engagement in Krishna Consciousness as eternal servitor  Ref. SB 5.18.12 – Without Krishna consciousness one is sure to take shelter of mental concoctions and has no good qualities

3. (b) How does one finds satisfaction in the self alone?  By realizing eternal servitorship to the Supreme Lord  He has no sense desires from petty materialism (c) Related Analogies to illustrate the above two points (Ref. 2.60 purport)  Analogy for complete satisfaction: “Satisfied Hunger” (2.60 purport)  E.g. “Yamunacarya and Ambarisa Maharaja” (2.60 purport) – By Krishna consciousness one is free from all material desires and all good qualities manifest

4. One who is not disturbed by happiness and distress(2.56) Answers to second question – How does he speak?  This question implies: “How the intelligence and words respond to affection, anger and neutrality”  This is answered as follows: 1. Equipoised in happiness and distress (2.56) 2. Free from attachment, fear and anger (2.56) Because 3. Unaffected by good & evil and firmly fixed in perfect knowledge (2.57)

5. How one in Krishna consciousness is:  Equipoised (2.56) – because: o He accepts everything (happiness / distress) as Krishna’s mercy  Free from attachment, fear and anger (2.56) – because: o He is always daring and active, and fixed on the service of the Lord o He does not come under attachment / aversion o He never gets angry, whether successful or not o He is steady in determination  Unaffected by good and evil (2.57) – because: o The material world is anyway full of relativities and dualities, and there is always some upheaval o The soul is simply concerned with Krishna who is Absolute o Such a Krishna conscious person is in perfect transcendental position called “Samadhi”

6. Third question – How does he sit?  Means“How he restrains his senses and mentality”  Answer: He uses his senses only for Krishna’s service. Based on higher taste he can control his senses  Anology: Tortoise and Devotee – Implies to keep senses always in service of Lord and withdraw the senses when not required (2.58) (a) Test of a yogi/devotee/self-realized soul (2.58) – He is able to control senses according to his plan  Tortoise and Devotee  Snake Charmer, Senses and Serpents (purport) – He never lets the senses loose, but control senses (which are like venomous serpents) under do’s and don’ts, just like a snake charmer controls a snake

7. Even if one controls senses, taste remains. 2.60 – 2.63 How to overcome that? Answer: Paramdrishtvanivartate Develop the higher taste ??? Yamunacarya One who has tasted the Lord’s beauty in the course of his progress such a person loses all taste of dead material things Beware of senses. They will cheat you even though you have knowledge &trying to control them. 2.61  Control the senses&Focus intelligence  Matpara devotee: AmbarishMaharaj When devotee has strength of Bhakti, Vishnu removes impurities from heart just as fire burns everything into ashes.

8. 2.62-2.63 Fall down steps Anger Lust Attachment Contemplate on sense objects

9. Falls down in material pool Intelligence is lost Memory is bewildered Delusion

10. Attachment Objects Lust of the senses Anger Delusion Bewilderment of memory Loss of intelligence Fall down!

11. Gita 2.62- 2.63 Senses are naturally active – Need real engagement; either in service of Lord or materialism (b) Only way to get out of material puzzle – Krishna consciousness (c) Negative example (Influenced by sense objects) – Even when powerful demigods like Lord Shiva was agitated by Parvati, Kartikeya was born (d) Positive examples (Sense control) – HaridasaThakura (a young devotee) and Yamunacarya easily overcame all sensual attractions by the power of Krishna consciousness (e) Secret of success in terms of sense control  Higher taste shuns off all material enjoyment  Yukta-vairagya – Use everything in the service of the Lord  Yukta-vairagya offers positive enjoyment e.g. Good eatables – One enjoys life by prasadam  No danger of falldown because of the philosophy of Yukta-vairagya o Whereas dry renunciation (Phalgu-vairagya) may lead to falldown because of lack of positive enjoyment

12. Texts 2.64 – 2.71 “How does he walk?”  Implies – How does he engage his senses  Answer – While engaging senses, he does with regulation & religious principles Text 2.64 Focus: Self realized soul engages senses based on regulation & religious principles  The self-realized person is free from attachment and aversion  He controls his senses through reg. principles of freedom  Thus he obtains the complete mercy of the Lord Text 2.65 Focus: Result of achieving the Lord’s mercy  Complete satisfaction of senses and consciousness  Threefold miseries exist no longer  Intelligence is soon well established

13. Text 2.66 Focus: No happiness and peace by lack of Krishna consciousness – By Krishna consciousness the mind becomes peaceful.If one is not connected with the Supreme then,  Neither transcendental intelligence possible  Nor steady mind  Without steady mind, no possibility of peace  No happiness without peace  Real peace formula is given in Bg. 5.29 o Krishna is the only enjoyer, The supreme proprietor o As the real friend of all living entities  Without Krishna consciousness there cannot be a final goal for the mind and disturbance is due to want of an ultimate goal (b) Krishna consciousness is a self-manifested peaceful condition which can be achieved only in relationship with Krishna

14. Text 2.67 Agitated senses search for satisfaction in sense objects dragging one deep into illusion  Analogy: As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man’s intelligence Text 2.68 Focus: Defines a man of steady intelligence – Senses are always searching for satisfaction in sense objects, therefore one whose senses are restrained from their objects is of steady intelligence Who is suitable for liberation – One who understood that  Only by Krishna consciousness is one really established in intelligence  And one should practice this art under the guidance of a bona-fide spiritual master

15. (b) Analogy: Controlling enemies requires a superior force  Similarly senses cannot be controlled by any human endeavor  But can be controlled only by keeping them in the service of the Lord Text 2.69 Krishna gives an analogy: Although sensory engagements appear similar for self-realized soul and materialist – There is difference of day and night Text 2.70 Krishna gives a second analogy: Rivers into the ocean  Self-realized person is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires that enter, just like rivers enter into the ocean which is ever being filled but is always still  This is the platform of real peace

16. Text 2.71 Platform of ‘actual desirelessness’ – Activities of Bhakti-yoga are free from false ego and sense of proprietorship – thus one can attain real peace Text 2.72 Conclusion – One thus situated (as explained till now) at the time of death enters the Kingdom of God. Thus Krishna glorifies the position of “sthita-prajna”  That is the way of spiritual and godly life  After attaining this, one is not bewildered