Chapter 2, Verse 71 (Bhagavad Gita 2.71)
Chapter 2: Sānkhya Yog – Transcendental Knowledge
Sanskrit Shloka
विहाय कामान्यः सर्वान्पुमांश्चरति निःस्पृहः। निर्ममो निरहंकारः स शांतिमधिगच्छति
Transliteration
vihāya kāmān yaḥ sarvān pumānśh charati niḥspṛihaḥ nirmamo nirahankāraḥ sa śhāntim adhigachchhati
Word Meanings
vihāya—giving up; kāmān—material desires; yaḥ—who; sarvān—all; pumān—a person; charati—lives; niḥspṛihaḥ—free from hankering; nirmamaḥ—without a sense of proprietorship; nirahankāraḥ—without egoism; saḥ—that person; śhāntim—perfect peace; adhigachchhati—attains
Translation
That person who abandons all cravings and acts free from longing, without the sense of 'mine' and without ego, attains true peace.
Meaning & Commentary
This verse reveals that peace is not an external condition but an internal state born from the cessation of the ego's insatiable demands. When one stops projecting their identity onto objects ('mine') and releases the construct of a separate self ('I'), the constant agitation of desire vanishes. It teaches that true spiritual freedom arises when we stop chasing transient pleasures and shift our identity from the ego to the eternal Self. By relinquishing the need for control and ownership, one finally steps into a state of effortless existence, where the silence of the soul is no longer disturbed by worldly attachments.