Gita 05.24 – The inner is the way to the spiritual

Audio Link: https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/gita-05-24-the-inner-is-the-way-to-the-spiritual/

yo ’ntaḥ-sukho ’ntar-ārāmas
tathāntar-jyotir eva yaḥ
sa yogī brahma-nirvāṇaṁ
brahma-bhūto ’dhigacchati (Bg 5.24)

Word-for-word:
yaḥ — one who; antaḥ-sukhaḥ — happy from within; antaḥ-ārāmaḥ — actively enjoying within; tathā — as well as; antaḥ-jyotiḥ — aiming within; eva — certainly; yaḥ — anyone; saḥ — he; yogī — a mystic; brahma-nirvāṇam — liberation in the Supreme; brahma-bhūtaḥ — being self-realized; adhigacchati — attains.

Translation:
One whose happiness is within, who is active and rejoices within, and whose aim is inward is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme.

Explanation:
Kṛṣṇa speaks here about spiritually advanced souls.
yo ’ntaḥ-sukho ’ntar-ārāmaḥ: One who is happy within and delights within,
tathā ’ntar-jyotir eva yaḥ: one who is solely illuminated within.
This means such a person seeks the light within. Normally, we are accustomed to moving toward external sources of light, but this yogī turns inward and follows the inner path.
sa yogī brahma-nirvāṇam: that yogī attains brahma-nirvāṇa,
brahma-bhūto ’dhigacchati: being fully situated on the spiritual platform.

Kṛṣṇa says that one who seeks true happiness attains perfection, which is brahma-nirvāṇa. The term ‘nirvāṇa’ is often associated with Buddhism, where it is generally understood as the extinction of existence—like a candle being extinguished.

In Buddhist philosophy, consciousness is compared to a candle, with desire being the fuel that keeps it burning. When one gives up desire and becomes free from it, the candle no longer burns—it becomes extinguished. That extinguished state is considered enlightenment.

Kṛṣṇa uses the term ‘nirvāṇa.’ We should understand that certain terms may be popularized by particular traditions, but that does not mean those traditions hold a monopoly over them. Other scriptures may also employ such terms, without implying that they are borrowed. Thus, the Bhagavad-gītā is not necessarily borrowing from Buddhism. Rather, these terms likely existed prior to Buddhism, which later made them more prominent.

However, the Bhagavad-gītā draws upon terminology that existed earlier. It does not simply use the word ‘nirvāṇa’; rather, it specifically uses the word ‘brahma-nirvāṇa,’ giving the term a distinctly spiritual and theistic dimension.

In Buddhism, the ultimate truth is śūnya, meaning void or zero. By renouncing desire, one’s existence is extinguished, and that state of void is considered relief from all misery.

The Bhagavad-gītā is not speaking of śūnyatā at all, because it associates the word nirvāṇa with brahma-nirvāṇa. Brahma-nirvāṇa means the extinction of material existence along with the attainment of spiritual existence—brahma-bhūto ’dhigacchati.

The word ‘brahma-nirvāṇa’ appears several times in the Bhagavad-gītā. Its first occurrence is in 2.72:
eṣā brāhmī sthitiḥ pārtha naināṁ prāpya vimuhyati
sthitvāsyām anta-kāle ’pi brahma-nirvāṇam ṛcchati
Here, it essentially means spiritual liberation. Nirvāṇa may be taken as the extinction of material existence, but along with that comes the attainment of spiritual existence—thus brahma-nirvāṇa. Kṛṣṇa uses the same word again to indicate that one who lives in this consciousness throughout life will, at the end, attain brahma-nirvāṇa.

After 2.72, the word brahma-nirvāṇa appears again here in verse 5.24, and then in 5.25, where Kṛṣṇa says:
labhante brahma-nirvāṇam ṛṣayaḥ kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ
chinna-dvaidhā yatātmānaḥ sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ
Here, He describes the qualifications required to attain brahma-nirvāṇa.

Again, in 6.15, Kṛṣṇa uses a related expression:
yuñjann evaṁ sadātmānaṁ yogī niyata-mānasaḥ
śāntiṁ nirvāṇa-paramāṁ mat-saṁsthām adhigacchati
Here the word ‘nirvāṇa’ is used, but qualified by paramām—not brahma. Kṛṣṇa explains that one who practices steadily with a controlled mind attains peace and the supreme nirvāṇa. This is not the nirvāṇa of the impersonalists; the word paramām indicates attainment of a higher, positive spiritual existence. Moreover, He says that such a yogī attains mat-saṁsthām—His own nature, His shelter.

The exact nature of this liberation—whether personal or impersonal—is not explicitly defined here. Rather, it depends on the conception of the seekers and the direction of their devotion.

Here, as we know, Kṛṣṇa has been describing how karma-yogīs progress toward the platform of jñāna. If such karma-yogīs develop a personal conception and become bhaktas, then brahma-nirvāṇa ultimately refers to the attainment of personal existence—personalist liberation. On the other hand, if they cultivate an impersonal orientation that is not offensive to Kṛṣṇa, then their destination will be impersonal liberation.

Essentially, Kṛṣṇa is saying in this verse that if we seek happiness within, then the inner path leads us toward the spiritual. Even in bhakti, the journey is internal, but unlike other paths, bhakti allows us to engage externally in order to go inward. Through His external manifestations—such as the Deities and various other forms—Kṛṣṇa attracts us, enabling us to connect with Him and ultimately attain Him.

Here, Kṛṣṇa states that those who seek happiness within ultimately attain the brahma-bhūta platform. He uses this term several times, most prominently in 18.54: brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām. One who is brahma-bhūta becomes joyful, free from hankering and lamentation, and equal toward all beings. Such a person then attains the Supreme—pure, spiritual devotion.

There, Kṛṣṇa describes the brahma-bhūta platform as the prelude to supreme devotion, whereas the impersonalists consider Brahman realization to be the ultimate goal. They claim that the brahma-bhūta stage marks the graduation of devotion, while Kṛṣṇa explains it is actually the preparation for devotion.

The impersonalist idea is that less intelligent people practice bhakti because they cannot yet grasp impersonal oneness; by practicing devotion, they eventually rise to higher modes and realize oneness with their worshipable object. Thus, for them, bhakti is only the prelude and Brahman the graduation.

But in truth, bhakti can be practiced at any stage—even in the modes of ignorance or passion—and its culmination, para-bhakti (pure devotion), is the real graduation of the path of detachment. It is this para-bhakti that leads to the deepest understanding of the Gītā, and in this way Kṛṣṇa, in this verse, points to the attainment of spiritual perfection.

Thank you.