Path of Renunciation
Verse 5.27
स्पर्शान्कृत्वा बहिर्बाह्यांश्चक्षुश्चैवान्तरे भ्रुवोः। प्राणापानौ समौ कृत्वा नासाभ्यन्तरचारिणौ।।5.27।।
sparśhān kṛitvā bahir bāhyānśh chakṣhuśh chaivāntare bhruvoḥ prāṇāpānau samau kṛitvā nāsābhyantara-chāriṇau yatendriya-mano-buddhir munir mokṣha-parāyaṇaḥ vigatechchhā-bhaya-krodho yaḥ sadā mukta eva saḥ
Word Meanings
sparśhān—contacts (through senses); kṛitvā—keeping; bahiḥ—outside; bāhyān—external; chakṣhuḥ—eyes; cha—and; eva—certainly; antare—between; bhruvoḥ—of the eyebrows; prāṇa-apānau—the outgoing and incoming breaths; samau—equal; kṛitvā—keeping; nāsa-abhyantara—within the nostrils; chāriṇau—moving; yata—controlled; indriya—senses; manaḥ—mind; buddhiḥ—intellect; muniḥ—the sage; mokṣha—liberation; parāyaṇaḥ—dedicated; vigata—free; ichchhā—desires; bhaya—fear; krodhaḥ—anger; yaḥ—who; sadā—always; muktaḥ—liberated; eva—certainly; saḥ—that person
Translation · English
Shutting out all external contacts and fixing the gaze between the eyebrows, realizing the outgoing and incoming breaths moving within the nostrils.
Deep Meaning · English
In this verse, Krishna transitions from philosophical exhortation to the practical methodology of Dhyana Yoga. Here, the 'external contacts' represent the perpetual preoccupation of the consciousness with the fluctuations of the objective world. By mentally placing these sense-objects outside the field of awareness and focusing the gaze between the eyebrows, the practitioner creates a physiological and psychological environment conducive to interiorization. This is not merely physical posture but a symbolic withdrawal of the life-force (Prana) from its restless, scattered engagement with the periphery of existence back to the center of the Self. By equalizing the incoming and outgoing breaths, the Yogi halts the 'pendulum' of the mind, which is inextricably linked to the rhythm of respiration. This equilibrium acts as a gateway; as the turbulence of the sensory and respiratory systems fades, the individual intellect ceases to project itself outward, and the mind finds the stillness necessary to mirror the Divine. Krishna is teaching that liberation is not a distant destination but a state of being achievable when the 'inner climate' is purged of the reactive forces of desire, fear, and anger. When these disturbances are neutralized, the practitioner exists in the 'now,' existing as the Atman, which is always and already free.
True liberation arises when the practitioner deliberately stills the biological and mental rhythms, effectively closing the doors of perception to the external world to reveal the eternally silent Self within.
Connected Verses
Describes the same meditative focus on the tip of the nose or between the eyebrows to steady the mind.
Directly follows this verse to conclude the description of the sage who is perpetually liberated.
Elucidates the practice of Pranayama as a sacrificial offering, leading to the control of the life-force.
Highlights the state of the 'ocean-like' sage whose desires enter but do not disturb his inner peace.
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