(Image Courtesy Mahanidhiswami)

When Material Desires & ‘I’ is Absent One Can Attain Peace

विहाय कामान्य: सर्वान्पुमांश्चरति नि:स्पृह: |
निर्ममो निरहङ्कार: स शान्तिमधिगच्छति || 2.71||

vihāya kāmān yaḥ sarvān pumānśh charati niḥspṛihaḥ
nirmamo nirahankāraḥ sa śhāntim adhigachchhati|| 2.71||

Shloka Translation
BG – Ch. 2- Ver. 71:

Perfect serenity is attained by the person who gives up all material desires and lives without a sense of greed, proprietorship, or egoism.

Explanation

You get dependent as long as you have a desire. To the object of desire, you become a slave. Then you relinquish control of your personality to that thing or being. Though the object is there, the desire be shouldn’t. You can have the entire world at your fingertips, yet you should never covet or hanker for anything.

All you have to do now is figure out who you are. You will remain unaffected by life’s highs and lows once you realize that you are Atman. When you know your true self (divine self), you live in the world in a completely different way: unattached, unaffected, and joyous.

In four points, Shri Krishna outlines the entire issue of the indicators of an intelligent person. Using the karma yoga technique, he initially encourages us to give up selfish desires. The second issue here is that Shri Krishna urges us to give up cravings for things we already have. And, to erase even the tiniest trace of selfishness, Krishna eventually asks us to give up our sense of “I-ness” and “mine-ness,” also known as “ahankara” and “mamataa,” which we saw in the first chapter. The purpose of giving up this is everlasting peace, which is repeated for emphasis.

Verse & what we can learn

Perfect serenity can only be achieved when a person gives up all material desires and lives without a sense of desires, greed, ownership, or egoism.

We have to follow a disciplined technique and a routine mentally and physically, practicing daily meditation, to abandon these four things (material desires, Ownership. Greed. Ego) and only after having applied this technique for some time will we begin to see the desires, cravings, ego and mine-ness slowly lose their grip.

There are various types of meditation like Buddhist meditation, heartfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation, meditation for stress, and each meditation benefits are countless. There are also numerous meditation techniques for beginners which help in practicing daily meditation so go ahead and start your journey towards a peaceful and balanced life.

In the next verse, Shri Krishna explains to Arjuna the state of the enlightened soul and how he can attain liberation.

Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…