In plain words
Vairāgya toward sense objects, absence of ahaṅkāra, and repeated reflection on the evil of suffering in birth, death, old age, and disease,
Word for word
Vairāgya toward the objects of the senses, and absence of ahaṅkāra too, repeated seeing of the evil of suffering in birth, death, old age and disease,
इन्द्रियार्थेषु वैराग्यमनहङ्कार एव चजन्ममृत्युजराव्याधिदुःखदोषानुदर्शनम्
Other commentaries
The commentators
▸Bhagavadgītābhāṣyam
किञ्च —
इन्द्रियार्थेषु शब्दादिषु दृष्टादृष्टेषु भोगेषु विरागभावो वैराग्यम् अनहङ्कारः अहङ्काराभावः एव च जन्ममृत्युजराव्याधिदुःखदोषानुदर्शनं जन्म च मृत्युश्च जरा च व्याधयश्च दुःखानि च तेषु जन्मादिदुःखान्तेषु प्रत्येकं दोषानुदर्शनम् । जन्मनि गर्भवासयोनिद्वारनिःसरणं दोषः, तस्य अनुदर्शनमालोचनम् । तथा मृत्यौ दोषानुदर्शनम् । तथा जरायां प्रज्ञाशक्तितेजोनिरोधदोषानुदर्शनं परिभूतता चेति । तथा
व्याधिषु शिरोरोगादिषु दोषानुदर्शनम् । तथा दुःखेषु अध्यात्माधिभूताधिदैवनिमित्तेषु । अथवा दुःखान्येव दोषः दुःखदोषः तस्य जन्मादिषु पूर्ववत् अनुदर्शनम् — दुःखं जन्म, दुःखं मृत्युः, दुःखं जरा, दुःखं व्याधयः । दुःखनिमित्तत्वात् जन्मादयः दुःखम् , न पुनः स्वरूपेणैव दुःखमिति । एवं जन्मादिषु दुःखदोषानुदर्शनात् देहेन्द्रियादिविषयभोगेषु वैराग्यमुपजायते । ततः प्रत्यगात्मनि प्रवृत्तिः करणानामात्मदर्शनाय । एवं ज्ञानहेतुत्वात् ज्ञानमुच्यते जन्मादिदुःखदोषानुदर्शनम् ॥ ८ ॥
In plain words
And there is more —
Dispassion — vairāgya — is simply this: no more craving for the objects of the senses, sound and the rest, for any pleasure at all, whether it belongs to this visible world or to some unseen world beyond it. And freedom from egotism means exactly what it says: no ego-sense left standing. It also means looking, again and again, at the flaw in birth, in death, in old age, in disease, in every kind of pain — looking honestly at each one in turn, from birth all the way through to pain. What is the flaw in birth? Simply this: forcing your way out through the passage of the womb, after however long spent dwelling there. To 'observe' that flaw just means sitting with it, really considering it. In the same way, look honestly at the flaw in death. And in old age, look at how it strips away your wisdom, your strength, your vitality — and how it leaves you disregarded, looked past. And likewise —
In disease too — headaches and everything like them — look honestly at the flaw. And in pain itself — whether it comes from yourself, from other beings, or from forces beyond you. Or, taken another way: pain itself is the flaw — call it 'the flaw that is pain.' Seen this way, the same observation applies to birth and the rest, just as before: birth is pain, death is pain, old age is pain, disease is pain. They're called 'pain' only because they cause pain — not because they are, in their own nature, literally pain. And here is the point: from seeing this flaw of pain running through birth and all the rest, dispassion arises toward every pleasure whose object is the body, the senses, anything like them. And from there, the faculties finally turn inward, toward the Self, so that the Self can be seen. This whole practice — seeing the flaw of pain running through birth and everything that follows it — is called 'knowledge,' because that is exactly what it leads to.
Close to the Sanskrit
Moreover —
With regard to the objects of the senses — sound and so on — among enjoyments, whether seen or unseen: the state of dispassion [is] 'vairāgya'. 'Anahaṅkāra' [is] the absence of ego-sense — and indeed [it is also] the observation of the fault of birth, death, old age, disease, and pain: birth and death and old age and diseases and pains — with regard to each of those, from birth to pain, [there is to be] observation of the fault, one by one. In birth, the fault [is] the emergence through the passage of the womb, [after] dwelling [there]; observation of that [means] reflection [upon it]. Likewise, in death, [there is] observation of the fault. Likewise, in old age, [there is] observation of the fault of the obstruction of wisdom, capacity, and vigor, [and] the state of being disregarded; and thus. Likewise —
In diseases — headache and so on — [there is] observation of the fault. Likewise, in pains — caused by oneself, by [other] beings, and by the gods. Or alternatively: pains themselves [are] the fault, [namely] 'the fault of pain'; of that, with regard to birth and so on, observation as before — [namely]: birth [is] pain, death [is] pain, old age [is] pain, diseases [are] pain. Because they are causes of pain, birth and the rest [are called] 'pain' — not, however, that they are pain by their own nature. Thus, from the observation of the fault of pain in birth and so on, dispassion arises with regard to enjoyments whose objects are the body, senses, and so on. From that, [there arises] activity of the faculties toward the inward Self, for the vision of the Self. Thus, because it is a cause of knowledge, the observation of the fault of pain in birth and the rest is called 'knowledge'.
▸Gītā Vāhini
“తరువాత పదవది ‘వైరాగ్యము’. అనగా శబ్దాది విషయాలలో అనురక్తి ఉండరాదు. ఇంద్రియములు వాటికి తగినవే కోరును. కానీ సాధకునకు తగినవి అవి కోరవు. కాన ఇంద్రియార్థములు పురుషార్థములు కావు. ఆత్మకు కావలసినవే పురుషార్థములు.”
“ఇక పదకొండవది ‘అనహంకారము’. అహంకారము ఎన్ని అవగుణములున్నవో వాటన్నింటికినీ పుట్టినిల్లు వంటిది. అహంకారికి మంచి, పుణ్యము, పాపము, సత్యము, దైవము ఏవీలేవు, ఉండవు. ధర్మము వానికి ఏ మాత్రమూ తెలియదు. న్యాయము వానికి సరిపడదు. ఇట్టి దుర్గుణములు లేకుండుటే అనహంకారము. అహంకారము మిత్రునివలే ఉండు శత్రువు అని తెలుసుకో.”
“‘జన్మ మృత్యు జరా వ్యాధి దుఃఖ దోషానుదర్శనము’. ఇది తెలిసికొనుట అన్నింటికంటెను ప్రధానమైనది. జన్మ దుఃఖము, మరణ దుఃఖము, వ్యాధి దుఃఖము చూచుచుండియూ వాటి సత్యమును తెలిసికొనపోకుండుట మహా ఆశ్చర్యము. దీని పుట్టుపూర్వోత్తరములు విచారించిన ‘ఏది తప్పిననూ మృత్యువు తప్పదని’ తేలుచున్నది. మానవులు దేనిని సుఖమని తలంచుచున్నారో అవి సుఖ వేషముతో కనబడు దుఃఖాలే. నిజమును తెలిసికొనిన విషయ దోషములను మననము చేసినపుడు వైరాగ్యము చేకూరి జ్ఞానము సిద్ధించును. కనుక అర్జునా! ఈ జన్మ మృత్యు జరా వ్యాధి దుఃఖ దోషములనుండి విముక్తుడవుకా” అని యెంతో ప్రేమతో బోధించినాడు.
In plain words
“Then the tenth, ‘Vairāgya’: that is, there must be no attachment to the objects of the senses, sound and the rest. The senses desire only what suits them; what suits the sādhaka they do not desire. So the objects of the senses are not puruṣārthas. Only what the Ātma needs are puruṣārthas.”
“Next, the eleventh: ‘anahaṅkāra’. Ahaṅkāra is like the birthplace of every bad quality there is. For the man of Ahaṅkāra there is no good, no merit, no sin, no Satya, no God; there is none, and there will be none. Of Dharma he knows nothing at all. Justice does not agree with him. To be free of such vices is anahaṅkāra. Know that Ahaṅkāra is an enemy that looks like a friend.”
“‘Janma mṛtyu jarā vyādhi duḥkha doṣānudarśana’. To know this is more important than anything else. It is a great wonder that people see the sorrow of birth, the sorrow of death and the sorrow of disease, and still do not set out to know their truth. Inquire into its birth and all that comes before and after, and it becomes clear that ‘whatever else one escapes, one cannot escape death’. What men take to be happiness are sorrows that appear in the guise of happiness. When, having known the truth, one practises manana on the defects of sense-objects, Vairāgya is gained and Jñāna is attained. So, Arjuna, become free of these defects of birth, death, old age, disease and sorrow,” He taught, with such Prema.