II: 55

Chapter 2, Verse 55

Krishna says,

“They know joy in the Self
And want nothing else.
Selfish cravings torment the heart.
They have left them behind;
I call them illumined.

Father Bede Griffiths:

“It is important not to be preoccupied by pleasure seeking. This does not mean that we despise pleasure. Every pleasure is taken as it comes, but we do not grasp it and we do not pursue it. The first instinct of a baby is the instinct for pleasure, for the warmth, comfort, and nourishment of the mother’s breast. When it feels deprived of these things, it gets angry. The crying of the baby is an expression of its anger. We all know about this. We have sought pleasure and become upset or angry when deprived of it. Together with desire and anger there is fear, because as long as we are seeking pleasure and getting upset when we are deprived of it, we are always afraid that our pleasure will be taken away, putting us in a state of disturbance. The one with steady wisdom is beyond these disturbances.”