Gyaneshwari -Sant Gyaneshwar
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Chapter-16
The Divine and Demoniacal Natures
3. Vigour, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, absence of envy and pride, these, O Bharata, belong to one born to the Divine endowment. When a person longs to pursue the path of knowledge for God-realisation, he does not feel the lack of strength. There is nothing so dreadful than immolation, but a chaste wife does not hesitate to enter the pyre of her dead husband. In the same way, a person longing to attain his Lord, the Self, rejects sensuous pleasures like poison and treads the difficult path leading to the formless Brahman. In this journey, he is not obstructed by precepts or prohibitions nor is he lured by the miraculous powers. In this way, his mind is directed, of its own accord, towards the Supreme Self and this is known as spiritual vigour (186-190). Now as the body is not aware of the numerous hairs on it, so one is not proud that he is the best among those blessed with patience. This absence of pride is known as forbearance. When the senses have a strong appetite for sensuous pleasures, or a dormant disease raises its head, or one has to suffer separation from the dear and near ones and association with undesirable ones, when a person is flooded with such calamities, he stands firm and faces it squarely, like sage Agastya. Just as a gentle breeze disperses a heavy column of smoke in the sky, so he digests all the three classes of corporeal, physical and supernatural afflictions, if they fall to his lot (191-195). To sustain courage and stand steadfast on occasions of extreme perturbation of the mind, is what is known as fortitude. When a gold pot is cleaned and filled with water of the Ganga, it becomes pure. Purity is like that. Disinterested activity and discrimination of the mind are the signs of external and internal purity. Just as the water of the Ganga eliminates the sins and afflictions of those who bathe in it and also nourishes the trees on its banks, or as the Sun makes his rounds in the sky, dispelling darkness and opening chambers of beauty (196-200), so he liberates persons from their bondage, lifts up those drowning in the sea of worldly existence and relieves the sufferings of persons in distress - nay, he thinks that in promoting the happiness of others day and night, he is furthering his own interest. He never entertains even the idea of causing harm to others, to serve his self-interest. This, O Arjuna, is what is called absence of envy and I have told it in such a way, that it is easy for you to understand. |
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