Equanimity has an aesthetic connotation. It is used to describe the real nature of us all. It is the state of total detachment and is achieved through various activities such as yoga, meditation, prayer, reflection, and contemplation. It is one of the sublime attitudes; the others being: loving-kindness, compassion, and joy.
Equanimity allows us to absorb the daily blows of life. Our experience here on Earth is a battle of flesh and spirit. Our spiritual being seeks unity with the Divine, to return to the calm sanctuary of God’s “beingness”. Our physical body, controlled by the ego, seeks to retain connectivity to the physical world and the carnal pleasures, lusts, and greed it enjoys. Whether we call it Satan, evil, bad karma, or whatever, the pull of physicality over spirituality is strong.
The endless competition of us sentient beings in a world of finite resources seeking to gain superiority, advantage, and control, enforces the will of discontentment and agitation to prevail. It is this agitation of the various egos that disturbs our equanimity. The erroneous expectation that we can control every aspect of our life leads to distrust, conflict, disunity, and other forms of psychic imbalance.
Spiritual aestheticism involves many tools for enhancing equanimity. Most people moderately knowledgeable of the eastern practices of yoga and meditation, primarily through Buddhist and Hindu teachings, have a basic appreciation of these practices. We hope to strengthen the awareness of the deeper spiritual value they provide.
Before discussing the methods of seeking equanimity, we will discuss a few of its primary qualities. There are numerous specific aspects of equanimity which could be discussed at length. We have chosen four broad connotations to explore: evenness of mind, undisturbed awareness, absolute stillness, and “beingness”.