Bhagavad Gita BG 2.59
Chapter 2, Verse 59 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
विषया विनिवर्तन्ते निराहारस्य देहिनः । रसवर्जं रसोऽप्यस्य परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते ॥ ५९ ॥
viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ rasa-varjaṃ raso 'py asya paraṃ dṛṣṭvā nivartate
Meaning
The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.
Understanding
A crucial psychological insight. If one merely suppresses sense objects by force ('nirāhārasya' — not feeding the senses), the taste (rasa) for those objects remains — the desire is not truly removed. But when one experiences something higher ('paraṃ dṛṣṭvā' — having seen/experienced the higher), the taste naturally falls away ('raso 'py asya nivartate'). This is the difference between repression and transformation. The Gita's path is not forced renunciation but the attraction of the higher.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| विषयाः | viṣayāḥ | sense objects |
| निराहारस्य | nirāhārasya | of one who does not feed / one who restricts intake |
| रसवर्जम् | rasa-varjam | except the taste / the taste remains |
| रसः | rasaḥ | taste / relish / desire |
| परम् दृष्ट्वा | param dṛṣṭvā | having seen / experienced the higher |
| निवर्तते | nivartate | falls away / ceases / returns |
| विनिवर्तन्ते | vinivartante | turn away / withdraw / cease |
| देहिनः | dehinaḥ | of the embodied / the soul-in-body |
| अपि | api | even / still (taste remains) |
| अस्य | asya | his / of this person (the yogi) |