आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् | तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी ||२-७०||
āpūryamāṇamacalapratiṣṭhaṃ samudramāpaḥ praviśanti yadvat .
tadvatkāmā yaṃ praviśanti sarve sa śāntimāpnoti na kāmakāmī ||2-70||
He attains peace into whom all desires enter as waters enter the ocean which, filled from all sides, remains unmoved; but not the man who is full of desires.
In simple words
Krishna paints a final picture for Arjuna: "Think of the ocean. Rivers pour into it from every direction, constantly, endlessly. But the ocean stays completely still and full. A truly peaceful person is like that — desires keep flowing in, but they remain absolutely unmoved."
आपूर्यमाणम्filled from all sidesअचलप्रतिष्ठम्based in stillnessसमुद्रम्oceanआपःwaterप्रविशन्तिenterयद्वत्asतद्वत्soकामाःdesiresयम्whomप्रविशन्तिenterसर्वेallसःheशान्तिम्peaceआप्नोतिattains
Want to explore this verse deeper?
नnot
कामकामीdesirer of desires
2.70 आपूर्यमाणम् filled from all sides? अचलप्रतिष्ठम् based in stillness? समुद्रम् ocean? आपः water? प्रविशन्ति enter? यद्वत् as? तद्वत् so? कामाः desires? यम् whom? प्रविशन्ति enter? सर्वे all? सः he? शान्तिम् peace? आप्नोति attains? न not? कामकामी desirer of desires.Commentary Just as the ocean filled with waters from all sides remains unmoved? so also the sage who is resting in his own Svarupa or the Self is not a bit affected though desires of all sorts enter from all sides. The sage attains peace or liberation but not he who longs for objects of sensual enjoyment and entertains various desires. (Cf.XVIII.53?54).
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.
# BG 2.70
It is a well-established truth that although countless gallons of water continuously flow into the ocean from numerous rivers coming from all directions, the ocean's boundaries remain undisturbed. Similarly, innumerable sense impressions from the external world reach the mind of the wise person through the organs of perception, yet they cannot create any disturbance or agitation within their inner being.
The person who, while dwelling among objects of sense experience and engaging in all activities through the senses, remains unmoved from their true nature—that person alone is truly wise and a saint. The Lord clearly states that such a person attains genuine peace and bliss. Yet, as if not satisfied with merely saying this, He further declares that those who desire endless enjoyments never attain peace.
These teachings stand in complete opposition to modern materialistic ideology. Materialists believe that greater desires lead to material progress, and that human happiness can be achieved through the fulfillment of ever-increasing desires. Materialist societies, built upon principles of industrialization and mass production, continuously strive to increase desires within human beings. The result is that the desires of an ordinary person today are millions of times greater than those of their ancestors a century ago. Great merchants and industrialists, aided by modern scientific achievements, constantly create new desires and attempt to fulfill them. The degree to which human desires are satisfied is proclaimed as proof that people are now far happier than before.
In contrast, India's ancient great thinkers, through direct experience, subtle observation, and study, discovered that happiness obtained from the fulfillment of desires can never be complete. The measure of happiness can be expressed mathematically as: Happiness = (Number of desires fulfilled) / (Number of desires in the mind).
Even modern secular materialists acknowledge this truth, yet their practical approach differs greatly from that of the ancient sages. Today, everywhere, the attempt is made to achieve happiness by fulfilling as many desires as possible. The ancient sages also lived within human society, and through knowledge of truth, their aim was to make society more blissful. They recognized that without reducing the number of desires, merely fulfilling more and more desires brings neither genuine joy nor any significant increase in happiness. Yet today we follow a path entirely contrary to the wisdom of the sages, and this is why society lacks true bliss.
The Upanishadic principle is what the Gita expounds, and Indian poets have praised it wholeheartedly. The person who desires many pleasures never attains peace. It is only through a flawed evaluation of the external world that objects gain the power to make us suffer; otherwise, they cannot harm us in any way. The wise person, established in the nature of bliss, remains unshaken by all these objects of sense experience.
In beginning to describe the characteristics of the person of steady wisdom, the Lord spoke of their self-contentment and desirelessness. This very quality is now explained in greater detail in this verse.