Equanimous Attitude

उदये सविता रक्तः रक्तश्चास्तमये तथा
सम्पत्तौ च विपत्तौ च महतामेकरूपता

Udaye savitaa rakta-ha raktashchaastamaye tathaa
sampattau cha vipattau cha mahataam-eka-roopataa

Meaning: Sun (savitaa) is red (rakta) as he rises (udaya), he is red even as he sets (asta). (Similarly,) the great (mahataama) will be equanimous (ekaroopa) in prosperity (sampatti) as well as in adversity (vipatti).

The sun looks exactly the same when it is rising as well as when it is setting—fiery red but calm. And that is exactly the attitude expected out of men, when their fortunes are on the rise or on the fall.

In times of prosperity, we start inflating (sometimes literally). We get swept away by jubilation, arrogance & overconfidence. We start riding the seventh heaven and our personality starts becoming loud & bashful—our voice, our gait, our clothes, things we use, places we visit, people we visit—all of these change.

Be it financial prosperity, social, political, or even intellectual prosperity, our alertness & discrimination starts getting dimmed, and we become more carefree (read careless). Mastak mein masti chaDhti hai.

Conversely, during adverse times or in downfall, we break down. Confidence moves out and doubt creeps in. We lose trust not only in our own selves but also in God. We even start taking recourse in Albele babas.

It is this very prevalent yet undesirable frame of mind that this shloka addresses. Our minds should be solid as rock, not affected by prosperity or adversity. We should know how to digest joy as well as pain equally well. I remember a poem that my favorite English teacher taught me. This is the first poem he taught me and till date, I remember it by heart.

Joy & Woe are woven fine,
   A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine,
   runs a joy with silken twine.

It is right, it should be so.
   Man was made for joy & woe.
And when this we rightly know.
   Through the world we safely go.

These are the examinations of life! How do we manage our inner selves when either of these situations strike us? Do we sway with the pendulum of joy & woe, or do we maintain equanimity (levelheadedness)? Do we puff up in prosperity, or do we cringe in calamity, or do we stay composed? Do we start flying in fortune, or do we start drowning in downfall, or do our feet stay firm on the ground? Do we remain collected like Prabhu Raam who was equally happy when he was given the kingdom one day and exile the other? That is true sthita-pragnyataa.

Another very important aspect is that while rising or setting, the Sun doesn't stop from its duties. His movement never stops; his gati is constant. Rise or fall doesn't stop or slow him down from his goal. He shows a stop sign to rise & fall while maintaining his speed unaltered. It is pretty ironical that both prosperity and adversity slow us down from our life goals, in their own unique ways. 

But let that not happen to us. Like the sun, let us show red to prosperity as well as adversity, and keep our gati constant towards our goals as true human beings.