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Shri Datta Swami

 10 Sep 2024

 

What is meant by Sthitaprajna as said in Gita?

Shri Hrushikesh asked: Swami, what is meant by Sthitaprajna as said in Gita?

Swami replied: 1) The word ‘prajna’ in Sanskrit means intelligence. Intelligence makes a decision after doing lot of sharp analysis. Before taking the decision, you should also discuss in debates with other intellectuals so that if your intelligence is insufficient, it can take the help from outside. After discussions, the decision is arrived. The debate is only to check your decision. Your decision may also come out as correct at the end of discussions with several intellectuals. Now, the decision is taken by the intelligence or buddhi (buddhi radhyavasaayaatmikaa). Mind oscillates between truth and falsehood (Sankalpa vikalpaatmakam manah). The mind gets full satisfaction by the decision of the intelligence after passing through several debates. This decision must have support of experience of minority or majority. In certain concepts, majority stands as authority whereas in certain other concepts minority stands as authority. Hence, the decision taken by intelligence (helped by the other intellectuals also through debates) should coincide with the experience of majority or minority. If the concept is not experienced by any soul, such concept concluded by analysis is the fruit of dry logic only. Yukti (logic) and Anubhava (Experience) should coincide with each other and none of these two alone can be the authority. Such concept will certainly get the real scripture of God fit into it very easily and naturally. If the scripture is not fitting naturally into such decision, such part of scripture is either insertion done by some ignorant follower or the interpretation of such part of scripture is the misinterpretation of some other ignorant follower. There will be very easy and natural coincidence between the concept decided by analysis and supported by experience and the real scripture of God filtered from insertions and misinterpretations. The correlation with the scripture gives more satisfaction to the soul due to the weightage given to the scripture by almost all the souls. The decided concept at the end of logic (Yukti), experience (Anubhava), primary scripture (Shruti) and secondary scripture (Smruti) is denoted by the word prajna.

The word ‘Sthita’ means the firmness of the soul in implementing such decided concept in practice irrespective of any cyclone rising from the force of ignorance from the side of the worldly bonds. Hence, Sthitaprajna is the devotee, who is firm in implementing the above decided concept in practice irrespective of any hurdle rising to obstruct the implementation. Sometimes, the obstruction may be created even by God to test the extent of force in the firmness of decision in implementing it in practice.

 
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