सन्तुष्टः सततं योगी यतात्मा दृढनिश्चयः।मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्यो मद्भक्तः स मे प्रियः॥
santuṣṭaḥ satataṃ yogī yatātmā dṛḍha-niścayaḥmayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ
Word by word
The verse says
Content, always joined, holding himself steady, firm in what he has decided, with his mind and reason given over to me — that devotee of mine is dear to me.
In plain words
Santuṣṭaḥ satatam — contented, always. Not sometimes, when things go well.
And dṛḍha-niścayaḥ — firm in what he has decided. Contentment here is not passivity; it sits beside a settled resolve.
Then the refrain arrives for the first time: that one is dear to me. It will close five of the next six verses.
Where you've felt this · in parenting
A parent at a sports day watches her son come last in his race and claps at exactly the same volume she would have for a win. She is not pretending. She decided a long time ago what she was there for, and the result of the race was never going to change it.
Going deeper
Contentment and firm resolve are usually thought of as opposites, and the verse puts them in the same line.
The assumption is that wanting things drives you and that being satisfied makes you soft. What is described here is somebody who is settled and also fixed on a direction — which turns out to be the ordinary condition of anybody who has decided something properly. The decision stops being renegotiated every morning, and the energy that was going into renegotiating it becomes available.
The refrain matters as much as the content. Sa me priyaḥ — he is dear to me.
This is the only extended passage in the book that describes what the divine actually likes, and it is worth noticing what is not on the list. No learning, no austerity, no ritual competence, and no achievement of any kind that could be put on a record.