PHRASES IN THE GITA (8)

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PHRASES IN THE GITA (8)

समत्वं योग उच्यते (अध्याय २ - श्लोक ४८)

ஸமத்வம் யோக உச்யதே (அத்யாயம் 2 - ஸ்லோகம் 48)

Samatvam Yoga Uchyate (Chapter 2 - Shloka 48)

Meaning : They say, "Yoga is Equilibrium, or balance".

The phrase is simple and self-explanatory. Two words are significant. Samatvam and Uchyate.

Uchyate means 'they say'. "The wise men say"; "The elders say".  Shri Krishna has the qualification to declare an idea.  (So many among, petty personalities shout at the top of our voice that, "I say this".)  We also may agree to Shri Krishna's declaration under the influence of His 'personality'. But Shri Krishna prefers to use such terms as 'they say'; 'in my opinion';.  That requires a humbler personality.  

Balance is desired in every worldly ventures. Imbalance, or lop-sidedness, is not welcome.

The budget was balanced. That means, it does not favour any one section of the population, but tries to benefit every section.

Everyone tries to possess a perfectly balanced body, with expanded chest, round shoulders, smaller and fat-less waistline, muscular, but not bulky thighs, neither too tall nor too short, etc. Over size or under size in any one of these regions is imbalance.

Our vision is expected to be balanced.  Any imbalance is corrected by lenses.  (spectacles)

Our food should be balanced, with right mix of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, fats, etc. The menu should cover all the six tastes in right proportion. Seasonal fruits, vegetables and greens should form part of the menu. Eating should also be balanced and every dish served should be relished.

When the world was caught between two extremes, our government practiced what was called non-alignment. Government tried to remain friendly with both the poles but did not align with either.

A sporting team is expected to be balanced.  A foot ball team, for instance, stands chance of greater success, if it is good at attack, defense, with greater co-ordination and passes and a good goal-keeper. In absence of these, even a highly skilled player does not help in writing success stories for the team.

There should be a balance in our lives too.  I know many corporate executives, who get so deeply engrossed in their jobs that they do not find time for other activities essential for ennobling self and for maintaining better relations.  Job is good and is for Life, not Life itself.

In psychic field, they talk of right brain and left brain and advocate a balance of the two.  More development of right brain results in higher levels of emotions. The left brain results in higher rationality, calculations, logic, etc.  Emotion may be illogical, but is essential for better experiencing of life. Logic is good, but excessive of it may result in a dry, wretched life. Emotions without logic or logic without emotions is bad.

Two aspects are compared with regard to better performance in our actions. One is 'Focussed mind' or 'concentration'. The other is 'Balance or Samatvam in mind'. Usually, 'Focussed mind' is seen as more essential for success or better performance. Yes. Worldly activities may be better with a focussed mind. But, a focussed mind may not guarantee a better personality. Even wicked activities require focussed mind. Focussed mind may help in better performance in an activity but, may not help in better Life, as a whole. On the other hand, 'balanced mind' is more essential for a better personality, better understanding of the world and life, greater success in long term and speedier progress on Spiritual Path.

Worldly life is full of mutually opposite 'twins'. Affection and hatred, fame and notoriety, appreciation and opposition, garland and brickbat, hot and cool, union and separation, birth and death, success and failure, day and night, favourable and unfavourable, pain and pleasure... etc. etc.  Samatvam denotes a balanced approach towards these. Samatvam is Yoga. Samatvam is success.