The mind of a true yogi is not attached to anything, so he happily lets go of everything but God

Meditation Yoga

Chapter 6, Verse 8

jñāna vijñāna tṛptātmā

kūt‌astho jitendriyaḥ

yukta ity-ucyate yogī

sama-loṣṭāśma kāñcanaḥ

The yogi, who is established in the knowledge of the Self, tranquil and self-poised, master of his senses, regarding alike earth, stone and gold, is said to be firmly in yoga.

For the one who has self-control, who sees the oneness everywhere and perceives the Divine equally, there is no difference between “earth, stone and gold”, because the source of everything is God Himself. One who has conquered oneself is above the duality, heat and cold, honour and dishonour. In such a state of oneness with the Divine, these people live in the world. They see the worldly objects, they experience everything which is connected to the body, the mind and the senses, they experience everything which is coming and going in life, yet they are not touched by anything. Even though they are living amidst the duality and the diversity of the outside world, there are no unhealthy reactions happening in their minds like fear, desire, jealousy, or anger. These people who have a self-controlled mind are always tranquil: they are above all the modifications of the mind, at all times, and in all circumstances. They are realised.

In this state of oneness, one doesn’t have any attachment to anything, one doesn’t find happiness in worldly objects. The senses don’t run towards the outside reality, but are fully under control. These people regard alike earth and gold, which symbolise attachment and greed. In this verse Lord Krishna says, “For a bhakta, it doesn’t matter! Even if a bhakta earns a whole palace made of gold, it doesn’t mean anything to him.”

Lahiri Mahasaya had the desire from a previous life to see a golden palace. Just to fulfil and finish that desire, Mahavatar Babaji materialised a golden palace for him. But Lahiri Mahasaya knew that this palace would not make him happy, so he stayed out of it. He didn’t start dancing, saying, “Yippee! Yippee! Now I have a palace”, like Ravana did.

Demon Ravana was so proud of his golden city that Hanuman burned down to nothing. Hanuman is not attached to anything but Rama. Imagine Hanumanji getting attached to the gold in this city and starting to think, “Why should I burn all this gold? I will take it home! I will make good use of it.” Here Lord Krishna said that a true yogi, a saint, is not fooled by the outer reality or bound by what he has or doesn’t have. It’s equal! The mind of a true yogi is not attached to anything, so he happily lets go of everything but God.

Bhagavad Gita