Bhagavad Gita — Sankhya Yoga, Shloka 71
Sankhya Yoga
विहाय कामान्यः सर्वान् पुमांश्चरति निःस्पृहः । निर्ममो निरहंकारः स शान्तिमधिगच्छति ॥ २.७१ ॥
vihāya kāmān yaḥ sarvān pumāṁś carati niḥspṛhaḥ | nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ sa śāntim adhigacchati || 2.71 ||
Abandoning all desires, moving about free from craving, without possessiveness (‘mine-ness’) and without ego-sense—he attains peace.
Abandoning all desires, moving about free from longing, without ‘mine-ness’ and without egoism—he attains peace.
Having set aside all desires, the person who lives without craving, without possessiveness, without ego-sense—he comes to calm.
‘Abandoning desires’ is often interpreted as abandoning compulsive craving and possessive identification, not necessarily eliminating all preferences or functional intentions.
FAQs
It targets common drivers of distress: craving, possessiveness, and ego-involvement. Reducing these reduces conflict between expectation and reality.
The verse aligns with Indian critiques of ego-construction: loosening ‘I’ and ‘mine’ supports insight into a more fundamental self beyond appropriation.
It summarizes the practical profile of the steady person: peace is linked to non-clinging rather than withdrawal from life.
Applicable to relationships and work: act responsibly while reducing identity-fusion with outcomes, status, or possessions.