BHAGAVAD GEETA: 82 - Swami Advayananda.

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BHAGAVAD GEETA
Chapter - 2
Discourse – 2 (72 Slogas)
“Yoga of the SUPREME SELF”
Sri Veda Vyasaji

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Saturday 20, Jul 2024, 06:30.
Discourse 2 | Yoga of the Supreme Self  
2.12   THE MAN OF STEADY WISDOM 
(Slogas 54-67, 14 No.
Slogam- 58: Q3: “How Does He Sit?” – the Tortoise Simile
Post - 82.

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Slogam- 58: Q3: “How Does He Sit?” – the Tortoise Simile:

1 

Yadaa samharate cha ayam = When a man Withdraws, 

2 

koormah angaani iva sarvashah; = as a tortoise does its limbs from all sides, 

3 

indriyaani indriyaarthebhyah = his senses from the sense-objects, 

4 

tasya prajnaa pratishthitaa. = then his wisdom becomes steady. 

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From this slogam, for the next six slogas the question taken up is “How does the 

Sthitaprajna sit?” The sitting implying when he is not doing anything, which in turn means 

when he is all by himself. In this question, the focus is on those occasions when the sage is 

alone, in solitude and with no one around to observe him. This is referred to as “sitting”. 

The best indication of a man’s true personality and character is seen when he is 

alone. There is no one around him to influence his actions. There is no one whom he can 

impress, and so the behaviour seen is that which is inherent in the person. There is no one 

to see what wrong he is doing, and so the person is free to do any wrong without fear of 

being observed and criticised for it! For this reason, being all alone is the acid test of a 

person’s character. It brings out what he really is, whether both good or bad. 

 

1-2

 In such a situation, the sage is described as a tortoise who “withdraws all his 

limbs” from objects of danger. He pulls his senses out of the danger zone.  

3

 The sage similarly withdraws all his senses from the sense objects of attraction. He 

will not sit and watch TV all alone, because then the temptation is very strong that he will 

watch the wrong programmes and no one is around to notice him. When this art of avoiding 

the danger zone by withdrawal is mastered in the mind, the person has fulfilled the first part 

of the Sadhana. This phase is called Dama in Vedanta, and refers to the non-cooperation of 

the senses to fulfill the mind’s desire. The senses are stopped from fulfilling the desire. 

The withdrawal of the senses is just one step. On its own it is termed suppression. 

Inwardly the “relish” for the objects has still to be sublimated. This inner relish is called 

Vasana in Vedanta.  

How to deal with Vasanas is shown in the next verse. 

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Next

Slogam - 59: Q3:   Overcoming the Inner “Relish” 

Continued

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