अथ षष्ठोऽध्यायः । आत्मसंयमयोगः
6. Dhyan Yoga
The yoga of meditation
Progress in Yoga 6-21 to 6-28
युञ्जन्नेवं सदात्मानं योगी विगतकल्मषः ।
सुखेन ब्रह्मसंस्पर्शमत्यन्तं सुखमश्नुते ॥ ६-२८॥
6-28. Constantly engaging the mind this way, the yogi who has put away sin, attains with ease the infinite bliss of contact with Brahman.
Mythology has it that there is such a thing as the philosopher's stone, contact with which converts base metal into gold. But this is an allegorical statement. Brahman is the real philosopher's stone. It is not easily accessible to all; but whosoever gets at it becomes transformed. Ordinary souls who are base become adorable ones after their contact with Brahman. They become heirs to infinite bliss.
An immersed vessel is permeated by water inside as well as outside. The soul immersed in Iswara cognises Pure Consciousness everywhere. -Sri Ramakrishna
6-28.mp3
What is the aftermath of wiping out all desires? The result is recounted :-
प्रशान्तमनसं ह्येनं योगिनं सुखमुत्तमम् ।
उपैति शान्तरजसं ब्रह्मभूतमकल्मषम् ॥ ६-२७॥
6-27. Supreme Bliss verily comes to that yogi whose mind is calm; whose passions are pacified, who has become one with Brahman and who is sinless.
It is the category of Rajas that creates passion, the source of all afflictions. When the impetus of Rajas cools down, calmness of mind comes in as a matter of course. He who cognises everything as Brahman becomes himself Brahman. The one in Brahmavastha is actionless, and as such there is no sin for him.
Before visiting the humble home of a tenant of his, the landlord sends in advance the required furniture and provision, so that the occupant may receive him in a fitting manner. Similarly, before the Lord reveals Himself in the heart of a devotee, He endows him with purity, devotion, faith and such like divine qualities. --- Sri Ramakrishna
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Since the Lord has sanctioned the attainment of quietude little by little, the Sadhaka is likely to lapse into mediocrity. He may slacken his endeavors with the consolation that in some distant future at least, he will attain perfection in yoga. But such a set back is not sanctioned by the Lord. He exhorts:-
यतो यतो निश्चरति मनश्चञ्चलमस्थिरम् ।
ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वशं नयेत् ॥ ६-२६॥
6-26. By whatever cause the wavering and unsteady mind wanders away, let him curb it from that and subjugate it solely to the Self,
There are miscreants who, while posing to act within the bounds of law, try to circumvent it to their selfish ends. Mind plays the same mischief while yet in the process of subjugation. When weaned away from one object, it gets unwittingly attached to another. With proper discrimination it has to be saved from several pitfalls and placed safely at the feet of the Lord. This is the purport of His exhorting the attainment of calmness stage by stage. The danger of a fall is possible until the mind is completely made over to the Lord.
The vision of the Lord is not possible as long as even an iota of desire is left lingering in the mind. You ought to, therefore, fulfill the innocent and harmless little desires before doing away with them and to mercilessly exterminate the baneful ones with the sword of discrimination. ----Sri Ramakrishna
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शनैः शनैरुपरमेद् बुद्ध्या धृतिगृहीतया ।
आत्मसंस्थं मनः कृत्वा न किञ्चिदपि चिन्तयेत् ॥ ६-२५॥
6-25. With his intellect set in firmness let him attain quietude little by little; with the mind fixed on the Self let him not think of anything.
Dhrti or firmness is a virtue born of disciplined life. Some are smart enough to distinguish academically between the permanent and the impermanent. But in the day to day life they are slaves to the impermanent sense-pleasure. As mind gets fixed in the Self, it ceases to deviate into sense-indulgence. Constant thought of the Lord excludes all other thoughts from the mind.
Mind is the main factor in you. As is your mind, so are you; It may be compared to a washed white cloth which is capable of taking any dye dipped in. When you have learnt a new language you cannot help uttering a few words from it in your conversation. Contact with the undesirables contaminates the mind. Holy company on the other hand elevates it. -----Sri Ramakrishna
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The other traits of yoga are:-
सङ्कल्पप्रभवान्कामांस्त्यक्त्वा सर्वानशेषतः ।
मनसैवेन्द्रियग्रामं विनियम्य समन्ततः ॥ ६-२४॥
6-24. Abandoning without reserve all desires born of sankalpa, and curbing in, by the mind, all the senses from all sides;
The formative thought lurking in the mind is Sankalpa. It is this seed of Sankalpa that sprouts and grows into the plant of desire. The desire that is like a spark today is capable of developing into a conflagration tomorrow. It is therefore to be entirely eliminated with the weapons of discrimination and dispassion. The senses are safe only when freed from desire.
However carefully a man may move about in a room full of soot, his clothes are bound to be stained a little at least. In the same way he who lives in the midst of sense-objects is bound to be tainted with a trace at least of lust. ----Sri Ramakrishna
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तं विद्याद् दुःखसंयोगवियोगं योगसंज्ञितम् ।
स निश्चयेन योक्तव्यो योगोऽनिर्विण्णचेतसा ॥ ६-२३॥
6-23. Let this disconnection from union with pain be known by the name of yoga. This yoga should be practised with determination and with an undistracted mind.
Bliss is the real nature of man. It is because of ignorance that he courts misery and suffers under its weight. When this assumed state of affair is alienated, he beams in his original bliss again. This act is like rousing up a man from the pangs of a dreadful dream and putting him again in his wakeful state. The meaning of yoga is to yoke one with one's supreme nature. There is no justification for anybody to invite sorrow on himself. That person who makes himself over to affliction is unfit for yoga. He who takes to yoga with buoyancy of mind, fixed intention and constancy of purpose, achieves it. Sound mental climate is a prelude to the yogi's getting back to beatitude, his original state.
Milk in a vessel continues to boil and bubble so long as there is fire underneath. But when the fire is removed its simmering stops. On this wise, the man who takes to the practice of yoga out of curiosity pursues it vehemently for sometime and then abandons it once for all. He gains nothing. Steadfastness in yoga is essential. -Sri Ramakrishna
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यं लब्ध्वा चापरं लाभं मन्यते नाधिकं ततः ।
यस्मिन्स्थितो न दुःखेन गुरुणापि विचाल्यते ॥ ६-२२॥
6-22. And having gained which, he thinks that there is no greater gain than that, wherein established he is not shaken even by the heaviest affliction;
The fleeting earthly pleasures are all ever selective. But getting into the infinite beatitude of the Self, the yogi has nothing else to seek, even as the fish in the ocean has no other abode to seek. The yogi established in the bliss of Brahman has no body consciousness. The body hangs on him just as a - shadow hangs on to a body. Any harm done to the shadow does not hurt the body; any harm inflicted on the body does not afflict the yogi established in the Self.
Whatever may be the suffering that falls to the lot of the body, the power and glory of the devotion and knowledge of a true devotee do not in the least get diminished thereby. What all tribulations the Pandava brothers had to undergo during their exile! But the exuberance of their Wisdom was in no way affected even for a moment by those ordeals. -----Sri Ramakrishna
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सुखमात्यन्तिकं यत्तद् बुद्धिग्राह्यमतीन्द्रियम् ।
वेत्ति यत्र न चैवायं स्थितश्चलति तत्त्वतः ॥ ६-२१॥
6-21. When he feels that supreme bliss which is perceived by the intelligence and which transcends the senses, and wherein established he never moves from the Reality;
Bliss is the characteristic of the Atman; therefore the extroverted senses cannot have access to it. Purified intellect grasps it to some extent. Bliss is everlasting because of its belonging to the Atman. The yogi does not want to divert himself from this bliss to the impermanent pleasures of the senses any more than the fish wants to get to land abandoning its watery abode.
While in Samadhi the yogi dives deep into the ocean of sat-chit-ananda. In that state his senses become defunct. ---Sri Ramakrishna
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The Criterion for Progress :- 6-16 to 6-20
The other indications of advancement in yoga are as follows:-
यत्रोपरमते चित्तं निरुद्धं योगसेवया ।
यत्र चैवात्मनात्मानं पश्यन्नात्मनि तुष्यति ॥ ६-२०॥
6-20. When the mind, disciplined by the practice of yoga, attains quietude, and when beholding the Self by the self, he is satisfied in the Self;
Quietude of mind and the experience of satisfaction in the Self are concomitant. Self-knowledge and Self-satisfaction are interrelated.
6-20.mp3
The one-pointed mind is being defined now:-
यथा दीपो निवातस्थो नेङ्गते सोपमा स्मृता ।
योगिनो यतचित्तस्य युञ्जतो योगमात्मनः ॥ ६-१९॥
6-19. "As a lamp in a windless place does not flicker" this is the simile used for the disciplined mind of a yogi practising concentration on the Self.
The flame of a lamp in a place perfectly sheltered against wind, is as steady as the flame of a lamp in a picture. When the mind of the yogi is completely sheltered against the wind of desire, the Self in him shines in its original splendor. He is to identify himself with that unbroken consciousness.
'Mukti is easy of access to the one deep and strong in meditation' - so goes the saying. Do you know when one is said to be perfect in meditation ? When he sits in meditation, divine effulgence engulfs him. His little self merges into the Cosmic Self. ----Sri Ramakrishna
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When may it be said that the yogi is an adept in meditation? The clarification comes:-
यदा विनियतं चित्तमात्मन्येवावतिष्ठते ।
निःस्पृहः सर्वकामेभ्यो युक्त इत्युच्यते तदा ॥ ६-१८॥
6-18. When the disciplined mind rests in the Self alone, free from desire for objects, then is one said to be established in yoga.
Wind creates storm in the sea. The wind of desire creates commotion in the mind. Desirelessness makes the mind constant and pure. Fixed in yoga is that mind which is impregnable against all desires. It rejoices exclusively in the Self. The yogi endowed with such a sterling mind is naturally an adept in meditation.
The mustard that gets scattered from a torn bag, cannot easily be gathered again. Likewise, the mind dissipated in worldly things does not come under easy control. Possession of the mind in its entirety is yoga. ---- Sri Ramakrishna
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And what are they that conduce to yoga? They are delineated :-
युक्ताहारविहारस्य युक्तचेष्टस्य कर्मसु ।
युक्तस्वप्नावबोधस्य योगो भवति दुःखहा ॥ ६-१७॥
6-17. For him who is moderate in eating and recreation, temperate in his actions, who is regulated in sleep and wakefulness, yoga become the destroyer of pain.
Physical exercise, as much as the spiritual sadhanas, is incumbent on the yogi; but it has to be resorted to, moderately. The duties of the yogi are very consequential and they have to be discharged meticulously and as regularly as the movements of the planets. The merit in him in the midst of these activities is, he is free from body-consciousness. Meditation therefore becomes easy and spontaneous to him. Pain is always associated with diseased body and mind. But the yogi takes no note of the body and he is sound in mind. Therefore yoga becomes the destroyer of pain to him.
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What are the regulations that the yogi has to observe in his earthly life? They are presented as follows:-
नात्यश्नतस्तु योगोऽस्ति न चैकान्तमनश्नतः ।
न चातिस्वप्नशीलस्य जाग्रतो नैव चार्जुन ॥ ६-१६॥
6-16. Yoga is not possible for him who eats too much or for him who abstains too much from eating; it is not for him, 0 Arjuna, who sleeps too much or too little.
The wire of a vina snaps if tightened too much and becomes devoid of music if loosened too much. In the art of partaking of food, the yogi is to act music. If he over-eats he becomes a dullard; if he under-eats he becomes weak. In regards to the quantity, and sort of food, one's physique is not the standard for another's. Each sadhaka has to fix them for himself. Sleep brings rest and relaxation and tones the system, but over or under indulgence in it aggravates Tamas or inertia, which is a hindrance to the practice of meditation.
Eat sumptuously in the day time. but let your food at night be sparse and easily digestible.
A sadhaka ought to help himself to that food only which is not heating to the body and exciting to the mind. -Sri Ramakrishna
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The Method 6-12 to 6-15
युञ्जन्नेवं सदात्मानं योगी नियतमानसः ।
शान्तिं निर्वाणपरमां मत्संस्थामधिगच्छति ॥ ६-१५॥
6-15 Keeping himself ever steadfast in this manner, the yogi of subdued mind attains the Peace abiding in Me and culminating in Nirvana.
Hunger is appeased by the one who partakes of food. The Peace of Blessedness comes to him who has reached the culmination of yoga. As heat is inherent in fire, Peace pertains to Paramatman. This Peace or santi is synonymous with mukti or emancipation. And this is the fruit of yoga.
The one who newly visits a city must first procure a good lodging for himself. Then he may roam about the city seeing many interesting things. If the lodging be not fixed first, at sunset he will have difficulties in that respect. Similarly, the man who has newly come into this world shall have to seek the everlasting shelter first at the feet of the Lord. Then be may live in this world care-free and go about his undertakings. Otherwise, the sunset of death will harass him much. ---Sri Ramakrishna
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If there be any trace of mentation while in meditation, how does the yogi engage that pacified mind? The blissful brooding is now dilated upon:-
प्रशान्तात्मा विगतभीर्ब्रह्मचारिव्रते स्थितः ।
मनः संयम्य मच्चित्तो युक्त आसीत मत्परः ॥ ६-१४॥
6-14. Serene and fearless, firm in the vow of a Brahmachari, subdued in mind, he should sit in yoga thinking on Me and intent on Me alone.
That mind is said to be serene, which is as placid as a rippleless lake. As there is in the yogi a heroic deliberation to train the mind this way, fear finds no place in him. He is a Brahmachari who, untouched by lust, is pure as a baby in thought, word and deed. As his mind has not been allowed to become Satanic, subjugation of the mind is a matter of course with him. No two conflicting things simultaneously occupy one's mind. The yogi's mind is dedicated to serve and commune with Paramatman only. He is therefore ever intent on Iswara.
When a person observes the vow of Brahmacharya rigidly for twelve years he develops a new sensory nerve known as Medhanadi. It is the intuitive faculty. Intricate and knotty problems of life are no problems to him. That penetrating faculty makes it possible for him to intuit Iswara as well, it being the acme of enlightenment. -Sri Ramakrishua
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Should the body be in any manner disciplined to bring about concentration of mind? The injunction in this respect is :-
समं कायशिरोग्रीवं धारयन्नचलं स्थिरः ।
सम्प्रेक्ष्य नासिकाग्रं स्वं दिशश्चानवलोकयन् ॥ ६-१३॥
6-13. Let him hold the body, head and neck erect and still, gazing at the tip of his nose, without looking around.
When the body, head and neck are held erect, the spinal cord becomes vertical. In this posture harmonized breathing takes place easily and freely and good thoughts come in naturally. The posture assumed for meditation should be firm, facile and deliberate. Consciousness of the body is got over in this manner. As the mind calms down in meditation, the eye-balls assume steadiness and seem as if they are gazing at the lip of the nose, while actually at rest. In meditation all modifications of the mind merge in the Self beaming as Bliss or as Pure Consciousness.
When a bird is brooding on her eggs for hatching she puts on a vacant look taking no notice of things around her. Even such is the case with the eyes of the yogi in meditation.
In meditation there is one-pointedness of the mind. Then eyes see not and ears hear not; body becomes inert, as it were. Any snake crawling on the body is not sensed then by the yogi, nor does the snake apprehend any danger from its contact with the human body.
-Sri Ramakrisana
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How should one practise meditation? The process is explained :-
तत्रैकाग्रं मनः कृत्वा यतचित्तेन्द्रियक्रियः ।
उपविश्यासने युञ्ज्याद्योगमात्मविशुद्धये ॥ ६-१२॥
6-12. Sitting there on his seat, making the mind one- pointed and restraining the thinking faculty and the senses, he should practise yoga for self-purification.
Mind loses its innate purity to the extent it contacts objects through the senses. It is very much like the rain water contacting the earth and becoming muddy. Suspending the senses and resting the mind in the Self is the only means to reclaim it to its original state. Like bathing and cleansing the body with water, mind has to be purified by repeatedly merging it in the Self. And this process is life-long. It is to be as obligatory as bathing and eating. The power and potentiality of the mind increases as it progresses in self-purification.
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The Favourable Environment 6-10 & 6-11
What sort of setting ought one to have for the practice of meditation? Here is the direction given:-
शुचौ देशे प्रतिष्ठाप्य स्थिरमासनमात्मनः ।
नात्युच्छ्रितं नातिनीचं चैलाजिनकुशोत्तरम् ॥ ६-११॥
6-11. Having firmly fixed in a clean place, his seat, neither too high nor too low, and having spread over it the kusa-grass, a deer skin and a cloth, one over the other.
There is a close relationship between the environment and the cast of the mind of the person placed therein. Living in a dirty hovel naturally leads the dweller to baseness and depression of mind. Living in a clean place of natural beauty invigorates and elevates the mind.
Seats like a lounge, a swing or a hammock are no good for meditation. A heap of grass or pebbles, a pile of logs -things such as these are also to be avoided. A rock or a platform constructed about two feet above the ground is quite suitable for this purpose. One would feel dizzy if the pedestal be too high. A seat on the ground would provide no protection against creeping insects. The provision on the platform, of a sacred kusa-grass mat, a deer skin and a cloth, one over the other would make an ideal seat for meditation.
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What is the self-preparation that one ought to undergo to come by this universal outlook? The process is presented :-
योगी युञ्जीत सततमात्मानं रहसि स्थितः ।
एकाकी यतचित्तात्मा निराशीरपरिग्रहः ॥ ६-१०॥
6-10. A yogi should always try to concentrate his mind living alone in solitude, having subdued his mind and body and got rid of desires and possessions.
It is in solitude that the mental worth of one is truly seen into. When an aspirant shuts himself up in a room, he knows that there are people in the other rooms and they know that he is confined to a particular room. A setting like this does not fulfill the condition of the sadhaka being alone in solitude. Others should not know of his whereabouts and he should have none but God to commune with. The thought of food rushes to the forefront when one chooses to fast. Akin to it, the unframed mind becomes more turbulent when placed in solitude, suppressed desires would then try to gain ground. But If the mind chooses to commune with the Divine, instead, it augurs well for it. That is really the state of desirelessness. It is by being alone in solitude that one's mind can truly be assessed by oneself.
He is not a good chauffeur who has not learnt to apply the brake properly and stop the motor car. The human body may be likened to a car. People have learnt ever to drive it on, but they do not know how to suspend its activities voluntarily. Instead of being masters of the body, they are slaves to it. He is a yogi who has learnt to make proper use of the body and to keep it quiet at his will. Quieting down the body and mind is meditation.
Minimizing the bodily requirements is imperative for spiritual advancement. He is a yogi who has reduced his bodily needs to the bare minimum. And no thought whatsoever is to be given to the possession of those few things, lest they should interfere with his meditation. Relinquishment of possessions and idea of possessions, is a prelude to good meditation.
The truly Virtuous man is he who commits no sin even when he is all by himself. That is no Virtue which is practiced for fear of public opinion. He alone is established in self-control who does not lustfully think of a woman in privacy or in public. He alone is established in self-control who does not cast a covetous eye on the gold coins that he comes across even in a deserted house. That alone is virtue which is practiced quietly and unostentatiously. -Sri Ramakrishna
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Karma yoga is Karma sanyasa 6-01 to 6-09
Inert things are all viewed with an equal eye by the yogi; but how does he view people of varying status? The clarification comes:-
सुहृन्मित्रार्युदासीनमध्यस्थद्वेष्यबन्धुषु ।
साधुष्वपि च पापेषु समबुद्धिर्विशिष्यते ॥ ६-९॥
6-09. He stands supreme who has equal regard for friends, companions, enemies, neutrals, arbiters, the hateful, the relatives, saints and sinners.
It is but natural for an ordinary man to react differently with people in varying levels of attainments and relationship. They are not normal human beings if they did not behave appropriate to the worth of the persons they contact. But the yogi's angle of vision is different. To him the whole world is a stage. Beings in it are all different manifestations of the same Divinity. As the actors of the different characters in a drama are all viewed alike by the stage manager, the yogi has nothing but a benign attitude even to those hostile to him. His supremely benevolent attitude is the greatest gift made by him to the conflict-ridden humanity.
When seen from the plains the grass on the lawn and the deodar tree on the border of the lawn present strikingly contrasty pictures. But if they be seen from the peak of a mountain they would all blend into one even verdure. Similarly the earth bound man views one as a sovereign and another as a sweeper, one as father and another as son, and so on. But after intuiting God, these differences vanish. There is no more of the good and the bad, the high and the low. God-perception alone prevails everywhere. - Sri Ramakrishna
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The constancy of the yogi is further expatiated on:-
ज्ञानविज्ञानतृप्तात्मा कूटस्थो विजितेन्द्रियः ।
युक्त इत्युच्यते योगी समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः ॥ ६-८॥
6-08. That yogi is steadfast who is satisfied with knowledge and wisdom, who remains unshaken, who has conquered the senses, to whom a clod, a stone and a piece of gold are the same.
The clarity of understanding obtained through the intellectual pursuit and pious study of the scripture goes by the nomenclature, Jnana or knowledge; but this is not sufficient in itself. It has to culminate in Vijnana- intuition which is mentioned here as wisdom. The Truth cogitated upon becomes cognised and the yogi delights both in the process and attainment. While everything else in nature shifts and changes, Akasa or space alone remains ever itself. Similarly the Self is the substratum behind the fleeting universe. It is therefore termed as kutastha. The senses get quelled subsequent to the mind being controlled. The achievement of the yogi is that he is the conqueror of the senses. Mud pie and toys are of immense value to children; but adults look on those things with indifference. While the worldly-minded ones grade the values of a clod, a stone and a piece of gold, the yogi beholds them all as modifications of the transient nature. He views all the things of the world with an equal eye, his mind being established in Brahman.
Worldly people are they who seek after the impermanent things of the earth. Godly people are they who seek God and nothing else. - Sri Ramakrishna
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What is the benign good that the self-emulating yogi can do to himself? The answer is :--
जितात्मनः प्रशान्तस्य परमात्मा समाहितः ।
शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु तथा मानापमानयोः ॥ ६-७॥
6-07. The self-disciplined and serene man's Supreme Self is constant in cold and heat, pleasure and pain, as also in honour and dishonour.
The good and evil that befall the yogi through the agency of the elements in nature and the living beings, do not in any manner affect him. The external world is not viewed by this man of self-mastery as benign or malign. Clarity of mind is his who is established in self-control. His mind reveals the Supreme Self enshrined in it. To the yogi this holy revelation is superior to everything else. Once contacted, this holy cognition becomes constant. Fluctuations in nature such as heat and cold, praise and censure do not affect him any more than the ravings of the delirious patient affect the operating surgeon. Indifferent to everything else, the yogi is in constant communion with the Supreme Self. This is the Sreyas sought after by the wise.
The mind that delights in us communion with God detaches itself easily from sense-pleasure. This is how the devotees get themselves emancipated. Contrary to this, the mind that delights in the mundane gets entangled. ------Sri Ramakrishna
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No one courts enmity; friendship alone is sought after by all. That being the case, how shall one choose to be one's true friend? The solution is offered on this wise:-
बन्धुरात्मात्मनस्तस्य येनात्मैवात्मना जितः ।
अनात्मनस्तु शत्रुत्वे वर्तेतात्मैव शत्रुवत् ॥ ६-६॥
6-06. To him who has conquered his (base) self by the (divine) self, his own self is the friend; but to him who has not subdued the self, his own self acts as the foe.
The base and the divine are the two mutually opposing natures at work in man. When either of them predominates the other gets vanquished. Where the body, mind and senses are under perfect control, the divine nature prevails and pulls the man up. Progressively he evolves into high orders of existence. But when he submits to the base nature it ruins him completely. The foe outside hurts or attempts to hurt occasionally. Even then it is possible for the self-disciplining yogi to turn that adverse situation to advantage, every ordeal calmly handled adds to the caliber of one's mind. The foe of the base nature within oneself, on the other hand, is constantly causing havoc. The reckless man therefore is personally responsible for the evils that be has brought on himself. He is the worst enemy of himself. The yogi is the only one who is a genuine friend of himself causing self-emancipation in all respects. Barring him, the others are enemies of themselves in varying degrees.
Both bondage and freedom are in the minds of men. "I am a liberated soul, I am the child of God; none can bind me" - if one can assume this attitude with firm conviction one becomes liberated. If a man bitten by a venomous snake strongly suggests to himself that there is no poison, he falls no prey to the bite. -Sri Ramakrishna
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What should, therefore, the sadhaka do? The injunction is :-
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् ।
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ॥ ६-५॥
6-05. Let a man raise himself by his own self; let him not debase himself. For he is himself his friend, himself his foe.
One is oneself responsible for one's distinction or debasement: The contributions that others make in these respects are secondary. It is but usual that one complains that one's enemy has done havoc to one. But no one can be hurt without oneself contributing to it. It is possible for a sadhaka to avail himself of a wrong done to him by his enemy for self-purification. Because of misunderstanding and maladjustment man paves the way for self-debasement. And by doing so he becomes his own enemy. On the other hand, by right understanding and right conduct he elevates himself and thereby becomes his own friend. One is one's own arch-friend or arch-foe. The one that understands this fact, learns an invaluable lesson for life.
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What are the marks of the yogi who has attained perfection in yoga? The explanation comes :-
यदा हि नेन्द्रियार्थेषु न कर्मस्वनुषज्जते ।
सर्वसङ्कल्पसंन्यासी योगारूढस्तदोच्यते ॥ ६-४॥
6-04. Then alone is one said to have attained to yoga, when, having renounced all Sankalpas, one does not get attached to sense-objects and actions.
Yogairudha is one who has attained the acme of yoga. Human perfection reaches its zenith in him. Deep dhyana or the meditation of the yogi develops into samadhi or Enlightenment. In this state, the external world which is the projection of the mind; is no more for him. There is no mentation in him to manipulate the senses. As in sound sleep, so in his self-sufficiency and beatitude of samadhi the obligatory duties even get suspended, Freed from sankalpa, his mind is calm like an ocean without waves. In this plenitude of bliss the thoughts of this world and of any others likely to come, are all blotted out. The Eternal Presence alone is.
Desires and doings are all born of sankalpa. -Manu 11-2
0 desire, I know wherefrom you take your origin. You are born of sankalpa. I shall refuse to make sankalpa of you. Annihilation વિનાશ then, is your Lot. --Santi Parva 177-25
The brilliant presence of Iswara cannot be perceived in that mental firmament which is disturbed by the gale of desires.
--- Sri Ramkrishna
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How sanyasa augments yoga is being explained now:-
आरुरुक्षोर्मुनेर्योगं कर्म कारणमुच्यते ।
योगारूढस्य तस्यैव शमः कारणमुच्यते ॥ ६-३॥
6-03. Karma is said to be the means of the Muni who seeks to attain to yoga; serenity is said to be the means when he has attained to yoga.
He is a Muni in the making who applies himself ardently to the practice of meditation. Though practicing regularly, his mind does not easily get concentrated. It wanders away in spite of himself. In that case the yogi ought to engage himself eagerly in karma yoga. The non-yogi who busies himself with the work he undertakes, is rewarded by nature with sound sleep at night. The yogi is busier definitely in the discharge of his duty, but with no attachment and selfish motive. Good concentrated meditation is the reward he gets for his disinterested work. He can know this fact by experience day by day. Clarity of mind is the result of deep meditation. It is this clarity that gets itself settled as serenity. Through proper meditation the mind gets poised in equilibrium. As the crystallization of a stuff takes place in a restful condition, so the mind gets fixed in equilibrium through meditation. On the attainment of serenity it becomes fit for all purposes personal and public. Deep meditation is the yogi's personal activity in which he delights in the sublimity of the Self. At other times the external work that he carries on is done to perfection. Serenity is the sure means for his attaining all these excellencies.
Serenity is the foremost of all the accomplishments of the yogi. From this divine gift emanate merits such as unison, equality, truthfulness, good conduct, steadfastness, straightforwardness, non injury to beings and detachment from the world.
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What is then the relationship between karma sanyasa and karma yoga?
The explanation comes:-
यं संन्यासमिति प्राहुर्योगं तं विद्धि पाण्डव ।
न ह्यसंन्यस्तसङ्कल्पो योगी भवति कश्चन ॥ ६-२॥
6-02. Know that as yoga, 0 Pandava, which is called Sanyasa; for none becomes a yogi without renouncing Sankalpa (Resolution).
It is sankalpa to create a formative imagination in the mind about the fruits of action. Sankalpa is the selfish motive behind an action. It is actuated by desire. Endless projects taking place in the mind, one nullifying or modifying the other are all born of sankalpa. He who is a prey to it can never become a yogi. Sanyasa is the renunciation of sankalpa. He who succeeds in renouncing it qualifies himself for the practice of yoga. Strength of mind is his who practises yoga. Only a man of strong mind can meditate as well as discharge his duties very efficiently. This is how sankalpa sanyasa and karma yoga become identical.
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The Blessed Lord said :-
श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
अनाश्रितः कर्मफलं कार्यं कर्म करोति यः ।
स संन्यासी च योगी च न निरग्निर्न चाक्रियः ॥ ६-१॥
6-01. He who discharges his duty without seeking its fruit, be is the Sanyasin, be is the yogi; not be who is without sacred fire and without rites.
People in general have a misconception about sanyasa. That the Sanyasin should not shoulder any responsibility and that he should be a drone, is the prevalent notion. Lighting fire is a symbol of performing Yajna. The general wrong belief is that the Sanyasin is not to do any altruistic work. Arjuna's plea that he would not engage himself in the impending war and that he would beat a retreat and live on holy alms, is an example of this wrong idea. But the Lord's contention is different. What He upholds is the true practice of Vedanta. No person should ever discard action. Each has his duty and it has to be well executed. Among the doers of duty, he is a Sanyasin, he is a yogi, who discharges duty for duty's sake and in no way attached to the fruits of his action. Because of the renunciation of attachment to work and its effect, he is a Sanyasin and because of his doing the duty very efficiently he is a karma yogi.
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Perfection in Yoga 6-29 to 6-32
The merit of the enlightened yogi is :-
आत्मौपम्येन सर्वत्र समं पश्यति योऽर्जुन ।
सुखं वा यदि वा दुःखं स योगी परमो मतः ॥ ६-३२॥
6-32. That yogi, 0 Arjuna, is regarded as the supreme, who judges pleasure or pain everywhere, by the same standard as he applies to himself.
Man does not differentiate between the limbs of his own body as high and low. They are all of equal importance to him. The harm done to any limb is the harm done to himself, because he and his limb are one and the same. An ordinary man is unassailable in this conviction of his. The yogi, in his turn, beholds the cosmos as the body of the Paramatman and himself a limb of that Cosmic Personality. One limb in a body does not hurt another, all the limbs function for mutual welfare. The yogi knows that he and his neighbours are not different, they are all limbs of the same Iswara. So he works for the general welfare of all. That yogi is supreme who has this cosmic outlook.
A few holy men were living in an Ashrama in the outskirts of a township. While the oldest of them was passing through the main street of that village, he chanced to see a landlord mercilessly belabouring a tenant of his. The holy man intervened on behalf of the helpless victim. But the landlord now directed his fury on the holy man and thrashed him to the point of making him fall down unconscious. Coming to know of this mishap the inmates of the Ashrama hastened to the spot and carried the holy man back, lying yet unconscious. When, after a long nursing, the saint opened his eyes, a tending man put the question, "Revered one, do you recognize who I am?" In gentle but clear voice came the unexpected answer, "The hand that beat then is now nursing.'' He said so because he saw the same Brahman manifesting as the many. The feeling of the offender and offended was not in the saint. --Sri Ramakrishna
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This realization being steady, the relationship between the yogi and Paramatman is further elucidated :-
सर्वभूतस्थितं यो मां भजत्येकत्वमास्थितः ।
सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि स योगी मयि वर्तते ॥ ६-३१॥
6-31. He who, established in oneness, worships Me abiding in all beings, that yogi lives in Me, whatever may be his mode of living.
A person discharged from prison is conscious that he is no more a prisoner, be he shut up in a room, enchained, handcuffed or tethered. Not the external setting but the attitude of the man is the main factor here. The knower of Brahman is conscious that Brahman alone is putting on the appearance of the many in the universe. Because of the Brahmavastha in which he is established, his contact with beings is nothing short of the adoration of Brahman. His external behavior may indicate that he is meditating, attending to the obligatory duties, or, taking rest. But subjectively he is fixed in Brahman. This is the state of liberation from all bondage. This state is technically known as Sahaja nishtha.
The ignorant one believes that God is in some far off region called heaven. The enlightened one, on the other hand, beholds Him as the core of his own being. Iswara is in the hearts of all. The seeker of God therefore realizes Him first within himself. ---Sri Ramakrishna
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If all the Jivatmas are actually one cosmic entity, then what is the relationship between this commingled entity and the Paramatman ? The truth is declared:-
यो मां पश्यति सर्वत्र सर्वं च मयि पश्यति ।
तस्याहं न प्रणश्यामि स च मे न प्रणश्यति ॥ ६-३०॥
6-30. He who sees Me everywhere and sees all in Me, he never becomes lost to Me, nor do I become lost to him.
After realizing the unity of all beings the yogi further realizes that it is the Paramatman that manifests Himself as the multitudinous beings at all levels. The One appearing as the many is not merely the yogi's imagination. It is the eternal sport of the Lord. He and His manifestations are interrelated as the ocean and the waves on it. He is therefore not lost to the Lord and the Lord is not lost to him.
Sweetmeats in the shape of various animals, birds and men are made from the same stuff, sugar. Likewise it is the Sat-chit-ananda that has assumed the forms of the sentient and insentient in the universe -Sri Ramakrishna
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Is there any change of vision of the world effected in the one who realizes himself as Atman?
The answer is given :-
सर्वभूतस्थमात्मानं सर्वभूतानि चात्मनि ।
ईक्षते योगयुक्तात्मा सर्वत्र समदर्शनः ॥ ६-२९॥
6-29. His mind being harmonized by yoga, he sees himself in all beings and all beings in himself; he sees the same in all.
Separateness is not for him who has progressed high in yoga. The distinction between the high and the low, the angel and the humble creature vanishes from his mind. He sees the same divinity in all. In his intuition the Self in him is the Self in all and the Self in all is the Self in him. The individualized selves do all merge into one universal Self. This is his realization.
Assuming individuality to oneself is like putting a dam to a portion of the Ganga and claiming the little water in it as one's own. - Sri Ramakrishna
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The Restive Mind has to be Resisted
6-33 to 6-36
To whom is yoga possible and to whom else is it impossible? The scope is clarified :-
असंयतात्मना योगो दुष्प्राप इति मे मतिः ।
वश्यात्मना तु यतता शक्योऽवाप्तुमुपायतः ॥ ६-३६॥
6-36. Yoga is hard to attain, I concede, by a man who cannot control himself; but it can be attained by him who has controlled himself and who strives by right means.
The man of self-control is he who either thinks wholesome thoughts or does not allow mentation of any kind taking place in himself. He strives by right means who applies himself steadily to practice and non-attachment.
"In those days when I took to spiritual practices I would first cleanse the mind of all earthly thoughts, make it as pure as purity itself and then invoke the presence of the Lord in it. May you also do the same! -----Sri Ramakrishna
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The way of culturing the mind is shown by the Lord:-
The Blessed Lord said
श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम् ।
अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते ॥ ६-३५॥
6-35. Doubtless, 0 mighty-armed, the mind is restless and hard to control; but by practice and non-attachment, 0 son of Kunti, it can be controlled.
The sum total of the habits of a man is his nature. It has come about as a result of his giving himself over to the bent of his mind. Unwillingly he has become the creature of his own mind, wonted to restlessness. But the old habits can be eradicated through new ones. In other words nature can be changed through nurture. An earnest and persistent attempt at the change of nature is abhyasa or practice. The uncontrollable and restless mind can be controlled and made calm. Practice is the sure means to this end. To wean the mind from its wonted ways and direct it on the ideal is practice. Mind becomes pacified as it gets drawn to the Self.
On analysis it may be found that mind runs after those objects to which it has been attached. The evils of such attachments have to be repeatedly and timely presented to the passionate mind. As the force of passion gets put down, mind comes under control. When all the base attachments are wiped out through discrimination, mind blooms into serenity. Practice of non-attachment is therefore auxiliary to the practice of meditation.
He who wants to learn swimming has to be at it repeatedly. lt cannot be learnt with one or two attempts. One dares not swim in the boisterous sea just after a day's practice. Similarly one has to train oneself much to swim in the sea of Sat chitananda. Failure in the first attempt is but natural. Sporting in it becomes possible only through persistent practice.
There is a poisonous variety of spider the effect of the bite of which cannot easily be cured. A spell has to be cast first over the patient with the root of turmeric; otherwise no medicine will have any effect on the poison. The worldly man is bitten by the spider of lust and greed. Unless the spell of non-attachment be invoked on him, no spiritual practice of his will ever bear fruit. ----Sri Ramakrishna
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चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद् दृढम् ।
तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम् ॥ ६-३४॥
6-34. The mind verily is, 0 Krishna, restless, turbulent, strong and obstinate. I deem it as hard to control as the wind.
All the unwholesome characteristics of the mind are contained in this question raised by Arjuna. Mind is labelled as restless due to its constant shifting its interest from object to object. It is as fickle as the deer. But this animal causes harm to none. Whereas the way of the mind is different; like the tiger it hurts the victims. It is therefore as dangerous to people as the tiger is. Hence is the mind held to be turbulent and as strong as the tiger. It is possible to weaken a tiger by subjecting him to starvation; but the case of the mind is otherwise. In the manner in which a starved out leech develops toughness of its skin and resists being cleft, the mind put to privation develops obstinacy. If what it wants be not provided for, it turns petulant and scheming. Further experience makes it plain that mind is as uncontrollable as the wind. But modern man has found out the ways and means of controlling the wind to a great extent. Whereas control of the mind it is, that ever baffles man's understanding.
Krishna alone is capable of taming the formidable mind. His name itself indicates his capacity to do this. The first part of his name 'Krish' means "to plough and process"; the latter part "na" means "the lord of." He is the Lord of the act of ploughing and processing the mind.
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A doubt now rose in the mind of Arjuna :-
Arjuna said:-
अर्जुन उवाच ।
योऽयं योगस्त्वया प्रोक्तः साम्येन मधुसूदन ।
एतस्याहं न पश्यामि चञ्चलत्वात्स्थितिं स्थिराम् ॥ ६-३३॥
6-33. This yoga of equanimity, taught by you, 0 Madhusudana, I do not see any stability for it, because of restlessness.
Because of the dispersed and restless nature of mind, its being collected in equanimity is not possible. The wavy ocean of the mind cannot be made waveless; this is the objection raised.
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The Fate of the Imperfect Yogi 6-37 to 6-45
In what respect is the yogi, progressing in his sadhana, superior to the man given to the Vedic rites? The elucidation comes:-
प्रयत्नाद्यतमानस्तु योगी संशुद्धकिल्बिषः ।
अनेकजन्मसंसिद्धस्ततो याति परां गतिम् ॥ ६-४५॥
6-45. The yogi who strives with assiduity, purified from sins and perfected through many births reaches then the Supreme Goal.
Learning and wealth cannot be acquired in a day or two. One has to apply oneself to them constantly. But one is held to be learned in a measure even while in the process of studying. Similarly, one is also held as a man of means even while yet earning money. A man is likewise beheld as a yogi even when he is assiduously practicing it. Learning, wealth and spirituality developed by these several individuals never go to waste. Spirituality in particular persists and progresses in the yogi through successive births. As he gets purified from sins he ceases to be affected by the inevitable fluctuations in the earthly life. Constancy of the ideal in the midst of all eventualities is his characteristic. His serenity steadily evolves into Beatitude which is the Supreme Goal. Whereas the man given to the Vedic rites oscillates and merely speculates about his future prospects here and hereafter.
The new born calf totters and tumbles down several times before learning to frisk about. Similarly, the Sadhaka has to struggle much before he meets with success. --- Sri Ramakrishna
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पूर्वाभ्यासेन तेनैव ह्रियते ह्यवशोऽपि सः ।
जिज्ञासुरपि योगस्य शब्दब्रह्मातिवर्तते ॥ ६-४४॥
6-44. By that very former practice he is led on in spite of himself. Even he who merely wishes to know of yoga rises superior to the performer of Vedic rites.
A man pressingly caught up in the midst of a marching multitude, is bound to be pushed on to the destination without much effort on his part. Similarly, the yoga propensity stored up in the mind in the previous births, combined with the present favourable and augmenting atmosphere, rapidly carries the yogi on towards the goal.
Two soldiers in the war front were taken prisoners by the enemy and forced to work for him. One of the two got himself reconciled to his captivity and chose to be a careerist under the enemy, while the other earnestly studied the ways and means of his escape, in the midst of his toiling for the enemy. People of the world are like the first prisoner, intent on making the best of the earthly life. The yoga-jijnasu or the enquirer of yoga is superior like the second prisoner is as much as he gives thought to self-emancipation. The chanters of the Vedas and those others engaged in the Vedic rites are concerned with enjoyments on earth and in heaven. Being bound to life in the senses, they are inferior. The scope of the ritualistic Vedas also is limited to the senses. The Vedas merely promote and prolong the wheel of birth and death. The enquirer of yoga gets to know of the possibilities of liberating himself from the wheel of birth and death. He is therefore greater than the earth-bound man. He who practices yoga is greater still; for, he is progressing towards perfection and liberation.
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The how of it is being explained now :-
तत्र तं बुद्धिसंयोगं लभते पौर्वदेहिकम् ।
यतते च ततो भूयः संसिद्धौ कुरुनन्दन ॥ ६-४३॥
6-43. There he regains the knowledge acquired in his former body, and he strives more than before for perfection, 0 joy of the Kurus.
The prospective yogi born in the house of the pure and prosperous begins his new life with the enjoyment of some harmless pleasures which he innocently harboured in his heart in the previous birth. Facilities for the fulfillment of those sinless desires are in abundance in the new setting. No sooner are the guiltless pleasures gone through than this aspirant takes to the practice of yoga. But that yogi who is born in the family of wise yogis has a better start. The favourable environment draws out the latent yoga elements in him. He feels as though he were going through the old lessons again. His inborn tendency ministered by the helpful surroundings, leads him on rapidly towards the ideal.
Swami Vivekananda and his guru Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa were perfect yogis born solely for the salvation of mankind. It is very striking to note that the former was born in the house of the pure and prosperous and the latter in a family of a wise yogi.
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There is another type among those who fall from yoga. His destiny is being described now:-
अथवा योगिनामेव कुले भवति धीमताम् ।
एतद्धि दुर्लभतरं लोके जन्म यदीदृशम् ॥ ६-४२॥
6-42. Or he is born in a family of wise yogis only; a birth like this is verily very difficult to obtain in this world.
Yoga continues to be practised birth after birth until perfection is reached. The environment of the parentage obtained for this purpose is necessarily congenial. Of the two types of favourable families, that of the wise yogis is superior to that of the pure and prosperous.
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प्राप्य पुण्यकृतां लोकानुषित्वा शाश्वतीः समाः ।
शुचीनां श्रीमतां गेहे योगभ्रष्टोऽभिजायते ॥ ६-४१॥
6-41. Having attained to the worlds of the righteous and having lived there for countless years, be who falls from yoga is reborn in the house of the pure and prosperous.
Bhoga-enjoyment and yoga are exclusive of each other. Where the one is, the other is not. He falls from yoga, who covets bhoga. Such a fallen yogi goes to heaven and enjoys celestial pleasures for a very long time. He then takes his birth again on earth in the house of the pure and prosperous, it being conducive to secular requirements and sacred pursuits. According to the law of karma, souls reincarnate in the environments befitting their attainments.
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श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
पार्थ नैवेह नामुत्र विनाशस्तस्य विद्यते ।
न हि कल्याणकृत्कश्चिद् दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति ॥ ६-४०॥
The Blessed Lord said :-
6-40 0 Partha, neither in this world nor in the next is there destruction for him; for, the doer of good, 0 my son, never comes to grief.
The word tata means father. It is father who has become the son. Therefore a junior or a son is addressed as tata indicating affection. The disciple is to the guru what the son is to the father. Therefore it is customary for the guru to address the disciple as son or as tata. The Lord addressing Arjuna this way is a mark of the flow of grace.
It is open to people to inquire whether this world is intrinsically good or bad. God it is that is revealing Himself as the phenomenon. The world therefore cannot be anything but good. Viewing it as filled with evil is a misnomer. One of the profoundest pronouncements of the Lord is, "THE DOER OF GOOD NEVER COMES TO GRIEF." And the devotees of the Lord are ever the standing testimony to this fact. A Sadhaka who slips from yoga never falls to a state inferior to what he has already attained. This fact is clarified thus :-
A man gets his desert in tune with his mental make up. The Lord is the kalpataru the fabled desire fulfilling tree to the devotees. -Sri Ramakrishna
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एतन्मे संशयं कृष्ण छेत्तुमर्हस्यशेषतः ।
त्वदन्यः संशयस्यास्य छेत्ता न ह्युपपद्यते ॥ ६-३९॥
6-39. Deign to dispel completely this doubt of mine, 0 Krishna; for there is none but Yourself who can destroy this doubt.
Even the Devas and Rishis come nowhere near You in dispelling the darkness; for You are the omniscient Iswara. All the intricacies of yoga are best known to none but You.
Who s whose guru? None but Iswara alone can play the role of the guru.
Nothing is impossible to the Incarnation of Iswara. The intricate problems pertaining to the Jivatman and the Pararnatman are all easily solved by Him. Even a child can easily understand His teachings. He is the sun of knowledge that drives away the darkness of ignorance accumulated through the ages. ---Sri Ramakrishna
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कच्चिन्नोभयविभ्रष्टश्छिन्नाभ्रमिव नश्यति ।
अप्रतिष्ठो महाबाहो विमूढो ब्रह्मणः पथि ॥ ६-३८॥
6-38. Fallen from both, does be not perish like a rent cloud, without any hold, 0 mighty-armed, deluded in the path of Brahman?
The rent cloud does not descend on earth as rainfall; it loses its distinctiveness in the firmament. Even such is the fate of the one fallen in yoga. He has neither the here nor the hereafter. Having renounced the sense-pleasures which are all of the earth, he happens to be one who has lost the here; and in not having obtained the beatitude born of the perfection in yoga he is bereft of the hereafter, the path of Brahman. This is how he becomes fallen from both. Can there be a plight more painful than this?
6-38.mp3
A doubt now rises in the mind of Arjuna in regard to the aspirant who falls short of perfection in yoga. He raises his question as follows :-
अर्जुन उवाच ।
अयतिः श्रद्धयोपेतो योगाच्चलितमानसः ।
अप्राप्य योगसंसिद्धिं कां गतिं कृष्ण गच्छति ॥ ६-३७॥
Arjuna said :
6-37. He who is unable to control himself, though possessed of faith, whose mind deviates from yoga, what end does he meet with, 0 Krishna, having failed to attain perfection in yoga ?
The Sadhaka is imbued with the faith that yoga leads to perfection. But he has not got the required firmness of the mind. He has not therefore attained the goal or yoga. What becomes of him who dies foiled in the attempt?
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Yoga is Unparalleled 6-46 & 6-47
Who again, among the yogis, is the best one? The declaration comes:-
योगिनामपि सर्वेषां मद्गतेनान्तरात्मना ।
श्रद्धावान्भजते यो मां स मे युक्ततमो मतः ॥ ६-४७॥
6-47. And of all yogis, be who worships Me with faith, his inmost self merged in Me, - him I hold to be the most devout.
All those who practise meditation, concentration and purification of the mind are good yogis. A purified mind easily gets at whatever it wants to own. That yogi excels who, instead of turning his powerful mind on minor deities and mundane things, devotes himself to the worship of Iswara, the Supreme Goal. There is no higher state than this to be attained by man.
The characteristics of Jivatman, the individual soul, have so far been expounded in these six chapters. To what extent the Jivatman can elevate himself has also been enumerated. There is no purpose superior to the devotion to the Lord, to which the highly evolved soul can apply himself. The following six chapters are devoted to the definition of Iswara and the development of Bhakti. This last stanza in this chapter gives the link between the first six chapters and the second six chapters. It is indicated here that the development of one form of yoga into another is as natural and spontaneous as the evolution of a boy into a youth. Karma yoga evolved into Raja yoga, and this again is going to evolve into Bhakti yoga.
Meditate on Enlightenment and Bliss which are Eternal. Then you gain Bliss which is everlasting. This Bliss in the ordinary man is shrouded in ignorance. As your desire for sense pleasures declines, your devotion to the Lord develops into divine thirst. - Sri Ramakrishna
6-47.mp3
Yoga being hard to achieve, what is the harm in the ordinary man having recourse to any other ways of accomplishing the desired ends? The sovereignty of yoga is extolled :--
तपस्विभ्योऽधिको योगी ज्ञानिभ्योऽपि मतोऽधिकः ।
कर्मिभ्यश्चाधिको योगी तस्माद्योगी भवार्जुन ॥ ६-४६॥
6-46. The yogi is deemed superior to ascetics, superior to men of knowledge even; he is also superior to ritualists. Therefore be you a yogi, 0 Arjuna.
It is incumbent on man to choose an ideal in life lest he should drift and deviate into an empty existence. The higher the ideal the harder it is to achieve. Still, an attainable great ideal has to be fixed. The highest and best of all ideals is to become a yogi. And he is a yogi who is consciously and deliberately moving towards Divinity which is the plan and purpose of creation. As a man advances in yoga his mind gets purified and thus becomes all powerful.
An ascetic is one who undergoes a voluntary mortification to obtain celestial powers and enjoyments here and hereafter. The ritualist also has this aim in mind. But instead of self-mortification he chooses to appease and propitiate the favours of the celestials to this end. So he performs the elaborate rituals mentioned in the Vedas, putting complete faith in them. But the yogi's case is simple, natural, direct and to the point. In and through desirelessness he comes close to the Supreme Goal- Param Gatim. If, however, a patch of cloud of desire happens to pass through the firmament of his heart, that desire gets immediately fulfilled because of the purity of his heart. This way the yogi is superior to the ascetics and the ritualists. The men of knowledge mentioned here are those that seek enlightenment through the scriptures. But the truths revealed in the sacred books are directly shining in the pure heart of the yogi. He need not draw inspiration from books. He is therefore superior even to men of knowledge. In becoming yogi, man achieves everything.
What is the good of mere book learning? The learned may at best be adepts in aptly and accurately quoting from scriptures. One's lifelong repeating them verbatim effects no change in one's life. But what is told in the scriptures has to be applied to life and improvement brought on it. Scriptural knowledge is of no avail to the one attached to earthly life.
A worldly man may be as much informed in religion as the spiritual man, or he may even excel in learning and intelligence. He may even be endowed with the rigidity of a yogi's life and the detachment of a Sanyasin. In the midst of these merits his life may dwindle into nothing if he utilizes them all not for the glory of the Lord but for self-glorification, name, fame and wealth. ------Sri Ramakrishna
6-46.mp3
ॐ तत्सदिति श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतासूपनिषत्सु
ब्रह्मविद्यायां योगशास्त्रे श्रीकृष्णार्जुनसंवादे
आत्मसंयमयोगो नाम षष्ठोऽध्यायः ॥ ६॥
In the Upanishad of the Bhagavad Gita, the knowledge of Brahman, the Supreme, the science of Yoga and the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, this is the sixth discourse designated:
The yoga of Meditation
