Chapter 2Verse 64 of 72

Bhagavad Gita 2.64

रागद्वेषवियुक्तैस्तु विषयानिन्द्रियैश्चरन् । आत्मवश्यैर्विधेयात्मा प्रसादमधिगच्छति ॥

rāga-dveṣa-viyuktais tu viṣayān indriyaiś caran | ātma-vaśyair vidheyātmā prasādam adhigacchati ||

Translation

But the one with a disciplined self, moving among the objects of the senses with the senses free of attraction and repulsion and under self-control, attains tranquility.

The other route. Not avoidance of objects. Viṣayān caran. Moving among them. With one difference: rāga-dveṣa-viyuktaiḥ indriyaiḥ. With senses free of pull and push. The world meets the senses; the senses report; the practitioner is not driven by the report. Prasāda. Calm, grace, clearness. The verse offers the second half of the picture: the sthita-prajna does not live in a cave. He walks through the same market, encounters the same flavors, and does not get reorganized by them. The freedom is in the encounter, not from it.

Reflection

Which everyday encounter still pulls or pushes you, that you could meet with steadier senses?

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