Gita 2.70
Sankhya Yoga
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् । तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी ॥
āpūryamāṇam acala-pratiṣṭhaṁ samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat tadvat kāmā yaṁ praviśanti sarve sa śāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī
In essence: Like the ocean remains unmoved though countless rivers pour into it, the wise one remains at peace as desires flow in and through—while the desirer of desires never finds rest.
A conversation between a seeker and guide to help you feel this verse deeply
Sadhak-Guru Dialogue
Sadhak: "Guru, this ocean metaphor is beautiful, but isn't the ocean a passive thing? The sage should be active in the world, not just passively receiving."
Guru: "Look more closely at the ocean. Is it truly passive? The ocean is teeming with life, supporting countless creatures, regulating the earth's climate, driving weather systems across continents. It is immensely active—but its activity comes from its own nature, not from being pushed by rivers. Similarly, the sage is highly active, but action flows from inner fullness, not from the push of desire. Activity born from desire is reactive, compulsive. Activity born from completeness is spontaneous, creative, free. The ocean metaphor is about the quality of being, not the quantity of doing."
Sadhak: "But desires still enter the sage? I thought enlightenment meant no more desires."
Guru: "This is a common misunderstanding that this verse explicitly corrects. Krishna says desires 'praviśanti'—they enter. He does not say they stop arising. As long as there is a body-mind, perceptions arise, and with perceptions come preferences and inclinations. The difference is not in what arises but in how it is held. For you, a desire arises and you feel 'I want this, I must have this, I will be incomplete without this.' For the sage, the same desire may arise but it is witnessed without identification, without the feeling of lacking. The desire has no hook to catch on."
Sadhak: "How can the ocean be 'ever being filled' yet 'unmoved'? Isn't filling a form of movement?"
Guru: "This is the paradox at the heart of the verse, and it points to something profound about the nature of awareness itself. Awareness can receive unlimited content without being altered by that content. Think of a mirror: infinite images can appear in it, yet the mirror remains unchanged. Or think of space: everything exists within space, yet space itself is never moved or modified. The ocean, being already complete, receives without changing. The sage's awareness receives desires without being stirred by them. Being filled and being moved are not the same—one is reception, the other is reaction."
Sadhak: "Why does Krishna say 'kāma-kāmī' (desirer of desires) rather than just 'one who has desires'?"
Guru: "The doubled construction is significant. 'Kāma-kāmī' means one who desires desires—not just having desires, but desiring to have them, cherishing them, identifying with them, pursuing them as if they were the path to happiness. This is the fundamental confusion: not that desires arise, but that we believe following them leads to fulfillment. The sage knows that no desire leads to lasting peace; the kāma-kāmī believes the next desire will finally bring satisfaction. One has seen through the illusion; the other keeps chasing it."
Sadhak: "If the sage doesn't chase desires, how does anything get done? What motivates action?"
Guru: "Action continues, but the motive transforms. The sage acts from dharma, from compassion, from appropriateness to the moment—not from personal craving. When you eat because you're anxious, that's desire-driven. When you eat because the body requires nourishment, that's natural functioning. When you help someone to feel good about yourself, that's desire-driven. When you help because help is needed and you can provide it, that's dharmic action. The sage is not paralyzed; the sage is liberated from the tyranny of desire while remaining responsive to life."
Sadhak: "You mentioned 'self-sufficiency.' How is this different from arrogance or isolation?"
Guru: "Arrogance says 'I am better than others and don't need them.' Self-sufficiency says 'I am complete in my essential nature, which is the same nature as all beings, and from this completeness I can truly meet others.' The arrogant person is actually quite dependent—dependent on others' inferiority for their sense of superiority. The self-sufficient sage needs nothing from others, yet can give freely. Isolation comes from lack—'others will hurt me, so I withdraw.' Self-sufficiency allows true intimacy because there is no need to extract anything from relationships. Paradoxically, the ocean that needs no rivers can receive all rivers without drowning."
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🌅 Daily Practice
Before the activities of the day begin, spend five minutes sitting with the image of yourself as the ocean. Feel your awareness as vast, complete, not lacking anything. Then deliberately bring to mind something you want—a desire you carry. Watch it enter your awareness like a river entering the ocean. Notice: does it disturb your vastness, or can you hold it in spacious awareness? Practice receiving without reacting.
Throughout the day, when desires arise—for food, for recognition, for completion of some task—pause and ask: 'Am I the small vessel needing to be filled, or the ocean already full?' You don't need to suppress the desire; simply notice the quality of your relationship to it. Are you grasping, or witnessing? Are you depleted, or complete? This noticing itself begins to shift the pattern.
Reflect on the desires that moved through you today. Which ones hooked you, disturbed your peace, sent you seeking? Which ones passed through without disturbance? What made the difference? Consider: the external circumstances were similar, but your relationship to different desires may have varied. What does this teach you about where peace actually lies—in getting what you want or in the quality of your wanting?