Things that are conducive to our vāsanās are our likes (rāga). And things that are non-conducive to our vāsanās are our dislikes (dveśa). If one has likes and dislikes, that causes the ladder of fall as described in verses 62 and 63 of Chapter 2 by Sri Krishna.
Chapter 2, Verse 64
रागद्वेषवियुक्तैस्तु विषयानिन्द्रियैश्चरन्।
आत्मवश्यैर्विधेयात्मा प्रसादमधिगच्छति ॥६४॥
rāgadveṣaviyuktaistu viṣayānindriyaiścaran,
ātmavaśyairvidheyātmā prasādamadhigacchati. (64)But one who controls the mind, and is free from attraction and repulsion, even while using the objects of the senses, attains peace.
When sense organs are under control, the mind is fully focused and in control, and the person attains calmness and peace. When the mind is pure and equipoised, even though the sense objects are dancing around you, you will not be enchanted.
When parents go to a toy shop, they may be fascinated by some toys. They just enjoy looking around without becoming attached to them. In that way, if we can be around the objects of the world without likes and dislikes then we get a tranquil mind as a prasāda (something we gain).
Chapter 2, Verse 65
प्रसादे सर्वदुःखानां हानिरस्योपजायते ।
प्रसन्नचेतसो ह्याशु बुद्धिः पर्यवतिष्ठते ॥६५॥
prasāde sarvaduḥkhānāṁ hānirasyopajāyate,
prasannacetaso hyāśu buddhiḥ paryavatiṣṭhate. (65)In the peace that comes with purity of mind, all sorrows are destroyed, and the intellect of a tranquil-minded person becomes firmly established in knowledge.
While interacting with the world, the mind is pure and serene when we keep likes and dislikes away. When the mind is peaceful, the intellect becomes bright and sharp. The quieter the mind, the sharper the intellect.
Chapter 2, Verse 66
नास्ति बुद्धिरयुक्तस्य न चायुक्तस्य भावना ।
न चाभावयतः शान्तिरशान्तस्य कुतः सुखम् ॥६६॥
nāsti buddhirayuktasya na cāyuktasya bhāvanā,
na cābhāvayataḥ śantiraśāntasya kutaḥ sukham. (66)For a person who has not controlled the mind and senses, there is no knowledge; And to the unsteady, there is no contemplation; For the one who cannot meditate, there is no peace; and how can there be happiness for one who is not peaceful.
When a person cannot control their sense organs, their mind is agitated. When the mind is agitated, the intellect will not be sharp to assimilate the knowledge. And they will not be able to make the right judgments. Without a steady and vigilant intellect, contemplation is not possible. And for such a person who can’t contemplate, there will be no peace. And this person is constantly looking for pleasure in the world objects, and there is no cessation of sorrow. For such a person, how can there be happiness?
Chapter 2, Verse 67
इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन्मनोऽनुविधीयते ।
तदस्य हरति प्रज्ञां वायुर्नावमिवाम्भसि ॥६७॥
indriyāṇāṁ hi caratāṁ yanmano’nuvidhīyate,
tadasya harati prajñāṁ vāyurnāvamivāmbhasi. (67)Just as the wind carries away the boat on the waters, the mind which focuses on the roaming senses can lead the intellect astray.
The sense organs grazing in the world of objects have their demands. If the mind follows those demands of the sense organs, it becomes a slave to the temptations of the senses. By constantly engaging in satisfying them, the knowledge and wisdom are gone.
When a ship is in the waters without a direction, it is tossed around and will end up somewhere based on the whims of the wind. Similarly, a man who has no control of the senses is tossed around by the situations and ends up in some disaster due to over-indulgence.
Chapter 2, Verse 68
तस्माद्यस्य महाबाहो निगृहीतानि सर्वशः ।
इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥६८॥
tasmādyasya mahābāho nigṛhītāni sarvaśaḥ,
indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyastasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā. (68)
Therefore, O mighty-armed Arjuna, one who has completely restrained the senses from sense-objects is steady in knowledge.
Therefore, Arjuna, one whose sense organs are self-controlled from wandering into sense objects, is the one who is well-established in higher knowledge.
Beware when the senses are rising. Keep your mind in control. The person of wisdom doesn’t have to worry about his sense organs going astray because he has his mind in total control and is established in knowledge.
Chapter 2, Verse 69
या निशा सर्वभूतानां तस्यां जागर्ति संयमी ।
यस्यां जाग्रति भूतानि सा निशा पश्यतो मुनेः ॥६९॥
yā niśā sarvabhūtānāṁ tasyāṁ jāgarti saṁyamī,
yasyāṁ jāgrati bhūtāni sā niśā paśyato muneḥ. (69)
Where all beings are awake, it is the night for the sage who sees, and that which is night to all beings, is the day for the self-controlled man.
The knowledge that the Self is Brahman is darkness/ignorance (night) for us, and a self-controlled sage is awake with that wisdom. Like when you wake up, the dream world disappears – a self-controlled man experiences a higher state of consciousness that is peaceful and joyful. The man of wisdom is asleep in the familiar world in which all of us are living with sorrows, temptations, desires, passions, contentions, etc., which means that he doesn’t see the world that way, and hence it is the night for him.
Chapter 2, Verses 70
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं-
समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् ।
तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे
स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी ॥७०॥
āpūryamāṇamacalapratiṣṭhaṁ
samudramāpaḥ praviśanti yadvat,
tadvatkāmā yaṁ praviśanti sarve
sa śāntimāpnoti na kāmakāmī. (70)
Unlike the person who strives to satisfy desires, the one who is unmoved despite the flow of desirable objects around him attains peace just as the ocean remains undisturbed by the incessant flow of waters from rivers merging into it.
Just as the ocean remains undisturbed when rivers merge into it, the wise one is undisturbed with all the objects around him. Such a person attains peace, not one who is always striving to satisfy desires.
Chapter 2, Verses 71
विहाय कामान्यः सर्वान्पुमांश्चरति निःस्पृहः ।
निर्ममो निरहङ्कारः स शान्तिमधिगच्छति ॥७१॥
vihāya kāmānyaḥ sarvānpumāṁścarati niḥspṛhaḥ,
nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ sa śāntimadhigacchati. (71)
That man who gives up all material desires, who lives free from a sense of greed, and who gives up the sense of ‘I-ness’ and ‘My-ness’ attains peace.
When we want to play in the ocean for a long time, we apply oil/sunscreen to the skin so that the salt water doesn’t touch the skin directly to cause irritability. If not, the skin becomes dry and itchy. In the same way, when an individual has no desires and no attachments, the objects may scream, but they can never cling to you.
Chapter 2, Verses 72
एषा ब्राह्मी स्थितिः पार्थ नैनां प्राप्य विमुह्यति ।
स्थित्वास्यामन्तकालेऽपि ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृच्छति ॥७२॥
eṣā brāhmī sthitiḥ pārtha naināṁ prāpya vimuhyati,
sthitvāsyāmantakāle’pi brahmanirvāṇamṛcchati. (72)
O Partha (Arjuna, son of Pritha), one is never deluded again having attained this state of Brahmi (Self-Realization). Being established in this consciousness even at the hour of death, one is liberated and attains to oneness with Brahman.
This state of consciousness when one acquires the supreme state of freedom is the Brahmi state. Once you have reached there, you are permanently established in that state. This state of supreme consciousness is beyond time, therefore it is birthless, changeless, and timeless. Upon reaching there, you can never fall back into the feeling of limitedness and feel dependent on other objects for your happiness.
This concludes Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Geeta
ॐ तत्सदिति श्रीमद् भगवद् गीतासूपनिषत्सु
ब्रह्मविद्यायां योगशास्त्रे
श्रीकृष्णार्जुनसंवादे साङ्ख्ययोगो
नाम द्वितीयोऽध्यायः
oṁ tatsaditi śrīmad bhagavad gītāsūpaniṣatsu
brahmavidyāyāṁ yogaśāstre
śrīkṛṣṇārjunasaṁvāde sānkhyayogo
nāma dvitīyo’dhyāyaḥ.
Bluishmuse 