Bhagavad Gita BG 5.24
Chapter 5, Verse 24 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
योऽन्तःसुखोऽन्तरारामस् तथान्तर्ज्योतिरेव यः । स योगी ब्रह्मनिर्वाणं ब्रह्मभूतोऽधिगच्छति ॥
yo 'ntah-sukho 'ntar-aramas tathAntar-jyotir eva yah sa yogi brahma-nirvanam brahma-bhuto 'dhigacchati
Meaning
That yogi who has inner joy, inner delight, and inner light — having become Brahman, reaches brahma-nirvana (extinction in Brahman).
Understanding
The portrait of brahma-nirvana while living: antah-sukha (inner joy — sukha arising not from contact but from within), antar-arama (inner delight — pleasure found in the inner garden of the Self), and antar-jyotis (inner light — illuminated from within, not dependent on external sources). Such a yogi brahma-bhuta (having BECOME Brahman, not just approaching it) adhigacchati brahma-nirvanam. Nirvana here: not annihilation but the extinguishing of the limited ego in the vast Brahman — like a flame merging back into the fire.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| अन्तःसुखः | antah-sukhah | one whose joy is inner/within |
| अन्तरारामः | antar-aramah | one whose delight/play is within |
| अन्तर्ज्योतिः | antar-jyotih | one whose light is inner/within |
| ब्रह्मभूतः | brahma-bhutah | having become Brahman, Brahman-ized |
| ब्रह्मनिर्वाणम् | brahma-nirvanam | extinction in Brahman, liberation in Brahman |
| यः | yaḥ | he who / one who |
| तथा | tathā | and also / likewise |
| एव | eva | verily / indeed (inner light) |
| सः | saḥ | he (that yogi) |
| योगी | yogī | a yogi / one united with the divine |
| अधिगच्छति | adhigacchati | attains / reaches |