Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 3.4
॥
Devanāgarī
अपरं सन्त्यजेत्सर्वं यदिच्छेदात्मनो हितम् । शक्तिमध्ये मनः कृत्वा मनः शक्तेश्च मध्यगम्
Transliteration (IAST)
aparaṃ santyajetsarvaṃ yadicchedātmano hitam | śaktimadhye manaḥ kṛtvā manaḥ śakteśca madhyagam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अपरं सन्त्यजेत् सर्वंaparaṃ santyajet sarvaṃother, shall he abandon all
यत् इच्छेत् आत्मनः हितम्yat icchet ātmanaḥ hitamwho wishes his own good
शक्ति-मध्ये मनः कृत्वाśakti-madhye manaḥ kṛtvāhaving placed the mind in the middle of power
मनः शक्तेः च मध्य-गम्manaḥ śakteḥ ca madhya-gamand mind — in the middle of power
Translation
"All else shall he abandon, who wishes his own good; having placed the mind in the middle of power, and mind — in the middle of power…**
Version
b7b8817bd78a · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The condition is set in a worldly manner: yat ichchhed atmanah hitam, "who wishes his own good." The word hita means "beneficial, good, fitting"; and in ayurveda it also means what suits the sick. That is, the abandoning of everything else is proposed not as a feat, but as a reasonable good.
This sobriety deserves note. It is not said "abandon for the sake of merit" or "abandon, for the world is evil"; it is said: abandon, if you wish yourself well. The Vaishnava side says the same, just as soberly, and this deserves emphasis, for she is often thought of otherwise. Renunciation, for her, is not a demand made of everyone; it is offered as beneficial: what hinders is cast off not out of contempt, but because it hinders.
Rupa Gosvami says directly that the refusal of things that could be put to service is phalgu-vairagya, "empty renunciation"; and true renunciation consists in making use of everything in the service. This distinction, I think, is among the most useful there is: it saves one from that pious wastefulness by which a man throws away what is good and then begs it from others. It is worth adding that the second half of the line is a repeated transposition: mind in the middle of power, and mind in the middle of power. Such repetitions are usual in this collection and were explained when reading the first chapter (1.64).