Srimad Bhagavad Gita -Ramanujacharya 181

Srimad Bhagavad Gita -Ramanujacharya

Chapter-5 Karma Sanyāsa Yogaḥ

na prahṛṣyet priyaṃ prāpya nodvijet prāpya cāpriyam | sthira-buddhir-asaṃmūḍho brahma-vid brahmaṇi sthitaḥ || 20 || 20. One who having learnt of the Brahman (ātman) seeks to abide in Brahman, one whose mind is steadfastly fixed on That (ātman), undeluded — neither rejoices at gaining what is pleasant, nor grieves on obtaining what is unpleasant. Commentary One should not give way to feelings of elation or distress on attaining these two types of experiences. How? By fixing the mind on that which is enduring i.e. the ātman and not identifying the Self with the transient physical body. And how can this be done? One who learns about Brahman through instruction by the acharyas and abides in mindfulness of the Brahman, such a person remains steadily engaged in the practices leading to realization of Brahman (Self-realization). The gist is this: — from the teachings of the acharyas who know the truth, one should learn everything about the Self. Endeavouring to actualize the same, one gives up the delusion of considering the body as the Self and remains fixed in the joyous experience of the vision of the unchanging Self. One should not rejoice and grieve when experiencing pleasant and unpleasant things, because such experiences arise from Material Nature and are impermanent.