BHAGAVAD GEETA: 93 - Swami Advayananda.

CHINMAYA MISSION CHENNAI

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BHAGAVAD GEETA
Chapter - 2
Discourse – 2 (72 Slogas)
“Yoga of the SUPREME SELF”
Sri Veda Vyasaji

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Friday 01, November 2024, 06:10.
Discourse 2 | Yoga of the Supreme Self  
2.13   THE SADHANA FOR PERFECTION 
(Slogas - 68-72, 5 No.) 
Slogam- 69: The “Night and Day” Simile 
Post - 93.

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Slogam- 69: The “Night and Day” Simile 

1 Yaa nishaa sarva-bhootaanaam = When it is night for all beings, 

2 tasyaam jaagarti samyamee; = then the self-controlled man keeps awake (day). 

3 yasyaam jaagrati bhootaani = When all beings are awake (day),  

4 saa nishaa pashyatah muneh. = then it is night for the sage who truly sees. 

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If taken literally, this description of a sage would include every night-watchman! But 

it is a metaphor – the implied meaning has to be taken. The interpretation is: 

i) ‘Night’ or ‘darkness’ stands for the unknown, for ignorance, or that which is feared. 

ii) ‘Day’ or ‘light’ stands for the known, for knowledge, and for fearlessness.  

This verse defines the Sthitaprajna over the full range of conditions, from top (the 

Self) to bottom (the “minimum requirement”): 

1-2: From the top end, the definition given for a Sthitaprajna is “one who takes the 

Divine alone as the Reality, and who sees the duality of the world as false or unreal.” 

The Divine is “night”, dark and unknown to the ignorant. The ignorant are defined as 

those who take the physical to be the Self. Matters of the Spirit are “Greek and Latin” to 

them! To the sage, that same Divine is his own Self. He revels in It – he is “awake” to It, he is 

alive to It, and fully contented with It. That is “day” to him. To the sage, the Divine is not just 

a dead intellectual concept, but a vivid experience.  

3-4: From the bottom end, we see the Sthitaprajna from the world’s viewpoint. We 

see the Sthitaprajna in a state of perfect sense-control. This is the “minimum requirement”.  

When the world is awake to the ‘day’ of sense pleasures, etc, the sage finds that to 

be strange territory to him. That is darkness or ‘night’ to him. He is not interested in them. It 

really is a world of sorrow to him. 

“NECESSARY” & “SUFFICIENT” CONDITIONS: 

 

The division between knowledge and sense-control may need a little clarification to 

some. Knowledge is a “sufficient” condition for a Sthitaprajna; sense-control is a “necessary” 

condition. The following example illustrates the difference: 

A customer wants to see the CEO of a company. Firstly, he has to go to the premises 

of the company. On reaching it, he has to enter the gates and the building; he has to go 

through the security check; he has to take the lift to go to the top floor. All these are 

necessary conditions but not sufficient as the CEO still has not been reached. The only 

sufficient condition he has to fulfill is to enter the door of the CEO’s office. That alone is 

sufficient because it necessarily includes all the previous conditions which he fulfills on his 

way to the office. 

Looking at the afore-mentioned diagram in verse 64, we see that the Tranquil Mind 

is a necessary condition, whereas the Peaceful mind is a sufficient condition. All items from 

point 1 to 6 are necessary conditions; point 7 is a sufficient condition; and point 8 is the fruit 

of the sufficient condition. Similarly, to be a Sthitaprajna, it is a necessary condition to 

control one’s senses, but that alone is not sufficient. It is a sufficient condition to abide in 

the Self, for which all the previous conditions are necessarily met. 

Lines 1-2:  give the “sufficient” condition for a Sthitaprajna; a person established in his 

Self needs no further qualification to be called a Sthitaprajna.  

Lines 3-4: give the “necessary but not sufficient” condition. Sense-control is 

absolutely necessary, but is not sufficient. More is required, namely, removal of likes and 

dislikes, equipoise, balance, a steady mind, removal of the three afflictions, a steady 

intellect, and meditation.

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Next

Slogam -70: The “Waters of the Ocean” Simile 

Continued

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