Chapter 5 · Verse 20

Path of Renunciation

न प्रहृष्येत्प्रियं प्राप्य नोद्विजेत्प्राप्य चाप्रियम्। स्थिरबुद्धिरसम्मूढो ब्रह्मविद्ब्रह्मणि स्थितः

na prahṛiṣhyet priyaṁ prāpya nodvijet prāpya chāpriyam sthira-buddhir asammūḍho brahma-vid brahmaṇi sthitaḥ

Word Meanings

na — neither; prahṛiṣhyet — rejoice; priyam — the pleasant; prāpya — obtaining; na — nor; udvijet — become disturbed; prāpya — attaining; cha — also; apriyam — the unpleasant; sthira-buddhiḥ — steady intellect; asammūḍhaḥ — firmly situated; brahma-vit — having a firm understanding of divine knowledge; brahmaṇi — established in God; sthitaḥ — situated

Language:

Translation

One who neither rejoices upon gaining what is pleasant nor is disturbed upon encountering what is unpleasant, who is of steady intellect, free from delusion, and established in the knowledge of Brahman—such a one abides in the Absolute.

Commentary

न not? प्रहृष्येत् should rejoice? प्रियम् the pleasant? प्राप्य having obtained? न not? उद्विजेत् should be troubled? प्राप्य having obtained? च and? अप्रियम् the unpleasant? स्थिरबुद्धिः one with steady intellect? असम्मूढः undeluded? ब्रह्मवित् knower of Brahman? ब्रह्मणि in Brahman? स्थितः established.Commentary This is the state of a Jivanmukta or a liberated sage or a Brahmana who identifies himself with the Self or Atman. He always has a balanced mind. He is never deluded. He has abandoned all actions as he rests in Brahman. He who has an unbalanced mind? who identifies himself with the body and mind feels pleasure and pain? exhilaration of spirits when he gets a pleasant object and grief when he obtains an unpleasant object. (Cf.VI.21?27?28XIII.12XIV.20)