Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Verse 52 (BG 18.52)

জীবন্ত গীতা

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कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते

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कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते

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প্রথম পাতা

প্রথম পাতা জ্ঞান পাঠ্যক্রম সম্প্রদায়টুকে রাখা সেটিংস

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Verse 52 — Meaning & Commentary | Live Gita

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विविक्तसेवी लघ्वाशी यतवाक्कायमानसः |
ध्यानयोगपरो नित्यं वैराग्यं समुपाश्रितः ||१८-५२||

viviktasevī laghvāśī yatavākkāyamānasaḥ . dhyānayogaparo nityaṃ vairāgyaṃ samupāśritaḥ ||18-52||

Dwelling in solitude, eating but little, with speech, body and mind subdued, always engaged in meditation and concentration, resorting to dispassion.

In simple words

Krishna continues: "Living simply, eating lightly, with speech, body, and mind under control, always practicing meditation and concentration, rooted in non-attachment —"

Word-by-word meanings

विविक्तसेवीdwelling in solitudeलघ्वाशीeating but littleयतवाक्कायमानसःspeech body and mind subduedध्यानयोगपरःengaged in meditation and concentrationनित्यम्alwaysवैराग्यम्dispassionसमुपाश्रितःresorting to

Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

Swami Sivananda

18.52 विविक्तसेवी dwelling in solitude? लघ्वाशी eating but little? यतवाक्कायमानसः speech? body and mind subdued? ध्यानयोगपरः engaged in meditation and concentration? नित्यम् always? वैराग्यम् dispassion? समुपाश्रितः resorting to.Commentary Solitude has its own charms. The spiritual vibrations in solitude are wonderfully elevating. Meditation will come by itself without exertion. All saints and sages who have attained Selfrealisation have remained in solitude for a number of years. You will have good meditation if you sit on the bank of a river? in a cave or on the seashore or in a jungle. During the Christmas and Easter holidays you can all enjoy the peace of solitude. It is very necessary to live in solitude at least for a month or a fortnight in a year for the householders. Instead of wasting time? energy and money in Calcutta or any other city? during the holidays? live in holy places like Rishikesh? Uttarakasi or Naimisaranya drink the nectar of peace in such places by doing Anushthana (intense and systematic spiritual practice) or Japa of a Mantra and attain immortality. If you once taste the bliss of solitude you will never forget it. Every year you will attempt to taste it again. He who takes too much food (a glutton) is ite unfit for meditation or the spiritual path. Too much food will produce laziness? a halfsleepy state and deep sleep also. Eat to live. Eat in moderation. You will have a light body and light? cheerful and serene mind. This will help you in your practice of meditation. Observe Mauna or the vow of silelnce for a week or a month. Observe the vow for two hours daily. Control the body. Practise Ahimsa and Brahmacharya. Meditate on the Self or on the Lord Hari with four hands? or on Lord Krishna? Rama or Siva. Be regular in your meditation and gradually increase the period of meditation from 15 minutes to 3 or 6 hours at a sitting. If you are a wholetimed aspirant? spend the whole time in meditation. If you are not able to do this? do Likhita Japa (writing the Mantra) and Kirtan (singing the Names and glories of the Lord). Study religious books in the interval. Only advanced aspirants can meditate for a long time. Watch the mind and cultivate dispassion. Energy will leak out through the senses if you are careless and nonvigilant. If energy leaks out? you cannot have good meditation. Dispassion is indifference to sensual enjoyments herein and hereafter? absence of desire for visible and invisible objects. You must have steady? lasting and sustained dispassion. It should not wane. It should be a constant attitude of the mind. You must be fully established in dispassion.In doing the Anushthana for 40 days live on milk and fruits or light diet. Take only 3 or 4 articles of food. Take one meal only. Sleep on the floor. Observe celibacy and the vow of silence. Do not come out of the room. Speak little if you do not observe perfect silence. Do the Anushthana on the banks of the Ganga or any sacred river. Try to do one or several Purascharanas of your Ishta Mantra. If there are five letters (syllables in English) in the Mantra? 500?000 repetitions of the Mantra will constitute one Purascharana.

Swami Chinmayananda

This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

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Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

Swami Sivananda

Swami Chinmayananda

# BG 18.52 **Viviktasevi (Solitude-Seeker)** The practitioner endowed with the qualities described in the previous verse should withdraw into solitude. One whose nature inclines toward dwelling in solitude is called viviktasevi—a seeker of seclusion. There is no necessity to retreat into forests or wilderness for this purpose. The intent is to find a place where external distractions are minimal. One may even choose specific hours within one's own home when disturbances are absent. **Laghuashi (Moderate Eater)** This term means one who practices restraint in eating. Excessive consumption makes the body gross and the intellect dull. Moderation in food is a fundamental principle for all practitioners. **Yatavakkayamanasa (Controlled Speech, Body, and Mind)** Speech and body refer to the organs of action and perception. When these are brought under control, the regulation of mind becomes effortless. Renouncing ego in the act of perceiving objects, in the reactions that follow, and in restraining the mind—this is the true discipline. **Dhyanayogapara (Devoted to Meditation)** The mind is inherently active by nature; it cannot remain without an object. The only means to obstruct its outward tendency toward sense objects is to provide it with a supreme object for contemplation. To the degree the mind becomes absorbed in that object, to that same degree its extroverted tendency subsides. The effort to withdraw the mind from sense objects and establish it in the form of the Supreme Self is called dhyana yoga—the yoga of meditation. The practitioner should always remain engaged in this practice, for it is the supreme means of pacifying the mind. **Yukta Vairagyena (Endowed with Detachment)** Detachment is not opposition to attachment; aversion is the opposite of attachment. True detachment is freedom from both attachment and aversion. When one understands that sense objects do not contain happiness, the mind naturally withdraws from them. The detached person does not flee from objects; rather, the objects themselves lose their appeal to such a person. As human consciousness evolves, one's interests naturally transform. With these changes, former attractions lose their power. For example: as long as a person is inclined toward indulgence and luxury, their circle consists of similarly minded companions. But when they develop interest in political and social work, their home fills with activists and reformers. With further maturation of thought, that person becomes spiritually inclined. At that stage, politicians absorbed in power and social workers driven by jealousy and rivalry naturally depart. Their place is taken by philosophers and spiritual seekers. This example illustrates how, as the mind develops, lower-level pursuits naturally fall away. This is authentic detachment—and it brings no suffering.

This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Verse 52 (BG 18.52) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

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