Chapter II · Śloka 59
विषया विनिवर्तन्ते निराहारस्य देहिनः |
रसवर्जं रसोऽप्यस्य परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते ||
रसवर्जं रसोऽप्यस्य परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते ||
viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ |
rasa-varjaṃ raso'py asya paraṃ dṛṣṭvā nivartate ||
rasa-varjaṃ raso'py asya paraṃ dṛṣṭvā nivartate ||
Sense objects turn away from the abstinent embodied soul, but the taste for them remains. Even this taste dissolves upon seeing the Supreme.
A vital psychological observation: mere abstinence subdues behaviour but leaves the rasa — the subtle flavour of longing — intact, like embers under ash. Only direct vision of the Supreme extinguishes even that residual taste, making renunciation effortless rather than effortful.