Summary:

Chapter 2, Verse 55: The verse explains why we struggle with healthy desires due to two key limitations: placing our identity in the limited subtle-body (creating feelings of insignificance) and weak willpower. The wise person overcomes these limitations by recognizing happiness isn't intrinsic to objects, developing strong willpower, and discovering their eternal nature that is already full. This requires breaking identification with both body (made of five elements) and mind (consisting of emotions/manas, cognitive capacity/buddhi, recall/cittam, and ego/ahamkara). The ego (ahamkara) functions by stamping all experiences as “mine,” creating the impression that things happen to all-pervading Awareness from one standpoint. Ego alternates between three major roles: doer, knower, and experiencer. The wise recognize themselves as the self-evident “I am” that remains unchanged through all these shifting roles — the awareness because of which all four functions of the mind are known.

Verse essence: One who has ability to abandon unhealthy desires arising in the mind and is satisfied in the Self alone is called a person of steady wisdom.

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 55:
Liberated Person's Relationship to Desires

श्रीभगवान् उवाच ।
प्रजहाति यदा कामान् सर्वान् पार्थ मनोगतान् ।
आत्मनि एव आत्मना तुष्टः स्थितप्रज्ञः तदा उच्यते ॥ २-५५॥
śrībhagavān uvāca ।
prajahāti yadā kāmān sarvān pārtha manogatān ।
ātmani eva ātmanā tuṣṭaḥ sthitaprajñaḥ tadā ucyate ॥ 2-55॥

Śrī Bhagavān said: When a person gives up all the desires, as they appear in the mind, happy in oneself with oneself alone, Pārtha (Arjuna)! that person is said to be one of ascertained knowledge.

Sthita-Prajna’s Relationship with Desires

Spoken about in previous session.

Why aren’t we able to exercise healthy desires (knowing they’ll help us)? 

Reason 1: “I” is placed in the limited subtle-body.

Starting point is “I’m insignificant, others are better, I’m not good enough”. Thus one takes to seeking for validation using quick-fix shortcuts (like exaggerating status, dishonesty).

Reason 2: Weak will power.

Willpower is a muscle that needs to be developed. From book “The Willpower Instinct” by Kelly McGongial.

a) Willpower gets tired:

Like a muscle, willpower gets tired when overused. EG: Students who had to resist cookies for extended period, gave up faster on subsequent puzzles.  

Solutions:

1. 1. 1. Spread out challenges, rather then doing it all at once.
      2. When tempted, engage in slow breathing as it stops the dopamine release in anticipation of getting your desire fulfilled.
      3. Build willpower by doing small consistent things like keeping track of your expenses, as it spills in other areas.
      4. Reward yourself 10 minutes later after completing the task.

b) Moral Licensing:

When do something good, we give ourself permission to do something bad. EG: Those who remembered giving to charity, gave 60% less than those who couldn’t remember giving.

Solution: Focus on the long term vision, rather then individual “good/bad” actions.

c) Weakness to instant gratification:

Max Plank Institute & Harvard Uni in Germany in 2007 conducted experiment to see why we go for immediately-gratifying — instead of delayed-gratification with higher returns.

Each group were offered an irresistible treat. Group 1: 19 chimps (grapes) vs. Group 2: 40 students (peanuts).

Groups were given choice of 2 treats right away, vs. waiting 2 minutes for 6 treats. Chimps decided to wait 72% of time, and humans 19%. Meaning humans succumbed to instant gratification 80% of the time, and chimps only 30%.

Observation:

1. 1. 1. Humans become irrational when instant gratification is involved.
      2. Prefrontal cortex gives permission to succumb, with promise of doing better next time.
      3. Economists call this “delayed discounting”, the longer we have to wait for rewards, the less worthy it is to us. Makes us optin for immediate satisfaction, at cost of future happiness. Reason why we put off paying taxes or homework to later date.
      4. Humans make rational decision in theory, but not when rewards is front of you. Meaning, theory breaks down in real life.

Solution: When tempted, intentionally delay having it until 5-10 minutes expires.

How is wise person able to refrain from harmful desires?

This is mentioned in line 2: ātmani eva ātmanā tuṣṭaḥ sthitaprajñaḥ tadā ucyate

Wise person moves freely in world because dealt with inner pressures of smallness, developed strong willpower, and discovered — “I am nitya (eternal), śāśvata (not subject to modification), purāṇa (ever same/pure)”. Thus his/her actions come from fullness, rather then from need to prove oneself (due to smallness), or chase for object to gain temporary highs.

How to come out of smallness? Analyze your experience…

1) BODY:

“I” is connected to mind. Taking this connection absolutely true, every limitation of body is taken to be limitation of “I”. EG: I’m too dark, fat, light, physically small, etc. To break this connection, the body is made of 5 elements. It's given for a length of time. 

2) MIND:

“I” is connected to mind. Taking this connection absolutely true, the health/impurities of the mind become “mine”. To break this connection, first need to see mind has 4 functions…

1) Emotions (manas):

Emotions are keeping with outer/inner environment. They are indicators, telling you whether you're still on course or something needs adjustment. 

2) Cognitive capacity (buddhi):

Logical thinking. Ability to connect to seemingly unrelated things. Seeing the connections. Makes sense of the world.

3) Recall (cittam):

Consists of conscious memory (immediately available) and unconscious memory (not consciously available, but guides orientations, especially in conflicts).

4) I-sense / Ego (ahamkara):

Model 1 of Understanding the Ego (using Pratibimba-vada):

Ego, or sense of limited-I, occurs when I (the all-pervasive Awareness) take self to be contained within the boundaries of the subtle-body (such as a thought – meaning I am as big as the thought).

It's like all-pervading light assumes to be limited to the boundaries of the mirror it's reflecting upon. That reflected-light (which is not different from the total, original light) — taking on the mirror's smudges, movements and size – is the ego. Thus the reflected-light tries to constantly fix itself (because it's identity is mixed up with the mirror's size and smudges).

The wise mirror comes to see, the truth of this reflected light (“I”) is not different from the total light shining on all other mirrors. Meaning, I am not truly the reflected “light” of consciousness that's always moving, changing size and assuming impurities — but I am the total “light” of consciousness that never moves, is all-pervasive, and pure.

Model 2 of Understanding the Ego (seeing it as a function of the mind):

In short, ego's job is to stamp all experiences generated by the emotions/thinking/memories, as “mine“. It produces an impression that things are happening to all-pervading Awareness from one standpoint.

Put another away, ahamkara function of the subtle-body, converts everything to “This is happening to Me”.

EG: Even though emotions are constant flux — ahamkara attributes each change onto “I”, so it seems “I” is never free of emotions. For most people, meaning of “I” stops at ahamkara.

How to Shake Up Your Erroneous Identity with the Ahamkara (Ego)? Even ahamkara is changing. EG: “I am worried” > “I am relieved”. Also alternates between 3 major roles: Doer, knower, experiencer. 

Who are you?

The “I am” which is self-evident in all 4 functions of the mind. I am self-evident in the doer role, self-evident in the experiencer role, and self-evident in the knower role.

There is one same, unchanging presence through each of the 4 changing functions.

You are awareness because of which 4 functions are known. These 4 functions in one word are called sukshma-sharira  (subtle-body), or antahkarana (inner instrument used to make sense of world and interact with it).

What does the wise person recognize? I am the “light” (awareness) of changing conditions of my mind, body sensations and experiencer.

NEXT VERSE: How does the wise person handle one’s emotions (as they still have a mind)?

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Course was based on Swami Dayananda (Arsha Vidya) home study course.

Recorded 23 March, 2025