The Supreme Lord said: O Partha, when a person completely abandons all desires of the mind and is satisfied in the Self by the Self alone, then he is called one of steady wisdom.
Synthesis
Krishna begins His answer to Arjuna's famous question with the first and most fundamental characteristic of the sthita-prajña: the abandonment of all mental desires and the discovery of complete contentment within the Self. 'Ātmanyevātmanā tuṣṭaḥ' — satisfied in the Self by the Self alone — is the key phrase. This is not suppression of desire but the discovery of a source of satisfaction so complete that desires lose their pull. The analogy: a person who discovers a spring of pure water in their own home no longer needs to queue at the public well. Desires are not crushed — they wither from disuse because the Self itself is found to be the fullness that all desires were really seeking.
Commentaries 8 traditions
Shankara explains that the abandonment of desires is not an act of will but the natural consequence of Self-knowledge. When you realize that you ARE the infinite, boundless Self, the desires that arise from the sense of lack automatically subside. The satisfaction 'in the Self by the Self' means Brahman-realization: the individual awareness recognizes its identity with infinite consciousness.
Apply This Verse
Personal Growth
True contentment is found not by fulfilling more desires but by discovering a source of satisfaction that does not depend on external circumstances. Meditation and self-inquiry begin this discovery.
Questions this verse answers
- ?"How do I find contentment within myself instead of seeking it externally?"
- ?"What does it mean to be 'satisfied in the Self by the Self'?"
- ?"I always want more — how do I break the cycle of craving?"
- ?"Is it possible to genuinely desire nothing and still live fully?"
- ?"How do I know if I've abandoned desires or just suppressed them?"