Shloka 21
अक्षरब्रह्मयोग (Akṣara-Brahma-Yoga) — Knowledge of the Imperishable, Prakṛti, and Devotion
बाहास्पर्शेष्वसक्तात्मा विन्दत्यात्मनि यत् सुखम् । स ब्रह्मयोगयुक्तात्मा सुखमक्षयमश्लुते
bāhyasparśeṣv asaktātmā vindaty ātmani yat sukham | sa brahmayogayuktātmā sukham akṣayam aśnute ||
Arjuna says: One whose mind is unattached to outward contacts and the objects of sense discovers within the Self the happiness born of inner steadiness. Established in the yoga of Brahman—absorbed in the Supreme—such a person partakes of imperishable bliss.
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Happiness grounded in the Self arises when one is not driven by sense-contact; through disciplined absorption in Brahman, one experiences a joy that does not depend on changing external conditions and is therefore described as imperishable.
In the midst of the Kurukshetra setting, Arjuna voices a teaching about inner discipline: he contrasts outward, object-based pleasure with inward, contemplative happiness, pointing to Brahman-realization as the stable culmination of yoga.