Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 5, Verse 21

बाह्यस्पर्शेष्वसक्तात्मा विन्दत्यात्मनि यत्सुखम् । स ब्रह्मयोगयुक्तात्मा सुखमक्षयमश्नुते

bāhyasparśeṣvasaktātmā vindatyātmani yatsukham | sa brahmayogayuktātmā sukhamakṣayamaśnute

Translation

With the self unattached to external contacts, he finds the joy which is in the Self; with the Self engaged in the contemplation of Brahman he attains the endless joy.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

bāhyasparśeṣu

in external, (in) contacts

asaktātmā

unattached, self, whose, he

vindati

finds

ātmani

in the Self

yat

(that) which

sukham

pleasure

saḥ

he

brahmayogayuktātmā

in Brahman, by yoga, joined, self, whose, he

sukham

pleasure

akṣayam

imperishable

aśnute

enjoys

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

When his intuition (antaḥ-karaṇa) is uncontaminated by attachment to things contacted by the senses, to the sound and other sense-objects which are all external to the Self, the sage realises the joy which there is in the Self. When his intuition is engaged in Yoga, in Samādhi, in a deep and steady contemplation of Brahman, then the sage attains the imperishable bliss. Therefore, he who seeks for the endless joy of the Self should withdraw the senses from the momentary pleasure of external objects.