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Sama, equilibrium of mind, is achieved by one who has concluded that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original source of everything. And when one can control his senses, that is called dama

Expressions researched:
"Sama, equilibrium of mind, is achieved by one who has concluded that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original source of everything. And when one can control his senses, that is called dama"

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

"Śama, equilibrium of mind, is achieved by one who has concluded that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original source of everything. And when one can control his senses, that is called dama. When one is ready to tolerate all kinds of sufferings to control the senses and keep the mind steady, that is called titikṣā, or tolerance. And when one can control the urges of the tongue and genitals, that is called dhṛti." One who has attained dhṛti is a dhīra, a pacified person. A pacified person is never disturbed by the urges of the tongue and genitals.
Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 1:

Regarding the gopīs' dealings with Śrī Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.30.36–38 describes how when Śrī Kṛṣṇa took Śrīmatī Rādhikā alone from the rāsa dance, She proudly thought, "My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa has left the other gopīs, although they are as beautiful as I am, and He is satisfied with Me alone." In the forest She told Kṛṣṇa, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, I am unable to move anymore. Now if You like You can take Me wherever You desire." Kṛṣṇa replied, "You can climb on My shoulder," but as soon as He said this He disappeared, whereupon Śrīmatī Rādhikārepented very much.

When Kṛṣṇa disappeared from the scene of the rāsa dance, all the gopīs began to repent, saying, "Dear Kṛṣṇa! We have come here and left aside our husbands, sons, relatives, brothers and friends! Neglecting their advice, we have come to You, and You know very well the reason for our coming here. You know that we have come because we are captivated by the sweet sound of Your flute. But You are so cunning that in the dead of night You have left girls and women like us! This is not very good of You."

The word śama means controlling the mind and keeping it from being diverted in various ways while fixing it on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In other words, one whose mind is fixed on the Supreme Lord is situated on the śama platform. On that platform the devotee understands that Kṛṣṇa is the basic principle of everything within our experience. This is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.19): "After many, many births of cultivating knowledge, one who has attained real knowledge surrenders unto Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa) because he can understand that Kṛṣṇa is present in everything, that He is distributed all over the cosmic manifestation." Although everything is under the control of the Supreme Lord and is situated in His energy, everything is nonetheless different from Kṛṣṇa in His personal form. It is stated in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu that the platform of śama, on which one understands that Kṛṣṇa is the basic principle of everything, is the same as śānta-rati. Unless one is elevated to the platform of śānta-rati, one cannot be fixed in knowledge of the greatness of Kṛṣṇa or of the diffusion of His different energies, which are the cause of all manifestations. This same point is explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.19.36):

śamo man-niṣṭhatā buddher dama indriya-saṁyamaḥ
titikṣā duḥkha-sammarṣo jihvopastha-jayo dhṛtiḥ

"Śama, equilibrium of mind, is achieved by one who has concluded that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original source of everything. And when one can control his senses, that is called dama. When one is ready to tolerate all kinds of sufferings to control the senses and keep the mind steady, that is called titikṣā, or tolerance. And when one can control the urges of the tongue and genitals, that is called dhṛti." One who has attained dhṛti is a dhīra, a pacified person. A pacified person is never disturbed by the urges of the tongue and genitals.

One who can fix his mind on Kṛṣṇa without deviation attains śānta-rasa, the steadfast position in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One in śānta-rasa exhibits two main qualities: unflinching faith in Kṛṣṇa, and the cessation of all material desires. These specific characteristics of śānta-rasa—unflinching faith in Kṛṣṇa and cessation of all desires not connected with Kṛṣṇa—are common to all other rasas as well, just as sound is present not only in sky, where it is produced, but also in all the other elements—air, fire, water and earth. So these two characteristics of śānta-rasa are also present in dāsya-rasa (servitorship), sakhya-rasa (fraternity), vātsalya-rasa (parental affection) and madhura-rasa (conjugal love).

When we speak of desires not connected with Kṛṣṇa, or "non-Kṛṣṇa," this does not mean that anything exists without Kṛṣṇa. Actually there cannot be anything non-Kṛṣṇa because everything is a product of the energy of Kṛṣṇa. Since Kṛṣṇa and His energies are identical, everything is Kṛṣṇa indirectly. For example, consciousness is common to every living entity, but when consciousness is centered solely on Kṛṣṇa (Kṛṣṇa consciousness) it is pure, and when consciousness is centered on something other than Kṛṣṇa, or when it is directed to sense gratification, it may be called non-Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Thus it is in the polluted state that the conception of non-Kṛṣṇa comes. In the pure state, however, there is nothing but Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Active interest in Kṛṣṇa—the understanding that Kṛṣṇa is mine and that I am Kṛṣṇa's and that my business is therefore to satisfy the senses of Kṛṣṇa—is typical of a higher stage than the neutrality of śānta-rasa. Simply by understanding the greatness of Kṛṣṇa, one achieves the status of śānta-rasa, in which the worshipable object may be the impersonal Brahman or Paramātmā. Worship of the impersonal Brahman and the Paramātmā is conducted by those engaged in empiric philosophical speculation and mystic yoga. But when one develops even further in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or spiritual understanding, he can appreciate that the Paramātmā, the Supersoul, is his eternal worshipable object and master, and he surrenders unto Him. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19): "After many, many births of worshiping Brahman and Paramātmā, when one surrenders unto Vāsudeva as the supreme master and accepts himself as the eternal servant of Vāsudeva, he becomes a great transcendentally realized soul." At that time, due to his intimate relationship with the Supreme Absolute Truth, the devotee begins to render some sort of transcendental loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus the neutral relationship known as śānta-rasa is transformed into dāsya-rasa, servitorship.

Page Title:Sama, equilibrium of mind, is achieved by one who has concluded that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original source of everything. And when one can control his senses, that is called dama
Compiler:Visnu Murti
Created:25 of Sep, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=1, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1