Shloka
अहंकारं बलं दर्पं कामं क्रोधं परिग्रहम् |
विमुच्य निर्ममः शान्तो ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते ||१८-५३||Transliteration
ahaṃkāraṃ balaṃ darpaṃ kāmaṃ krodhaṃ parigraham .
vimucya nirmamaḥ śānto brahmabhūyāya kalpate ||18-53||Translations
Dr.S.Sankaranarayan
18.53. Relinshing egotism, violence, pride, desire, wrath, and the sense of possession-he, the unselfish and calm one, is capable of becoming the Brahman.
Shri Purohit Swami
18.53 Having abandoned selfishness, power, arrogance, anger and desire, possessing nothing of his own and having attained peace, he is fit to join the Eternal Spirit.
Sri Abhinav Gupta
18.53 See Comment under 18.60
Sri Ramanuja
18.51 - 18.53 ‘Endowed with a purified understanding’ means endowed with the Buddhi capable of understanding the self as it is in reality; ‘subduing the mind by steadiness’ means making the mind fit for meditation by turning away from external and internal objects; ‘relinishing sound and other objects of senses’ means keeping them far away, casting aside love and hate occasioned by them (i.e., the sense objects).
‘Resorting to solitude’ means living in a lonely place free from hindrances to meditation; ’eat but little’ means eating neither too much nor too little; ‘restraining speech, body and mind’ means directing the operations of body, speech and mind to meditation; ’ever engaged in the Yoga of meditation’ means being like this, i.e., constantly engaged in the Yoga of meditation day after day until death; ’taking refuge in dispassion’ means developing aversion to all objects except the one entity to be meditated upon, by considering the imperfections of all objects and thus cultivating detachment to everything.
Forsaking ’egoism’ means abandoning the tendency to consider what is other than the self, as well as neutralising the power of forcible Vasnas (tendencies) which nourish (egoism), and the resulting pride, desire, wrath and possessiveness. ‘With no feeling of mine’ means free from the notion that what does not belong to oneself belongs to oneself; ‘Who is tranil’ means, who finds sole happiness in experiencing the self. One who has become like this and performs the Yoga of meditation becomes worthy for the state of Brahman. The meaning is that, freed from all bonds, he experiences the self as It really is.
Sri Shankaracharya
18.53 (That person) vimucya, having discarded; ahan-karam, egotism, thinking of the body, organs, etc. as the ego; balam, force-which is associated with desire and attachment; not the other kind of strength consisting in the fitness of the body etc., becuase being natural it cannot be descarded-; darpam, pride, which follows elation and leads to transgresson of righteousness-for the Smrti says, ‘An elated person becomes proud; a proud man transgresses righteousness’ (Ap. Dh. Su. 1.13.4); kamam, desire; krodham, anger, aversion; parigraham, superfluous possessions-even after removing the defects in the organs and the mind, there arises the possibility of acceptance of gifts either for the maintenance of the body or for righteous duties; discarding them as well, i.e. becoming a mendicant of the param-hamsa class; nirmamah, free from the idea of possession, becoming devoid of the idea of ‘me’ and ‘mine’ even with regard to so much as one’s body and life; and for the very same reason, santah, serene, withdrawn; the monk who is effortless and steadfast in Knowledge, kalpate, becomes fit; brahma-bhuyaya, for becoming Brahman.
Swami Adidevananda
18.53 Forsaking egoism, power, pride, desire, wrath and possession, with no feeling of ‘mine’ and tranil - he becomes worthy for the state of brahman.
Swami Gambirananda
18.53 (That person,) having discarded egotism, force, pride, desire, anger and superfluous possessions, free from the idea of possession, and serene, is fit for becoming Brahman.
Swami Sivananda
18.53 Having abandoned egoism, strength, arrogance, desire, anger and covetousness, and free from the notion of ‘mine’ and peaceful, he is fit for becoming Brahman.
Commentaries
Swami Sivananda
18.53 अहङ्कारम् egoism? बलम् strength? दर्पम् arrogance? कामम् desire? क्रोधम् anger? परिग्रहम् covetousness? विमुच्य having abandoned? निर्ममः without mineness? शान्तः peaceful? ब्रह्मभूयाय for becoming Brahman? कल्पते (he) is fit.Commentary Egoism Identifying the Self with the body? etc. This is the error of mistaking the physical body for the pure immortal Self.Balam That strength which is combined or united with passion? desire and attachment? and not the physical or other strength. Physical strength is natural. It is not possible to abandon this physical strength.Darpam Arrogance? insolence? selfassertive Rajasic vehemence this follows the state of exaltion.,Man becomes arrogant when he possesses wealth or much learning. When he becomes arrogant he violates Dharma and does wicked deeds.The aspirant even abandons the things which are necessary for the bare maintenance of the body. He becomes a ParamahamsaParivrajaka? a wandering or itinerant ascetic. He has no attachment to his body. He knows that even the body does not belong to him.Santa Peaceful? tranil? serene.Such an aspirant who has devotion to Selfknowledge? and who is endowed with the above virtues is fit to become Brahman.