Bhagavad Gita 2.70 · BG 2.70
Chapter 2Verse 70
Sankhya Yoga
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत्। तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी॥
āpūryamāṇam acala-pratiṣṭhaṁ samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat, tadvat kāmā yaṁ praviśanti sarve sa śāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī
Translation
As rivers flow into the ocean, which remains ever still and full, so do desires flow into the one who is unmoved by them. That person alone finds peace, not the one who chases desire.
Be like the ocean. Let desires arrive without disturbing your depth.
What does this mean?
Desires will keep arriving; that isn't the problem. Peace belongs to whoever can let them arrive without being swept out to sea by each one.
In simple words
Krishna uses the image of the ocean. Rivers pour into it constantly and it stays full and still, not overflowing, not disturbed. Peace belongs to the person who can let desires arrive like that, without being swept away by each one. Chasing after them is what breaks the calm.
The deeper idea
The verse doesn't say desires stop coming. The ocean keeps receiving rivers. The distinction is between receiving and chasing. The person at peace isn't free of desire, they're unmoved, able to let wanting arise and pass without reorganizing their life around it. 'Not the one who chases desire' is the contrast: restlessness isn't caused by having desires, it's caused by treating each one as something you must run after. Depth is what lets you absorb them without churning.
How it applies to life
You'll always want things, a better phone, a different job, someone's approval. The wanting isn't the problem. The problem is when each want immediately becomes a plan, a purchase, a preoccupation. Practice letting a desire show up and just noticing it, without acting on it that minute. Some pass on their own. The ones that stay, you can act on from a steadier place, not because the craving was driving.