Bhagavad Gita 2.56

duḥkheṣv anudvigna-manāḥ

sukheṣu vigata-spṛhaḥ

vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ

sthita-dhīr munir ucyate

 

“Unmoved by sorrow, unfazed by cheer,

Beyond all longing, free from fear.

With anger and passion cast away,

The wise stand firm, come what may.”

 

My dear Lord, the dualities of the outer world are an unavoidable fact of life. Yet, how much these outer dualities trigger inner instability in me is something that can be—and needs to be—within my control.

Unfortunately, I let myself be controlled by the destabilizing emotions of my mind, especially its desires, fears, and anger. When I strongly desire the outer world to be a certain way and it turns out otherwise—due to the inevitable binaries that characterize it—I am subjected either to fear, thinking that what I desire will be lost, or to anger, feeling powerless against what seems like the world’s arbitrariness or even its viciousness.

It is only when I lift my eyes from the world to you, O Lord, remembering that you are forever beyond the dualities of the world, that I can reduce the emotional drama and trauma caused by my fixation with the world.

Your love for me, O Lord, knows no duality. You remain unflinching and unfailing in your position and disposition toward me. You always remain fixed within my heart, and you are always benevolently disposed, wanting the best for me.

Bless me, my Lord, so that I stop seeking validation from the fickle world around me and start seeking connection with you—who are supremely stable and supremely capable of making me sublimely stable.

***

02.56 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.

You offer stability beyond the world’s duality