Chapter 5 Shloka 23

शक्नोतीहैव य: सोढुं प्राक्शरीरविमोक्षणात्।

कामक्रोधोद्भवं वेगं स युक्त: स सुखी नर:।।२३।।

He who is able to withstand

the urges of passion and anger

before the demise of the mortal body,

That One is a Yogi. Only He is ever joyous.

Chapter 5 Shloka 23

शक्नोतीहैव य: सोढुं प्राक्शरीरविमोक्षणात्।

कामक्रोधोद्भवं वेगं स युक्त: स सुखी नर:।।२३।।

Expanding on the qualities of such a detached Yogi, the Lord says:

He who is able to withstand the urges of passion and anger before the demise of the mortal body, That One is a Yogi. Only He is ever joyous.

Veg (वेग)

Veg means power, tremendous force, immensity, intensity.

The Lord clarifies that, that person is a Yogi:

a) who can withstand the fervid energy flow of desire and anger;

b) who can resist the intensity of desire and anger;

c) who can overcome the fear that desire and anger generate;

d) who can bear the pain desire and anger cause.

Sodhum (सोढुम्)

Sodhum means to tolerate, withstand, forgive, accept, become deserving of, endure.

Little one, specifying the characteristics of a Yogi, the Lord says:

1. Such a Yogi is indifferent to the sharp onslaught of desire.

2. He can smilingly withstand its attack and remain unaffected by it.

3. He is not afraid of its force.

4. He is not upset by its powerful attack.

5. He smilingly endures its onslaught.

To be unaffected by anger and desire is the mark of a Yogi.

The Yogi and the ordinary individual

The Yogi has renounced attachment to the body. In fact he does not consider himself to be the body.

1. Thereafter, neither enjoyments entertained by that body, nor actions performed by it are the deeds of the Yogi – he is not the enjoyer.

2. Then whatever that body does – each deed it performs, is verily a consequence of the play of the gunas – the Atmavaan is ever a non-doer.

3. The Lord is again clarifying here that desire and anger are both related to the body. Knowing this, whosoever withstands both is a Yogi.

Little one! Lord Krishna is renowned as a Bal Brahmchari – or a celibate from childhood – yet he had wives and sons from those wives! Lord Ram, too, was married with sons, yet He, too, was considered a Brahmchari. Thus, the Lord, the very Essence of the Atma in all its purity, exemplifies His words through His life. The term used here as regards one’s attitude towards desire and anger is ‘sodhum’. The meaning of this word is ‘to withstand’ or ‘to endure’ desire – not to suppress it.

The Lord has also stressed that this state must be achieved before renunciation of the mortal body. One who intends to renounce the body idea is in fact giving his body self to others in charity to fulfil their tasks.

The Lord says:

1. One must then perform the most ordinary actions in leading an ordinary life.

2. One must perform dutiful and selfless actions.

3. One must endeavour not to destroy the concepts and beliefs of others.

4. The wise must perform the same deeds as the ignorant perform; yet, they must be devoid of desire and anger.

5. One must transcend duality.

6. Renunciation of action is not sanyas.

7. The Atmavaan remains ever uninfluenced and untouched.

Gita and the Lord’s life

Bhagwan is urging Arjuna again and again to engage in a fearful battle and to kill his very own gurus, grandsire and other respected relatives! Little one! The Gita is a treatise of the Lord’s life. The simple way to understand this Scripture is to witness the Lord’s life as one studies it. His life is the soul of the Gita. If you consider even a single tenet or attribute elucidated in the Gita to be contrary to the Lord’s life, the misunderstanding is yours. You have not understood the correct connotation of the Lord’s words.

Little one, try once more to understand the following facts:

a) The Lord is a perfect sanyasi.

b) He is completely detached.

c) He is desireless.

d) He is a complete Vairaagi and the embodiment of yagya.

e) He is an eternal Brahmchari, a non-doer and non-enjoyer, devoid of likes and dislikes.

f) He is without form.

g) He is ever fully satiated.

h) He is ever indifferent to Himself.

After accepting all the above to be the truth, then witness the events in His life.

1. He would often get angry.

2. He performed all deeds as others did.

3. He even became a charioteer for Arjuna.

4. He obeyed His elders and maintained all relationships.

5. He performed all the requisite duties towards his sons, daughters-in-law, grandsons and other relations.

6. He participated in several wars and also used strategies and tactics in battle, such as hinting to Arjuna the trick he could use to kill Jarasandha and Dronacharya.

7. Yet, He was the epitome of Love. His love for the Gopis and the cowherds of Brindavan and for Radha is immortal.

8. He is also known for breaking his vow as He used the Sudarshan Chakra in the war where He had vowed not to wield any weapons!

Little one, perceiving all this, one must not give any importance to one’s own concepts about the life of such a One. If one attempts to understand the Lord’s essence through witnessing His life, then this shloka will become easy to understand.

The elevated state of an Atmavaan

If one has to renounce the body idea, one must never snatch away the rights of others. One must witness the gunas interacting with each other from afar and identify oneself with the Atma. What remains will be only yagya. Become indifferent and remain unaffected even by the desires and anger of others. Do not agitate the ignorant. Perform deeds as they do – the difference must lie in the renunciation of one’s body idea. Know that the Atmavaan is the true Yogi – only he is ever joyous.