Summary:

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 71: Relative peace develops as we align with reality by understanding we control only actions not results, accepting impermanence, practicing flexible dharma, recognizing the downward spiral starting with attachment (ruminating on it for too long), cultivating prasada-buddhi (“what's next?” thinking). Absolute peace arises from recognizing oneself as sat-cit-ananda (existence-awareness-fullness). Sat-cit manifests the universe through maya's power, which has two aspects: jnana-shakti (the blueprint/knowledge of creation) and kriya-shakti (the energy executing this knowledge). Like a seed containing the potential for a tree, Brahman contains the power to manifest the entire universe of sentient and insentient objects. When a jiva inquires into the cause of the universe, it calls the creator “Ishvara (God)” – which is Brahman seemingly conditioned by maya-power. Existence-awareness remains present in all names and forms, as we've demonstrated in the video.

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 71:
Two types of tranquility/peace

विहाय कामान् यः सर्वान् पुमान् चरति निःस्पृहः ।
निर्ममः निरहङ्कारः सः शान्तिम् अधिगच्छति ॥ २-७१॥
vihāya kāmān yaḥ sarvān pumān carati niḥspṛhaḥ ।
nirmamaḥ nirahaṅkāraḥ saḥ śāntim adhigacchati ॥ 2-71॥

Having given up all binding desires, the person who moves around, devoid of longing, without the sense of limited ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ gains peace.

There’s two types of tranquility/peace (śānti)…

Relative tranquility/peace:

You don’t shift from jiva to Brahman overnight. Meaning when you first listen to Vedanta, one can’t say, “If I am full and already free, why should I listen to this?”. It’s erroneous because it’s a reality yet to be known by you (who made that statement). Can’t ask a question as-if you know it. One is still making the journey as an individual. It's like saying, “E=MC2 simply means energy converts into matter and matter into energy”. In reality that formula contains 20+ years of physics knowledge compressed into it. Similarly, saying “I am Brahman / Awareness / Consciousness” is oversimplistic. When a wise person says it compared to one who is still on the journey is a night and day difference.

So the journey starts with relooking at life and aligning your perception with what-is, rather then what-you-want-reality-to-be. 

Here's some ways how Bhagavad Gita CH2 has helped us with developing relative tranquility in our life, or helping us removing our personal distortions (pratibhasika)…

1. Your Control Your Actions – Not Results:
   • You’re only responsible for actions, while results are not in your hand. Gives us peace, knowing results aren't personal, and governed by an infallible cosmic order. Meaning, after putting an action into the field in hopes to get a desirable results — that very result is a product of countless contributing variables unknown to you. One person's decision in the chain affects what result you receive. And how many factors caused that person to make that decision? Countless (weather, what side of the bed they woke up, cycle of moon, etc). Knowing this, your energy gets directed on what you CAN control. If haven’t understood results are not in your hand, you get into dissatisfied mode.
2. Nothing is permanent:
   • Everyone starts out carrying a deep fear of going extinct. CH2.22 reassures us, “As person gives up old clothes and takes on new, self gives up old bodies”. Even if your identity is in the body-mind complex, Krishna's statement reassures our spiritual studies aren't wasted.
3. Dharma is flexible, rather then rigid:
   • Requires interpretation. You’re not burdened with guilt of following black-white rules (such as “I shouldn't hurt no matter what!”). EG: Arjuna incurred hurt for larger good. And Yudhishthira lied about Ashwatthama to Drona in order to win a righteous war.
4. Shows you process of losing yourself (V62-63) – showing you where you can intervene before it gets worse:
   1. Object: Sense object comes into view
   2. Attachment: You begin ruminating on it too long/intensely
   3. Desire: Binding desire is formed (I have to have it)
   4. Emotion: Anger comes (active or passive, which motivates manipulations and creates mini-dramas) / Depression (seeing dark side of everything)
   5. Delusion: Builds on delusional thinking (jealously, blame, criticism, competition, retaliation, passive-aggressive, wanting to make them feel guilty)
   6. Memory loss: Strips memory away (all you learned is unavailable)
   7. Ruined life: Decision maker makes uneducated decisions > Inappropriate results > Negative thoughts.
5. Prasada: When accept results are coming from cosmic order (Ishvara) – results are taken as an offering, an opportunity to learn and keep your solving-mode sharp. Adversity becomes an opportunity. Prasada-buddhi is basically the attitude of,  “Thank you for this opportunity. What’s next? How do I make the best of it?”. Also seeing anything that happens to you is feedback (Lord’s gift) of what needs changing/refinement. 
6. True happiness is not in external objects, but centered on “I”: One is constantly searching for happiness through interaction with external changing world. Thus happiness can’t last, as the object changes. Also one’s value for objects is changing. Permanent happiness is centered on “I”, so have to perform inquiry into this “I” that’s always attempting to seek happiness. If “I” is seeking happiness at every opportunity, then “I” has to be nature of happiness.

Absolute tranquility/peace:

As result of gaining relative peace, your mind is more ready to assimilate the final vision after which it’s effortless in all situations. Absolute peace. Meaning effortless and permanent recognition that, “I’m free of anything I aware”. Like light (awareness) shining on the hand (mind). Whether hand is big, injured or pretty – the light is free of the hand and all the attributes that belong to the hand. Similarly, in presence of Awareness, all attributes of your body and mind are illumined.

That which brings absolute peace is moksha. Moksha is knowing you are the cause of the universe. How to understand this?

1. Reality Defined:
   • Final reality is Brahman (that which is limitlessly big). Brahman can be defined with 3 words: sat-cit-ananda
     1. sat: Existence . Not time-bound or object existence as conventionally understood. Existence refers to the is-ness of a thing. Or that because of which a thing is. For example, Time-is, Space-is, emotion-is, memory-is, concept-is.  In other words, everything (including time-space) depends on it existing. Thus existence is the “substance” that makes up everything. Even your agreement/disagreement to this explanation depends on your opinion existing (in form of a concept or thought). 
     2. cit: Awareness / Consciousness. Not referring to a statement of mind. But the ever-available, ever-equal, ever-same Awareness because of which all changing conditions of the mind and world are known. 
     3. ananda: Has two definitions used in different contexts. (1) Happiness (2) Fullness / limitlessness (which means it's the only reality there is, there's no second). The word “ananada” basically is saying, sat-cit is the only reality. There's no two sat-cit's, such as one is higher and one is lower. There's only existence-awareness. 
2. Reality has capacity to manifest: 
   • Sat-cit enjoys capacity to manifest out of itself plurality. It's capacity/power is called “Maya”. Maya can be understood further, knowing it has two powers:
     • Jnana-shakti: Blueprint or knowledge of entire creation. All details who things will interact, laws, etc.
     • Kriya-shakti: Energy or power that executes the knowledge for the universe to be created.
   • How to understand brahman/maya relationship? Think of a seed as Brahman. That seed contains power (maya) within itself to manifest a tree (world). You can see that intelligence in the seed because it's in potential. When that potential manifests, a beautiful, intelligent and highly complex creation will arise.
3. Manifestation of universe (time-space-objects):
   • Maya, which is knowledge-power unmanifest or in potential, converts into manifest. It can be compared to you in deep sleep, who carries potential (maya) for a dream world. When the dream manifests, your potential which lie dormant during deep sleep, is now manifesting. And your very power making you seem like a subject in the dream, engaging with objects. Thereby a duality is created. Therefore, maya's potential converts to manifest. Maya borrows Existence – making Existence (you) seem like it's shaped/molded into various forms — just as clay is shaped/molded into various potten-ware. Everything that's manifest is called “jagat”, which is basically everything after the big-bang.
4. Jagat consists of:
   1. Sentient objects: includes plants, animals, humans, devas. They have a subtle-body, therefore have level of self-awareness. However it's miniscule for plants, bacteria. For sake of simplicity, we'll stick with humans (jivas).
   2. Insentient objects: space, air, fire, water, earth. For simplicity, a rock. Although a rock Exists, it's not self-aware as it doesn't have a subtle-body. So a rock is unable to say or know that “I am”.
5. Ishvara (cause of the universe):
   • When Jiva inquires into the maker of itself and the universe it perceives – he calls the maker/sustainer/destroyer “Ishvara” (the Cause of the Universe / God).
6. What is Ishvara referring to?  Two ways to understand Ishvara…
   1. Ishvara refers to Brahman being (apparently) conditioned by His Maya-power.
   2. Ishvara is manifest-maya.
7. How to show Brahman (sat-cit) is present in all manifest names-forms?
   • Table-is, because of table-awareness. Wood-is, because of wood-awareness. Cloud-is, because of cloud-awareness. So the name-form changes. What remains in all instances: Is (sat) and Awareness (cit). 

NEXT VERSE: Having gained this knowledge, there’s no going back. Meaning can’t regress once gain moksha…

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

Recorded 11 May, 2025