TITIKSHA, which means not to give into unpleasant experiences, but to resist them without becoming upset mentally.
Titiksha – the fortitude
We call our practice Titiksha because we help build this quality of even mindedness and calmness and reach deeper into our own reservoir of divine excellence.
Through our practices, we help building fortitude, and forbearance with which individuals can find deeper meaning for themselves, identify strengths, reinforce enduring human values and operate with their optimum potential as fully functional human being.
Titiksha, is a quality of nature itself, which takes all in its stride and never stops growing and thriving – we develop the same in all the lives we touch!
The meaning of Titiksha
The common human condition is to be over-powered by physical longings, emotional demands, intellectual distractions and absence of discrimination, as a result of total identification with them. The aim is to get liberated from these fetters and try to be a master of our body, mind and intellect – the human equipment.
Aparokshanubhuti is a text by Adi Sankara, which guides us in a scientific manner how to go about this stupendous task.
He lists the four basic credentials required of us as we embark on this journey. These four criteria are - Dispassion (Vairagya), Discrimination (Viveka), Six treasures of discipline like the control of the mind (shad sampatti) and Yearning for liberation from the bondage of ignorance (mumuskhuta). These basic credentials are called Sadhana Chatushtaya - the Quartet of Practice.
One of the shad sampatti – six treasures of discipline, is forbearance viz. Titiksha:
सहनं सर्वदुःखानामऽप्रतिकारपूर्वकम् |
चिन्ताविलापरहितं सा तितिक्षा निगद्यते ||
"Endurance of all afflictions without countering aids, and without anxiety or lament is said to be titiksha."
Vivekananda explains that forbearance and patience, without even a thought of resisting or driving it out, without even any painful feeling in the mind, or any remorse is Titiksha. The very act of calming emotional reactions develops a better ability to influence outer circumstances. Titiksha does not make one apathetic or dull; it is the first step to interiorizing the mind, and to bringing its reactions under control.