55. Centred in the Self

Krishna says that the ‘ayukta’ (imbalanced) lacks both buddhi (intellect) and bhaav (emotions) and as a result, he will not get ‘shanti’ (peace) and there is no joy for the peaceless (2.66). Krishna lays emphasis on equanimity (2.38 and 2.48) and this verse highlights the same from a different angle.

Till we learn to centre ourselves in the ‘middle’, we are likely to anchor ourselves at one of the ‘other’ centres like friends, enemy, work, spouse, children, money, pleasure, power, possessions etc. and this anchoring is the hallmark of the ayukta.

If someone is centred on money, all his plans and actions revolve around maximizing wealth at the cost of all other things like relationships, health etc. One doesn’t hesitate to deceive, cheat or do anything to attain pleasure if one is pleasure centric. A spouse-oriented person evaluates the entire world as to how their spouse is treated. One can also be enemy centred, thinking about how to harm their enemies even if it harms themselves.

When we are tied to others, our peace of mind is in their hands, making us dependent. That’s why Krishna insists on equanimity where we are centred in the middle which is the ultimate freedom (moksha).

Krishna uses the word ‘bhaav’, which we try to equate with our emotions. Any person or thing, when tied to ‘me’ invokes deeper emotions, otherwise, they may not even touch our heart. This implies that all our emotions are subjective, but Krishna is referring to bhaav that arise out of equanimity, which is the same whether it involves ‘me’ or not.

The surroundings or circumstances can be unpleasant, chaotic and disturbing, but they can’t affect one who attains inner harmony by being in the middle. Krishna refers to this as attaining shanti, which ultimately brings us joy.