Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5, Verse 28

Chapter 5 – Karma Sanyasa Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

यतेन्द्रियमनोबुद्धिर्मुनिर्मोक्षपरायणः ।
विगतेच्छाभयक्रोधो यः सदा मुक्त एव सः ॥

Transliteration

yatendriyamanobuddhirmunirmokṣaparāyaṇaḥ .
vigatecchābhayakrodho yaḥ sadā mukta eva saḥ ॥

Meaning

The sage who has controlled his senses, mind and intellect, who has liberation as his supreme goal and is free from desire, fear and anger, is ever liberated indeed.

Word meanings

यतेन्द्रियमनोबुद्धिः – with senses, mind and intellect controlled
मुनिः – the sage
मोक्षपरायणः – having liberation as the supreme goal
विगतेच्छाभयक्रोधः – free from desire, fear and anger
यः – who
सदा – always
मुक्तः – liberated
एव – indeed
सः – he

Anvaya (word order)

यतेन्द्रियमनोबुद्धिः मोक्षपरायणः मुनिः विगतेच्छाभयक्रोधः यः, सः सदा मुक्तः एव ।

Explanation

This verse completes the sentence begun in 5.27 and gives its fruit: the sage who has controlled senses, mind and intellect, who is intent on liberation and free from desire, fear and anger, "is ever liberated". The word "sada mukta eva sah", he is always free indeed, is striking. The freedom is not a distant reward after death but a quality of present life.

The three things the sage is free from are the three great disturbers: iccha, desire, which pulls the mind forward; bhaya, fear, which pulls it back; and krodha, anger, which makes it explode. Between them they account for most of our unrest. We want what we do not have, fear losing what we have, and are angry when someone stands in the way. A mind that has outgrown these is already liberated in the sense that nothing external can seize it.

Shankara explains that such a muni, with his senses, mind and intellect controlled, firmly set on liberation, and with desire, fear and anger gone, is liberated even while living and does not return to bondage. Ramanuja stresses that the one who has thus realised the Self is released from the cycle of rebirth, and "ever liberated" means he will not be bound again. Madhva says that such a person attains liberation by the Lord's grace and lives in freedom while in the body.

Freedom from fear deserves attention. Fear is the shadow of attachment: we fear the loss of whatever we cling to. The person who has relaxed his grip on his own possessions, status and body, and who has taken refuge in the Self, loses much of that fear. Similarly, freedom from anger comes when we no longer need circumstances to go our way. This is not weakness. Great calm often accompanies the greatest strength of action.

The practical measure of this verse is gentle. Choose a week and observe how often you were pulled by wanting, pushed by fear or burned by anger, and notice what each had in common: a sense of "mine" under threat. Each time the mind settles, you taste, in miniature, the freedom the verse describes. The Gita also pictures this person in 12.15, as one who neither agitates the world nor is agitated by it, and in 2.56, the sage unshaken by sorrow and free from attachment, fear and anger.

Context

The sentence begun at 5.27 is completed here. Verse 5.29, the last of the chapter, follows, in which the Lord speaks of the peace that comes from knowing Him as enjoyer of sacrifices and austerities and as friend of all beings.

Life lesson

Identify desire, fear and anger and lessen them gradually. A mind that grows lighter of these begins to taste liberation here and now.

Key terms

Moksha-parayana: one whose supreme aim is liberation
Vigata-ichchha-bhaya-krodha: free from desire, fear and anger
Sada mukta: ever liberated, free from bondage even while living