Vivekananda Kendra Yoga Vedanta Center - Hyderabad विवेकानन्द केन्द्र योग वेदान्त संस्थान

Titiksha- bear with them

Fourteenth verses of second chapter of Bhagwad Gita, mentions a word - tamstitikshwa – bear with them- it is a wonderful statement, in English we say “what cannot be cured must be endured”. You fall sick, you go to doctor, he will treat you, and there is a science about it. So for you are concerned you have to co-operate with tremendous determination to bear it as long as it is there. So tamstitikshaswa develops strength of mind. Try to remove the pain as for as you can, by treatment. What you cannot cure – bear with. The capacity to bear is different in different people. Some can withstand pain to a great extent others cannot stand a little difficulty.

In normal life, the biggest hurdle comes – when sense organs come in touch with sense objects, a chain of pleasure and pain, hot and cold comes in to effect, but these are temporary, they will keep on changing. They are not permanent. They will come and go. So at the time of difficulties -bear with them, difficulties are not going to stay permanently. A strong mind will sail you through. Remember pleasures are also not going to stay permanently. They will give way to pain.

Capacity to withstand pain, changes and chances comes from mind; strength of mind can be increased by proper understanding and practice. Life is not all fun, all pleasure; difficulties will often test you from different angles.

Strength of mind and control of sensory system are very important for any decent human being. Virtue and morality cannot stay without this kind of self discipline.

Shankara Charya – talks about – titikcha- as bearing of all suffering without anxiety and weeping and without the intension to react, a quality every student of Vedanta must acquire.

Adopted from writings of Swami Rangnathanandaji.

It is one of the”Shad-sampat”

Shad-sampat means the six virtues. This practice actually consists in developing six qualities or virtues. They are:

• Sama - Tranquility or control of mind. Calmness. This is the ability to keep the mind within and unaffected by the external world.
• Dama - Control of the senses. This consists in not letting the senses run out towards the sense objects. To the question, "Why do we need to control the senses when we can directly work on sama and control the mind itself - the mind being superior and more powerful than the senses?", the vedantins answer: If one were able to control the mind perfectly, dama would be unnecessary, otherwise it is a more powerful strategy to work on the mind apparatus from all sides.
• Uparati - Renunciation of activities which are not duties. Following the last two practices, the mind is so peaceful and calm most desires have been eradicated and there is no more reason to perform the activities in which most people indulge.
• Titiksha - Endurance, forbearance of the pairs of opposites. The mind must become strong enough to not waver in the face of the opposites: success and failure, hot and cold, pleasure and pain, sunshine and rain, etc.
• Shraddha - Faith. It is defined by Sri Sankaracharya as faith in one's guru, god, the self (atman) and the scriptures (shastras).
• Samadhana - Perfect concentration, one-pointedness of the mind. It takes a great degree of mastery to reach this level. Few reach it.