Bg. 5.24 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

योऽन्त:सुखोऽन्तरारामस्तथान्तर्ज्योतिरेव य: । स योगी ब्रह्मनिर्वाणं ब्रह्मभूतोऽधिगच्छति ॥ २४ ॥

Verse text

yo ’ntaḥ-sukho ’ntar-ārāmas tathāntar-jyotir eva yaḥ sa yogī brahma-nirvāṇaṁ brahma-bhūto ’dhigacchati

Synonyms

yaḥ — one who ; antaḥ-sukhaḥ — happy from within ; antaḥ-ārāmaḥ — actively enjoying within ; tathā — as well as ; antaḥ-jyotiḥ — aiming within ; eva — certainly ; yaḥ — anyone ; saḥ — he ; yogī — a mystic ; brahma-nirvāṇam — liberation in the Supreme ; brahma-bhūtaḥ — being self-realized ; adhigacchati — attains.

Translation

One whose happiness is within, who is active and rejoices within, and whose aim is inward is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

24. He whose happiness is within, whose enjoyment is within, and whose sight is within, is a yogī, and, having attained the stage of Brahman, attains liberation.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

24. This niṣkāma karma yogī, whose happiness is within, whose enjoyment is within, and whose sight is within, having realized ātmā and then paramātmā, attains liberation.

Purport

Unless one is able to relish happiness from within, how can one retire from the external engagements meant for deriving superficial happiness? A liberated person enjoys happiness by factual experience. He can, therefore, sit silently at any place and enjoy the activities of life from within. Such a liberated person no longer desires external material happiness. This state is called brahma-bhūta, attaining which one is assured of going back to Godhead, back to home.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

This verse states that one who transcends saṁsāra attains realization of the state of Brahman, which is happiness. He who has happiness in the soul (antara), because he enjoys in the soul (not by external objects), and therefore directs his vision to the soul (antar jyotiḥ), attains the happiness of Brahman. [Note: Later Viśvanātha comments that this phrase means liberation.]

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

This verse explains that, by this joy, he conquers the disturbance. He who has happiness through realizing the ātmā within, whose has amusement through that realization (ārāmaḥ), whose vision is concentrated upon the ātmā alone (antar jyotiḥ)—such a niṣkāma karma yogī (sa yogī), having attained his svarūpa as the pure jīva (brahma bhūtaḥ), attains paramātmā (brahma), who is the very form of liberation. By attaining the Lord he attains liberation (nirvāṇam).

Surrender Unto Me

This Section (17‑26), describes liberation which comes through fixing one's consciousness on the Supersoul. That knowledge that one is not the body, that is not enough. Bhakti, knowledge of the Supreme Lord is needed for all kinds of liberation ‑ even Brahman realization, even Paramatma realization and of course, Bhagavan realization. Srila Prabhupada says in his Purport: "Unless one is able to relish happiness from within, how can one retire from the external engagements meant for deriving superficial happiness? A liberated person enjoys happiness by factual experience.[This is his secret, he is factually experienced in Krsna and therefore it is for him to tolerate from "eating mud" because he is drinking "nectar" and "eating sweetmeats". So where is this taste for mud? This is the secret of Krsna consciousness and getting out of maya ‑ one has to get the higher taste of Krsna consciousness urgently. One has to chant, hear, to get association, otherwise one will not be able to tolerate these urges after a long period of time]." He can, therefore, sit silently at any place and enjoy the activities of life from within. Such a liberated person no longer desires external material happiness. This state is called brahma‑bhuta, attaining which one is assured of going back to Godhead, back to home."