Central Philosophy

The man is described as pleased with whatever comes. This equanimity (samatwa) is from our mind. It is really the philosophical attitude which should be the outcome of the (scientific) knowledge or belief. It may seem that bodily pains are lessened by it, but that is somewhat illusory. The fact is that usually our bodily pains are felt more acutely because we add an intense concentration of mind upon them, and also add an emotional pain. The trouble may be real, but thus men make another trouble, and so there is double trouble and quite often the second trouble is worse than the first. The emotional equanimity arising from philosophical understanding is what is aimed at. It is not intended that there should be passive endurance or resignation. When there is equanimity one can tackle the real problem with all one's faculties. First of all, then, the searchlight of self-pity, disappointment, and even perhaps anger and hate is turned out, and secondly the man is at his best to deal with the real pain or trouble. Equanimity becomes non-antagonism to any situation that arises, and that is practical realism.

This is probably the best place to consider the three chief verbs in our life to be, to do, and to have. The aspirant who watches himself will find that he is only interested in being. Is it that he wants a nice house? Really he wants to be comfortable, and if it is a matter of keeping up with the Joneses, or even of surpassing them, he wants self-satisfaction, and if he too is thwarted he may go to a psychologist who tries to help him to find a suitable or attainable niche and be satisfied, whereas if he had gone to a yogi he would have given him equanimity and set him free from niches.

The idea of this central philosophy of the Gita was some what 'understood by' the Stoics, as Epictetus showed when he said, 'There is only one thing for which God has sent me into the world and that is to perfect my own nature in every sort of strength, and there is nothing in all the world which I cannot use for that purpose.' Inwardly, then, the role is equanimity, and outwardly usefulness. If there are exercises, it is to establish and maintain these in both body and mind.

When at or near this stage, Krishna says that men perform many different actions of sacrifice - following in their own way the aims of perfection or perfect action, partly as duty, and partly as devotion to the Incarnation or perhaps rather to what it exemplifies. Krishna enumerates some of these, and then comes the statement in one of his key verses that the offering of knowledge is greater than any material offering, because all acts have their fulfilment in knowledge - clearly meaning philosophical and religious knowledge, for he further states that this can be learned by devotion, inquiry, and service, and from those who already know it.

Then, says Krishna, you will see that everything is divine, and knowledge will remove all faults and clear away the dependence upon particular outside things.