Chapter 2, Verse 53
श्रुतिविप्रतिपन्ना ते यदा स्थास्यति निश्चला । समाधावचला बुद्धिस्तदा योगमवाप्स्यसि ॥
śruti-vipratipannā te yadā sthāsyati niścalā samādhāv acalā buddhis tadā yogam avāpsyasi
Meaning
When your intelligence, which is bewildered by the flowery language of the Vedas, remains steady and immovable in samadhi, then you will attain yoga.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
This verse describes the culmination of the journey sketched in the preceding verse. The 'śruti-vipratipannā' — intelligence confused and pulled in different directions by the diverse, apparently contradictory prescriptions of scriptural texts — must eventually settle into unmoving stillness. The Vedic literature, vast and multifaceted as it is, can actually become an obstacle if the seeker clings to its elaborately described rewards and rituals as the ultimate goal.
Samadhi here denotes not merely meditative absorption but the state of complete inner steadiness — a condition in which the buddhi (intelligence) is no longer agitated by conflicting impulses, desires, fears, or even spiritual ambitions. When this stillness becomes the stable ground of one's being rather than an occasional peak experience, one has arrived at the true yoga.
The word 'avāpsyasi' — you will attain — carries a note of certainty. Krishna is assuring Arjuna that this state is not speculative or reserved for extraordinary beings; it is the natural destination of the sincere practitioner. The verse thus closes the loop opened in verse 41, where Krishna spoke of the resolute, single-pointed intelligence. Here we see its full flowering: a mind that has processed all knowledge, released all divided allegiances, and rests in unshakeable clarity.
💡 Key Takeaway
When intelligence becomes immovably steady in samadhi, undistracted even by scriptural promises, true yoga is attained.
Related Verses
एषा तेऽभिहिता सांख्ये बुद्धिर्योगे त्विमां शृणु । बुद्ध्या युक्तो यया पार्थ कर्मबन्धं प्रहास्यसि ॥
eṣā te'bhihitā sāṃkhye buddhir yoge tv imāṃ śṛṇu | buddhyā yukto yayā pārtha karma-bandhaṃ prahāsyasi ||
This wisdom has been given to you in terms of theoretical knowledge (Sankhya); now hear it in terms of practical application (Yoga). Equipped with this practical wisdom, O Arjuna, you will cast off the bondage of karma. The same liberating truth that was taught theoretically must now be understood as a living practice that transforms how you act in the world.
यामिमां पुष्पितां वाचं प्रवदन्त्यविपश्चितः । वेदवादरताः पार्थ नान्यदस्तीति वादिनः ॥
yām imāṃ puṣpitāṃ vācaṃ pravadanty avipaścitaḥ | veda-vāda-ratāḥ pārtha nānyad astīti vādinaḥ ||
The undiscerning, O Arjuna, who are attached to the flowery language of the Vedas and who declare that there is nothing higher than the rituals they prescribe — they speak ornately but without wisdom. Their language is beautiful like flowers, but flowers that produce no fruit of genuine spiritual understanding.
भोगैश्वर्यप्रसक्तानां तयापहृतचेतसाम् । व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिः समाधौ न विधीयते ॥
bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānāṃ tayāpahṛta-cetasām | vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ samādhau na vidhīyate ||
For those whose minds are carried away by attachment to enjoyment and power, the resolute and single-pointed intelligence cannot be established in deep meditative absorption. When the mind is fundamentally oriented toward securing pleasant experiences, it lacks the settled stillness required for genuine spiritual wisdom to arise.