टीका

Commentary

This verse is the culminating statement of the entire practical section of Chapter 6, verses 10-28. It describes the end-state of the yogi who has consistently applied all the practices described in the preceding verses — solitude, regulated posture, one-pointed concentration, gradual withdrawal, returning the wandering mind, abiding in the Self. The result is stated with beautiful simplicity: freed from all material contamination, the yogi attains the highest happiness through contact with Brahman.

“Vigata-kalmashah” — freed from all material contamination — means the accumulated burden of past karma, conditioned tendencies, and habitual reactivity has been dissolved through sustained practice. This is not a partial purification but a complete one. The word “vigata” — gone away, departed — suggests this purification is not a suppression but a genuine clearing, the way morning sun disperses mist completely rather than pushing it aside.

“Brahma-samsparsha” — contact with Brahman — is a phrase of great depth. “Samsparsha” literally means touch, contact, the sensation of being in direct proximity to something. The yogi does not merely know about Brahman conceptually; they are in lived, experiential contact with it. This contact is itself the supreme happiness (“atyantam sukham”). The touching of Brahman is the joy; there is no separate reward to be received after the contact.

“Sukhena” — with happiness, with ease — is quietly significant. The highest spiritual attainment is described as easy — not in the sense of requiring no effort, but in the sense that once the conditions are established through practice, the contact with Brahman is not strained or effortful. It is the natural condition of a purified being. Like water finding its level without effort once the obstacles are removed, the purified yogi rests in Brahman naturally and with ease.

Historical Context

The phrase “brahma-samsparsha” appears only here in the Gita and has been interpreted differently across traditions. In Advaita Vedanta, it means the direct experience of one’s identity with impersonal Brahman. In Vaishnava traditions, it means the divine contact with the personal Brahman (Krishna) that is the culmination of bhakti-yoga. Both traditions agree that this contact constitutes the highest happiness available to human beings — the “atyantam sukham” that verse 21 had promised and that this verse now confirms as the actual fruit of sustained practice.