Shloka 123
Mind as Charioteer; Kṣetrajña, Tapas, and Dhyāna-Yoga
Adhyātma-Upadeśa
एवमेवाप्यसंयुक्त: पुरुष: स्यान्न संशय: । जैसे कमलके पत्तेपर पड़ी हुई जलकी चंचल बूँद उसे भिगो नहीं पाती
evam evāpy asaṁyuktaḥ puruṣaḥ syān na saṁśayaḥ |
वायुरुवाच—एवमेवाप्यसंयुक्तः पुरुषः स्यान्न संशयः। यथा कमलपत्रे पतिता चञ्चला जलबिन्दुर्न तं क्लेदयति, तथा विद्वान् पुरुषः सर्वगुणैः सह व्यवहरन्नपि न तैर्लिप्यते। अतः क्षेत्रज्ञः पुरुषो वास्तवतोऽसङ्गः—नात्र संशयः॥
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The core teaching is inner non-attachment: the wise self (kṣetrajña/puruṣa) can engage with the world and its guṇas without being tainted, like water on a lotus leaf. True freedom is not withdrawal from action but freedom from clinging and identification.
Vāyu-deva is instructing the listener on the nature of the self and liberation. He uses a vivid simile (lotus leaf and water) to clarify that the realized knower remains untouched by worldly qualities even while living amid them.