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Equanimity Compilation (view source)

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=How to Cultivate Equanimity=

==Conditions in Which Equanimity Can Manifest==

The first necessity is some fundamental poise of the soul both in its essential and its natural being regarding and meeting the things, impacts and workings of Nature. This poise we shall arrive at by growing into a perfect equality, ''samatā''. The self, spirit or ''Brahman'' is one in all and therefore one to all; it is, as is said in the Gita which has developed fully this idea of equality and indicated its experience on at least one side of equality, the equal ''Brahman'', samaṁ brahma; the Gita even goes so far in one passage as to identify equality and yoga, samatvaṁ yoga ucyate. That is to say, equality is the sign of unity with the ''Brahman'', of becoming ''Brahman'', of growing into an undisturbed spiritual poise of being in the Infinite. Its importance can hardly be exaggerated; for it is the sign of our having passed beyond the egoistic determinations of our nature, of our having conquered our enslaved response to the dualities, of our having transcended the shifting turmoil of the gunas, of our having entered into the calm and peace of liberation. Equality is a term of consciousness which brings into the whole of our being and nature the eternal tranquillity of the Infinite. Moreover, it is the condition of a securely and perfectly divine action; the security and largeness of the cosmic action of the Infinite is based upon and never breaks down or forfeits its eternal tranquillity. That too must be the character of the perfect spiritual action; to be equal and one to all things in spirit, understanding, mind, heart and natural consciousness,—even in the most physical consciousness,—and to make all their workings, whatever their outward adaptation to the thing to be done, always and imminuably full of the divine equality and calm must be its inmost principle. That may be said to be the passive or basic, the fundamental and receptive side of equality, but there is also an active and possessive side, an equal bliss which can only come when the peace of equality is founded and which is the beatific flower of its fullness.

<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/24/the-elements-of-perfection#p2</ref>

The will in us, because it is the most generally forceful power of our being,—there is a will of knowledge, a will of life, a will of emotion, a will acting in every part of our nature,—takes many forms and returns various reactions to things, such as incapacity, limitation of power, mastery, or right will, wrong or perverted will, neutral volition,—in the ethical mind virtue, sin and non-ethical volition,—and others of the kind. These too the positive equality accepts as a tangle of provisional values from which it must start, but which it must transform into universal mastery, into the will of the Truth and universal Right, into the freedom of the divine Will in action. The equal will need not feel remorse, sorrow or discouragement over its stumblings; if these reactions occur in the habitual mentality, it will only see how far they indicate an imperfection and the thing to be corrected,—for they are not always just indicators,—and so get beyond them to a calm and equal guidance. It will see that these stumblings themselves are necessary to experience and in the end steps towards the goal. Behind and within all that occurs in ourselves and in the world, it will look for the divine meaning and the divine guidance; it will look beyond imposed limitations to the voluntary self-limitation of the universal Power by which it regulates its steps and gradations,—imposed on our ignorance, self-imposed in the divine knowledge,—and go beyond to unity with the illimitable power of the Divine. All energies and actions it will see as forces proceeding from the one Existence and their perversions as imperfections, inevitable in the developing movement, of powers that were needed for that movement; it will therefore have charity for all imperfections, even while pressing steadily towards a universal perfection. This equality will open the nature to the guidance of the divine and universal Will and make it ready for that supramental action in which the power of the soul in us is luminously full of and one with the power of the supreme Spirit.

<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/24/the-way-of-equality#p12</ref>

===Quietness===

Not to be disturbed by either joy or grief, pleasure or displeasure by what people say or do or by any outward things is called in Yoga a state of ''samatā'', equality to all things. It is of immense importance in sadhana to be able to reach this state. It helps the mental quietude and silence as well as the vital to come. It means indeed that the vital itself and the vital mind are already falling silent and becoming quiet. The thinking mind is sure to follow.

~~<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/31/interactions-with-others-and-the-practice-of-yoga#p98</ref>~~

Not to be disturbed by either joy or grief, pleasure or displeasure by what people say or do or by any outward things is called in Yoga a state of ''samatā'', equality to all things. It is of immense importance in sadhana to be able to reach this state. It helps the mental quietude and silence as well as the vital to come. It means indeed that the vital itself and the vital mind are already falling silent and becoming quiet. The thinking mind is sure to follow. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/31/interactions-with-others-and-the-practice-of-yoga#p98</ref> <center>~</center> When the peace of the higher consciousness descends, it brings always with it this tendency towards equality, ''samata'', because without ''samata'' peace is always liable to be attacked by the waves of the lower nature.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/peace-the-basis-of-the-sadhana#p30</ref> <center>~</center>

The first thing to do is to keep throughout a perfect equanimity and not to allow thoughts of disturbed anxiety or depression to enter you. It is quite natural after this severe attack of influenza that there should be weakness and some fluctuations in the progress to recovery. What you have to do is to remain calm and confident and not worry or be restless—be perfectly quiet and prepared to rest as long as rest is needed. There is nothing to be anxious about; rest, and the health and strength will come.

<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/31/specific-illnesses-ailments-and-other-physical-problems#p5</ref>

...perfect equality of soul in all circumstances. It is an absolutely indispensable basis; something very quiet, calm, peaceful, the feeling of a great force. Not the quietness that comes from inertia but the sensation of a concentrated power which keeps you always steady, whatever happens, even in circumstances which may appear to you the most terrible in your life. That is the first sign.

<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/04/12-february-1951#p8</ref>

The quieter you are, the stronger you become. The firm basis of all spiritual power is equanimity. You must not allow anything to disturb your poise: you can then resist every kind of attack. If, besides, you possess sufficient discernment and can see and catch the evil suggestions as they come to you, it becomes all the more easy for you to push them away; but sometimes they come unnoticed, and then it is more difficult to fight them. When that happens, you must sit quiet and call down peace and a deep inner quietness. Hold yourself firm and call with confidence and faith: if your aspiration is pure and steady, you are sure to receive help.

<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/03/5-may-1929#p7</ref>

Be very careful to remain always calm and peaceful and let an integral equanimity establish itself more and more completely in your being. Do not allow your mind to be too active and to live in a turmoil, do not jump to conclusions from a superficial view of things; always take your time, concentrate and decide only in quietness.

<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/calm#p1</ref>

===Detachment===

The renunciation of attachment to the work and its fruit is the beginning of a wide movement towards an absolute equality in the mind and soul which must become all-enveloping if we are to be perfect in the spirit. For the worship of the Master of works demands a clear recognition and glad acknowledgment of him in ourselves, in all things and in all happenings. Equality is the sign of this adoration; it is the soul's ground on which true sacrifice and worship can be done. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/23/equality-and-the-annihilation-of-ego#p4</ref>

<center>~</center> The overcoming of all attachments must necessarily be difficult and cannot come except as the fruit of a long ''sādhanā''—unless there is a rapid general growth in the inner spiritual experience which is the substance of the Gita's teaching. The cessation of desire of the fruit, of the attachment to the work itself, the growth of equality to all beings, to all happenings, to good repute or ill repute, praise or blame, to good fortune or ill fortune, the dropping of the ego which are necessary for the loss of all attachments can come completely only when all work becomes a spontaneous sacrifice to the Divine, the heart is offered up to Him and one has the settled experience of the Divine in all things and all beings. This consciousness or experience must come in all parts and movements of the being, ''sarvabhāvena'', not only in the mind and idea; then the falling away of all attachments becomes easy. I speak of the Gita's way of yoga, for in the ascetic life one obtains the same object differently, by cutting away from the objects of attachment and the consequent atrophy of the attachment itself through rejection and disuse.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/work-and-yoga#p30</ref> <center>~</center>

But as long as this detachment is not realised, one can easily confuse Delight with an exalted state of ordinary human happiness, and this would not at all be the true thing nor even a perversion of the thing, for the nature of the two is so different, almost opposite, that you cannot pass from one to the other. So, if one wants to be safe on the path, it seems to me that to seek for peace, for perfect calm, perfect equality, for a widening of the consciousness, a vaster understanding and liberation from all desire, all preference, all attachment, is certainly an indispensable preliminary condition.

<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/08/17-october-1956#p8</ref>

===Faith===

We have to have the faith that in spite of our ignorance and errors and weaknesses and in spite of the attacks of hostile forces and in spite of any immediate appearance of failure the Divine Will is leading us, through every circumstance, towards the final realisation. This faith will give us equanimity; it is a faith that accepts what happens not definitively but as something that has to be gone through on the way. Once equanimity is established there can be established too another kind of faith, supported by it, which can be made dynamic with something from the supramental consciousness and can overcome the present circumstances and determine what will happen and help to bring down the realisation of the Will of the Transcendent Divine.

<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/faith#p26</ref>

<center>~</center> The best way to prepare oneself for the spiritual life when one has to live in the ordinary occupations and surroundings is to cultivate an entire equality and detachment and the ''samatā'' of the Gita with the faith that the Divine is there and the Divine Will at work in all things even though at present under the conditions of a world of Ignorance. Beyond this are the Light and Ananda towards which life is working, but the best way for their advent and foundation in the individual being and nature is to grow in this spiritual equality. That would also solve your difficulty about things unpleasant and disagreeable. All unpleasantness should be faced with this spirit of ''samatā''.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/31/interactions-with-others-and-the-practice-of-yoga#p129</ref> <center>~</center> An equal heart is needed for perfection, but not only a passive equality; there must be the sense of a divine power making for good behind all experiences, a faith and will which can turn the poisons of the world to nectar, see the happier spiritual intention behind adversity, the mystery of love behind suffering, the flower of divine strength and joy in the seed of pain. This faith, ''kalyāṇa-śraddhā'', is needed in order that the heart and the whole overt psychic being may respond to the secret divine Ananda and change itself into this true original essence. This faith and will must be accompanied by and open into an illimitable widest and intensest capacity for love. For the main business of the heart, its true function is love. It is our destined instrument of complete union and oneness; for to see oneness in the world by the understanding is not enough unless we also feel it with the heart and in the psychic being, and this means a delight in the One and in all existences in the world in him, a love of God and all beings. The heart's faith and will in good are founded on a perception of the one Divine immanent in all things and leading the world. The universal love has to be founded on the heart's sight and psychical and emotional sense of the one Divine, the one Self in all existence. All four elements will then form a unity and even the Rudra power to do battle for the right and the good proceed on the basis of a power of universal love. This is the highest and the most characteristic perfection of the heart, prema-''sāmarthya''. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/24/the-power-of-the-instruments#p12</ref>

An equal heart is needed for perfection, but not only a passive equality; there must be the sense of a divine power making for good behind all experiences, a faith and will which can turn the poisons of the world to nectar, see the happier spiritual intention behind adversity, the mystery of love behind suffering, the flower of divine strength and joy in the seed of pain. This faith, ''kalyāṇa-śraddhā'', is needed in order that the heart and the whole overt psychic being may respond to the secret divine Ananda and change itself into this true original essence. This faith and will must be accompanied by and open into an illimitable widest and intensest capacity for love. For the main business of the heart, its true function is love. It is our destined instrument of complete union and oneness; for to see oneness in the world by the understanding is not enough unless we also feel it with the heart and in the psychic being, and this means a delight in the One and in all existences in the world in him, a love of God and all beings. The heart's faith and will in good are founded on a perception of the one Divine immanent in all things and leading the world. The universal love has to be founded on the heart's sight and psychical and emotional sense of the one Divine, the one Self in all existence. All four elements will then form a unity and even the Rudra power to do battle for the right and the good proceed on the basis of a power of universal love. This is the highest and the most characteristic perfection of the heart, prema-sāmarthya.

~~<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/24/the-power-of-the-instruments#p12</ref>~~

===Oneness===

To be perfectly equal in all happenings and to all beings, and to see and feel them as one with oneself and one with the Divine; to feel all in oneself and all in God; to feel God in all, oneself in all.

<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/23/self-surrender-in-works-the-way-of-the-gita#p20</ref>

Equality can only be manifested when all men become conscious of the Supreme Lord.

<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/10/aphorism-327-328#p5</ref>

Yogic ''Samata'' is equality of soul, equanimity founded on the sense of the one Self, the one Divine everywhere—seeing the One in spite of all differences, degrees, disparities in the manifestation. The mental principle of equality tries to ignore or else to destroy the differences, degrees and disparities, to act as if all were equal there or to try and make all equal. It is like Hriday, the nephew of Ramakrishna, who when he got the touch from Ramakrishna began to shout, "Ramakrishna, you are the '' Brahman'' and I too am the '' Brahman'' ; there is no difference between us", till Ramakrishna, as he refused to be quiet, had to withdraw the power. Or like the disciple who refused to listen to the Mahout and stood before the elephant, saying, "I am '' Brahman'' ", until the elephant took him up in his trunk and put him aside. When he complained to his Guru, the Guru said, "Yes, but why didn't you listen to the Mahout '' Brahman''? That was why the elephant ''Brahman'' had to lift you up and put you out of harm's way." In the manifestation there are two sides to the Truth and you cannot ignore either.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/equality-the-chief-support#p2</ref> <center>~</center> It is right and reasonable to endure with equanimity suffering and subjection to defect as the immediate will of God, a present law of imperfection laid on our members, but on condition that we recognise it also as the will of God in us to transcend evil and suffering, to transform imperfection into perfection, to rise into a higher law of Divine Nature. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/21/the-divine-and-the-undivine#p9</ref> <center>~</center> It is possible, when we live inwardly in the depths, to arrive at a state of vast inner equality and peace which is untouched by the reactions of the outer nature, and that is a great but incomplete liberation,—for the outer nature too has a right to deliverance. But even if our personal deliverance is complete, still there is the suffering of others, the world travail, which the great of soul cannot regard with indifference. There is a unity with all beings which something within us feels and the deliverance of others must be felt as intimate to its own deliverance <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/21/the-divine-and-the-undivine#p19</ref> <center>~</center> What then are the lines of Karmayoga laid down by the Gita? Its key principle, its spiritual method, can be summed up as the union of two largest and highest states or powers of consciousness, equality and oneness. The kernel of its method is an unreserved acceptance of the Divine in our life as in our inner self and spirit. An inner renunciation of personal desire leads to equality, accomplishes our total surrender to the Divine, supports a delivery from dividing ego which brings us oneness. But this must be a oneness in dynamic force and not only in static peace or inactive beatitude. The Gita promises us freedom for the spirit even in the midst of works and the full energies of Nature, if we accept subjection of our whole being to that which is higher than the separating and limiting ego. It proposes an integral dynamic activity founded on a still passivity; a largest possible action irrevocably based on an immobile calm is its secret,—free expression out of a supreme inward silence. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/23/self-surrender-in-works-the-way-of-the-gita#p10</ref>

It is right and reasonable to endure with equanimity suffering and subjection to defect as the immediate will of God, a present law of imperfection laid on our members, but on condition that we recognise it also as the will of God in us to transcend evil and suffering, to transform imperfection into perfection, to rise into a higher law of Divine Nature.<~~ref~~center>~~http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/21/the-divine-and-the-undivine#p9~~~</~~ref~~center>

~~It is possible~~Man, ~~when we live inwardly in~~ the ~~depths~~individual, has to become and to ~~arrive at~~ live as a ~~state of vast inner equality~~ universal being; his limited mental consciousness has to widen to the superconscient unity in which each embraces all; his narrow heart has to learn the infinite embrace and replace its lusts and ~~peace which is untouched~~ discords by universal love and his restricted vital being to become equal to the ~~reactions~~ whole shock of the ~~outer nature,~~ universe upon it and capable of universal delight; his very physical being has to know itself as no separate entity but as one with and sustaining in itself the whole flow of the indivisible Force that is ~~a great but incomplete liberation,—for the outer~~ all things; his whole nature ~~too~~ has ~~a right~~ to ~~deliverance. But even if our personal deliverance is complete, still there is~~ reproduce in the individual the ~~suffering of others~~unity, the ~~world travail~~harmony, ~~which~~ the ~~great~~ oneness-in-all of ~~soul cannot regard with indifference. There is a unity with all beings which something within us feels and~~ the ~~deliverance of others must be felt as intimate to its own deliverance~~supreme Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/21/~~the~~delight-~~divine~~of-~~and~~existence-the-~~undivine~~solution#~~p19~~p17</ref>

What then are the lines of Karmayoga laid down by the Gita? Its key principle, its spiritual method, can be summed up as the union of two largest and highest states or powers of consciousness, equality and oneness. The kernel of its method is an unreserved acceptance of the Divine in our life as in our inner self and spirit. An inner renunciation of personal desire leads to equality, accomplishes our total surrender to the Divine, supports a delivery from dividing ego which brings us oneness. But this must be a oneness in dynamic force and not only in static peace or inactive beatitude. The Gita promises us freedom for the spirit even in the midst of works and the full energies of Nature, if we accept subjection of our whole being to that which is higher than the separating and limiting ego. It proposes an integral dynamic activity founded on a still passivity; a largest possible action irrevocably based on an immobile calm is its secret,—free expression out of a supreme inward silence.<~~ref~~center>~~http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/23/self-surrender-in-works-the-way-of-the-gita#p10~~~</~~ref~~center>

~~Man~~As long as we live in the ignorant seeming, we are the ~~individual, has to become~~ ego and are subject to ~~live as a universal being; his limited mental consciousness has~~ the modes of Nature. Enslaved to ~~widen~~ appearances, bound to the ~~superconscient unity in which each embraces all; his narrow heart has to learn the infinite embrace~~ dualities, tossed between good and evil, sin and virtue, grief and joy, pain and pleasure, good fortune and ~~replace its lusts~~ ill fortune, success and ~~discords by universal love~~ failure, we follow helplessly the iron or gilt and ~~his restricted vital being to become equal to~~ iron round of the ~~whole shock~~ wheel of ''Maya''. At best we have only the ~~universe upon~~ poor relative freedom which by us is ignorantly called free-will. But that is at bottom illusory, since it ~~and capable~~ is the modes of ~~universal delight~~Nature that express themselves through our personal will; ~~his very physical being has to know itself as no separate entity but as one with~~ it is force of Nature, grasping us, ungrasped by us that determines what we shall will and ~~sustaining~~ how we shall will it. Nature, not an independent ego, chooses what object we shall seek, whether by reasoned will or unreflecting impulse, at any moment of our existence. If, on the contrary, we live in ~~itself~~ the ~~whole flow~~ unifying reality of the ~~indivisible Force that is all things~~''Brahman'', then we go beyond the ego and overstep Nature. For then we get back to our true self and become the spirit; ~~his whole nature has to reproduce~~ in the ~~individual~~ spirit we are above the ~~unity~~impulsion of Nature, superior to her modes and forces. Attaining to a perfect equality in the ~~harmony~~soul, mind and heart, ~~the~~ we realise our true self of oneness-, one with all beings, one too with That which expresses itself in them and inall that we see and experience. This equality and this oneness are the indispensable twin foundation we must lay down for a divine being, a divine consciousness, a divine action. Not one with all, we are not spiritual, not divine. Not equal-souled to all things, happenings and creatures, we cannot see spiritually, cannot know divinely, cannot feel divinely towards others. The Supreme Power, the one Eternal and Infinite is equal to all things and to all beings; and because it is equal, it can act with an absolute wisdom according to the truth of its works and its force and according to the ~~supreme Existence-Consciousness-Bliss~~truth of each thing and of every creature.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/2123/~~delight~~self-surrender-in-works-the-way-of~~-existence~~-the-~~solution~~gita#~~p17~~p11</ref>

~~As long as we live~~ <center>~</center> And since all things are the one Self in ~~the ignorant seeming~~its manifestation, we ~~are~~ shall have equality of soul towards the ~~ego~~ ugly and ~~are subject to~~ the ~~modes of Nature. Enslaved to appearances~~beautiful, ~~bound to~~ the ~~dualities, tossed between good~~ maimed and ~~evil~~the perfect, ~~sin~~ the noble and ~~virtue~~the vulgar, ~~grief~~ the pleasant and ~~joy, pain and pleasure~~the unpleasant, the good ~~fortune~~ and ~~ill fortune~~the evil. Here also there will be no hatred, ~~success~~ scorn and ~~failure~~repulsion, ~~we follow helplessly~~ but instead the ~~iron or gilt~~ equal eye that sees all things in their real character and ~~iron round of the wheel of ''Maya''~~their appointed place. ~~At best~~ For we ~~have only the poor relative freedom which by us is ignorantly called free-will. But that is at bottom illusory, since it is the modes of Nature~~ shall know that all things express ~~themselves through our personal will; it is force of Nature~~or disguise, ~~grasping us~~develop or distort, ~~ungrasped by us that determines what we shall will and how we shall will it. Nature~~as best they can or with whatever defect they must, ~~not an independent ego~~under the circumstances intended for them, ~~chooses what object we shall seek~~in the way possible to the immediate status or function or evolution of their nature, ~~whether by reasoned will~~ some truth or ~~unreflecting impulse~~fact, ~~at any moment~~ some energy or potential of ~~our existence. If, on~~ the ~~contrary, we live~~ Divine necessary by its presence in the ~~unifying reality~~ progressive manifestation both to the whole of the present sum of things and for the ~~''Brahman'', then we go beyond~~ perfection of the ~~ego and overstep Nature~~ultimate result. ~~For then~~ That truth is what we ~~get back to our true self~~ must seek and ~~become~~ discover behind the ~~spirit~~transitory expression; in undeterred by appearances, by the ~~spirit we are above~~ deficiencies or the ~~impulsion~~ disfigurements of ~~Nature, superior to her modes and forces. Attaining to a perfect equality in~~ the ~~soul, mind and heart~~expression, we ~~realise our true self of oneness~~can then worship the Divine for ever unsullied, ~~one with all beings~~pure, ~~one too with That which expresses itself in them~~ beautiful and ~~in all that we see and experience~~perfect behind his masks. ~~This equality and this oneness are the indispensable twin foundation we must lay down for a divine being~~All indeed has to be changed, a not ugliness accepted but divine ~~consciousness, a divine action. Not one with all~~beauty, ~~we are~~ not ~~spiritual~~imperfection taken as our resting-place but perfection striven after, the supreme good made the universal aim and not ~~divine~~evil. ~~Not equal-souled~~ But what we do has to ~~all things~~be done with a spiritual understanding and knowledge, ~~happenings~~ and ~~creatures~~it is a divine good, ~~we cannot see spiritually~~beauty, ~~cannot know divinely~~perfection, ~~cannot feel divinely towards others. The Supreme Power~~pleasure that has to be followed after, not the ~~one Eternal and Infinite is equal to all~~ human standards of these things ~~and to all beings; and because~~ . If we have not equality, it is ~~equal~~a sign that we are still pursued by the Ignorance, we shall truly understand nothing and it ~~can act with an absolute wisdom according~~ is more than likely that we shall destroy the old imperfection only to create another: for we are substituting the ~~truth~~ appreciations of ~~its works~~ our human mind and ~~its force and according to~~ desire-soul for the ~~truth of each thing and of every creature~~divine values.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/23/~~self~~equality-~~surrender-in-works~~and-the-~~way~~annihilation-of-~~the-gita~~ego#~~p11~~p5</ref>

And since all things are the one Self in its manifestation, we shall have equality of soul towards the ugly and the beautiful, the maimed and the perfect, the noble and the vulgar, the pleasant and the unpleasant, the good and the evil. Here also there will be no hatred, scorn and repulsion, but instead the equal eye that sees all things in their real character and their appointed place. For we shall know that all things express or disguise, develop or distort, as best they can or with whatever defect they must, under the circumstances intended for them, in the way possible to the immediate status or function or evolution of their nature, some truth or fact, some energy or potential of the Divine necessary by its presence in the progressive manifestation both to the whole of the present sum of things and for the perfection of the ultimate result. That truth is what we must seek and discover behind the transitory expression; undeterred by appearances, by the deficiencies or the disfigurements of the expression, we can then worship the Divine for ever unsullied, pure, beautiful and perfect behind his masks. All indeed has to be changed, not ugliness accepted but divine beauty, not imperfection taken as our resting-place but perfection striven after, the supreme good made the universal aim and not evil. But what we do has to be done with a spiritual understanding and knowledge, and it is a divine good, beauty, perfection, pleasure that has to be followed after, not the human standards of these things. If we have not equality, it is a sign that we are still pursued by the Ignorance, we shall truly understand nothing and it is more than likely that we shall destroy the old imperfection only to create another: for we are substituting the appreciations of our human mind and desire-soul for the divine values.

~~<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/23/equality-and-the-annihilation-of-ego#p5</ref>~~

==Steps Towards Equanimity==

At first we have to learn to bear the shocks of the world with the central part of our being untouched and silent, even when the surface mind, heart, life are strongly shaken; unmoved there on the bedrock of our life, we must separate the soul watching behind or immune deep within from these outer workings of our nature. Afterwards, extending this calm and steadfastness of the detached soul to its instruments, it will become slowly possible to radiate peace from the luminous centre to the darker peripheries. In this process we may take the passing help of many minor phases; a certain stoicism, a certain calm philosophy, a certain religious exaltation may help us towards some nearness to our aim, or we may call in even less strong and exalted but still useful powers of our mental nature. In the end we must either discard or transform them and arrive instead at an entire equality, a perfect self-existent peace within and even, if we can, a total unassailable, self-poised and spontaneous delight in all our members.

<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/23/self-surrender-in-works-the-way-of-the-gita#p28</ref>

As with action and inaction, so it is with this dual possibility of indifference and calm on the one side and active joy and love on the other. Equality, not indifference is the basis. Equal endurance, impartial indifference, calm submission to the causes of joy and grief without any reaction of either grief or joy are the preparation and negative basis of equality; but equality is not fulfilled till it takes its positive form of love and delight. The sense-mind must find the equal rasa of the All-Beautiful, the heart the equal love and Ananda for all, the psychic Prana the enjoyment of this rasa, love and Ananda. This, however, is the positive perfection that comes by liberation; our first object on the path of knowledge is rather the liberation that comes by detachment from the desire-mind and by the renunciation of its passions.

<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/23/the-release-from-the-heart-and-the-mind#p8</ref>

A perfect equality not only of the self, but in the nature is a condition of the Yoga of self-perfection. The first obvious step to it will be the conquest of our emotional and vital being, for here are the sources of greatest trouble, the most rampant forces of inequality and subjection, the most insistent claim of our imperfection. The equality of these parts of our nature comes by purification and freedom. We might say that equality is the very sign of liberation. To be free from the domination of the urge of vital desire and the stormy mastery of the soul by the passions is to have a calm and equal heart and a life-principle governed by the large and even view of a universal spirit. Desire is the impurity of the Prana, the life-principle, and its chain of bondage. A free Prana means a content and satisfied life-soul which fronts the contact of outward things without desire and receives them with an equal response; delivered, uplifted above the servile duality of liking and disliking, indifferent to the urgings of pleasure and pain, not excited by the pleasant, not troubled and overpowered by the unpleasant, not clinging with attachment to the touches it prefers or violently repelling those for which it has an aversion, it will be opened to a greater system of values of experience. All that comes to it from the world with menace or with solicitation, it will refer to the higher principles, to a reason and heart in touch with or changed by the light and calm joy of the spirit. Thus quieted, mastered by the spirit and no longer trying to impose its own mastery on the deeper and finer soul in us, this life-soul will be itself spiritualised and work as a clear and noble instrument of the diviner dealings of the spirit with things. There is no question here of an ascetic killing of the life-impulse and its native utilities and functions; not its killing is demanded, but its transformation. The function of the Prana is enjoyment, but the real enjoyment of existence is an inward spiritual Ananda, not partial and troubled like that of our vital, emotional or mental pleasure, degraded as they are now by the predominance of the physical mind, but universal, profound, a massed concentration of spiritual bliss possessed in a calm ecstasy of self and all existence. Possession is its function, by possession comes the soul's enjoyment of things, but this is the real possession, a thing large and inward, not dependent on the outward seizing which makes us subject to what we seize. All outward possession and enjoyment will be only an occasion of a satisfied and equal play of the spiritual Ananda with the forms and phenomena of its own world-being. The egoistic possession, the making things our own in the sense of the ego's claim on God and beings and the world, ''parigraha'', must be renounced in order that this greater thing, this large, universal and perfect life, may come. ''Tyaktena bhuñjīthāḥ'', by renouncing the egoistic sense of desire and possession, the soul enjoys divinely its self and the universe.

<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/24/the-perfection-of-equality#p6</ref>

<center>~</center> Since the nature of suffering is a failure of the conscious-force in us to meet the shocks of existence and a consequent shrinking and contraction and its root is an inequality of that receptive and possessing force due to our self-limitation by egoism consequent on the ignorance of our true Self, of Sachchidananda, the elimination of suffering must first proceed by the substitution of ''titiksa'', the facing, enduring and conquest of all shocks of existence for ''''jugupsā'', the shrinking and contraction: by this endurance and conquest we proceed to an equality which may be either an equal indifference to all contacts or an equal gladness in all contacts; and this equality again must find a firm foundation in the substitution of the Sachchidananda consciousness which is All-Bliss for the ego-consciousness which enjoys and suffers. The Sachchidananda consciousness may be transcendent of the universe and aloof from it, and to this state of distant Bliss the path is equal indifference; it is the path of the ascetic. Or the Sachchidananda consciousness may be at once transcendent and universal; and to this state of present and all-embracing Bliss the path is surrender and loss of the ego in the universal and possession of an all-pervading equal delight; it is the path of the ancient Vedic sages. But neutrality to the imperfect touches of pleasure and the perverse touches of pain is the first direct and natural result of the soul's self-discipline and the conversion to equal delight can, usually, come only afterwards. The direct transformation of the triple vibration into Ananda is possible, but less easy to the human being.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/21/delight-of-existence-the-solution#p15</ref>

===Endurance===

The effort towards a passive or purely receptive equality may start from three different principles or attitudes which all lead to the same result and ultimate consequence,—endurance, indifference and submission. The principle of endurance relies on the strength of the spirit within us to bear all the contacts, impacts, suggestions of this phenomenal Nature that besieges us on every side without being overborne by them and compelled to bear their emotional, sensational, dynamic, intellectual reactions. The outer mind in the lower nature has not this strength. Its strength is that of a limited force of consciousness which has to do the best it can with all that comes in upon it or besieges it from the greater whirl of consciousness and energy which environs it on this plane of existence. That it can maintain itself at all and affirm its individual being in the universe, is due indeed to the strength of the spirit within it, but it cannot bring forward the whole of that strength or the infinity of that force to meet the attacks of life; if it could, it would be at once the equal and master of its world. In fact, it has to manage as it can. It meets certain impacts and is able to assimilate, equate or master them partially or completely, for a time or wholly, and then it has in that degree the emotional and sensational reactions of joy, pleasure, satisfaction, liking, love, etc., or the intellectual and mental reactions of acceptance, approval, understanding, knowledge, preference, and on these its will seizes with attraction, desire, the attempt to prolong, to repeat, to create, to possess, to make them the pleasurable habit of its life. Other impacts it meets, but finds them too strong for it or too dissimilar and discordant or too weak to give it satisfaction; these are things which it cannot bear or cannot equate with itself or cannot assimilate, and it is obliged to give to them reactions of grief, pain, discomfort, dissatisfaction, disliking, disapproval, rejection, inability to understand or know, refusal of admission. Against them it seeks to protect itself, to escape from them, to avoid or minimise their recurrence; it has with regard to them movements of fear, anger, shrinking, horror, aversion, disgust, shame, would gladly be delivered from them, but it cannot get away from them, for it is bound to and even invites their causes and therefore the results; for these impacts are part of life, tangled up with the things we desire, and the inability to deal with them is part of the imperfection of our nature. Other impacts again the normal mind succeeds in holding at bay or neutralising and to these it has a natural reaction of indifference, insensibility or tolerance which is neither positive acceptance and enjoyment nor rejection or suffering. To things, persons, happenings, ideas, workings, whatever presents itself to the mind, there are always these three kinds of reaction. At the same time, in spite of their generality, there is nothing absolute about them; they form a scheme for a habitual scale which is not precisely the same for all or even for the same mind at different times or in different conditions. The same impact may arouse in it at one time and another the pleasurable or positive, the adverse or negative or the indifferent or neutral reactions.

~~<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/24/the-way-of-equality#p2</ref>~~

The ~~soul~~ effort towards a passive or purely receptive equality may start from three different principles or attitudes which ~~seeks mastery may begin by turning upon these reactions~~ all lead to the ~~encountering~~ same result and ultimate consequence,—endurance, indifference and ~~opposing force~~ submission. The principle of ~~a strong and equal~~ endurance~~. Instead~~ relies on the strength of ~~seeking~~ the spirit within us to ~~protect itself from or to shun and escape~~ bear all the ~~unpleasant~~ contacts, impacts ~~it may confront~~ , suggestions of this phenomenal Nature that besieges us on every side without being overborne by them and ~~teach itself to suffer and~~ compelled to bear ~~them with perseverance~~their emotional, sensational, ~~with fortitude~~dynamic, ~~an increasing equanimity or an austere or calm acceptance~~intellectual reactions. ~~This attitude,~~ The outer mind in the lower nature has not this ~~discipline brings out three results, three powers of the soul in relation to things~~strength. ~~First, it~~ Its strength is ~~found~~ that ~~what was before unbearable, becomes easy~~ of a limited force of consciousness which has to ~~endure;~~ do the ~~scale of the power~~ best it can with all that ~~meets the impact rises~~ comes in ~~degree;~~ upon it or besieges it ~~needs a~~ from the greater whirl of consciousness and ~~greater force~~ energy which environs it on this plane of existence. That it ~~or of~~ can maintain itself at all and affirm its ~~protracted incidence~~ individual being in the universe, is due indeed to ~~cause trouble, pain, grief, aversion or any other of~~ the ~~notes in the gamut~~ strength of the ~~unpleasant reactions. Secondly~~spirit within it, but it ~~is found~~ cannot bring forward the whole of that strength or the ~~conscious nature divides itself into two parts, one~~ infinity of ~~the normal mental and emotional nature in which the customary reactions continue~~ that force to ~~take place, another of~~ meet the ~~higher will and reason which observes and is not troubled or affected by the passion~~ attacks of ~~this lower nature~~life; if it could, ~~does not accept~~ it ~~as its own, does not approve, sanction or participate. Then~~ would be at once the ~~lower nature begins to lose the force~~ equal and ~~power~~ master of its ~~reactions~~world. In fact, it has to ~~submit~~ manage as it can. It meets certain impacts and is able to ~~the suggestions of calm and strength from the higher reason and will~~assimilate, equate or master them partially or completely, for a time or wholly, and ~~gradually~~ then it has in that ~~calm~~ degree the emotional and ~~strength take possession~~ sensational reactions of ~~the mental and emotional~~joy, pleasure, satisfaction, liking, ~~even of the sensational~~love, ~~vital and physical being~~etc. ~~This brings~~ , or the ~~third power~~ intellectual and ~~result~~mental reactions of acceptance, approval, understanding, knowledge, preference, ~~the power by this endurance~~ and ~~mastery~~on these its will seizes with attraction, desire, ~~this separation and rejection of~~ the ~~lower nature~~attempt to prolong, to repeat, to ~~get rid of the normal reactions and even~~create, ~~if we will~~to possess, to ~~remould all our modes of experience by~~ make them the ~~strength~~ pleasurable habit of ~~the spirit~~its life. ~~This method is applied not only to the unpleasant~~Other impacts it meets, but ~~also~~ finds them too strong for it or too dissimilar and discordant or too weak to ~~the pleasant reactions~~give it satisfaction; ~~the soul refuses~~ these are things which it cannot bear or cannot equate with itself or cannot assimilate, and it is obliged to give to them reactions of grief, pain, discomfort, dissatisfaction, disliking, disapproval, rejection, inability to understand or know, refusal of admission. Against them it seeks to protect itself up , to escape from them, to avoid or ~~be carried away by them~~minimise their recurrence; it ~~endures~~ has with ~~calm the impacts which bring joy and pleasure; refuses~~ regard to them movements of fear, anger, shrinking, horror, aversion, disgust, shame, would gladly be ~~excited by~~ delivered from them, but it cannot get away from them , for it is bound to and ~~replaces~~ even invites their causes and therefore the ~~joy and eager seeking~~ results; for these impacts are part of life, tangled up with the ~~mind after pleasant~~ things by we desire, and the ~~calm~~ inability to deal with them is part of the ~~spirit~~imperfection of our nature. ~~It can be applied too to~~ Other impacts again the ~~thought-~~normal mind succeeds in ~~a calm reception of knowledge~~ holding at bay or neutralising and ~~of limitation of knowledge which refuses~~ to ~~be carried away by the fascination~~ these it has a natural reaction of ~~this attractive~~ indifference, insensibility or ~~repelled by dislike for that unaccustomed~~ tolerance which is neither positive acceptance and enjoyment nor rejection or ~~unpalatable thought-suggestion and waits on the Truth with a detached observation which allows it~~ suffering. To things, persons, happenings, ideas, workings, whatever presents itself to ~~grow on~~ the ~~strong~~mind, ~~disinterested, mastering will and reason~~there are always these three kinds of reaction. ~~Thus~~ At the ~~soul becomes gradually equal to all things~~same time, ~~master~~ in spite of ~~itself~~their generality, ~~adequate to meet~~ there is nothing absolute about them; they form a scheme for a habitual scale which is not precisely the ~~world with a strong front in~~ same for all or even for the same mind at different times or in different conditions. The same impact may arouse in it at one time and ~~an undisturbed serenity of~~ another the pleasurable or positive, the adverse or negative or the ~~spirit~~indifferent or neutral reactions.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/24/the-way-of-equality#p3p2</ref>

This equality cannot come except by a protracted ordeal and patient self-discipline; so long as desire is strong, equality cannot come at all except in periods of quiescence and the fatigue of desire, and it is then more likely to be an inert indifference or desire's recoil from itself than the true calm and the positive spiritual oneness. Moreover, this discipline or this growth into equality of spirit has its necessary epochs and stages. Ordinarily we have to begin with a period of endurance; for we must learn to confront, to suffer and to assimilate all contacts. Each fibre in us must be taught not to wince away from that which pains and repels and not to run eagerly towards that which pleases and attracts, but rather to accept, to face, to bear and to conquer. All touches we must be strong to bear, not only those that are proper and personal to us but those born of our sympathy or our conflict with the worlds around, above or below us and with their peoples. We shall endure tranquilly the action and impact on us of men and things and forces, the pressure of the Gods and the assaults of Titans; we shall face and engulf in the unstirred seas of our spirit all that can possibly come to us down the ways of the soul's infinite experience. This is the stoical period of the preparation of equality, its most elementary and yet its heroic age. But this steadfast endurance of the flesh and heart and mind must be reinforced by a sustained sense of spiritual submission to a divine Will: this living clay must yield not only with a stern or courageous acquiescence, but with knowledge or with resignation, even in suffering, to the touch of the divine Hand that is preparing its perfection. A sage, a devout or even a tender stoicism of the God-lover is possible, and these are better than the merely pagan self-reliant endurance which may lend itself to a too great hardening of the vessel of God: for this kind prepares the strength that is capable of wisdom and of love; its tranquillity is a deeply moved calm that passes easily into bliss. The gain of this period of resignation and endurance is the soul's strength equal to all shocks and contacts.<~~ref~~center>~~http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/23/equality-and-the-annihilation-of-ego#p8~~~</~~ref~~center>

The soul which seeks mastery may begin by turning upon these reactions the encountering and opposing force of a strong and equal endurance. Instead of seeking to protect itself from or to shun and escape the unpleasant impacts it may confront them and teach itself to suffer and to bear them with perseverance, with fortitude, an increasing equanimity or an austere or calm acceptance. This attitude, this discipline brings out three results, three powers of the soul in relation to things. First, it is found that what was before unbearable, becomes easy to endure; the scale of the power that meets the impact rises in degree; it needs a greater and greater force of it or of its protracted incidence to cause trouble, pain, grief, aversion or any other of the notes in the gamut of the unpleasant reactions. Secondly, it is found that the conscious nature divides itself into two parts, one of the normal mental and emotional nature in which the customary reactions continue to take place, another of the higher will and reason which observes and is not troubled or affected by the passion of this lower nature, does not accept it as its own, does not approve, sanction or participate. Then the lower nature begins to lose the force and power of its reactions, to submit to the suggestions of calm and strength from the higher reason and will, and gradually that calm and strength take possession of the mental and emotional, even of the sensational, vital and physical being. This brings the third power and result, the power by this endurance and mastery, this separation and rejection of the lower nature, to get rid of the normal reactions and even, if we will, to remould all our modes of experience by the strength of the spirit. This method is applied not only to the unpleasant, but also to the pleasant reactions; the soul refuses to give itself up to or be carried away by them; it endures with calm the impacts which bring joy and pleasure; refuses to be excited by them and replaces the joy and eager seeking of the mind after pleasant things by the calm of the spirit. It can be applied too to the thought-mind in a calm reception of knowledge and of limitation of knowledge which refuses to be carried away by the fascination of this attractive or repelled by dislike for that unaccustomed or unpalatable thought-suggestion and waits on the Truth with a detached observation which allows it to grow on the strong, disinterested, mastering will and reason. Thus the soul becomes gradually equal to all things, master of itself, adequate to meet the world with a strong front in the mind and an undisturbed serenity of the spirit <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/24/the-way-of-equality#p3</ref> <center>~</center> This equality cannot come except by a protracted ordeal and patient self-discipline; so long as desire is strong, equality cannot come at all except in periods of quiescence and the fatigue of desire, and it is then more likely to be an inert indifference or desire's recoil from itself than the true calm and the positive spiritual oneness. Moreover, this discipline or this growth into equality of spirit has its necessary epochs and stages. Ordinarily we have to begin with a period of endurance; for we must learn to confront, to suffer and to assimilate all contacts. Each fibre in us must be taught not to wince away from that which pains and repels and not to run eagerly towards that which pleases and attracts, but rather to accept, to face, to bear and to conquer. All touches we must be strong to bear, not only those that are proper and personal to us but those born of our sympathy or our conflict with the worlds around, above or below us and with their peoples. We shall endure tranquilly the action and impact on us of men and things and forces, the pressure of the Gods and the assaults of Titans; we shall face and engulf in the unstirred seas of our spirit all that can possibly come to us down the ways of the soul's infinite experience. This is the stoical period of the preparation of equality, its most elementary and yet its heroic age. But this steadfast endurance of the flesh and heart and mind must be reinforced by a sustained sense of spiritual submission to a divine Will: this living clay must yield not only with a stern or courageous acquiescence, but with knowledge or with resignation, even in suffering, to the touch of the divine Hand that is preparing its perfection. A sage, a devout or even a tender stoicism of the God-lover is possible, and these are better than the merely pagan self-reliant endurance which may lend itself to a too great hardening of the vessel of God: for this kind prepares the strength that is capable of wisdom and of love; its tranquillity is a deeply moved calm that passes easily into bliss. The gain of this period of resignation and endurance is the soul's strength equal to all shocks and contacts. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/23/equality-and-the-annihilation-of-ego#p8</ref> <center>~</center> Equality is a very important part of this Yoga; it is necessary to keep equality under pain and suffering—and that means to endure firmly and calmly, not to be restless or troubled or depressed or despondent, to go on in a steady faith in the Divine Will. But equality does not include inert acceptance. If, for instance, there is temporary failure of some endeavour in the sadhana, one has to keep equality, not to be troubled or despondent, but one has not to accept the failure as an indication of the Divine Will and give up the endeavour. You ought rather to find out the reason and meaning of the failure and go forward in faith towards victory. So with illness—you have not to be troubled, shaken or restless, but you have not to accept illness as the Divine Will, but rather look upon it as an imperfection of the body to be got rid of as you try to get rid of vital imperfections or mental errors.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/equality-the-chief-support#p18</ref> <center>~</center>

Helpless acceptance [of difficulties] is no part of the Yoga of works—what is necessary is a calm equanimity in the face both of helpful and adverse, fortunate or unfortunate happenings, good or evil fortune, success or failure of effort. One must learn to bear without flinching and disturbance, without rajasic joy or grief, doing all that is necessary, but not dejected if difficulties or failure come—one still goes on doing what can be done, not sinking under the burden of life.

<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/work-and-yoga#p53</ref>

===Indifference===

The second way is an attitude of impartial indifference. Its method is to reject at once the attraction or the repulsion of things, to cultivate for them a luminous impassivity, an inhibiting rejection, a habit of dissociation and desuetude. This attitude reposes less on the will, though will is always necessary, than on the knowledge. It is an attitude which regards these passions of the mind as things born of the illusion of the outward mentality or inferior movements unworthy of the calm truth of the single and equal spirit or a vital and emotional disturbance to be rejected by the tranquil observing will and dispassionate intelligence of the sage. It puts away desire from the mind, discards the ego which attributes these dual values to things, and replaces desire by an impartial and indifferent peace and ego by the pure self which is not troubled, excited or unhinged by the impacts of the world. And not only is the emotional mind quieted, but the intellectual being also rejects the thoughts of the ignorance and rises beyond the interests of an inferior knowledge to the one truth that is eternal and without change. This way too develops three results or powers by which it ascends to peace.

~~<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/24/the-way-of-equality#p4</ref>~~

The second way is an attitude of impartial indifference. Its method is to reject at once the attraction or the repulsion of things, to cultivate for them a luminous impassivity, an inhibiting rejection, a habit of dissociation and desuetude. This attitude reposes less on the will, though will is always necessary, than on the knowledge. It is an attitude which regards these passions of the mind as things born of the illusion of the outward mentality or inferior movements unworthy of the calm truth of the single and equal spirit or a vital and emotional disturbance to be rejected by the tranquil observing will and dispassionate intelligence of the sage. It puts away desire from the mind, discards the ego which attributes these dual values to things, and replaces desire by an impartial and indifferent peace and ego by the pure self which is not troubled, excited or unhinged by the impacts of the world. And not only is the emotional mind quieted, but the intellectual being also rejects the thoughts of the ignorance and rises beyond the interests of an inferior knowledge to the one truth that is eternal and without change. This way too develops three results or powers by which it ascends to peace. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/24/the-way-of-equality#p4</ref> <center>~</center> There is next a period of high-seated impartiality and indifference in which the soul becomes free from exultation and depression and escapes from the snare of the eagerness of joy as from the dark net of the pangs of grief and suffering. All things and persons and forces, all thoughts and feelings and sensations and actions, one's own no less than those of others, are regarded from above by a spirit that remains intact and immutable and is not disturbed by these things. This is the philosophic period of the preparation of equality, a wide and august movement. But indifference must not settle into an inert turning away from action and experience; it must not be an aversion born of weariness, disgust and distaste, a recoil of disappointed or satiated desire, the sullenness of a baffled and dissatisfied egoism forced back from its passionate aims. These recoils come inevitably in the unripe soul and may in some way help the progress by a discouragement of the eager desire-driven vital nature, but they are not the perfection towards which we labour. The indifference or the impartiality that we must seek after is a calm superiority of the high-seated soul above the contacts of things; it regards and accepts or rejects them but is not moved in the rejection and is not subjected by the acceptance. It begins to feel itself near, kin to, one with a silent Self and Spirit self-existent and separate from the workings of Nature which it supports and makes possible, part of or merged in the motionless calm Reality that transcends the motion and action of the universe. The gain of this period of high transcendence is the soul's peace unrocked and unshaken by the pleasant ripplings or by the tempestuous waves and billows of the world's movement.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/23/equality-and-the-annihilation-of-ego#p9</ref>

===Submission===

The third way is that of submission, which may be the Christian resignation founded on submission to the will of God, or an unegoistic acceptance of things and happenings as a manifestation of the universal Will in time, or a complete surrender of the person to the Divine, to the supreme ''Purusha''. As the first was a way of the will and the second a way of knowledge, of the understanding reason, so this is a way of the temperament and heart and very intimately connected with the principle of Bhakti. If it is pushed to the end, it arrives at the same result of a perfect equality. For the knot of the ego is loosened and the personal claim begins to disappear, we find that we are no longer bound to joy in things pleasant or sorrow over the unpleasant; we bear them without either eager acceptance or troubled rejection, refer them to the Master of our being, concern ourselves less and less with their personal result to us and hold only one thing of importance, to approach God, or to be in touch and tune with the universal and infinite Existence, or to be united with the Divine, his channel, instrument, servant, lover, rejoicing in him and in our relation with him and having no other object or cause of joy or sorrow. Here too there may be for some time a division between the lower mind of habitual emotions and the higher psychical mind of love and self-giving, but eventually the former yields, changes, transforms itself, is swallowed up in the love, joy, delight of the Divine and has no other interests or attractions. Then all within is the equal peace and bliss of that union, the one silent bliss that passes understanding, the peace that abides untouched by the solicitation of lower things in the depths of our spiritual existence.

~~<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/24/the-way-of-equality#p6</ref>~~

The third way is that of submission, which may be the Christian resignation founded on submission to the will of God, or an unegoistic acceptance of things and happenings as a manifestation of the universal Will in time, or a complete surrender of the person to the Divine, to the supreme ''Purusha''. As the first was a way of the will and the second a way of knowledge, of the understanding reason, so this is a way of the temperament and heart and very intimately connected with the principle of Bhakti. If it is pushed to the end, it arrives at the same result of a perfect equality. For the knot of the ego is loosened and the personal claim begins to disappear, we find that we are no longer bound to joy in things pleasant or sorrow over the unpleasant; we bear them without either eager acceptance or troubled rejection, refer them to the Master of our being, concern ourselves less and less with their personal result to us and hold only one thing of importance, to approach God, or to be in touch and tune with the universal and infinite Existence, or to be united with the Divine, his channel, instrument, servant, lover, rejoicing in him and in our relation with him and having no other object or cause of joy or sorrow. Here too there may be for some time a division between the lower mind of habitual emotions and the higher psychical mind of love and self-giving, but eventually the former yields, changes, transforms itself, is swallowed up in the love, joy, delight of the Divine and has no other interests or attractions. Then all within is the equal peace and bliss of that union, the one silent bliss that passes understanding, the peace that abides untouched by the solicitation of lower things in the depths of our spiritual existence. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/24/the-way-of-equality#p6</ref> <center>~</center> These three ways coincide in spite of their separate starting-points, first, by their inhibition of the normal reactions of the mind to the touches of outward things, ''bāhya-sparśān'', secondly, by their separation of the self or spirit from the outward action of Nature. But it is evident that our perfection will be greater and more embracingly complete, if we can have a more active equality which will enable us not only to draw back from or confront the world in a detached and separated calm, but to return upon it and possess it in the power of the calm and equal Spirit. This is possible because the world, Nature, action are not in fact a quite separate thing, but a manifestation of the Self, the All-Soul, the Divine. The reactions of the normal mind are a degradation of the divine values which would but for this degradation make this truth evident to us,—a falsification, an ignorance which alters their workings, an ignorance which starts from the involution of the Self in a blind material nescience. Once we return to the full consciousness of Self, of God, we can then put a true divine value on things and receive and act on them with the calm, joy, knowledge, seeing will of the Spirit. When we begin to do that, then the soul begins to have an equal joy in the universe, an equal will dealing with all energies, an equal knowledge which takes possession of the spiritual truth behind all the phenomena of this divine manifestation. It possesses the world as the Divine possesses it, in a fullness of the infinite light, power and Ananda.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/24/the-way-of-equality#p7</ref>

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