BG 2.48

yoga–sthah kuru karmani

sangam tyaktva dhananjaya

siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva

samatvam yoga ucyate

SYNONYMS

yoga–sthah — equipoised; kuru — perform; karmani — your duties; sangam — attachment; tyaktva — giving up; dhananjaya — O Arjuna; siddhi–asiddhyoh — in success and failure; samah — equipoised; bhutva — becoming; samatvam — equanimity; yogah — yoga; ucyate — is called.

TRANSLATION

Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga.

So Krishna is saying ‘yoga-sthah,’ become situated in yoga. In 2.39, Krishna said, ‘I will describe this knowledge in terms of Yoga by which you will be able to stay free from Karmic bondage.’ So here, Krishna is describing that one should be situated in yoga and ‘kuru karmani,’ do your karma. ‘Sangam tyaktva dhananjaya,’ how does one do one’s work? Karma without attachment to fruits, ‘sangam tyaktva,’ and ‘siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva.’ So what does it mean to be detached from worldly fruits? That means whatever one gets, whether one gets success or failure, ‘samo bhutva,’ be equipoised, and such equanimity is called Yoga, ‘samatvam yoga ucyate.’ This is fascinating.

Krishna is giving a Sutra-like definition of Yoga, and He will give one more definition of Yoga in a verse in this section of the Gita itself.

So let us look at this definition of Yoga as ‘samatvam,’ equanimity, being equal. We may say we know what yoga means; yoga means to connect to Krishna spiritually. The physical exercise of Yoga is one limb of one kind of Yoga. There is ‘astanga yoga’ which has eight limbs, out of which it is just one limb. And there are many different kinds of Yogas like karma yoga, dhyana yoga, astang yoga.

So generally, we know Yoga means connection, the connection of ‘atma’ to Krishna. Then why is Krishna telling here ‘samatvam yoga ucyate’? Such equanimity is called Yoga; such equanimity is the platform for the practice of Yoga. When can I connect with Krishna? If my consciousness is locked to material things, ‘I want this, I want this, I want this…’ If my consciousness is locked to material things, then I cannot think of other things. How will I think of other things? So when I am equipoised about material things, then I can look beyond matter and think of spiritual reality. So ‘samatvam yoga ucyate’ means that the equanimity about material things creates the foundation by which we can practice spiritual life. So this is how we understand the whole phase. The point is, be calm, be focused, be clear. Be equipoised. There is nothing in this world to get too excited about; there is nothing in this world to get too agitated about because it is all temporary.

We have two kinds of distractions in this world: distraction by pleasure and distraction by pain. So when we get either of these distractions, pleasure or pain, we get excited or we get agitated. But we understand that actually, neither matters. Why? Because both are temporary. Therefore, when we don’t get too excited by these things, then we get focused on the long-term goal. Suppose a person is driving and constantly looking this side and the other side, then he cannot be focused, and he cannot go very fast, and he can also meet an accident. Yoga means connection with the ultimate truth, Krishna. But how will that connection happen? That connection will happen when I am not looking here and there at material things. So this looking here and there happens with my excessive agitation with material things. So if I work calmly, then I stay focused on spiritual reality. ‘Samatvam yoga ucyate.’ This is the art of Yoga, actually being focused.