ज्ञानविज्ञानतृप्तात्मा कूटस्थो विजितेन्द्रियः | युक्त इत्युच्यते योगी समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः || ८ ||
jñāna-vijñāna-tṛptātmā kūṭa-stho vijitendriyaḥ yukta ity ucyate yogī sama-loṣṭāśma-kāñcanaḥ
jñāna—by acquired knowledge; vijñāna—and realised knowledge; tṛpta—satisfied; ātmā—a living entity; kūṭa-sthaḥ—spiritually situated; vijita-indriyaḥ—sensually controlled; yuktaḥ—competent for self-realisation; iti—thus; ucyate—is said; yogī—the mystic; sama—equally; loṣṭa—pebbles; aśma—stone; kāñcanaḥ—gold.
“One who is satisfied by knowledge and realisation, who is steady and self-controlled, and who sees a clod of earth, a stone, and gold with equal eyes — that yogi is said to be united (yukta).”
Two kinds of knowledge are named: jnana (theoretical or scriptural knowledge) and vijnana (direct experiential realisation). The yogi who is satisfied by both is no longer driven by spiritual seeking — he has found what he was looking for. And the sign of this inner satisfaction is the ability to look at dirt, stone, and gold as equally valuable or valueless. He has transcended the acquisitive mind that categorises everything by its utility to the ego.
Test your relationship with objects today. Notice what triggers a sense of 'mine' or 'I want that.' The yogi's vision of equal value does not mean indifference to appropriate use — it means freedom from the ego-identification with possessions that causes so much suffering.