Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 27 (BG 4.27) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

4.27 सर्वाणि all? इन्द्रियकर्माणि functions of the senses? प्राणकर्माणि functions of the breath (vital energy)? च and? अपरे other? आत्मसंयमयोगाग्नौ in the fire of the Yoga of selfrestraitn? जुह्वति sacrifice? ज्ञानदीपिते kindled by knowledge.Commentary Just as a lamp is kindled by oil? so also the fire of the Yoga of selfcontrol is kindled by knowledge. When the Yogi concentrates or fixes his mind on Brahman or the Self? the senses and the breath cease to function. The senses and the breath are absorbed into their cause.

Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

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.

Modern

Through the knowledge of divine truth, the mastery of the ego is called here the yoga of self-control. By the discrimination between the self and the not-self, one separates the infinite, blissful nature of the atman from the limited, worldly ego bound by the senses. Through steady abiding in that atman alone lies the practice of mastering the ego through the self. This is what is meant by self-control. By this discipline, the unregulated activities of both the organs of action and the organs of perception can be brought under control. Thus, after describing five sacrifices, the Blessed Lord presents five additional disciplines in the next verse, as if to convey to Arjun that hundreds of such practices could be enumerated in this manner.