2.55 The Blessed Lord said When a man completely casts off, O Arjuna, all the desires of the mind and is satisfied in the Self by the Self, then is he said to be one of steady wisdom.

2.55 Prajahati etc. [The expression 'a man-of-stabilized-intellect' denotes] a man whose intellect has stabilized, i.e., has grown roots. Growing roots is growing roots permanently on the Self. For, if that is achieved, the agitation in the form of desire born of the distraction by sense-objects comes to an end. Therefore, the nomenclature 'a man-of-stabilized-intellect' applied to a man-of-Yoga, has an etymological sense and it is appropriate in this way. In this manner one estion has been answered.

The Blessed Lord said: O son of Pritha, when a seeker completely renounces all desires that arise in the mind and remains satisfied in the Self alone by the Self, he is then said to be a man of steady wisdom. Commentary: [This is a style of the Gita: the perfection of a seeker is described through the very path (Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, etc.) by which he attains it. For instance, in Bhakti Yoga, the seeker worships through exclusive devotion, as there is nothing other than the Lord (12.6); thus, in the perfected state, he becomes free from all hatred towards beings (12.13). In Jnana Yoga, the seeker sees himself as entirely unattached and aloof from the gunas (14.19); thus, in the perfected state, he transcends all the gunas completely (14.22-25). Similarly, in Karma Yoga, the renunciation of desire is stated as the principal theme; therefore, in the perfected state, he renounces all desires—this is explained in this verse]. The meaning of the words 'prajahāti yadā kāmān sarvān pārtha manogatān' is this: Desire resides neither in the Self nor even in the mind. Desire is something that comes and goes, while the Self is ever constant; so how can desire be in the Self? The mind is an instrument, and desire does not reside there permanently either; rather, it arises in the mind—'manogatān'. So how can desire be in the mind? However, due to identification with the body, senses, mind, and intellect, a person considers the desires arising in the mind to be his own. The prefix 'pra' with the verb 'jahāti' signifies that the seeker renounces desires entirely; not even the slightest trace of any desire remains. One never renounces one's own nature, nor does one renounce that which has no connection with oneself at all. Renunciation applies only to that which is not one's own but has been mistakenly accepted as one's own. Similarly, desire is not in the Self, but it has been accepted as being in the Self. The renunciation of this mistaken notion is what is indicated here by the word 'prajahāti'. Here, the word 'kāmān' is in the plural, so the word 'sarvān' is included within it. Yet, the purpose of using the word 'sarvān' is to indicate that no desire whatsoever remains, and not even a fraction of any desire is left. 'Ātmanyevātmanā tuṣṭaḥ'—when he renounces all desires and remains satisfied in the Self alone by the Self, meaning there is a natural, innate contentment in the Self itself. Contentment is of two kinds—one contentment is a quality, and the other contentment is one's very nature. The absence of any kind of wish in the inner being is contentment as a quality; and the absolute absence of discontent in the Self is contentment as one's nature. This contentment, which is of the nature of the Self, exists spontaneously and perpetually. For this, no practice or thought is required. In this contentment of one's nature, wisdom (buddhi) becomes steady by itself. 'Sthitaprajñas tadochyate'—Even when one mistakenly considered the endless, many-branched desires to be in oneself, in reality, desires were not in the Self, and one was indeed a man of steady wisdom. But at that time, due to considering desires as one's own, the intellect was not steady, so one was not called a man of steady wisdom, meaning one did not experience one's own state of steady wisdom. Now, having renounced all desires from oneself—that is, having removed this mistaken notion—one is then said to be a man of steady wisdom, meaning one experiences one's own state of steady wisdom. A seeker strives to make the intellect steady. However, when desires are completely renounced, one does not need to make the intellect steady; it becomes steady spontaneously and naturally. In Karma Yoga, the seeker has a greater connection with actions. For him, actions are also the means for attaining Yoga—'For the sage desirous of ascending to Yoga, action is said to be the means' (Gita 6.3). Therefore, the Karma Yogi's connection with actions remains both in the seeker stage and in the perfected stage. In the perfected stage, the Karma Yogi performs actions according to divine ordinance, which become ideals for others (Gita 3.21). This very point the Lord has stated in the fourth chapter: the Karma Yogi sees inaction in action and action in inaction—'He who sees inaction in action and action in inaction' (4.18). In the fifty-third verse, the Lord stated two aspects of the intellect in attaining Yoga: the intellect should be unwavering in withdrawing from the world and immovable in being fixed on the Supreme Self—by 'unwavering', renunciation of the world is indicated, and by 'immovable', establishment in the Supreme Self is indicated. Taking those two aspects, it is said here with the words 'yadā' and 'tadā' that when the seeker becomes entirely free from desires and remains satisfied in his own nature alone, then he is said to be a man of steady wisdom. The meaning is that as long as a trace of desire remains, he is called a seeker, and when desires are completely absent, he is called perfected. The description of these two aspects is given by the Lord until the end of this chapter; for example—here, by the words 'prajahāti yadā kāmān sarvān', renunciation of the world is indicated, and then by the words 'ātmanyevātmanā tuṣṭaḥ', establishment in the Supreme Self is indicated. In the first part of the fifty-sixth verse (in three quarters), renunciation of the world is indicated, and by the words 'sthitadhīr muniḥ', establishment in the Supreme Self is indicated. In the fifty-seventh and fifty-eighth verses, first renunciation of the world is indicated, and then by the words 'tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā', establishment in the Supreme Self is indicated. In the first part of the fifty-ninth verse, renunciation of the world is indicated, and by the words 'paraṁ dṛṣṭvā', establishment in the Supreme Self is indicated. From the sixtieth verse to the sixty-first verse, first renunciation of the world is indicated, and then by the words 'yukta āsīta matparaḥ' etc., establishment in the Supreme Self is indicated. From the sixty-second to the sixty-fifth verse, first renunciation of the world is indicated, and then by the words 'buddhiḥ paryavatiṣṭhate', establishment in the Supreme Self is indicated. From the sixty-sixth to the sixty-eighth verse, first renunciation of the world is indicated, and then by the words 'tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā', establishment in the Supreme Self is indicated. In the sixty-ninth verse, by the words 'yā niśā sarvabhūtānām' and 'yasyāṁ jāgrati bhūtāni', renunciation of the world is indicated, and by the words 'tasyāṁ jāgarti saṁyamī' and 'sā niśā paśyato muneḥ', establishment in the Supreme Self is indicated. In the seventieth and seventy-first verses, first renunciation of the world is indicated, and then by the words 'sa śāntim adhigacchati', establishment in the Supreme Self is indicated. In the seventy-second verse, by the words 'naināṁ prāpya vimuhyati', renunciation of the world is indicated, and by the words 'brahmanirvāṇam ṛcchati' etc., establishment in the Supreme Self is indicated. Connection: Now, in the next two verses, the answer to the second question—how a man of steady wisdom speaks—is given.