Transcendental Knowledge
Verse 2.71
विहाय कामान्यः सर्वान्पुमांश्चरति निःस्पृहः। निर्ममो निरहंकारः स शांतिमधिगच्छति।।2.71।।
vihāya kāmān yaḥ sarvān pumānśh charati niḥspṛihaḥ nirmamo nirahankāraḥ sa śhāntim adhigachchhati
Word Meanings
vihāya—giving up; kāmān—material desires; yaḥ—who; sarvān—all; pumān—a person; charati—lives; niḥspṛihaḥ—free from hankering; nirmamaḥ—without a sense of proprietorship; nirahankāraḥ—without egoism; saḥ—that person; śhāntim—perfect peace; adhigachchhati—attains
Translation · English
That person attains peace who, abandoning all desires, moves about without longing, without the sense of ownership, and without egoism.
Deep Meaning · English
In this pivotal verse, Lord Krishna delineates the psychological and spiritual anatomy of the Sthitaprajna—the person of steady wisdom. The 'giving up' of desires here is not a mere suppression of the senses but a radical internal revolution: a transcendence of the subject-object duality. When one ceases to project their sense of 'I' (ahamkara) and 'mine' (mamata) upon the transient objects of the material world, the turbulent waves of craving naturally subside. This is the state of a life lived in spontaneous accord with the Divine, where the practitioner acts without the internal friction caused by possessiveness or identity-based anxieties. Krishna is guiding Arjuna away from the battlefield of external agitation toward the battlefield of the mind, teaching that peace is not found by acquiring external conditions, but by emptying the vessel of the ego so that the Supreme can manifest within. By abandoning the 'proprietorship' of actions and outcomes, the seeker becomes a transparent medium for the infinite flow of existence. This cessation of self-centered grasping marks the threshold where true peace (shanti) moves from being an elusive goal to a constant, inherent state of being, regardless of outer circumstances.
True peace is the silent residue left behind when the dualistic illusions of ego and possessiveness are surrendered into the realization of the Self.
Connected Verses
It complements the teaching by describing the devotee who is free from possessiveness and ego, identifying these qualities as essential for one dear to the Lord.
It utilizes the metaphor of a lamp in a windless place to describe the unswerving stability of the Yogi who has mastered their mind.
This verse serves as the foundation for 2.71, defining the prerequisite of casting off all desires of the mind to find satisfaction in the Self.
It connects the concept of equanimity to the act of performing one's duty while abandoning attachment to the fruits, reflecting the same spirit of surrender.
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