Sanskrit
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् । तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी ॥
āpūryamāṇam acalapratiṣṭhaṃ samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat tadvat kāmā yaṃ praviśanti sarve sa śāntim āpnoti na kāmakāmī
Translation
He attaineth Peace, into whom all desires flow as rivers flow into the ocean, which is filled with water, but remaineth unmoved—not he who desireth desires.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Chapter 2’s most famous image: not a person with no desires reaching them, but a person desires reach without disturbing — the way rivers pour ceaselessly into an ocean that stays exactly as full and as still as before. The closing phrase draws the real contrast sharply: the difference isn’t between desire and no desire, it’s between being moved by desire and actively chasing after wanting itself.
Concepts