Bhagavatgita a detailed study chapter5-yoga of renunciation

[Guest guest]

21. baahyasparSeshu askthaathmaa vindhathi aathmani yath

sukham

 

sa brahmayogayukthathmaa sukham akshayam aSnuthe

 

The one whose senses are not drawn towards sense objects outside, acquires joy within himself, being engrossed in Brahman which gives him undiminished joy.

 

The sage who enjoys unalloyed bliss in being immersed in Brahman is referred to here by three epithets, bahyasparSeshu askthaathmaa, vindhathi aathmani yath sukham and brahmayogayukthaathmaa.

 

BaahyasparSeshu asakthaathmaa- He is detached, asaktha, from the sense experience outside, baahyasparSa, sparsa here meaning contact and baahya is outside. The word sparsa means touch literally but it stands for all sense contacts.

 

The reason why he has given up attachment to the outside world is denoted by the next epithet.

 

Vindhathi aathmani yath sukham- the joy he obtains from merging with the self.

 

He gets the supreme joy in merging with the self. Sankara says in bajagovindam, `yasyabrahmaNi ramathe chittham nandhathi nandhathi nadhathi eva.' He whose mind is reveling in Brahman he is happy, he is happy ,he is happy, meaning that the joy experienced through his brahmanubhava permeates in all three levels of being, physical, mental and intellectual. The same idea is expressed in Gita, by the sloka `macchitthaa madhgathapraaNaah boDhyanthaH parasparam , kaThayanthaScha maam nithyam thushyanthi cha ramanthi cha..'(BG.10.9) Those whose mind is engrossed in the Lord, whose whole life existence depends on Him, telling each other about Him and enlightening each other, remain contented reveling in Him.

 

Such a sage who is engrossed in Brahman, brahmayogayukthaathmaa ever rejoices in the bliss of Brahman which is sukham akshayam, inexhaustible joy.

 

22. ye hi samsparsajaa bhogaaH dukhayonaya eva the

aadhyanthavanthaH kountheya na theshu ramathe buDhaH

 

All pleasures born out of sense contact, , result only in pain, as they are temporary. O son of kunti, the wise never revels in those.

 

 

The man of discrimination having known the supreme Reality does not delight in objective enjoyment. The enjoyment born of sense contact is short lived and brings sorrow in its wake, Sankara says in Bajagovindam, `viddhi vyaadhyabhimaanagrastham lokam soka hatham cha samastham, Life is extremely fickle and short but even the short duration is not peaceful but wrought with disease and other afflictions due to ego-centric desires.

 

A man is happy when he gets an experience which is conducive to happiness. But till when? Only until something or someone is not obstructing his joy or till he desires something else. Often the same object that gives joy may turn into a thing of sorrow. This is because they are fleeting and not a source of everlasting happiness. This is why Krishna says in the second chapter that all the experience of joy and sorrow born out of sense contact come and go and they have to be endured. `maathraasparSaasthu kountheya SeethoshNa sukhadhuhkhadhaaH aagamaapaayinaH anithyaaH thaan thithikshasva.'(BG. 2.14)

 

The same idea is expressed here by the word aadhyanthavanthaH, meaning that they have a beginning and an end, applied to the sensual pleasures, samsprsajaa bhogaaH and hence they are he cause of sorrow, dhuhkhayonayaH. All the sensual pleasures are desire-motivated and as said in the sloka `dhyaayatho vishyaan pumsaH,' (BG. 2.62/63) they give rise to the rest of the evils that destroy man namely krodha, lobha etc. Hence, says Krishna , the wise do not delight in these pleasures of the world, as they seek the eternal joy from the experience of Brahman.