EQUANIMITY

Is composure or evenness of temper.

The rare quality of remaining undisturbed by good or ill fortune is a means to achieving oneness with God. Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji has described this state in the following manner: He for whom pain and pleasure are alike, honor and dishonor are alike and who has risen above joy and sorrow, he only knows his soul. He neither praises nor blames, but is in

search of Nirvana (p. 219, Rag Gauri, M.9) In Sukhmani, Guru Arjan Dev Ji says: For a jivanmukta, pleasure and pain are alike. He is never in woe and ever in bliss. For him gold and dust, poison and nectar, king and beggar are alike. (p.275, Gauri Sukhmani, M. 5)

Equanimity an advanced stage but it can be reached through constant practice and God's grace.

Keep the company of calm and intelligent people who lead a sincere life. If you surround yourself with rowdy and aggressive friends, you will have a hard time maintaining a steady state of mind.

We must remember that we are not the ones running this show. When we truly believe that Waheguru is the Real Doer we are able to rest in His Will and refrain from judging people and circumstances and maintain our composure. Guru Teg Bahadur Ji ,Guru Arjan Dev Ji and Guru Gobind Singh Ji remained in a state of equanimity through great challenges. They

were neither excited nor depressed with their situations. Thus they set such fine examples for us. They did their best under the guidance of God and remained carefree of the outcome. They did not grasp at any specific reward or outcome and remained attached

only to God.