Bhagavad Gita 6.8 · Krishna
Earth, stone and gold
ज्ञानविज्ञानतृप्तात्मा कूटस्थो विजितेन्द्रियः।
युक्त इत्युच्यते योगी समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः॥
jñānavijñānatṛptātmā kūṭastho vijitendriyaḥyukta ityucyate yogī samaloṣṭāśmakāñcanaḥ
The yogi fulfilled by knowledge and experience, steady as an anvil, sees a clod of earth, a stone and gold as the same.
Words
- yoga
What it means
Krishna paints a person at rest. They have knowledge and they have lived it, so they are satisfied. The word for steady here is like an anvil, struck again and again yet unmoved. Such a person can still tell gold from stone. It simply no longer owns them. That is yoga.
The story
The whole war began over land and a kingdom. Duryodhana would not give the Pandavas even five villages. For him, gold and earth were worth any price. Krishna shows Arjuna a freedom that no kingdom can buy.
In your life
Clearing their late grandmother's house, three siblings start arguing over her gold necklace. Noah steps back. He remembers her laugh, not the jewellery. He tells his sisters to decide, and makes everyone tea.
Gold or stone, the heart stays still.