Spiritual Thoughts: Yoga-Kṣemaṁ

“Ananyāś cintayanto māṁ ye janāḥ paryupāsate
teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmyaham”

“Those who, without any other thought, constantly meditate upon Me and worship Me with single-minded devotion — I take responsibility for their yoga (gains) and kṣema (protection).”

We often use the word “yogakṣemamulu” (plural) in Telugu. Let us see what exactly yoga and kṣema mean.

Yoga means union or attainment. When something new comes to us, which we did not previously have, it is called yoga. For example, when we say a man has “dhanayoga” (fortune of wealth) or “rājayoga” (fortune of authority), it means that wealth or power, which he did not have earlier, has now come to him. On the other hand, when something we eagerly waited for slips away in the last moment, we say, “That yoga was not destined for me.”
Kṣema means that which we already possess remains safely with us, without being lost or stolen. When someone sets out on a long journey, we bless them saying, “Go safely and return with gain.” This means — may you not lose the wealth, ornaments, or even the limbs of your body (kṣema), and if possible, may you achieve what you set out for, or even gain more than what you had (lābha). So, yoga and kṣema are two separate ideas in worldly usage.

Recently, during a satsang at Sri Kāleevana Ashram, Hyderabad branch, Sri Mataji discussed this Gita verse and asked:
“Yoga and Kṣema are two, aren’t they? Then why did Bhagavan use the singular word yoga-kṣemam, instead of the dual yoga-kṣemau?”

She explained that what Bhagavan gives is not two different things — but yoga inseparably united with kṣema. A gain that is permanent and never lost. That alone is true yoga-kṣema.

If we think deeply, the truth becomes clear.

Everything that newly comes into our life (yoga) will one day leave us.
We have seen wealthy men suddenly become poor, and students forget their lessons if they don’t revise.
Even life itself: on one day we are born, and on another day we disappear.

So, in this world, yoga and kṣema are separate — what comes will eventually go.

But what is yoga that comes with kṣema — something that, once attained, never leaves us?
It is only the eternal truth of our own Self, the Ātma-tattva.

Bhagavad Gita 15-6 says:
“That abode of Mine, where neither sun, nor moon, nor fire shines — once reaching it, there is no return. That is My supreme abode.”

That alone is our real state.
Everything else — house, possessions, body — is temporary. When prāṇa (life-breath) leaves, even our body is placed outside the house. So, all things of this world are perishable.

But once we attain true knowledge (jñāna), it never departs.

Examples from Gurudev’s teachings:

Once hair has turned white, it cannot become black again — its original nature is white, black was only a covering.
Once a fruit has ripened, it cannot become raw again.
A seed can sprout only while it is raw; once roasted, it loses that power forever.

Similarly, when our karmic seeds are burned in the fire of knowledge, they can never sprout again.

Thus, one who has attained jñāna never falls back into ignorance. This is the true yoga-kṣema.

The difference between an ignorant man’s birth and a jñānī’s birth:

The ignorant one is bound to take birth according to his karma, whether he wishes or not.
The jñānī has no such bondage. Even if he takes birth by God’s will for the welfare of the world, it is not bondage.

Like a man fallen into a pit and another who climbs into the pit only to pull him out — both are inside, but with a huge difference. Similarly, for the jñānī, birth is an avatāra (descent by choice), not helpless bondage.

Attaining such yoga-kṣema:

Bhagavan instructs —
“Abandon all other distractions, and keep your mind steadily engaged in constant remembrance, meditation, and inquiry upon Me alone.”

Once we attain such Brahmī-sthiti (state of Brahman), our mind will never again be enslaved by worldly delusion.

Bhagavad Gita 2-72:
“This is the state of being established in Brahman, O Arjuna. Once attained, there is no delusion. Abiding in this state even at the final moment, one attains Brahman-nirvāṇa.”

✅ So, the promise of Krishna — “Yoga-kṣemam vahāmyaham” — is not about temporary worldly gains or protections, but about the eternal gain of self-knowledge that is never lost.