Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 1.73
॥
Devanāgarī
तस्यास्वादवशाच्चित्तं बहिष्ठं विषयेषु यत् । तदेव परमं भुक्त्वा स्वस्थः स्वात्मरतो युवा
Transliteration (IAST)
tasyāsvādavaśāccittaṃ bahiṣṭhaṃ viṣayeṣu yat | tadeva paramaṃ bhuktvā svasthaḥ svātmarato yuvā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तस्य आस्वाद-वशात् चित्तंtasya āsvāda-vaśāt cittaṃfrom the taste of that, the consciousness
बहिष्ठं विषयेषु यत्bahiṣṭhaṃ viṣayeṣu yatthat was outward, in the objects
तत् एव परमं भुक्त्वाtat eva paramaṃ bhuktvāhaving tasted that, the supreme
स्वस्थः स्व-आत्म-रतः युवाsvasthaḥ sva-ātma-rataḥ yuvāsettled in itself, delighted in its own self, young
Translation
"From the tasting of that, the consciousness that was outward, in the objects — having tasted that supreme, [becomes] settled in itself, delighted in its own self, young".
Version
1d7badb5eb62 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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Here is the line explaining what all this work is for: the consciousness that was outward, in objects, having tasted something else, ceases to rush there. Worth noting are the words asvada, "tasting," and rata, "delighted." The matter is not that the mind was curbed, but that it found something more tasteful.
This position is stated for the first time in this book, and it is, in essence, the only way the mind ever actually departs from objects. Other ways — prohibition, effort, distraction — work only as long as the effort lasts; but taste works by itself. The Vaishnava side stands wholly on this, and the Gita says it in one verse, quoted more than any other: "objects depart from one who abstains, but the taste for them remains; and this taste departs from one who has beheld the Highest" (2.59).
This verse and this line say the same thing, in nearly the same terms; and the coincidence deserves note, because it shows that the dispute between paths is not about the goal and not about the mechanics, but about what the taste is interrupted by. Here — by the taste of the inner current; there — by the taste of the Name and the form. Separately, a word must be said about yuva, "young." What is promised is not power and not knowledge, but — youth; and this is usual in books about the body, but here it stands alongside "settled in itself" and so means more than the bodily: young is one to whom it is once again interesting.