One of the two primary qualities required of a qualified aspirant (adhikārī) or student of Vedānta. The other is śamānvita.

The adjective praśānta can also mean ‘free from change’, since leaving stillness brings change. A mind is by definition not completely free from change. Even samādhi is not completely stable still, for one goes into samādhi and comes out of samādhi. Praśānta is therefore a mind that is almost still, or still enough to hear the teacher’s teachings easily (śravaṇa).

It is a beautiful word pra-śānta. The peace of oṃ śāntiḥ, the pure, absolute peace of the self, like brahman, is reflected in a mind that has praśānta. The knower of himself radiates (pra) this peace (śānta) of truth into his surroundings.

The second qualification for a suitable aspirant to knowledge is śamānvita, control of the mind by means of a calm (śama) attitude. There is a subtle connection between praśānta citta and śamānvita.

Praśānta citta is the calmness that allows for sufficient cognitive space to be mindfully present with the thoughts and thus self-consciously control the thoughts (śamānvita), so that there can always be adequate (read dharmic) response instead of reaction, clear thinking can take place, and thus a true means of knowledge such as vedānta can be applied in all aspects of life and practice of self-knowledge.