Eveness of Mind is Yoga - Samatvam Yoga Ucatye

Lord Krishna gives us another definition of Yoga in chapter 2

Samatvam is even-ness of mind. Maintaining a cheerful and calm mind

• When the action is undertaken
• When the result of the action is received

So Lord Krishna says when the action is undertaken

1. follow dharma – follow values
2. maintain a calm and cheerful mind – and do it with all sincerity,
3. do it for the good of all
4. enjoy it while you are doing it

A FACT ABOUT ACTION AND ITS RESULTLord Krishna also points out an important fact about action and its result.

Your choice is in action only, never in the results thereof. Do not be the author of the results of action. Let your attachment not be to inaction. So as far as actions are concerned, you have to decide what action is to be done, and do it, following the values. Once you complete doing the action, the result is not in your hands … the result will come from the laws of the universe, which are govered by the Lord. The result of any action comes after taking into account countless factors…. in fact the laws of the universe take over, once you have completed the action. For example drop a pen from your hand. Until you dropped the pen, you had a choice of dropping it, not dropping it, or dropping it differently from usual – you could throw it up and let it drop. Once you complete your action of letting go of the pen – the law of gravity takes over – and the pen falls down.
Normally we always do action for fulfilling some purpose or that other. So naturally we have an expectation with regard to the result of our action. The result can be :-

1. Equal to your expectation
2. More than your expectation
3. Less than your expectation
4. Or totally opposite

For example, you have studied very hard for your exams. You studied to get 95% marks in your finals. You have put in your best efforts. Now when the result comes it can be

1. Equal to 95% - you are happy
2. More than 95% - you are on top of the world
3. Less than 95% - say 80% - you are disappointed
4. Or totally opposite – say 45% (because you forgot to answer a question) – you become very depressed and brood for days on end, blame the examination system and your teachers
   

How will your receive the results? Lord Krishna says whatever the result may be, whether success or failure – accept it, because that is how it is. If it is not what you want, LEARN from it and DO BETTER next time.

Proactive Vs. Reactive We saw what Lord Krishna told us about our attitude to actions and its results

Now let us understand normally what is our attitude to life – let us understand . People react differently to life events. One type of person is highly REACTIVE and the other is PROACTIVE. Let us understand both types of persons.

Proactive people make things happen
Reactive people get happened to
I had a friend who really made me understand what taking responsibility for my life was all about. If I would say " My new maths teacher is lousy. I am never going to learn a thing" this friend would say "Why don't you go to your teacher and give some suggestions? Change teachers. Get a tutor if you have to. If you don't learn Maths, it is your own fault, not your teacher's."
This friend was always making sure that I never blamed someone else for the way I acted.

The problem with blaming is that as long as you blame the other person or even yourself, so long you are not solving the problem. All your energy is spent in blaming, instead of looking for solutions, looking for alternatives.

Whenever you catch yourself blaming somebody else or even yourself, STOP and say to yourself 'what can I learn from this situation. Are there any alternatives or other solutions'.
REACTIVE PEOPLE
When the situation is not favourable, the reactive person feels helpless and begins to blame others for the problem.
Change only when they have to : A reactive person resists changing, unless forced to change by circumstances. For example, Manisha is a student in class XI. She gets angry very quickly and hurts others verbally when she is angry. When her close friend pointed out that she is hurting people unneccessarily, Manisha refused to admit to it. One can start changing only after one has admitted that there is a problem. Manisha refused to see that she has a problem of getting angry with little or no reason. So how can she change?
PROACTIVE PEOPLE

You don't have to be perfect. In reality you or I are not either completely proactive or completely reactive. The key to being proactive is to just be more and more so. In a day if you are proactive 20 out of a 100 times, well try to get it to 35 out of 100. Then 40. Don't underestimate the huge difference it makes.

As a human being, you are born with self-consciousness and the faculty of choice. Being proactive, means that :-

1. You make your choices based on values chosen by you
2. Knowing that no matter what you will be able to find some solution
3. You stop blaming others
4. You stop complaining and thinking that you are helpless

When you are proactive you exercise your CHOICE. That means you make deliberate decisions on the basis of your values. Our choices are not REACTIVE - governed by our conditions – instead they are made on the basis of our decisions. We have the initiative and take the responsibility to make things happen.

Each day, each of us has at least 100 chances to choose whether to be proactive or reactive. Look at a typical day

The weather is bad

You can't find your maths bookYour sister steals your blouseYou lose an election at schoolYour friend talks behind your backSomeone calls you names,You fail a test
So what are you going to do about it? Are you going to be reactive to these kind of everyday things and spend you time complaining, crying and blaming– or are you going to be proactive – capable of staying calm and taking the initiative to do whatever can be done or learning from the situation? The choice is yours. It really is.