Sutra 33) 'Maithri -karunaa muditha upekshanaam sukha dukha punya apunya vishayanam bhavanaath ashchitta prashadanam'
Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indiffrence toward the wicked.
Explanation:
In order to achieve concentration, we must calm and purify our minds. Pathanjali now tells us how to do this. He prescribes the mental attitude we should take toward our neighbors in this world. If we meet someone who is happy in his way of life, we are inclined to envy him and be jealous of his success. We must learn to rejoice in it, as we take pleasure in the happiness of a friend. If someone is unhappy, we should feel sorry for him, instead of despising him or criticizing him for bringing misfortunes upon himself. The virtue of others is apt to irritate us, because we take it as a reflection upon our own shortcomings. We are tempted to sneer at it and suggest that it is only hypocrisy. On the contrary, we should delight in it and see it as an inspiration to ourselves to do better. As for the wicked, we must remember Christ's words: "Be not overcome of evil". If someone harms us or hates us, our first instinct is to answer him with hatred and injury. We may succeed in injuring him, but we shall be injuring ourselves much more, and our hatred will throw our own minds into confusion. So we must practice indifference toward the hurts we receive from others with awareness. We must go behind the wickedness of the wicked and try to understand what makes them treat us in that way. Very often we shall discover that we ourselves are partly to blame for their attitude.There may be provocation on both sides.
Our proper approach toward our fellow human beings is summed up in one of the first of the Hindu monastic vows:"The bees seek honey. I will shun the habit of the flies and follow that of the bees. I will refrain from finding faults in others and look only for the good which is in them". That is a vow which we should all take and try to live up to.
- Swami Prabhavananda.
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