Bhagvad Gita: 20 Life-Changing – The Wise Are Not Attached – 12/20
🌟 Shloka 12 of 20 – The Wise Are Not Attached
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Shloka 71 – Deep Dive
“Free from craving, ego, and possessiveness…”
📜 Sanskrit Verse
विहाय कामान्यः सर्वान्
पुमांश्चरति निःस्पृहः।
निर्ममो निरहंकारः
स शान्तिमधिगच्छति॥
🔤 Transliteration
vihāya kāmān yaḥ sarvān
pumāṁś carati niḥspṛhaḥ
nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ
sa śāntim adhigacchati
🌍 English Translation
That person who abandons all desires,
moves about without craving,
who is free from the sense of “mine” and “I”,
such a one attains lasting peace.
🧭 Context in the Gita
In this closing section of Chapter 2, Krishna sums up the essence of inner peace. It is not found through material success or even religious rituals — but through letting go of desire, ego, and possessiveness.
He defines the wise one (sthita-prajña) as one who walks the world, but is not clutched by it.
🔍 Line-by-Line Explanation
🔹 विहाय कामान्यः सर्वान्
“Having abandoned all desires…”
This doesn’t mean forceful suppression, but a natural falling away of desires as one becomes inwardly full.
🔹 पुमान् चरति निःस्पृहः
“One who moves without craving…”
Life goes on — duties are done — but there’s no emotional craving. The mind is cool, not desperate.
🔹 निर्ममः निरहंकारः
“Free from possessiveness and ego…”
‘This is mine’, ‘I achieved this’, ‘They hurt me’ — these thoughts bind the soul. The wise drop the “I–mine” trap.
🔹 स शान्तिम् अधिगच्छति
“That one attains peace…”
Peace isn’t in silence or detachment alone — it’s in a mind free of mental clinging. That’s true liberation.
🧠 Modern Life Applications
💰 In Wealth
- Earn and enjoy — but don’t let your identity depend on what you own.
Let the bank account rise and fall; your peace shouldn’t.
🏆 In Success
- You are not your position, awards, or popularity.
Detach gently from results — focus on right action, not outcome.
❤️ In Relationships
- Love without clinging. Care deeply, but remember: they are not yours.
People are companions on the journey — not possessions.
✨ Real-Life Analogy
Like a lotus in water — it grows in the mud, floats on the water, but stays untouched by either.
Be that lotus: live fully, give freely, and stay inwardly free.
📿 Daily Practice Tip (Layman-Friendly)
✅ Today, take one thing you feel overly possessive about — your phone, a decision, an opinion — and practice letting go for just a moment.
Say silently:
“This is not mine. I am free either way.”
🪔 Takeaway Affirmation
🎵 No ‘I’, no ‘mine’, no grasp, no chain —
I walk the world in sun and rain.
Desire fades, the Self is found —
In silent joy, my soul is sound. 🎵