आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् | तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी ||७०||
āpūryamāṇam achala-pratiṣhṭhaṁ samudram āpaḥ praviśhanti yadvat tadvat kāmā yaṁ praviśhanti sarve sa śhāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī
Translation
A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires — that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still — can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.
Interpretation
The ocean-metaphor for the sage: rivers continuously flow into the ocean, but the ocean maintains its stillness and does not overflow. Similarly, desires continuously enter the sage's life, but the sage is unmoved — they flow in and are absorbed without disturbing the inner peace. The one who chases desires (kāma-kāmī) never finds peace; the one who remains like the ocean does.