कामक्रोधवियुक्तानां यतीनां यतचेतसाम् |
अभितो ब्रह्मनिर्वाणं वर्तते विदितात्मनाम् || 26||
kāma-krodha-viyuktānāṁ yatīnāṁ yata-chetasām
abhito brahma-nirvāṇaṁ vartate viditātmanām
kāma—desires; krodha—anger; viyuktānām—of those who are liberated; yatīnām—of the saintly persons; yata-chetasām—those self-realized persons who have subdued their mind; abhitaḥ—from every side; brahma—spiritual; nirvāṇam—liberation from material existence; vartate—exists; vidita-ātmanām—of those who are self-realized
Translation:
To the self-controlled sages who are free from desire and wrath, who have controlled their thoughts, who have realised the Self, absolute freedom exists on all sides.
Commentary:
Three important qualities of the sage are mentioned here:
- Abandoning of desire and anger (i.e.). destruction of all tendencies (vasanakshaya).
- Control of mind (i.e.) destruction of the mind (manonasa).
- Knowledge of Atma (tattvajnana).
The sage with these three qualities enjoys the bliss of absolute freedom at all times, in all places, and under all circumstances. By the Knowledge of Atma, all the tendencies (samskaras) of the mind are removed, and the mind becomes non-existent. Moksha is not for the idle and lethargic. Hence the word ‘Yati’ is used here. ‘Yati’ means one who sacrifices everything for a great ideal. The ideal of realisation is achieved only by a great deal of effort. So having faith in the words of the Sastras and the Guru, let the seeker strive for the speedy realisation of spiritual freedom.
Constant meditation on Atma – the pure and perfect, will gradually purify the mind of all its evil samskaras. By knowing firmly that the objective world (drisya) is unreal, man overcomes the temptation for sense-pleasures and the consequent agitations of desire and anger.
The mind is impure as it has absorbed all evil tendencies through a number of births in a state of ignorance. The fire of Knowledge should burn up these tendencies and purify the mind which usually functions in tamas and rajas. Pure sattva is to be acquired by Knowledge of Atma. The mind is the axle on which the vast machine of samsara rotates endlessly. When the mind moves, the world moves. When the mind is not, the world is not. The impure mind sees the world as a vast battle-field of conflicting passions. The purified mind sees it as Atma. The devotee sees the world as the Lord. So the mind should be purified and kept under control by knowing that which is beyond it. Atmajnana implies a deep enquiry into the real nature of man. By such internal investigation, one comes to understand that he is not the body, the senses, the mind and the intellect, but that he is the one ‘Self’, the Drik, pure Knowledge. The seeker should constantly hold on to the reality, which is pure and changeless, knowing by direct experience that what changes is only the picture of the world.
It has already been said that when a man attains “Brahmisthiti’, he does not fall into delusion again. Hence it is declared that the man who attains ‘Brahma nirvanam’ exists in a state of absolute freedom and bliss at all times, in all places, under all circumstances. He is liberated when he holds the body or drops it. He lives always in freedom.
Question: Who attains Brahmanirvana?
Answer: The man of mind-control, free from desire and anger, who has Self-knowledge, attains Moksha. Only men of great sadhana can attain that state.
Question: When is he free?
Answer: Freedom exists for him everywhere and at all times.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 5 🔻 (29 Verses)
