Bhagavad Gita 5.21
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 21 of 29
बाह्यस्पर्शेष्वसक्तात्मा विन्दत्यात्मनि यत् सुखम्। स ब्रह्मयोगयुक्तात्मा सुखमक्षयमश्नुते॥५-२१॥
bāhya-sparśeṣv asaktātmā vindaty ātmani yat sukham | sa brahma-yoga-yuktātmā sukham akṣayam aśnute || 5.21 ||
Unattached to outer touches, finding joy within — joined to Brahman-yoga, the soul enjoys inexhaustible bliss.
Word by word (7)
- bāhya-sparśeṣu
- — in outer touches / in external sense contacts
- asakta-ātmā
- — whose self is unattached / one who does not cling to sense contacts
- vindati
- — finds / discovers / experiences
- ātmani yat sukham
- — whatever joy exists in the Self / joy found within
- sa
- — that one
- brahma-yoga-yukta-ātmā
- — whose self is joined to Brahman through yoga / united with Brahman
- sukham akṣayam aśnute
- — enjoys inexhaustible bliss / experiences imperishable happiness
The person whose self is unattached to outer sense contacts (bāhya-sparśa) discovers the joy that exists within the Self itself. Such a person — whose self is united with Brahman through yoga — enjoys sukham akṣayam: a happiness that is inexhaustible, that does not run out regardless of what outer circumstances bring.
A modern analogy
A person whose happiness comes from deep inner sources — meaningful work, connection, stillness — can enjoy a good meal without being destroyed if the meal is bad. Their baseline joy is not located in the meal. Contrast with someone whose entire sense of wellbeing depends on the quality of each external experience — every disappointment is a crisis. This verse is about moving the source of joy from outside to inside.
What it does NOT mean
This is not an instruction to avoid sensory experience or to be cold and unfeeling. Asakta (unattached) does not mean avoiding touch — it means not deriving one's fundamental sense of happiness from those contacts. The outer contacts happen; the self is simply not dependent on them.
Take with you
- Bāhya-sparśa (outer touches) — every sense contact is temporary by nature. Building your wellbeing on temporary contacts produces temporary wellbeing. Finding it within produces akṣaya (inexhaustible) wellbeing.
- Vindati ātmani — 'finds in the Self' — joy in the Self is not manufactured by positive thinking. It is what remains when the grasping after external contacts releases. The Self's own nature is ānanda.
- Brahma-yoga-yukta-ātmā: this is the mechanism — being united to Brahman through yoga. The yoga connection is what makes inner joy available; without it, the instruction 'find joy within' is just an idea.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
"Whose self is unattached to outer touches, who finds within the Self whatever joy exists — whose self is united to Brahman through yoga — such a one enjoys inexhaustible bliss." [1]
"The self-controlled man, who moves among sense objects with the senses weaned from likes and dislikes and free from attraction and repulsion, he attains peace." [4]
"He whose self is unattached to external contacts, who finds joy in the SELF — his self harmonised with the ETERNAL by devotion — enjoys imperishable bliss." [5]
"He who finds his happiness within, his joy within, his light within — that devotee, being one with Brahman, obtains the Brahmic bliss." [6]
"Who, with soul unattached to outward touches, finds joy within the Self — whose heart is fixed on Brahman — such a one enjoys bliss that knows no end." [7]
"One who does not rejoice on obtaining good, and does not lament on obtaining evil, who is not attached to the contacts of the senses externally, who finds happiness within himself, who is joined to Brahman in devotion, obtains inexhaustible happiness." [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Sense-born pleasures are wombs of sorrow — they have a beginning and end; the wise takes no delight in them.
Boundless joy beyond the senses, grasped by the purified intellect — once known, one never moves from the Reality.
No discipline → no wisdom → no contemplation → no peace → no happiness. The chain is unbroken.
Sāttvic sukha: poison-like at first, nectar-like at the end — born of the clarity of Self-knowing intellect.
Once that joy is found, no other gain seems greater — established in it, even the heaviest sorrow cannot shake you.
Sattva binds to happiness; rajas to action; tamas veils wisdom and chains to heedlessness.
Verse 21 of 29 · back to Chapter 5