Gita 05.21 – Give up outer pleasure and seek inexhaustible inner happiness
bāhya-sparśeṣv asaktātmā
vindaty ātmani yat sukham
sa brahma-yoga-yuktātmā
sukham akṣayam aśnute (Bg 5.21)
Word-for-word:
bāhya-sparśeṣu — in external sense pleasure; asakta-ātmā — one who is not attached; vindati — enjoys; ātmani — in the self; yat — that which; sukham — happiness; saḥ — he; brahma-yoga — by concentration in Brahman; yukta-ātmā — self-connected; sukham — happiness; akṣayam — unlimited; aśnute — enjoys.
Translation:
Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense pleasure but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates on the Supreme.
Explanation:
Here, Lord Kṛṣṇa describes how a spiritually advanced soul experiences great happiness and how such a person lives—one who has acquired knowledge and is situated on the spiritual platform. He says:
bāhya-sparśeṣv asaktātmā: one who is detached from external sense pleasures,
vindaty ātmani yat sukham: such a person delights in inner happiness,
sa brahma-yoga-yuktātmā: is connected with brahma through the practice of yoga
sukham akṣayam aśnute: and enjoys imperishable happiness.
The expression “sukham akṣayam” is significant, because in this world all sukha is kṣaya—temporary and diminishing. For example, if someone brings a delicious cake or a pot of kheer, with every morsel we eat, the pleasure gradually declines and eventually comes to an end.
Similarly, in any form of enjoyment, even when one indulges in sense gratification, the body’s capacity to enjoy is limited. With every little pleasure experienced, sukha diminishes.
When people finally stop indulging in sense gratification, it is not due to true satisfaction but because the body’s capacity to enjoy has been exhausted. Happiness also ceases either because the body can no longer experience it, or because the external object of enjoyment is depleted—or both.
Suppose there is an unlimited quantity of sweet rice, enough for us to eat as much as we like. Still, we can never eat without limit, because the body itself will not allow it. Eventually, we stop eating not because the sweet rice is finished, but because our capacity is exhausted. This is kṣaya-sukha.
The happiness we experience in this world at the bodily level is always kṣaya-sukha—that is the nature of material happiness. In contrast, the happiness mentioned here is akṣaya-sukha, spiritual happiness that never diminishes.
Now, “sukham akṣayam aśnute” is a wonderful conception—the happiness that never gets exhausted. This is spiritual happiness. In fact, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu speaks of the exact opposite of material experience. He says that spiritual happiness not only does not diminish, but it actually expands. Ānandāmbudhi-vardhanam—bliss is like an ocean, and even that ocean continues to expand. Its vastness only grows greater.
Kṛṣṇa uses the term “akṣaya-sukha” because it connects with a word that will appear in the next verse (5.22) where He speaks about happiness that is limited, which we will discuss in the next session. But how do we experience this akṣaya-sukha?
For now, we can analyze this verse in three steps—its A, B, and C lines. First, Kṛṣṇa says: bāhya-sparśeṣv asaktātmā—one should become indifferent to external pleasures and no longer remain attached to them.
We need to focus. Just as we cannot move both upwards and downwards, or forwards and backwards, at the same time, similarly, our consciousness cannot move both outward and inward. If we want inner happiness, we must give up our attachment to the things that drag our consciousness outward.
What pulls the consciousness outward most forcefully is the hope for pleasure. When a person firmly decides, “I will no longer seek pleasure outside,” that person becomes detached from external pleasures—bāhya-sparśeṣv asaktātmā.
However, we cannot live without pleasure. If someone simply says, “Do not bother about pleasure,” it will not work. So, where should one seek pleasure? The answer is given in the second line: inwardly (vindati)—one begins to delight in inner happiness (ātmani yat sukham).
One may say, “I don’t know what is meant by delighting in inner happiness. How does one actually look for it?” There is a process for this, and that process is yoga.
In bhakti-yoga, the inner becomes outer. Kṛṣṇa, who resides in the heart as the Supersoul, manifests externally as the Deity, the scriptures, and the holy name. In this way, it becomes much easier for us to move towards Kṛṣṇa. Still, the point remains that we must withdraw our consciousness inward as well. A devotee becomes introspective and delights in inner happiness.
For this purpose, one has to become yoga-yuktātmā (sa brahma-yoga-yuktātmā)—one who is firmly united through yoga. The specific type of yoga to be practiced may vary from person to person. In the Bhagavad-gītā, as well as in the broader yoga tradition, the practice of sitting in one place and engaging in meditation is described as the aṣṭāṅga-yoga path. Kṛṣṇa will introduce this in verses 5.27 and 5.28, and then elaborate further in the sixth chapter.
Even within karma-yoga, one’s consciousness gradually becomes more internalized, and in bhakti-yoga also one becomes increasingly introspective. When Kṛṣṇa manifests externally—as the Deity, scriptures, or holy name—the devotee directs thought toward Him outwardly as well. At the same time, the inward turning of consciousness remains essential.
The phrase “sa brahma-yoga-yuktātmā” means one who practices yoga to connect with brahma, the spiritual reality within oneself, and by doing so attains sukham akṣayam aśnute—imperishable happiness.
There is a process to experience imperishable happiness—the happiness that never becomes exhausted:
1. Give up attachment to external pleasures, the things that pull the consciousness outward (bāhya-sparśeṣv asaktātmā).
2. Begin seeking happiness within (vindaty ātmani yat sukham).
3. Concentrate inward through the practice of yoga to access this inner happiness (sa brahma-yoga-yuktātmā).
One of the key principles of yoga—whichever path of yoga it may be—is concentration. Spiritual happiness cannot be experienced merely through an initial perception. At times, simply looking at the Deities may be so captivating that the first impression itself brings joy. Yet, when we go beyond that first perception and concentrate, a much deeper experience of connection with Kṛṣṇa unfolds, and that deeper connection is far more enriching.
Similarly, when we begin studying śāstra, it may initially seem repetitive, as though the same ideas are appearing again and again. But as we delve deeper, we begin to see the interconnections, how one truth links with another, and the experience becomes wonderfully illuminating. The purpose of practicing yoga is precisely this—to focus and concentrate our consciousness on the spiritual reality. When we do so, we attain sukham akṣayam aśnute—imperishable happiness.
By turning away from external pleasures, seeking happiness within, and concentrating inward through the practice of yoga, one can relish unlimited happiness.
Thank you.
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