I published my commentary on Verse 29 of the Madhushala earlier in the day today, and thought I'd write an extended commentary on two lines in that verse:
mangal aur amangal samjhe
masti mein kya matwaalaa
Bachchan points out that the man fully engaged in life does not differentiate between good fortune and bad. This is an important point, given that a great emphasis has been placed in almost every religion on the need for equanimity in the face of both good fortune and bad.
I find that most of us understand this to mean that we must practice equanimity; learn and acquire the capacity for unflappability. I, on the other hand, tend to think that such a quality cannot be acquired - you are either unflappable or you are not. This is not to say that if you are prone to excitement and emotional distress, you can't change - I am merely saying that you can't practice and develop disinterestedness; it is not a skill. (Incidentally, just so I'm not misunderstood, I use the word disinterested to imply impartiality, not indifference).
The trick lies in our capacity for complete engagement with life. When you are fully engaged in the moment, fortune or the lack of it is moot: the observer becomes the observed, and the man becomes life itself. He is the fortune or the misfortune, and so neither affect him. He is the universe, so the universe neither hurts him nor favours him.
Therefore, equanimity is the quality of the man who is fully engaged. He the one who lives his moment fully, and dies to it, so that he can be born into the next one - he is the yogi of the Gita. Such a man is naturally unflappable, for he is free. That is the true meaning behind the two lines in this verse, at least in my mind.
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