The word śama means controlling the mind and keeping it from being diverted in various ways while fixing it on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In other words, one whose mind is fixed on the Supreme Lord is situated on the śama platform. On that platform the devotee understands that Kṛṣṇa is the basic principle of everything within our experience. This is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.19): "After many, many births of cultivating knowledge, one who has attained real knowledge surrenders unto Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa) because he can understand that Kṛṣṇa is present in everything, that He is distributed all over the cosmic manifestation." Although everything is under the control of the Supreme Lord and is situated in His energy, everything is nonetheless different from Kṛṣṇa in His personal form. It is stated in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu that the platform of śama, on which one understands that Kṛṣṇa is the basic principle of everything, is the same as śānta-rati. Unless one is elevated to the platform of śānta-rati, one cannot be fixed in knowledge of the greatness of Kṛṣṇa or of the diffusion of His different energies, which are the cause of all manifestations. This same point is explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.19.36):
- śamo man-niṣṭhatā buddher dama indriya-saṁyamaḥ
- titikṣā duḥkha-sammarṣo jihvopastha-jayo dhṛtiḥ
"Śama, equilibrium of mind, is achieved by one who has concluded that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original source of everything. And when one can control his senses, that is called dama. When one is ready to tolerate all kinds of sufferings to control the senses and keep the mind steady, that is called titikṣā, or tolerance. And when one can control the urges of the tongue and genitals, that is called dhṛti." One who has attained dhṛti is a dhīra, a pacified person. A pacified person is never disturbed by the urges of the tongue and genitals.