प्राप्य पुण्यकृतां लोकानुषित्वा शाश्वतीः समाः | शुचीनां श्रीमतां गेहे योगभ्रष्टोऽभिजायते || ४१ ||
prāpya puṇya-kṛtāṃ lokān uṣitvā śāśvatīḥ samāḥ śucīnāṃ śrīmatāṃ gehe yoga-bhraṣṭo 'bhijāyate
prāpya—after achieving; puṇya-kṛtām—of those who performed pious activities; lokān—planets; uṣitvā—after dwelling; śāśvatīḥ—many; samāḥ—years; śucīnām—of the righteous; śrīmatām—of the prosperous; gehe—in the house of; yoga-bhraṣṭaḥ—one who has fallen from the path of self-realization; abhijāyate—takes his birth.
“The fallen yogi attains the worlds of those who have performed pious deeds, and after dwelling there for many, many years, is born into the house of the pure and prosperous.”
The fallen yogi — the one who sincerely practiced but did not complete the journey — is not abandoned by the cosmos. His accumulated spiritual merit (punya) takes him to higher realms for an extended rest-period. Then he is reborn in favourable circumstances: a pure, prosperous family. This means he will have the outer conditions — good character, material security, educated environment — that support the resumption of spiritual practice.
This verse asks us to consider that our spiritual inheritance includes not just this life but a long history of effort across many lives. The spiritual inclinations, sensitivities, and yearnings you feel in this life may be exactly the continuation of effort begun before. Honor these inclinations — they are hard-won.