Santushtah – Further Reading

Santushtah satatam yogi yata aatma dridha nishchayah

Maya arpita mano buddhir yo mad bhaktah sa mey priyah

(chap. 12, verse 14)

One who is ever content, ever devoted to Me, is self restrained, with his mind and intellect fixed on Me with determination, such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me.

God loves in a special way, he who lives joyously, steadfast in his belief in the omnipresence and love of God. With an unwavering and steady mind and a steady vision he perceives the Creator in the entire Creation. He is satisfied with whatever comes with God’s grace. He does not hate anyone. He does not belittle or hurt anyone. He is ever compassionate towards all irrespective of others’ behavior towards him. He is firm in his resolve to follow the path of Dharma and Prema come what may. He is restrained in his thoughts, words and deeds. He does not lose his self control even under extreme provocation as illustrated by the following story:

A saint was going somewhere with his disciple. On the way they met a man who began to abuse the disciple, accusing him wrongly. For some time, he bore the insults calmly. But then, he lost his temper and started abusing him, too. Seeing them exchanging insults, the saint left them and proceeded on his way. After a while, the disciple caught up with the saint and said, “Sir, why did you leave me alone with the wicked man?”

The saint replied, “Where were you alone? You had the company of abusive language. As long as you were alone, I was with you. I also saw that deities were with you. But, when you started abusing too, they left, and when they left, I left too.”