ज्ञानविज्ञानतृप्तात्मा कूटस्थो विजितेन्द्रिय: |
युक्त इत्युच्यते योगी समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चन: || 8||
jñāna-vijñāna-tṛiptātmā kūṭa-stho vijitendriyaḥ
yukta ityuchyate yogī sama-loṣhṭāśhma-kāñchanaḥ
jñāna—knowledge; vijñāna—realized knowledge, wisdom from within; tṛipta ātmā—one fully satisfied; kūṭa-sthaḥ—undisturbed; vijita-indriyaḥ—one who has conquered the senses; yuktaḥ—one who is in constant communion with the Supreme; iti—thus; uchyate—is said; yogī—a yogi; sama—looks equally; loṣhṭra—pebbles; aśhma—stone; kāñchanaḥ—gold
Translation:
The yogi who is satisfied with the knowledge of the Sastras and experience of the Self, who is immovable, who has conquered the senses, who look with an equal eye on mud, stone and gold, is said to be united or harmonised in yoga.
Commentary:
Yoga means union of the self with Paramatma. The path leading to this union is also yoga. The man who strives for yoga is a yogi. Though there are several yogas, yet very rarely we come across a yogi of the highest realisation. The attributes of the perfected Yogi are mentioned here.
One who is satisfied with Jnana and Vignana: Jnana and Vignana are mentioned separately in the Gita. Jnana is understanding of the Self by the study of the Sastras, the teachings of the Guru and elders. Vijnana means direct Self-realisation. It is just the difference between theory and practice. One may study the art of cooking from books, but this knowledge is not complete without practical experience. One should clearly understand the difference between the two. The scholar may imagine that he has attained self-realisation by his knowledge of the Sastras. No doubt the value of intellectual knowledge of Truth should not be under-estimated. But this should never be mistaken for Realisation. Realisation requires an absolute subdual of the senses, the mind, and the intellect, the elimination of all desires, and perfect peace in the Self. The words ‘triptah‘, ‘tushtah‘ are used to show that the realised yogi is perfectly contented in the Self. Wealth and enjoyments, fame and name, power and position, do not lead to this undisturbed contentment in the Self. Everybody knows it. There is still a feeling of incompleteness. Having attained the Self, man knows that he has nothing else to seek for. He is contended forever.
Unshaken: The yogi remains unshaken and immovable when he rests in the Self. ‘Kuta‘ means the iron block used by the jeweller to shape the ornaments. Just as the iron block remains unshaken when the jeweller uses the chisel to shape the jewels, so also the yogi remains unshaken and unaffected by the changes that take place in the external life. There is no change in him, because he is resting in the Self, and the Self is immovable and eternal. The word ‘Kutasthah’ may also be taken to refer to the Self (Kutastho akshara uchyate). So the Yogarudha is one who has attained unity with the Self.
One who has conquered the senses: Self-control is mentioned many times as the most important discipline in spiritual life. The Yogarudha is one who has thoroughly conquered the senses.
Who looks equally on mud, stone and gold: The Yogarudha looks with an equal eye, on mud, stone and gold. He sees no difference between them. How? He knows that all natural objects trees, rocks, the sun and stars, the clouds and rain, the body etc., – are only a combination of the five elements in varying proportions. So these objects do not appear to be different for him, in the same way as different jewels do not appear different for the gold merchant who weighs and values the gold only minus the name and form. So these objects do not make any difference for the men of Self-realisation. They are the same to him because he sees only the spiritual substratum in all of them. So his vision is equal and balanced.
It is the mind that gives value to things. Gold is symbolic of all precious things in the world. That which is rare acquires greater value. That which is common pays less value. All this difference is caused by the mind which attributes relative value to things. The Yogarudha who has seen the one substance out of which all these are made finds no distinction between them. It is all infinite ocean of Sachithananda. What is great and what is small? There is no special value to anything because the background for all is only the Self. If in a dream one is a King and another is a begger, what difference does it make to the awakened man?
For the man of self-realisation, clay and gold are equal. One who has such experience of the Self cannot see any distinction between the two.
Swami Vivekananda Says —
There are many passages in the Dhammapada too, with similar ideas. But that is at the last stage when one has got perfectly satisfied with knowledge and realization, is the same under all circumstances and has gained mastery over his senses — “ज्ञान विज्ञान तृप्तात्मा कूटस्थो विजितेन्द्रिय:”. He who has not the least regard for his body as something to be taken care of — it is he who may roam about at pleasure like the mad elephant caring for naught. Whereas a puny creature like myself should practice devotion, sitting at one spot, till he attains realization; and then only should he behave like that; but it is a far-off question — very far indeed.[Source]
Question: What are the attributes of a Yogarudha?
Answer: Knowledge of the Sastras, experience of the Self, perfect contentment, immovable firmness in Yoga, conquest of the senses, equal vision, – these are the attributes of the Yogarudha.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 6 🔻 (47 Verses)
