Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6, Verse 23 (BG 6.23) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

6.23 तम् that? विद्यात् let (him) know? दुःखसंयोगवियोगम् a state of severnace from union with pain? योगसंज्ञितम् called by the name of Yoga? सः that? निश्चयेन with determination? योक्तव्यः should be practised? योगः Yoga? अनिर्विण्णचेतसा with undesponding mind.Commentary In verses 20? 21 and 22 the Lord describes the benefits of Yoga? viz.? perfect satisfaction by resting in the Self? infinite unending bliss? freedom from sorrow and pain? etc. He further adds that this Yoga should be practised with a firm conviction and iron determination and with nondepression of heart. A spiritual aspirant with a wavering mind will not able to attain success in Yoga. He will leave the practice when he meets with some obstacles on the path. The practitioner must also be bold? cheerful and selfreliant.

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

In these four verses, the Blessed Lord describes the complete state of yoga and calls upon all to practice this yoga with unwavering resolve. To inspire everyone to walk this path, the Lord also describes the supreme goal attained by the yogi. When the mind becomes completely tranquil as a result of practicing the disciplines taught earlier, the atman is directly experienced in that peaceful mind—not as an object separate from oneself, but as one's own true nature. This state of the mind's experience of its own pure consciousness is the nature of supreme bliss. Yet this direct realization is possible only when the individual completely abandons identification with the limiting adjuncts of body, mind, and intellect. The description of this joy as transcendent makes clear that it is not like the pleasure derived from sensory enjoyment. Ordinarily, all our experiences occur through the senses. Therefore, when the teachers describe self-realization as a state of bliss, we tend to understand it as some external goal separate from ourselves. But when it is called transcendent, doubts arise in the minds of seekers about its existence and reality—whether this might be a false assurance. To dispel this doubt, the Lord clarifies in this verse that this bliss of the atman can be grasped only through the pure intellect. A doubt may arise here: after making superhuman efforts, when one experiences this infinite bliss, might it not be fleeting, requiring the same labor again to regain it? The Lord's clear statement is that the yogi who becomes established in it never departs from the truth. This is eternal bliss; having attained it, the seeker does not return to the world of suffering. Will the yogi never experience the sorrows that ordinary people feel? Will there not arise in him the desire to accumulate possessions as worldly people do? Will he not expect reciprocal affection from those he loves? Such agitations can cause suffering only to the ignorant; not to the wise. Here, in the twenty-second verse, the Lord reveals that supreme reality, upon attaining which the yogi considers no other gain superior to it. Even after such extensive clarification, those who attempt to understand Vedanta merely at the intellectual level may harbor doubt: Can the experience of this bliss remain unshaken even amid life's tensions, sorrows, afflictions, and tragic circumstances? In other words, is dharma merely entertainment and luxury for the wealthy and capable, blind superstition-born consolation for the weak and helpless, and imaginary heaven for escapists? Can the completeness assured by dharma remain unshaken when facing life's difficult circumstances—such as separation from loved ones, loss, illness, poverty, and hunger? Providing an unambiguous answer to this doubt that arises in people's minds, the Lord clearly states that the yogi established in this yoga is not shaken even by mountain-like sorrows. In summary, the essence of the above discussion is this: Through the practice of yoga, when the mind becomes concentrated, the yogi experiences that supreme blissful nature of the atman, which is transcendent and can be grasped only through the pure intellect. In that experience, even the intellect becomes absorbed. In this state, there is no return to the world, nor is there any other gain superior to this. The person established in this is not shaken even by the gravest sorrows. In the Bhagavad Gita, this wondrous truth is revealed in relation to the atman itself, and it is the supreme goal of all discerning seekers. One should know this atman. The means to self-knowledge and the direct experience of the atman is called yoga in the Gita, and this chapter offers a most beautiful definition of yoga. In the introduction to the Gita, we have seen how the Gita reconsidered the principles expounded in the Upanishads in the context of the Mahabharata. The false notion prevalent regarding yoga—that it is some extraordinary discipline whose practice is extremely difficult for ordinary people—has been completely dispelled in the Gita. Yoga, which as a means of self-development was available only to a rare few, has been transformed in the Gita, as it were, into a public garden where anyone can freely enter and benefit according to their capacity. From this perspective, it is indeed fitting to call the Gita a revolutionary text for the spiritual awakening of Hindus. Beyond possessing divine authority as an avatar, Sri Krishna's emotions, purposes, and actions reflect the unprecedented enthusiasm of a revolutionary. When such a divine being works in the realm of spirituality and culture, the definition of yoga given by him will be equally supreme. The Lord says: Yoga is the state of separation from the union with suffering. This reinterpretation of yoga is woven in such paradoxical language that every reader's attention is suddenly drawn to it, and one is compelled to reflect upon it. The word yoga means union or connection. In the state of ignorance, the individual's connection is only with transient, limited objects; therefore, life brings only transient pleasures. The experience of these objects occurs through body, mind, and intellect. The end of one pleasure is the beginning of suffering. Therefore, a life identified with these limiting adjuncts will be fraught with sorrow. It is clear that in the yoga method, our effort will be to abandon identification with these adjuncts—that is, to withdraw our attention from them. As long as we continue to use them, we cannot achieve complete or partial separation from the world. Therefore, to experience the atman in its pure nature, free from body, mind, and intellect, is yoga—the separation from union with suffering. The mind's existence is sustained by attachment to objects. To detach it from one thing, it must be given support in something superior. Therefore, only by providing the support of dwelling in the bliss of the ultimate reality can one achieve separation from union with suffering. But for this, one must initially make effort to withdraw the mind from external objects and establish it in the atman. Upon reflection, it will be understood that Sri Krishna has not established any new ideal or thought here that was not already expounded in Hindu scriptures. The only difference is that until Sri Krishna's time, emphasis was placed more on the goal than on the means. As a result, fear took root in the minds of the faithful, and they kept away from yoga. Consequently, yoga remained a mysterious discipline available only to a rare few. By reinterpreting yoga, Sri Krishna has uprooted this fear from people's minds. The Lord says that this yoga should be practiced with enthusiasm and resolute determination. Resolve and enthusiasm are the necessary qualities for the success of yoga, for yoga is separation from the false and union with the truth. If the heat of fire seems unbearable, we need only move away from it and reach a cool place. Similarly, if a life of limitation is sorrowful, to gain freedom from it, one must become established in the blissful atman. This is yoga—separation from union with suffering. After describing certain subsidiary topics regarding yoga, the Lord again describes the method of practice, saying: