Sadhana must make you calm, unruffled, poised, balanced. Make the mind as cool and comforting as moonlight, for the Moon is the Deity holding sway over the Mind. Be calm in speech, and in your response to malice, cavilling and praise. You complain that others are disturbing your equanimity; but, you do not know that though your tongue does not speak, your thoughts can unsettle the equanimity of those around you. (SSS Vol.9)
The treasure that is unmistakably precious is the quality of shantam, equanimity, unruffledness. Practise this and make it your natural reaction. Why be put out when you see wrong? Why be attracted when you see evil? Remember evil has in it the potentiality to become good; good has in it the liability to turn evil. There is no fire without a wisp of smoke; there is no smoke without a spark of fire. No one is fully wicked, or fully infallible. Take the world as it is, never expect it to conform to your needs or standards.
Maya (illusory quality) envelops the good with the blemish of the bad; it makes the evil glitter with the shine of the good. Discriminate to the best of your capacity, and develop your capacity to discriminate. Struggle to win, that is the best that you can do; few can say, I have won . Your conscience knows the real source of joy; it will prod you towards the right path; your business is to take it as guide and not disobey it every time it contradicts your whim or fancy. (SSS Vol.1)
To gain this equanimity, you have to do not reading, but systematic sadhana (spiritual effort). Then, you can be happy whether you are rich or poor, appreciated or rejected, prosperous or unlucky. That is an armour without which it is foolish to enter the arena of life. If the arena is entered just for getting sensory joy, you are in for all kinds of trouble. It is like sailing in a tiny boat on a storm-tossed sea, without a rudder. So, enter upon the path of spiritual discipline now itself. (SSS Vol.1)
The body is the temple of God, isn t it? Well. What does the priest do in the temple every day? First, he cleans the utensils and sacred vessels in the shrine. He sweeps the room and washes the altar. The senses are the utensils for the puja of the God within; they have to be cleaned and assiduously kept free from dirt. Inner cleanliness is Godliness. That is possible only through sense-control, and mind-control; or what amounts to the same sadhana, dedication of all desires and activities to God. There are various habits which can be learnt in order to ensure equanimity. When some one insults you or defames you or ignores you, accept it with a smile; this is the way of the world; it is basically ungrateful, ill-mannered, they are doing me a good turn, my strength is under trial, I should not yield to anger or resentment, tell yourself such invigorating things, and be quiet, with a smile of triumph on your lips. (SSS Vol.12)
The stage of equanimity so essential for spiritual progress can be gained only when the intellect is cleansed of the blot of deluding attachments and involvements. Devoid of that serenity, the intellect or Buddhi cannot proceed on the trail of Brahman. (Sutra Vahini, 2004, pp. 16-17)