|| 2.59 ||
विषया विनिवर्तन्ते निराहारस्य देहिनः। रसवर्जं रसोऽप्यस्य परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते।।
viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ rasa-varjaṁ raso ’py asya paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate
Word by Word
viṣayāḥ (objects for sense enjoyment) vinivartante (are abstained from) nirāhārasya (by restriction) dehinaḥ (for the embodied) rasa-varjam (giving up the taste) rasaḥ (sense of enjoyment) api (even) asya (his) param (far superior things) dṛṣṭvā (by experiencing) nivartate (is fixed)
Translation
The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.
Meaning
Kṛṣṇa addresses the difference between repression and realization. You can force a sick person to fast, and their senses will be restricted from objects, but their ‘taste’ or desire for them remains. Artificial renunciation is temporary and often leads to a backlash.
However, the wise person ceases to be attracted to lower pleasures because they have experienced a ‘higher taste’. When you taste a delicious fruit, you naturally lose interest in eating dry grass. When the soul experiences the bliss of the Self or the Divine, the ‘glitter’ of the material world becomes tasteless.
Real detachment is not about hating the world; it is about loving something better. You don’t have to fight your desires if you replace them with a superior attraction. Spontaneous detachment is the result of finding the ultimate spiritual satisfaction within.