Equanimity – your greatest asset

"Do your duty to the best of your ability, O Arjuna, with your mind attached to the Lord, abandoning attachment to the results, and remaining calm in both success and failure. Equanimity of mind is called Karma Yoga (because equanimity leads to union with God." – Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 48

Equanimity: A calm mental state, composure and imperturbability (especially under stress, shock or in a difficult situation).

Asset: benefit, advantage, strength, credit, blessing.

The Indian Yogic tradition points out some values that lead to well-being and great fulfillment: peace, equanimity and detachment. If we want these qualities in our life, it is recommended to do all our work as an offering to the divine, without desiring and expecting fruits or rewards for our action.

Equanimity is an important factor when we start our own business. It means to remain calm and undisturbed under all circumstances good and bad, pleasant or unpleasant, and all the unequal dualities of life like pleasure and pain, happiness and grief, success and failure.

The first stage here is not to be swayed, influenced, overwhelmed, or get swamped by the inequalities and dualities of life and the reactions in us but to bear them with a calm, unyielding and equal endurance.

The other factor is detachment which means not to be attached (physically, emotionally or mentally) to anything outside ourselves, like objects, people or work, a particular place, environment or circumstances. Detachment requires the cultivation of the witness-consciousness which can observe our inner movements without identifying with them. Attachment is a bondage that cramps our mind and heart into a narrow groove.

When we can overcome attachments we gain greater freedom. Our mind and heart expand and this opens our consciousness to refined perception and higher energies. This naturally leads to discernment and good choices.

Doing all our work as an offering and in surrender to the divine is the great discipline of Karma Yoga, as described in the ancient text of the Bhagavat Gita (check interpretations by yogis such a Sri Aurobindo or Swami Vivekananda).

When these factors are put into practice in our work and life, it can lead to a deep and lasting contentment, fulfillment and liberation.

(ref. M.S. Srinivasan, Aurobindo Society Research Associate, Writer & Editor)