Bg. 2.56 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

दुःखेष्वनुद्विग्न‍मनाः सुखेषु विगतस्पृहः । वीतरागभयक्रोधः स्थिधीर्मुनिरुच्यते ॥ ५६ ॥

Verse text

duḥkheṣv anudvigna-manāḥ sukheṣu vigata-spṛhaḥ vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ sthita-dhīr munir ucyate

Synonyms

duḥkheṣu — in the threefold miseries ; anudvigna-manāḥ — without being agitated in mind ; sukheṣu — in happiness ; vigata-spṛhaḥ — without being interested ; vīta — free from ; rāga — attachment ; bhaya — fear ; krodhaḥ — and anger ; sthita-dhīḥ — whose mind is steady ; muniḥ — a sage ; ucyate — is called.

Translation

One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

56. The sage whose mind is not disturbed by the appearance of suffering, who has given up all desire during opportunities for happiness, who is devoid of attachment, fear and anger, is called a sthita-prajṣa.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

56. The sage whose mind is not grieved by the appearance of suffering, who has given up all desire during opportunities for happiness, who is devoid of attachment, fear and anger, is called a sthita prajṣa.

Purport

The word muni means one who can agitate his mind in various ways for mental speculation without coming to a factual conclusion. It is said that every muni has a different angle of vision, and unless a muni differs from other munis, he cannot be called a muni in the strict sense of the term. Nāsāv ṛṣir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam ( Mahābhārata, Vana-parva 313.117). But a sthita-dhīr muni, as mentioned herein by the Lord, is different from an ordinary muni. The sthita-dhīr muni is always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, for he has exhausted all his business of creative speculation. He is called praśānta-niḥśeṣa-mano-rathāntara ( Stotra-ratna 43), or one who has surpassed the stage of mental speculations and has come to the conclusion that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, or Vāsudeva, is everything ( vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ ). He is called a muni fixed in mind. Such a fully Kṛṣṇa conscious person is not at all disturbed by the onslaughts of the threefold miseries, for he accepts all miseries as the mercy of the Lord, thinking himself only worthy of more trouble due to his past misdeeds; and he sees that his miseries, by the grace of the Lord, are minimized to the lowest. Similarly, when he is happy he gives credit to the Lord, thinking himself unworthy of the happiness; he realizes that it is due only to the Lord’s grace that he is in such a comfortable condition and able to render better service to the Lord. And, for the service of the Lord, he is always daring and active and is not influenced by attachment or aversion. Attachment means accepting things for one’s own sense gratification, and detachment is the absence of such sensual attachment. But one fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness has neither attachment nor detachment because his life is dedicated in the service of the Lord. Consequently he is not at all angry even when his attempts are unsuccessful. Success or no success, a Kṛṣṇa conscious person is always steady in his determination.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

This verse and the next verse, the Lord answers the question “How does he speak?” His mind is not disturbed by adhyātmika suffering in the form of hunger, thirst, fever, or headache, by the adhibhautika suffering coming from snakes or tigers, or by the adhidaivika suffering arising from extremes in wind or rain. When someone asks about his welfare, he says [Note: The commentary mentions what the person says in order explain that this verse illustrates the answer to the question “How does he speak?”] simply that this suffering is his prārabdha-karma which he must unavoidably endure. He is not agitated with suffering (duḥkheṣv anudvigna-manāḥ). Otherwise, internally he will think in this way if not asked. This absence of disgust at his situation is understood by the intelligent person to be the symptom of an undisturbed person. False indifference to suffering, the mark of the imposter, however, is detected as such by the wise man. Such a pretender is called fallen or depraved. In the face of opportunities for happiness, he is without desire and says to himself or others that it is simply his prārabdha-karma which he must tolerate. And the intelligent person recognizes by this his quality of being devoid of desire for happiness. These qualities are made clearer. He is devoid of attachment to enjoyment (vīta-rāga), and devoid of fear from such things as tigers that want to eat him. He is devoid of anger towards friends who have attacked him. As an example, Jaḍa Bharata in front of the Goddess Durgā, did not show fear or anger towards the caṇḍāla leader who wanted to kill him.

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

The second question “What will the sthita prajṣa say when put in disturbing circumstances” is answered in two verses. When afflicted by pain through his own body or mind, from other creatures or from nature (duḥkheṣu), his mind is undisturbed (anudvigna manāḥ). Internally, or if asked about it, he says aloud, “This suffering is my prārabdha karma which I must inevitably experience.” And when he obtains delicious food or good welcome (sukheṣu), internally, or if asked by others, he says aloud, without desire for enjoyment (vigata spṛhaḥ), “This is also my prarabdha karma which I am forced to accept.” When attaining those things he does not show a happy face. He is devoid of affection for desirable objects (vīta raga). When objects are taken away from him, he does not exclaim “You righteous people steal from me, who am very weak.” He is free of such miserable disposition (vīta bhaya). [Note: Rāga is here defined as absorption in objects. Fear is here defined as thinking oneself helpless to prevent those dear objects being taken away. Anger is defined as having those dear objects taken away though one thinks one is capable of defending them.] And he does not exclaim in anger when objects are stolen, “How can you feeble fellows steal from me, who have great strength?” Thus he is devoid of anger (vīta krodha). Such a muni, one who is absorbed in contemplating the ātmā, is called sthita dhī or sthita prajṣa. This person speaks of his experience to himself internally or to others verbally, without grief and without longing. This is the answer to the second question “How does he speak?”