Equanimity
Equanimity is a state of psychological stability and composure which is undisturbed by the experience of or exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenomena that may cause others to lose the balance of their mind.
[1] In Chapter Two, Verse 48 of the Bhagavad Gita one reads: yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanañ-jaya siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṁ yoga ucyate.
"[2] In his book Samatvam – The Yoga of Equanimity, Swami Sivananda states: An aspirant who treads the path to samatvam must make every effort to acquire the following essential qualities: Viveka, discrimination; vairagya, dispassion; shadsampat, the six virtues (shama, mental calmness and control; dama, restraint of the senses; uparati, sense withdrawal or pratyahara; titiksha, endurance; shraddha, faith and samadhana, mental balance); and an intense desire for liberation, mumukshutva.
In order to possess the virtue of Samatvam, he will also need to dedicate himself to steadying the mind every moment of his yoga career...[3]Another Sanskrit term for equanimity is upekṣhā.
In Buddhism, equanimity (Pali: upekkhā; Sanskrit: upekṣā) is one of the four sublime attitudes and is considered: Neither a thought nor an emotion, it is the steady conscious realization of reality's transience.
[7] Meditation is a contemplative practice that develops equanimity, allowing people to face extreme states of mind or whatever arises at the present moment.
With time and practice, it trains the mind to go from "ordinary conceptual modes of operation to greater stillness and equanimity.”[8] In Vipassanā meditation, practitioners can come to understand and see clearly into the nature of reality, the impermanence of all experience.
From this newly developed perspective of equanimity, the mind becomes less easily disturbed and suffers less from unexpected conditions and emotional states.
Meditation can train the mind to be sensitive and flexible, which results in developing and maintaining a state of composure, peace, and balance.
Many Jewish thinkers highlight the importance of equanimity (Menuhat ha-Nefesh or Yishuv ha-Da'at) as a necessary foundation for moral and spiritual development.
In Christian philosophy, equanimity is considered essential for carrying out the virtues of modesty, gentleness, contentment, temperance, and charity.
[citation needed] Christian forbearance is the realization that all of man's current experiences with sin will one day yield the positive results God intends.
[10] This is Pauline forbearance which brings all current states of experience to the happiness and positive results of the ultimate end within the afterlife.
[citation needed] The voluminous Writings of the Baha'i Faith are filled with thousands of references to divine attributes, of which equanimity is one.
Similar in intent and more frequently used than "equanimity" in the Baha'i Writings are "detachment" and "selflessness" which dispose of human beings to free themselves from excessive reactions to the changes and chances of the world.
Humanity is called upon to show complete and sublime detachment from aught else but God, from all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth, from the material world, and from the promptings of their interests and passions.
"[citation needed] The highly revered Son of Baha'u'llah, 'Abdu'l-Baha, was an exile and prisoner along with His Father, for more than forty years facing a torrent of various hardships.
I was thankful for the prison, and the lack of liberty was very pleasing to me, for those days were passed in the path of service, under the utmost difficulties and trials, bearing fruits and results...
"[citation needed] Asked about this He said: "The confirmations of the Spirit are all those powers and gifts which some are born with (and which men sometimes call genius), but for which others have to strive with infinite pains.
The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius's Meditations details a philosophy of service and duty, describing how to find and preserve equanimity in the midst of conflict by following nature as a source of guidance and inspiration.
