Chapter2- Sloka 55
śrī bhagavān uvāca
prajahāti yadā kāmān sarvān pārtha manogatān |
ātmany-evātmanā tuṣṭaḥ sthitaprajñās tad-ocyate || 55 ||
(2.55)
pārtha- Arjuna!; tuṣṭaḥ- When one finds pleasure; ātmani-eva- in his own soul (which is blissful by nature); ātmanā- with a mind (that is totally established in the soul); yadā- when; prajahāti- he gives up totally; sarvān kāmān- all the desires (on the various other rewards); manogatān- in the mind; tadā- then; sthita-prajñaḥ ucyate- he is called a sthitaprajña;
Purport
In the following 4 ślokas, Kṛṣṇa answers the questions asked by Arjuna in the latter part of the previous śloka by describing the activities and practices of a jñāna yogi. In the present śloka, Kṛṣṇa addresses the question asked in the first part of the previous śloka about the nature of a jñāna yogi by describing the activities of an ardent practitioner of jñāna yoga.
Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna, "O Arjuna! When one finds pleasure in his own soul which is blissful by nature with a mind which is totally established in the soul, when he totally gives up all the desires for the various other rewards in his mind then he is called a 'sthitaprajña'."
ātmany-evātmanā tuṣṭaḥ (With a mind which is firmly established in his soul) The first ātma here refers to the soul and the next ātma refers to the mind. The meaning is derived in two ways,
ātmanā- with the mind; ātmani eva tuṣṭaḥ- one established in his own soul.
or
ātmani eva ātmanā- with a mind which is firmly established in his soul; tuṣṭaḥ- one who is content
(without desire for anything else).
na vivedātmano gātraṃ tat smr̥ti āhlāda samsthitaḥ Viṣṇu Purāṇa 1.17.39 (In the pleasure of remembering Bhagawān, Prahalāda was not even conscious about his body). From this we understand that the first part of this śloka talks about the dispassion on all other matters due to the experience of the soul's bliss .
yadā manogatān sarvān kāmān prajahāti (When all the desires in his mind are totally abandoned)
sarvān kāmān These words refer to the desire for all objects other than the soul.
prajahāti prakarṣena jahāti prajahāti (One who leaves completely) One who drops the desires in such a
way that they will never arise in him again.
yadā manogatān sarvān kāmān prajahāti tadā sthita-prajñaḥ ucyate (When he totally drops all desires along with their vāsanas (habitual tendencies) in all other purposes, he is called a sthitaprajña) Any remnants of vāsanas in his mind from the previous state get cleared in this sthitaprajña state. The ideal instance of a person established in jñāna yoga is told in this śloka i.e this śloka talks about the state of perfection in jñāna yoga. In the next three ślokas, the successive states in jñāna yoga are described one after the other. dṛṣṭānu-śravika-viṣaya-vitṛṣṇasya vaśīkārasaṃjñā-vairãgyam Pātanjali Yoga Sutra 1.15 (The ultimate state in jñāna yoga described in this śloka is called as vaśīkārasaṃjña) The state of the jñāna yogi described in this śloka is called vaśīkārasaṃjña as per Pātanjali Yoga Sūtras.