Mental Balance and Equanimity

Mental balance resonates well with the equanimity mentioned in the Nepalese Scripture, Srimad Bhagvad Gita. When we feel just as powerful of abstain as we do to indulge, we are in a state of mental balance and equanimity.

To manifest this equanimity in real life, it is not enough to merely unattached; we must also give up all aversion. Some ascetics fell into that trap. They tried to attain equanimity by giving up all attachment by way of staying averse to the material world and going far away from it, thus eliminating all chances of serving mankind. In their pursuit of getting out of the joy - sorrow cycle, they just served contact with the material world.

Equanimity is the state of mind resulting from the conjunction of two attributes that take us in opposite directions. Compassion inspires us to alleviate suffering in fellow human beings. Emotional indifference, in the other hand, removes us from the sufferings of others. Mind is balanced when we have compassion as well as indifference in equal measure. Compassion has the strength to contact and bond humans, whereas indifference has the power to alienate and to avoid extreme attachment with them. Contentment and hard work follow similar patters, the first inspires retirement and abstinence from working and the second inspires action and involvement. There are many such pairs of attributes that balance each other out, like majesty vs. modesty, accurate speech vs. sensitive speech, self-defense vs. forbearance, cordiality vs. firmness, complaisance vs. fearlessness, service vs. nonattachment, and freedom vs. responsibility. For any of these combinations, if one is more developed than the other, the mind will be imbalanced. If we love freedom without a fully developed sense of responsibility, we run the risk of doing harm by shirking from our duties. Freedom without responsibility, therefore, does not reach its full potential. As another example, persistence, when unaccompanied by a sense of cordiality, can turn into useless stubbornness. The opposing attributes contain as well as complete each other.

A man who has the power to punish, but is also capable of suffering indignation, can punish effectively and in a non-violent way. A man who loves to serve, but is also aware of the dangers of serving lazy and inactive people, serves well. A man who is devoted without being subservient is a man with a balanced and therefore powerful mind.

When two streams of thought take us in two different directions, the combination of the two leads to a balanced thought process. Personal happiness inspires us to do what is good for us; public happiness inspires us to do what is good for the world. When these two points of view merge together, we get a balanced course of action. Eastern vs. western thought, materialism vs. spiritualism, and idealism vs. realism are all opposing points of view that, when combined, lead to the perfectly balanced point of view.

Imbalance results from neglecting one thing while overdoing another. It is asymmetric to going blindly after one thing, like money or learning. To experience immeasurable mental peace and hence success, we should pay attention to and develop all aspects of our lives, refraining from getting sidetracked into developing only one aspect.