Day–31 Topic: What is Sadness in Life? How positive actions help...

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Hari aum! What is Sadness in Life? Understanding the Dvandvas and Acting According to One’s Dharma Today we reflect through the story of four friends. When one of them receives a death sentence, the other three are deeply shaken. Nothing has happened to them directly and yet their minds are disturbed. Why? Because sadness is not in the event. It is born in the mind. The mind functions through likes and dislikes, gains and losses, the constant play of the dvandva — the pairs of opposites. When something aligns with our preferences, we call it happiness. When it goes against them, we call it sadness. In the Bhagavad Gītā, Śrī Kṛṣṇa teaches: Chapter 2, Verse 14 शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः आगमापायिनोऽनित्याः । तांस्तितिक्षस्व भारत ॥ śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ āgamāpāyino’nityāḥ tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata Cold and heat, pleasure and pain — they come and go; they are impermanent. Endure them, O Bhārata. And again in Chapter 2, Verse 38: सुखदुःखे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ । ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि ॥ sukha-duḥkhe same kṛtvā lābhālābhau jayājayau tato yuddhāya yujyasva naivaṁ pāpam avāpsyasi Having made pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat the same, then engage in action; thus you shall not incur bondage. Here lies the positive action: Act according to your Dharma. Sameness toward opposites does not mean inaction. It means mental balance while performing one’s duty. When we stop reacting emotionally to every gain and loss, and instead act in alignment with our Dharma, the mind becomes steady. Sadness is born of disturbance. Peace is born of right understanding and right action. Hari aum!