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Verse 48
inflicted by blades of grass, unclean body, (absence of) reverence and honour, (conceit of) learning, despair or uneasiness arising from failure to acquire knowledge, and disbelief due to delay in the fruition of meritorious deeds. He endures these afflictions without evil thoughts thereby attaining great stoppage of karmas as influx caused by attachment and aversion is obstructed.
The Yogi striving after the purity of the soul makes absolutely no compromise with his own mental state while enduring these afflictions. He does not surrender his tranquility in order to save himself from pain and unrest caused by such assaults. In fact, as he advances on the path to self-realization and as he starts getting a first-hand experience of the happiness that appertains to the Self, he raises his concentration level to the extent that it acts as an impregnable shield against all assaults. He concentrates only on the Self, impervious to all worldly anxieties.
121
