Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6, Verse 27 (BG 6.27) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

From the discussion of the preceding verses, it becomes clear that by gradually steadying the mind in the nature of the Self, the mind itself dissolves along with the flow of mental modifications. When the mind becomes free from all objects of sense, the human being experiences the pure nature of the Self, and naturally attains supreme bliss. A wise seeker has every right to challenge the above statement. For in scriptural matters, scholars do not have the authority to propound their own views and expect students to accept them as they are. In the second part, the reason is given for why and how the direct experience of the Self arises when the mind becomes tranquil. The reason is that in the effort to steady the mind in the peaceful, blissful nature of the Self, the vasanas accumulated from the past become weakened, and a mind free from vasanas is called sinless (akalmasha). In Vedanta, the impurity of the mind is called mala. Ignorance of the nature of the Self (the veil) and the agitation of the mind arising from it together constitute mala. The veil is the work of tamas, while the agitation arising from it is the work of rajas. This is the cause of humanity's fall into a sorrowful world. In these words of the Lord, there is clear indication of this: (a) peaceful and free from rajas, and (b) sinless. A person freed from the influence of tamas and rajas must be considered a knower of the Self. As long as there is agitation, the mind exists, and through identification with it, the sense of individual existence arises. That is, the seeker who engages in meditation practice, following the method of meditation, upon the cessation of identification with the mind, recognizes the Self in its pure nature. Through the word "Brahman-realized," the truth of non-duality is clearly proclaimed here, according to which the yogi realizes himself to be Brahman itself. Now the Lord explains how the entire life of the wise person after Self-realization becomes filled with that experience.