Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Verse 49

English Translation

He whose intellect remains unattached to everything, who has conered his internal organs and is desireless, attains through monasticism the supreme perfection consisting in the state of one free from duties.

Detailed Commentary

Commentary: *Siddhi* is attained only by becoming qualified for Saṁnyāsa (Sāṅkhya) Yoga. Therefore, to describe what kind of *adhikāri* (qualified person) one should be, three points are mentioned in the first half of the verse: (1) *Asaktabuddhiḥ sarvatra* (one whose intellect is unattached everywhere) — whose intellect is free from attachment everywhere. That is, whose intellect is not entangled in place, time, event, circumstance, object, person, action, substance, or anything else. (2) *Jitātmā* (one who has conquered the self/body) — one who has gained control over the body, meaning, one who is not subjugated by the body due to laziness, heedlessness (*pramāda*), etc., but rather keeps it under their control. If such a person wishes to perform an action according to their principles, the body engages in that task with readiness; and if they wish to withdraw from any action or event, it withdraws from there. Thus, one who has conquered the body is called *Jitātmā*. (3) *Vigataspṛhaḥ* (one who is free from longing) — *Spṛhā* is the subtle desire for those things that are particularly necessary for sustaining life, for example: "Let me get some greens," "Let me just get some dry, stale bread," "How can we live without eating anything?", "How can we survive without drinking water?", "How can we live in winter without any clothes?". The practitioner (*sādhaka*) of Sāṅkhya Yoga does not even care for these necessities for sustaining life. The implication is that one who walks the path of Sāṅkhya Yoga must renounce inertness (*jaḍatā*). In renouncing this inertness, the three points mentioned above come into play. By becoming *Asaktabuddhi*, one becomes *Jitātmā*, and by becoming *Jitātmā*, one becomes *Vigataspṛhaḥ*. Then one becomes qualified (*adhikārī*) for Sāṅkhya Yoga. "*Naiṣkarmyasiddhiṁ paramāṁ saṁnyāsenādhigacchati*" (one attains the supreme state of actionlessness through Saṁnyāsa) — Such a person, being *Asaktabuddhi*, *Jitātmā*, and *Vigataspṛhaḥ*, attains the supreme *Naiṣkarmyasiddhi* through Sāṅkhya Yoga, which means the ultimate reality of the Self (*Paramātmatattva*) in the form of actionlessness (*naiṣkarmya*). This is because action (*kriyā*) occurs only in *Prakṛti*, and when one's Self has not even the slightest connection with that action, then no action and its results apply to them at all. Therefore, the inherent, self-evident actionlessness (*niṣkarmatā*) – detachment (*nirliptatā*) – within them becomes manifest. Connection: Now, a promise is made to describe the method of attaining that supreme *siddhi*.