Chapter2- Sloka 57
yaḥ sarvatrānabhisnehas tat tat prāpya śubhāśubham |
nābhinandati na dveṣṭi tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā || 57 ||
(2.57)
yaḥ- one who; anabhisnehaḥ- is without any inclination; sarvatra- for everything (which is pleasing); prāpya- on attaining; tat tat śubhāśubham- those favourable and unfavourable things; na abhinandati- neither hails (the favourable); na dveṣṭi- nor condemns (the unfavourable); tasya- such a person's; prajñā-wisdom; pratiṣṭhitā- is firmly established (he is a sthitaprajña);
Purport
In the previous śloka the ekendriyasaṃjña (third phase of jñāna yoga) was described. In this śloka, the phase lower than it called vyatirekasaṃjña (second phase) is described by Kṛṣṇa. In the next śloka, the first phase which is lower than vyatirekasaṃjña called yatamānasaṃjña is described. In this phase, after a person has forcefully withdrawn his senses from the objects of the senses, a part of liking and hatred towards these things still remains in the mind. The attempts made by him to get rid of this remaining part are discussed in this śloka.
Kṛṣṇa says, "One who does not have inclination towards anything which is pleasing, who, upon attaining them, neither hails the favourable nor condemns the unfavourable, such a person's wisdom is firmly established. He is a sthitaprajña."
yaḥ sarvatra anabhisnehaḥ (One who has no liking towards anything pleasing)
sarvatra Since there is no chance for a person to show inclination towards things which are not
pleasing, the word 'sarvatra' is representative of all the things which are pleasing.
anabhisnehaḥ 'Abhisneha' is the strong desire or attraction towards something which pushes a person
towards making attempts to possess that thing. An 'anabhisnehaḥ' is one who develops no desire to possess
such things even when he sees them. He is indifferent towards them. He makes no attempts by himself to
possess such pleasing things. Pre-ordained by fate, when pleasant and unpleasant things are delivered to
him, he feels no inclination or aversion respectively towards them.
tat tat prāpya śubhāśubham Though he encounters favourable instances where things of his liking occur to him and unfavourable instances where he undergoes separation from the things of his liking...
nābhinandati (He does not hail the favourable instances)
na dveṣṭi (He does not excessively condemn the unfavourable instances) He does not experience great pain due to them. He does not despise them. Due to this practice, he is able to differentiate the liking and hatred that still remains in his mind from the liking and hatred that have been cleared from his mind. He becomes aware of this residue of liking and hatred and strives to remove it too by regulating the activities of the mind. This phase is called 'vyatirekasaṃjña'.
tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā (He too is a sthitaprajña) Since these phases are a representation of the levels of perfection in a 'sthitaprajña' (a dedicated practitioner of jñāna yoga), it is appropriate to call a person in the 'vyatirekasaṃjña' phase too as a 'sthitaprajña'.