Chapter 2, Verse 54
arjuna uvāca
sthita-prajñāsya kā bhāṣā
samādhisthasya keśava
sthita-dhīḥ kiṁ prabhāṣata
kim āsīta vrajeta kim
Arjuna says: What is the mode of speech, O Krishna, of one of steady wisdom, who is established in the control of the mind? What does one of steady wisdom say? How does he sit? How does he move?
Arjuna has by now gained profound knowledge. He says, “My friend, here in front of me, is not just a mere mortal. He is Bhagavan Himself, He is God Himself incarnated.” Arjuna addresses Krishna as Keshava, Ke-sha-va: ‘Ke’ as Brahma, the creator; ‘Sha’ as Vishnu, the preserver; ‘Va’ as Shiva. He says, “You are the Creator, the Protector and the Destroyer of this entire universe: thus I address you as Keshava, my Lord.” The tune has changed: Arjuna is not talking to Krishna the same way as before. He is addressing Him with great humility, because he has realised that He is the controller of all three aspects of the Trimurti – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. He addresses Him as the Almighty God, saying, “It is only You, my Lord, who can give me the true answer.”
“What is the mode of speech, O Krishna, of one of steady wisdom, who is established in the control of the mind? What does one of steady wisdom say?” Arjuna asks, “You are the Lord of lords, you are the God of creation, preservation and destruction. What will you say? How does a yogi who is realised sit? How does he move? Please tell me all these qualities of a true, realised soul.” Arjuna now desires to know the signs of one who has attained Realisation, of one who is perfectly and unshakably stable in God Consciousness. Krishna has said that He is not attached to anything. So how does one who is not attached to anything walk, how does he talk? How does he eat?
Bhagavan explains, “The perfect souls who have realised God, exhibit special characteristics in all their ways of life.” In whatever they do, they have their own way. They are Siddha Purushas. They are not bound by their actions; they are not bound by their words. By nothing! Today they can say one thing; tomorrow they can say something else. Today they can say, “This is blue!” Tomorrow they can say, “This is red!” Krishna says that realised souls are not attached to anything. Even if they do an action which is inappropriate in the minds of society, they are free from every karma related to it. Their ordinary speech, their modes of sitting and walking have a special characteristic: it is all through the vibration, and it is all for the sake of others, it is not for their own sake.
Realised souls don’t do anything for themselves, but for the sake of others. The intention of Arjuna in asking about the modes of speech of a self-realised man, is to know how he should speak to the Lord. He wants to know, “How is my action with the Lord? Am I correct or not?” This is self-introspection. By asking this question, he starts to look at himself and to ask himself, “How is my action? How is my speech? Did I ask properly? How do I engage in any form of action? How am I?” He starts to think about how he walks and how he acts: he becomes very aware of this. Krishna has been talking about becoming a great yogi. “Krishna says to rise to Self-Realisation, but how will I become that?” Only by self-introspection can one attain Self-Realisation. That is why in Atma Kriya Yoga we say, “Do daily introspection so that you can transcend and transform yourself.”
Bhagavad Gita
