Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6, Verse 8

Chapter 6 – Dhyana Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

ज्ञानविज्ञानतृप्तात्मा कूटस्थो विजितेन्द्रियः ।
युक्त इत्युच्यते योगी समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः ॥

Transliteration

jñānavijñānatṛptātmā kūṭastho vijitendriyaḥ .
yukta ityucyate yogī samaloṣṭāśmakāñcanaḥ ॥

Meaning

The yogi whose heart is fully satisfied with knowledge and realisation, who stands unshaken like an anvil, who has conquered the senses, and to whom a lump of earth, a stone and gold are the same, is said to be 'yukta', truly established in yoga.

Word meanings

ज्ञानविज्ञानतृप्तात्मा – one whose heart is content with knowledge (jnana) and realisation (vijnana)
कूटस्थः – unchanging like an anvil
विजितेन्द्रियः – one who has fully conquered the senses
युक्तः – established in yoga
इति – thus
उच्यते – is said
योगी – the yogi
समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः – to whom a clod, a stone and gold are equal

Anvaya (word order)

ज्ञानविज्ञानतृप्तात्मा कूटस्थः विजितेन्द्रियः समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः योगी युक्तः इति उच्यते ।

Explanation

This verse gives four marks of the yogi who is yukta, truly united. First, he is satisfied with jnana and vijnana. Jnana is the clear understanding of truth received from scripture and teacher; vijnana is that same truth descending into direct experience. Knowledge that is merely read does not still the hunger of the heart; when it becomes experience, the heart is filled and the craving for outer things falls away.

The second mark is kutastha. A kuta is a blacksmith's anvil, struck by hammer after hammer yet itself unchanged. So too life's blows fall on the yogi, but his inner being remains free of disturbance. The third mark is vijitendriya — the senses are his servants, not his masters.

The fourth mark is very practical: a lump of earth, a stone and a piece of gold are the same to him. This does not mean he cannot tell them apart; it means that gold does not stir greed in him, nor does a clod stir contempt. Shankara explains that because he is fulfilled in the knowledge of the Self, none of these remains something to be grasped or rejected.

Such a person is called yukta — one who has been joined to yoga. This verse describes evenness toward objects; the next will describe evenness toward people.

Context

Verse 6.7 described evenness amid the pairs of opposites. This verse speaks of inner contentment and evenness toward objects. The next verse (6.9) speaks of equal vision toward all people — friend and foe, saint and sinner.

Life lesson

Wealth and possessions are useful for life, but they should not become the measure of our peace. True contentment comes when understanding turns into experience. Whatever wisdom you read, try also to live it.

Key terms

Jnana: understanding of truth from scripture and teacher
Vijnana: direct realisation of that knowledge
Kutastha: unchanging like an anvil
Yukta: well established in yoga