What does Bhagavad Gita 2.14 mean for the mind?
From the book – Chapter 7: Stress and the Body
Bhagavad Gita 2.14
मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः ।
आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व भारत ॥
matra-sparsas tu kaunteya sitosna-sukha-duhkha-dah |
agamapayino 'nityas tams titiksasva bharata ||
Meaning
Contacts with the world give cold and heat, pleasure and pain. They come and go; they are not lasting. Endure them, O Bharata.
For daily life
Psychologists call this "distress tolerance". Titiksha means sitting calmly with a hard feeling, such as worry, anger or sadness, and letting it rise and fall without panic. However, endurance does not mean punishing yourself. Titiksha is about staying present while an emotional wave passes; it is not a demand to become emotionally numb. Furthermore, enduring pain does not mean you are forbidden from fixing the root of the problem (like reducing a crushing email load at work or leaving a bad environment). Finally, remember that enduring stress is physical work. Your body's stress-response system (the HPA axis) burns heavy fuel to get you through the day, meaning true endurance always requires deep, physical sleep to recover.
Read the full chapter – Chapter 7: Stress and the Body
Stories from real life
- The Exam Season Knot – Priya, seventeen, lives in Jaipur and is two months away from her board exams. Every evening, when she opens her chemistry book, her heart starts to…
- Running on Empty – Rahul, thirty-four, manages a software team in Pune. For two years he has said yes to every request, working until ten at night and answering messages…
- A New Country, A Heavy Heart – Mei Lin moved from Singapore to Manchester three months ago for her husband's job. She left behind her friends and her work as a teacher. At…
- Meera, Age 38 – Meera worked long hours, cared for ageing parents, and managed the household. She felt rushed and tense. She slept late, skipped meals, and drank multiple cups…
More on this topic: Bhagavad Gita, yoga and Indian wisdom for mental peace
More questions
- The Exam Season Knot – what this story teaches, the signs and what to do
- Running on Empty – what this story teaches, the signs and what to do
- A New Country, A Heavy Heart – what this story teaches, the signs and what to do
- What can we learn from the story “Meera, Age 38”?
- What is stress?
- The stress response: fight, flight, freeze – explained simply
- Understanding the HPA axis and cortisol – stress
- Understanding effects of chronic stress
- Brain and mental health – effects of chronic stress
- Physical health – effects of chronic stress
- What the Bhagavad Gita teaches about the mind