The qualities of a man of wisdom are enumerated in this verse which explains the path to perfection.
They are:
Devoid of attachment – Divinity attained by man is not something that is newly acquired by him but it is only a rediscovery of perfection already existing in him which is veiled from him because of his attachment to the finite world of objects. The wise man is he for whom attachment with the world of objects has ceased.
Liberated – Bondages created around the personality of a man are his own creation due to his attachments with things. His ego feels fulfilled only through the material world of objects and it develops a sense of clinging to these objects. Thus his body gets itself attached to the world of sense-objects, his mind gets itself enslaved in the world of emotions and his intellect gets entangled in its own ideas and he feels bound and fettered. It is only when one goes beyond these attachments and hand-cuffs he becomes liberated.
Mind established in knowledge – Perfect detachment and complete liberation can be accomplished only when the seeker’s mind gets focused on the discriminative knowledge of knowing the difference between the permanent and impermanent. Mind’s attachment to the worldly objects is because of its delusion. If, however, the mind were to concentrate on the discriminative knowledge with the support of the intellect all the false attachments will drop off.
Acting for the sake of sacrifice (Yagna) – `Yagna’ does not mean only the rituals performed in an attitude of Dedication to God for achieving freedom from the cycle of
mortal existence ; it means all actions performed without ego and without the motivation of egocentric desires in a spirit of service.
When a man of perfect wisdom with the qualities as stated above performs actions in a spirit of sacrifice (Yagna), such actions dissolve away of themselves i.e. they do not leave any impressions upon his mind and cannot produce any reaction of newly formed vasanas.
Yagna ritual, the holiest act known to man, is used in the following verses as a symbol standing for the outlook of an illumined man on all his work. It is interpreted in a larger spiritual way.
