Bhagavad Gita 18.52
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 52 of 78
विविक्तसेवी लघ्वाशी यतवाक्कायमानसः । ध्यानयोगपरो नित्यं वैराग्यं समुपाश्रितः ॥
vivikta-sevī laghv-āśī yata-vāk-kāya-mānasaḥ | dhyāna-yoga-paro nityaṃ vairāgyaṃ samupāśritaḥ ||
Frequenting solitude, eating lightly, restraining speech-body-mind, always in dhyāna-yoga, fully in vairāgya —
Word by word (3)
- vivikta-sevī laghv-āśī yata-vāk-kāya-mānasaḥ
- — resorting to/frequenting (sevī = one who serves/frequents; seva = service/frequenting) solitary/secluded (vivikta = separated/secluded) spots, eating lightly/little (laghv-āśī = laghu + āśī = light-eater), with speech (vāk), body (kāya), and mind (mānas) restrained/regulated (yata = controlled, from yam = to control) — three outer qualities: solitude-seeking, light eating, triple-restraint
- dhyāna-yoga-paro nityaṃ vairāgyaṃ samupāśritaḥ
- — intent on/devoted to (paro = highest in, absorbed in) dhyāna-yoga (meditation as yoga), always/continuously (nityam), having fully taken refuge in (samupāśritaḥ = sam + upa + ā + śrit = fully-resorted-to) dispassion/vairāgya — two inner qualities: perpetual dhyāna-yoga engagement + complete vairāgya (dispassion)
- vairāgyaṃ samupāśritaḥ
- — having fully taken refuge in vairāgya; vairāgya = dispassion/non-coloring (vi + rāga = absence of rāga); the brahma-bhūta aspirant has vairāgya not as an imposed discipline but as a refuge — they find support in it, rest in it; samupāśritaḥ (fully-resorted-to) implies completeness: vairāgya is not a partial attitude but the natural home of this person's consciousness
Frequenting solitary spots, eating lightly, with speech, body, and mind restrained — always intent on meditation-yoga, fully taking refuge in dispassion —
A modern analogy
This verse continues the portrait of the brahma-bhūta (Brahman-become) candidate from the previous verse. These are the lifestyle qualities: simple living (vivikta-sevī — frequenting solitude, laghv-āśī — eating lightly), disciplined communication and body (yata-vāk-kāya-mānasaḥ — restraining speech, body, and mind), consistent meditation practice (dhyāna-yoga-paro nityam — always intent on meditative absorption), and the pervasive inner attitude of vairāgya (dispassion as one's natural refuge). Together with the preceding verse's qualities, this person is fit for the inner renunciations the next verse describes.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Resorting to a sequestered spot, eating but little, speech and body and mind subdued, always engaged in meditation and concentration, endued with dispassion; [1]
Resorting to a sequestered spot; eating but little; body, speech, and mind controlled; always devoted to Yoga through meditation; taking refuge in dispassion; [4]
MISSING from index. [9]
He who resides in a lonely place, eats little, and restrains speech, body, and mind, who is ever intent on meditation and abstraction, who has recourse to indifference... [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Instrument, offering, fire, act, destination — all Brahman. One absorbed in Brahman-action reaches Brahman alone.
Uttering OM — the single syllable of Brahman — departing while meditating on Me, one reaches the highest goal.
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.
Taking refuge in Me for liberation from old age and death — they know Brahman, Adhyātma, and all of Karma.
Brahman-become, serene, neither grieving nor desiring, equal to all beings — he attains supreme bhakti to Me.
By bhakti one truly knows what and who I am; then knowing Me truly, one enters into Me immediately.
Verse 52 of 78 · back to Chapter 18