187. Hook is hidden behind Bait



Krishna says, “He who neither rejoices nor hates, nor grieves, nor desires, renouncer of good and evil, alike to friend and foe; to honour and dishonour, alike to experiences of warmth and chill, to pleasure (sukh) and suffering (dukh), free from attachment, he who is full of devotion is dear to me” (12.17 and 12.18). Essentially, it is witnessing these feelings and emotions rather than identifying with them.

A newborn is a ‘universal baby’ with many free neurons in the brain to take care of basic requirements and future challenges. During formative years, many neural patterns are formed based on upbringing, family, society etc. These patterns label external situations and people as either good or bad. Krishna earlier said that, endowed with wisdom, one sheds both good and bad deeds (2.50). This suggests that when we attain the yoga of equanimity, the habit of labelling disappears, as the neural patterns that create these distinctions are broken. The same is reflected here when Krishna says that those devotees are dear to Him who dropped these divisions. Once these are dropped, there is neither honour (praise) nor dishonour (criticism), and one experiences warmth and chill alike.

Krishna earlier said that sthita-prajna (stoic) is the one who is neither excited by sukh nor agitated by dukh and is free from raag (attachment) (2.56). All of us seek pleasure but suffering inevitably comes to our lives as both of them exist in pairs of dwandwa (polarities). This is like bait to fish where the hook is hidden behind the bait. Life experiences give us awareness that when we seek one, the other is bound to follow - maybe in a different shape and after a lapse of time. This awareness helps us transcend polarities and attain the state of equanimity (samatva). It’s like being an artist in a drama who displays intense emotions but doesn’t get attached to them.


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