Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 15

        

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 15

 

यं हि न व्यथयन्त्येते पुरुषं पुरुषर्षभ |

समदु:खसुखं धीरं सोऽमृतत्वाय कल्पते || 15||

yam hi na vyathayantyete purusham purusharshabha

sama-duhkha-sukham dhiram so ’mritatvaya kalpate

Translation in English

yam—whom

hi—verily 

na—not

vyathayanti—distressed 

ete—these 

puruṣham—person 

puruṣha-ṛiṣhabha—the noblest amongst men, Arjun

sama—equipoised 

duḥkha—distress 

sukham—happiness 

dhīram—steady

saḥ—that person

amṛitatvāya—for liberation 

kalpate—becomes eligible

O Arjun, noblest amongst men, that person who is not affected by happiness and distress, and remains steady in both, becomes eligible for liberation.

Translation in Hindi

यम् - जो

हि - ही

न - नहीं

व्यथयन्त्येते (व्यथयन्ति + एते) - 

व्यथयन्ति - विचलित होना

एते - ये

पुरुषम् - पुरुषको

पुरुषर्षभ (पुरुष + ऋषभ) -

पुरुष-ऋषभ - पुरुष श्रेष्ठ(Arjun)

सम-दुःख-सुखम् - दुःख-सुखको समान समझनेवाले

धीरम् - धीर अर्थात् तत्वदर्शी

सोऽमृतत्वाय (सः + अमृतत्वाय) -

सः - वह 

अमृतत्वाय - पूर्ण परमात्मा के आनन्द के

कल्पते - योग्य होता है

क्योंकि हे पुरुषश्रेष्ठ! दुःख-सुख को समान समझने वाले जिस धीर पुरुष को ये इन्द्रिय और विषयों के संयोग व्याकुल नहीं करते, वह मोक्ष के योग्य होता है।

Commentary

In the previous verse, Shree Krishna explained that both the sensations of happiness and distress are fleeting. He now encourages Arjun to rise above these dualities through discrimination. In order to develop this discrimination, we first need to understand the answers to two important questions: 1) Why do we aspire for happiness? 2) Why doesn’t material happiness satisfy us?

The answer to the first question is very simple. God is an ocean of infinite bliss, and we souls are his tiny parts. This basically means that we are tiny fragments of an infinite ocean of bliss. Swami Vivekananda would address people by saying, “O ye children of immortal bliss.” Just as a child is drawn to his or her mother, each part is naturally drawn toward its whole. Similarly, being infinitesimal parts of the ocean of bliss, we souls too are drawn to this bliss. Hence, everything we do in the world is for the sake of happiness. We all may have different views regarding where happiness lies or what form it might take, but all living beings seek nothing apart from it. This answers the first question.

Now, let’s understand the answer to the second question. The soul, being a tiny part of God, is divine in nature like God himself. Hence the happiness that the soul seeks is also divine. Such happiness must possess the following three characteristics:

It must be infinite in extent.

It must be permanent.

It must be ever-fresh.

Such is the happiness of God, which is described as sat-chit-ānand, or eternal-sentient-ocean of bliss. However, the happiness we experience from the contact of the senses with their objects is the reverse; it is temporary, finite, and insentient. Thus, the material happiness that we perceive through the body can never satisfy the divine soul.

With this discrimination, we must practice to tolerate the perception of material happiness. Similarly, we must tolerate the sensation of material distress. (This second aspect is discussed in detail in many future verses, such as 2.48, 5.20, etc.) Only then will we rise above these dualities and the material energy will no longer bind us.