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Summary
1 - 4 5 - 9
10 - 14 15 - 19
20- 25 26-29
30-34 35-39
40-43 44-47 |
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Summary
1 - 4 5 - 9
10 - 14 15 - 19
20- 25 26-29
30-34 35-39
40-43 44-47 |
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Chapter VI of the Bhagavad Gita is called dhyanayoga (Communion through meditation). It contains 47 verses. It deals with meditation as a means of God realization.
In the beginning of the fifth chapter, Arjuna asked Lord Krishna which of the two, sankhyayoga or karmayoga is better. Lord Krishna replied that both of them lead to God realization, but karmayoga is better because it can be practiced more easily. In the fifth chapter, Lord Krishna also described in the last few verses, how dhyanayoga leads to God realization and can be useful for both the karmayogi and sankhyayogi. In this chapter, the Lord describes dhyanayoga or the Yoga of Self control, in great detail and how it can be practiced.
Verses 1 to 4 describe who is a true sa.nnyaasi or a karma yogi. It is said that mere external symbols of detachment does not make a person a sa.nnyaasi. A person who has renounced all actions is not a karmayogi. Only that person who performs actions without expecting results is a true sa.nnyaasi as well as a karmayogi. It also talks about the two stages in spiritual growth and about the characteristics of a yogaaruuDha or one who attained the heights of yoga. A person who has no attachment to sense objects or to actions and who has totally given up thoughts of the world is a yogaaruuDha.
Verses 5 and 6 deal with how each person should lift himself by his own efforts and not degrade himself. This is because one’s own self is one’s best friend or worst enemy. When the lower or baser soul is conquered by the higher self then the self is a person’s friend, otherwise it becomes a person’s enemy. In verses 7, 8 and 9 the qualities of a yogi are described. It is said that a dhyaanayogi is able to remain calm when faced by the pairs of opposites - favorable or unfavorable circumstances, joy or sorrow, respect or disrespect, and he is able to treat all material objects in the same fashion whether it is mud or a piece of gold. He is also able have the same outlook towards all people friends or enemies, saints or sinners.
Verses 10 to 13 give detailed instructions on how to meditate. The yogi is taught where he must sit, how he must sit and how he should focus his mind and breathing so that he can control his mind. Verse 14 deals with the process of meditation and teaches the yogi that he should keep his mind calm, be fearless, control his mind, be firm in his path, be absorbed in thoughts of God and totally surrender himself to God
In Slokas 15 to 19, The yogi is told that when he disciplines his mind and constantly thinks of the Lord then he realizes God. The yogi is also taught to be moderate in food, sleep, recreation and all actions which are required for sustenance. He should only carry on those actions that are required and it should be done in the right manner. Once the yogi disciplines his mind and is able to focus his thoughts on God alone, then he is said to be established in yoga. His mind becomes as steady as a lamp in a windless place, because his mind is sheltered by meditation from the winds of desire and yearning.
In Slokas 20 to 25. The Lord says that the yogi who has controlled his mind and is constantly thinking about the Lord gets the happiness of God realization. This happiness is the greatest happiness. It will be naturally understood and not experienced through the senses. Once this happiness is gained, no other happiness gained from worldly enjoyments will seem to have any worth. Even the greatest sorrows be it pain, disease or death will not affect the yogi because he is in a state that is beyond all that. The Lord then gave a description for the word yoga. He said "dukha saMyoga viyogam yogaH". Yoga is nothing but freedom from sorrow. It should not only be known by us, but also practiced with determination. If a yogi wants this supreme happiness, he should be able to renounce all desires. This is not an overnight process. It should be done slowly - shanaiH shanaiH uparameth. Very gradually he should get rid of desires, then he should try to restrain his senses using his mind and become calm and focus his mind on God alone.
In Slokas 25 to 29 the Lord says that the mind is restless and fidgeting by nature. So, every time it wanders away, the yogi should bring it back and concentrate his thoughts only on God. The Lord also says that a yogi who manages to keep his mind calm and restrain his passions, lust, desire and anger, naturally gets the happiness of God realization and becomes one with God. When the yogi becomes God realized, he sees the self in all beings and sees all beings in the self. He is able to have the same attitude to all people irrespective of their caste, creed or color.
In Slokas 30 to 34, the Lord described the attitude of a God realized yogi. He said that a God realized yogi sees the Lord in all creations and sees all creations in the Lord and hence never loses sight of the Lord. The lord also always takes care of such a person. The Lord then defined who is the highest yogi. The highest yogi is not that person who merely abandons everything and meditates, but he is that person who serves all beings and thus serves God. Arjuna who had been listening to all this, then said that he did not feel that it was possible to achieve this yoga, because it required a person to control his mind. Arjuna felt that the mind is restless and it cannot be controlled. The Lord did not reply to this observation and hence Arjuna elaborated further and said that the mind was unsteady, powerful, turbulent and stubborn and was as difficult to control as a storm.
In verses 35 to 39, the Lord answers Arjuna’s remarks about controlling the mind. Lord kR^ishhNa accepts Arjuna’s contention that the mind is restless and difficult to control, but he also says that with repeated practice and control of one’s desires, the mind can be brought under control. Then he says that this yoga is difficult to attain for that person whose mind is not controlled, however, when a person has controlled his mind and constantly strives, this yoga can be attained easily through practice." When the Lord says this, the alarm bells start ringing for Arjuna. He wonders how this can be true. So he asks, "What happens to that person who has full faith and devotion and attempts to reach God all along his life, but just because he has not been able to subdue his desires his mind might deviate from thoughts of God at the time of death. Are all his efforts wasted?. Isn’t such a person who has strayed from the path of God realization like a torn cloud, deprived of both God realization and heavenly enjoyment?".
In Slokas 40-43, the lord consoled Arjuna that any person who does good deeds can never have a bad fate. He then said that those yogis whose minds deviate from thoughts of God at the time of death, because of the uncontrolled desires, will not have to worry that the spiritual efforts will be wasted. As the yogis do a lot of good deeds they will accumulate a lot of punya and hence, after death, they first move to the heavens, where they can stay as long as their punya is not exhausted. In this time, they are allowed to satisfy all their desires. If their puNya becomes exhausted, but they still have some desires left in them, they are then born into a house of wealthy but religious people - wealthy so that they will be able to exhaust the remaining desires and religious so that, they will be able to continue their spiritual efforts, once all their desires are exhausted. In the time that they spend in the heavens, if they completely exhaust all their desires, then they are born into a house of enlightened yogis so that they will be in a suitable atmosphere to pursue their spiritual efforts even from their childhood. However Such births are extremely rare. But once the yogi is born in such a house, not only is he thoroughly purified, because he is free of all desires, but his knowledge is also left intact. Hence, he will be able to pursue his spiritual quest and realize God, with renewed vigor.
In Slokas 44 to 47, the Lord says that this yogi, even though under the influence of his senses, becomes drawn towards God because of the force of habit of their previous births. Even though he tries to seek knowledge only due to an intellectual curiosity, he becomes able to understand even the inner meanings of the scriptural texts.The yogi who strives continuously, attains perfection in this very life, because of the effect of all his previous births. He is thoroughly purified and so he is able to reach God. The Lord then tells Arjuna that he should become a yogi because the yogi who contemplates on God, is superior to an ascetic, to those who have mastered the scriptures and even those who are involved in actions, all of which are performed with a selfish interest. The Lord finally says that the yogi who constantly thinks of the Lord with supreme love and faith at all times is the most superior yogi.
In the beginning of the fifth chapter, Arjuna asked Lord Krishna which of the two, Sankhyayoga or Karmayoga is better. Lord Krishna replied that both of them lead to God realization, but Karmayoga is better because it can be practiced more easily. In the fifth chapter, Lord Krishna also described in the last few verses, how Dhyanayoga leads to God realization and can be useful for both the Karmayogi and Sankhyayogi. In this chapter, the Lord describes Dhyanayoga or the Yoga of Self control, in great detail and how it can be practiced.
Everyone in this world, acts for their own benefits, whether it is to maintain one's family, or build a house or some other reason. However it may be called, there is self interest in the background and it is so ingrained that we do not even realize it some times. We act selfishly, because we see ourselves as different from others and from God. If we look at our body, all the parts function for the sake of the entire body and not for their individual sake. If the legs were to act independently and the hands were to do only what they liked, then the body cannot function. We will we be able to work for the welfare of every one, only when we are able to understand that we are not separate entities and we are able to cultivate a universal outlook. There is a sanskrit saying,
This means that only the narrow minded people think of themselves alone. The broad minded people consider the whole world as their family. Only when we have this attitude of vasudaiva kuDhuMbakaM, all our acts will become pure because they will be self less. We will have no more concern for the results because we do not have anything to gain or lose and our acts will be dedicated to the lotus feet of the Lord. When a person acts in such a fashion, he becomes a true sa.nnyaasi as well as a true karmayogi.
Talking of sa.nnyaasis, once a sa.nnyaasi and a politician died on the same day and they went to heaven. The sa.nnyaasi was given a very small room with one window and a cot while the politician was given a palatial room with A/C, television and all comforts. The sa.nnyaasi asked God, "How is it that, I've spent my entire life serving God and yet I get a very ordinary room, while the politician is given such a comfortable room?" God replied, "We get so many sa.nnyaasis here, but this is the first time we have got a politician".
We shall now see what the Lord says about a Karmayogi.
That person who does his duty without expecting results is the true sa.nnyaasi as well as a true karmayogi. A person who has simply renounced the sacred fire is not a sa.nnyaasii and a person who gives up all activities is not a karmayogii.
There are many sa.nnyaasis in India who are examples of how not to be a Sa.nnyaasi. Guruji often used to talk about a person who decided to leave everything and go and stay in an Ashram. After a week, he decided that he wanted a bed to lie down, then he wanted an A/C because it was very hot and after that a TV because he was getting bored and so on. In a few weeks, the ashram was transformed into a mini house with all the facilities and there was nothing that he had renounced. Just saying "I am a Sannyasi" and going and sitting in isolation without real detachment is not of any use for spiritual progress.
On the other hand, if we take a person like Mahatma Gandhi, he had not renounced action. He was always performing all actions and involved in daily life. Yet all his actions were selfless. He dedicated his entire life for the welfare of others and even though he did not isolate himself or become a sa.nnyaasi, he practiced a very austere life. Such a person is a true sa.nnyaasi as well as a karmayogi. The Lord says that only when we can perform actions without being attached to results can we learn to remain detached. Again, very often inaction is misunderstood. If a person remains inactive, without giving up attachments, then it would be nothing but laziness.
Two men were listening to the radio when a contest was announced. It said, "Just send an essay explaining why you are the laziest person you know". One man told the other, "I think you should apply" and the other replied, "I know, but who will write the essay for me" He was so lazy that he did not even participate! Mere inaction, such as this, will only be a state of Tamas or laziness and will have no use at all.
What is the connection between sa.nnyaasa and yoga? In the following verse, the Lord explains the relationship between the two.
O Pandava, understand that sa.nnyaasa is the same as karmayoga because no one can become a yogi without renouncing the thoughts of the world.
Suppose the first prize in a competition is a car. Immediately we want to participate and try to get it. At the same time if it is a toy car, we will not be interested because, we know that a toy car is worthless. On the other hand, if a child is given a toy car, he will have a lot of value for it, because to him it seems very precious. The truth is all things which seem to have value for us, be it a house, a car or money are impermanent. Our job, family and status are also perishable, because our body is itself perishable. Like the child which is attracted to a toy car, not knowing that it is worthless and perishable, we are also fascinated by all these illusions of the world, and do not realize that they are not going to give us any permanent joy.
We not only become attached to all this, but also pray to God for such things, which are totally worthless. Once a Sardarji was very poor and he decided and go and pray God for some money. He went and prayed, "Oh! God, please let me win the first prize in the lottery". Then the results came and the sardar found that some one else had won. He again went to the temple and said, "Oh God, you did not listen to me last week, at least this week, let me win the first prize in the lottery". In the second week also somebody else won and so the sardar went to God the third week. He was very angry. He said, "God, I am such a dedicated servant of yours and yet you do not listen to me. This time, I will not move from here, till you promise me". Suddenly, there was lightning in the sky and a voice thundered from above. It was God and he said, "Sardar, I will give you the prize, but, you have to buy a lottery ticket, for heaven's sake".
True detachment from all worldly objects can come only when we fully realize that they are impermanent. The story of King Janaka shows what is true detachment. Once the sage Suka had camped in the outskirts of King Janaka's kingdom. King Janaka used to visit him every day to listen to the discourse. He used to go, not as a king, but as a humble disciple and he used to attend the discourses regularly. Suka realized that the king was truly devoted and he used to wait for the king before he started his discourses. When the other disciples saw this they were jealous and thought that the sage Suka did this only to please the king. One day, sage Suka decided to teach them a lesson. He created a fire by his powers and then in the middle of the discourse told the king that there was a fire. The king had his eyes closed and was in total concentration and he did not hear. The other disciples who could see flames started running helter skelter. Some of them came and said that the palace itself was on fire, but the king did not hear any of these. He was lost in total concentration. The other disciples, who had supposedly renounced everything, had all run away to safeguard their belongings while the king who owned the entire kingdom had total disregard for all the material possessions. The people who went came back in a little while to report that there was no fire, but they realized that it was lesson that the sage had taught them. It is not enough to merely say that you have no attachment, but to show it in practice is more important. It is also possible to have all the wealth in the world and yet be totally detached from it and use it for the welfare of others, just as King Janaka did.
In the next verse the Lord explains how to attain that yoga which was praised in the previous verse.
The wise men who want to climb the heights of yoga can achieve this by disinterested action. But for those souls who have become established in yoga, only absence of all thoughts of the world can lead to salvation.
We speak about experts in all fields. Once there was a lawyer who was such an expert in arguing that he convinced the jury that the judge was guilty!! In this Sloka the two stages of spiritual life are pointed out. One is the Aruruksha or one who wants to reach the heights of yoga and the other is aaruuDa or one who has reached the heights. Initially, a person should perform actions without expecting results and when he reaches the later stage, then he need not perform any action, he can spend his life in dhyaana or contemplating on God.. He can also spend his life in all actions that are centered in God. These actions comprise what is called the Bhagavatha Dharma. They include ShravanaM or hearing about the Lord, kirtanaM or singing his praises, smaranaM or remembering the Lord, padasevanaM or service, archanaM or worship, vandanaM or saluting, daasyaM or being a servant of the Lord, sakhyaM or being a friend of the Lord and aatmanivedanaM or total surrender.
Once a man was traveling in his BMW when he had an accident. Another car crashed into the side of his car and the door itself was thrown away. The man was standing on the road and crying, "Oh! My poor BMW, it got damaged so much". The police officer who came there said, "How can you be so money minded, You are crying so much about your car that you did not even realize that your hand has been cut off and thrown away in the accident". The man thought for a minute and said, "Oh! My Rolex watch!" For people like these there is no peace in this world.
The word SamaH means that there is total peace in mind. This peace is a result of the fact that there are no thoughts or attachment to the world. This peace takes the yogi to God realization. In the last verse, the Lord mentioned a yogaaruDha. In this verse the qualities of a yogaarudha are described in detail.
When a man does not have attachment either for actions or for sense objects and has renounced all thoughts of the world, then he is said to have climbed the heights of yoga.
Many of us feel that all these are not applicable to us. When I say, we are slaves of sense objects, we all look around and think it applies to every one other than ourself. We say, "How can I be a slave of what I own? Am I not the master?" Well, there is an easy way to know."How much of what you own can you give away without thinking twice?" When we are able to reach that stage where we can give away virtually anything we own to anybody who is in need, then that is the stage of the yogaaruuDha. To reach that stage, we should practice by giving away at least what we do not need or use to someone who is in greater need. It is said that the pleasure of receiving is human while the pleasure of giving is divine.
Once a little boy wanted 100 rupees. He wrote a letter to God requesting him to send 100 Rupees. He marked the envelope God, C/o Heaven and posted it. The postal authorities send it to the Post Master General (PMG). The PMG read the letter and was so touched that he decided to send the boy 20 Rs., thinking that it would be a big sum for him. The little boy got the amount and then wrote another letter to God. "Dear God, Thank you very much for sending the money. However, Why did you have to send the letter through the post office? As usual, the corrupt officials have taken 80Rs and send me only the balance".
Just as we will not know how a rasagolla tastes, unless we bite and taste it, we will never know, what is the divine pleasure of giving, unless we try and give whatever we can for others. Not every one is as lucky as we are, because we have our Guruji in front of us, who has shown us many times, how easy it is to give. We should try and inculcate this habit as early as we can so that we can be true disciples.
If we want to go to a wedding or a party, we plan what we want to wear, buy a present etc., and get ready in advance. When we plan our vacation, we start buying our tickets, buying gifts, packing our bags etc., well in advance. We also plan what we want to do during our vacation well in advance so that we will have an enjoyable vacation. When we spend so much time planning even for a wedding we attend or our vacation, should we not plan ahead for our ultimate journey. In the former two, we know when the occasion is going to come and so we can plan for some time in advance. But we do not know when we are going towards the Lord. The Lord's journey cannot be postponed by us. Time waits for no one and it does not follow Man. Man has to follow time. The Gita teaches us that we can enjoy the objects of the world but should not get attached to them or feel that we possess them. When a person leaves an office, he cannot take away the tables, the computers or any other valuable equipment (pins and papers are exceptions). He knows it the very first day that he joins the office and has absolutely no illusions about these. He also has no attachment to these. Similarly, we are all here in this world, only to perform our allotted work and we should not become attached to all the equipment that we have been given. When the Lord says that we are transferred or sacked, we should be ready to move on. If we want a promotion, we should perform our job with the right attitude and for the benefit of the organization. In the same way, if we want to realize God, we should turn our interests and actions to the welfare of the World that the Lord has created. When we truly understand this, then we can act with detachment. This is the ultimate characteristic of the yogaruuDha who has attained the heights of yoga.
Last week we talked about who is a true sa.nnyaasi or a Karma yogi. We discussed that mere external symbols of detachment does not make a person a sa.nnyaasi. A person who has renounced all actions is not a Karmayogi. Only that person who performs actions without expecting results is a true sa.nnyaasi as well as a karmayogi. We also discussed about the two stages in spiritual growth and about the characteristics of a yogaaruuDha or one who attained the heights of yoga. We discussed that a person who has no attachment to sense objects or to actions and who has totally given up thoughts of the world is a yogaaruuDha.
In a class, the students were reading out their homework essays. One boy started reading his essay. "Two days back my father fell into the well.". The teacher asked, "Is he OK now?". The boy said, " I think so, he stopped shouting for help". In this case, the only person to help the father was himself!! We shall see how each person needs to help himself in slokas 5 and 6.
This Sloka means that a person should lift himself by his own efforts and not degrade himself. This is because one’s own self is one’s best friend or worst enemy.
When the lower or baser soul is conquered by the higher self then the self is a person’s friend, otherwise it becomes a person’s enemy.
Once a little boy went to the eye doctor. The doctor asked him to read the chart and he could not read even a single letter. The doctor then prescribed glasses for him and said, you will be very happy because now you will be able to read. The boy said, "Good, My mommy was trying to make me go to school". Whatever the doctor did, he could not have made the boy read because the boy was illiterate. So, unless we ourselves decide to do something, nothing can be achieved. However, Experience shows that almost anything can be accomplished if only we put our minds to it. It is said that "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step". So it is necessary to take that first step if we want to achieve anything in life.
The mind is very complex. In any context the mind can find an argument that suits what we want to do, rather than what is right. When we are asked to do something that is difficult, for eg. If I am asked to donate blood, the mind can come up with 100 arguments as to why I should not donate blood. I can say that "I am myself weak, So how will I donate?".. I can say, "How will my bottle of blood benefit anybody" I can say, "the needles used are not safe or the doctors are bad" and so on and so forth. Once a man went to his doctor and said, "Doctor, there is some problem with my breathing". The doctor said, "Don’t worry, we will find a way to stop that".
Coming back to our subject, as long as I agree with any of these reasons and continue my comfortable existence, without contributing in any way to the society, I cannot call myself human at all. It is up to us, to rise above the normal, and attempt what is difficult. When I know that at least one man might be benefited, if I can donate blood or money or help in any manner, I should not only do it without any expectation, but also hope and pray that I will get a chance to do such a thing.
There are two levels in our mind. One is the lower level, which is filled with all the evil qualities. This is dictated by the body, senses and mind. Ego, jealousy, greed, lust, anger and all the low qualities constitute our animal nature. Animals are indeed much better in their behavior and so we shall call it human nature. On the other hand is the divine nature which has all the good qualities like selflessness, broad mindedness, desire and willingness to help others etc. Both these have a constant boxing match and in every situation, one or the other becomes the winner. Only when our divine nature can suppress our human nature, our actions will be noble and we become better people.
When our inner self makes us better then it becomes a true friend, aatmaiva aatmano bandhuH. On the other hand, when our human nature predominates and suppresses our divine nature, we become degraded and so it becomes our worst enemy aatmaiva ripuraatmanaH.
Once a man died and went to heaven. When he reached there he was surprised to see that there were many clocks there almost as if it was a clock warehouse. He asked the angel about it and the angel said that each clock represents a person on earth. Each time that person lies, the clock moves one minute. Then the angel showed him one clock and said, look at this, this belongs to a car salesman. The clock is moving because he must be completing a deal now. He then saw another clock which had cobwebs on it. The angel said, this belongs to Mother Teresa. It has hardly moved in many years. The man saw all the clocks one by one and finally said, I have seen everything, but I did not see the Indian PM’s clock. Doesn’t he have one? The angel said, Oh that! Just look above, we use it as a ceiling fan!!
We have been discussing about the need to lie in the context of our business or work. It is indeed extremely difficult to decide that "I will not lie" and then follow it. The same is true of any virtue. When we decide to lie, then there is nothing that makes us different from anybody else and we do not attempt to make our higher nature come through. All explanations that we give to justify it are only for the outer world. It is not possible for us to convince our own self that we are right. So the important thing is to be aware that what we do is wrong and try to get out of it slowly. The spiritual diary is one such instrument to bring out this awareness, otherwise all the wrong things we do, becomes so much of a habit that we do not even notice it. The right path to take is often the most difficult and so we try to avoid it.
In this context, let us think once more of Ramayana. When Sita devi was in the Ashokavana, even though Ravana tried his best to force her, Sita devi would not even speak to him. Even though Ravana threatened to kill her, Sita devi did not yield to his threats. It is because of this determination that Sita devi is respected so much by us.
Similarly we need to have the determination to follow the right path. Secondly, when there was no response at all from Sita devi, Ravana’s wife Mandodari told him, "Ravana, you are such a great man with extraordinary powers. You have the power to disguise yourself and take up any form. So why can you not take up the form of Rama himself and then Sita devi will accept you." Ravana replied, "If I take up Rama’s form, immediately, I will not have any lust because all lustful desires will at once leave me".
This is the true nature of divinity. When a stone lies on the ground, nobody cares about it. But when a crafts man makes it into a beautiful idol and places it in a temple, immediately we show respect for it. So, we need to identify ourselves with God to elevate ourselves. If we want to become one with God and think of ourselves as God, then there will be no room for any lower instincts in our life. Since we have the power of discrimination, we should do all those things that elevate us and make us better people and not do those things that degrade us. When we follow our divine nature then our nature is our true friend and when we follow our lower nature then our nature is our worst enemy
The next Sloka gives the advantage of conquering one’s lower self.
God is present in the mind of that person who remains calm when faced by the pairs of opposites such as cold and heat, joy and sorrow, honour and dishonour.
Sukha is the pleasure that a person gets when something good happens and dukha is the sorrow that he gets when something bad happens. These are the responses that a person has to good or bad circumstances. Also good or bad circumstances are a result of past actions, while joy or sorrow are experiences of present actions. A self controlled person remains balanced and calm in both.
People who are in advertising have a knack of making even unfavorable events sound favorable. In a company, the advertising department and the production department played their annual cricket match. They play only one match a year and the advertising team lost. The advertising team put up a sign in the notice board, "This season has been good for the advertising dept. because they lost only one match. On the other hand, the production dept. had a bad season, and were able to win only one match".
The yogi is one who is able to treat bad or good circumstances in the same manner. The third term used is maana apamaana. These also denote something favorable and unfavorable. However this is used to denote those actions where some one else is involved. You are honored or respected by others and dishonored or treated badly by others. So this term is used to denote those actions where others are involved. A self controlled person treats praise and criticism equally, respect and disrespect in the same manner.
A person would be able to remain calm in all circumstances, only when he realizes that the external world and everything associated with it is impermanent. Only when he has become one with God who is permanent, such an awareness and contentment can come from him. So, when a person is able to remain calm in the face of good or bad circumstances, joy or sorrow, respect or disrespect, it follows that God and the happiness of God realization are firmly rooted in Him. In terms of the previous Sloka also, we can say that His Divine nature rules supreme and he becomes divine.
The next Sloka describes the qualities of such a yogi who has realized God.
The yogi who completely understands God, who is unmoved under all circumstances, whose senses are fully under control and to whom, mud, stone and Gold are alike is called a God realized Soul.
While, GYaana is knowledge, viGYaana is application of that knowledge or wisdom. When a child touches fire for the first time, it learns that fire will burn. This is GYaana. The next time it goes near fire, it will not touch it. This is viGYaana or wisdom gained from knowledge.
Once three men were walking in the forest when they got a lamp. When they rubbed the lamp, a genie came and said that it will grant each man one boon. The first man said, "make me 100 times smarter." The genie agreed and the next minute, he became 100 times smarter and could do any calculation orally. The second man said, "make me 1000 times smarter". The genie agreed and the next minute he was able to solve complex formulae orally. The third man said "make me a million times smarter". The genie said, " Why don’t you reconsider your request, you are asking something that will change your entire life". The man was very determined and he insisted. The genie also agreed and the next minute, he became a woman!
So, when a person is filled with GYaana as well as viGYaana, it means that he has mastered everything and that there is nothing left for him to be do or know.
This is one of the qualifications of the yogi. The second qualification is kuTasthaH. Kuta is a block of iron on which things made of iron, silver or Gold are hammered into different shapes. The KuTa remains the same, although different objects come in contact with it and it is subjected to a lot of hammering. Similarly, these yogis remain the same in all circumstances.
The third qualification is vijitendriyaH. This means that they have full control of their senses. During their spiritual path, all aspirants try to control their senses which are responsible for all their feelings of love, hate, desires etc. When they reach this stage, they have controlled and won over their senses.
Finally they are described as samalostaasmakaanchanaH. This means that they treat mud or stone or gold as the same. This means that they do not show desire for those objects which are seen as precious or hate for those objects that are seen as worthless. This is because they know that these are all impermanent. They reside in God and know that God is present in all objects and so deal with all material objects in a detached fashion. That person who has all these qualities is said to be God realized.
In this verse, we talked about with how the yogis deal with various objects. In the next verse, we shall see their dealings with various people.
Here the different types of people whom we come across are described. suhR^it.h is a wellwisher and mitraH is a friend. A well wisher is distinguished from a friend here in the aspect that the well wisher has concern for our welfare without any selfish motive. A mitraH or friend is one who does good when you do good to him. An ari or foe is one who does bad things without any cause while a hateful person is one who has some selfish motive or jealousy or other cause to do evil acts. An udaasiinaH or a neutral person does not interfere when he sees two people fighting, while a madhyasthaH or mediator tries to compromise for the welfare of both. The bandhuH are the relatives while dveshyaH are those who are hostile.
So the yogi has the same attitude to all these people, friend, wellwishers, enemies, neutrals, mediators, relatives or hostile people. In addition to this, he also thinks about the welfare of saints and sinners alike. This is because he is able to see God in all beings and hence he does not distinguish one from the other.
Since it is extremely difficult to be able to think good of those who do bad to us, such a yogi rises above the ordinary humans and he stands supreme.
Last week, we talked about how each person should lift himself by his own efforts and not degrade himself. This is because one’s own self is one’s best friend or worst enemy. When the lower or baser soul is conquered by the higher self then the self is a person’s friend, otherwise it becomes a person’s enemy. We then discussed how a dhyaanayogi is able to remain calm when faced by the pairs of opposites and how he is able to treat all material objects in the same fashion. He is also able have the same outlook towards all people.
This is such a difficult quality. All of us like some people, while we simply hate others. If we dislike somebody, then our attitude to them is also bad. Once a friend told me, " I hate my mother in law". I tried to reason with him and said, "Come on, think of it this way. Without your mother in law, you wouldn’t have your wife!!". He replied, "That is another reason why I hate her".
While it is extremely difficult to have a good attitude to people whom we dislike, the yogi is one who thinks of the welfare of even enemies, sinners and hostile people just as much as he thinks of the welfare of friends and saints. It is said that little drops make a great ocean. Likewise, we need to cultivate such qualities at least to some extent. We decided that, for a start, we need to develop at least one good quality and conquer at least one bad quality. Having introduced the qualities of the yogi, the Lord now describes dhyaanayoga in greater detail.
The yogi who has controlled his body, mind and senses, should, live in seclusion all by himself and constantly meditate on God.
He is described to be aparigrahaH or devoid of all possessions. This means that he is free from his possessions. He is no more bound to this world by material objects. If a person is attached to worldly objects then it will not be possible to meditate because of the various distractions caused by these attachments.
Once a miser was walking in the beach with his only grandson, when a giant wave swept the boy away. The miser was in tears and he looked towards the sky and said, "Oh! God! You have taken away my only grandson. How will I be able to answer my son and daughter in law" and he cried a lot. Another wave came by and the grandson was washed ashore and he was OK. The miser again looked up at the sky and said, "Oh! Lord, What happened to the hat which was on his head?"
This is what happens when we become possessed by our possessions. Whenever we have a problem, we are ready to leave everything and surrender to God, but as soon as the problem is over, we feel that the material objects are more important than our faith. When we go to a temple, if we keep thinking about the slippers that we have left outside, then we cannot have our mind fixed on the Lord. When we get so attached even to our slippers, then how much more other objects will have power over us?! So, it is necessary to first free ourselves from all our possessions.
Secondly, this yogi is described to be free from desires. He not only possesses nothing, he also has no desire to possess anything. Only when a slate is clean, we will be able to write anything. So, it is necessary to clean the mind of all the impressions of the world caused by desires and hopes of getting material things and only then there will be room for God realization.
The mind, body and senses should be under our control. When we go to a shopping mall with a child, we see that the child will want to buy everything that is there. In fact, if you go to a toy store with a child, it will be impossible to come out without buying something. However, we find that, even though we behaved the same way when we were children, we do not do so any more? This is because, with age, a certain amount of maturity has come to us and we are able to control our desires to some extent. This shows that, it is very much possible for us to control our desires.
In heaven there are two gates for married men. The first gate has the sign that it is for married men who say that they are the boss and the second one has a sign that it is for married men who say that their wife is the boss. Normally there are only queues in the second gate and very few people stand in the first gate. So one day, God was surprised to see a timid looking man standing before the first gate. He went up to him and asked, "How come you are standing in this gate? Should you not be standing in the other one?". The man replied, "I don’t know all that. My wife asked me to stand here".
Similarly, we appear to control our minds and senses. But this is because of the delusion that our minds give us and make us feel that we are the masters, while, in truth we are nothing but slaves of our senses and mind. We need to practice control of our mind and this is possible only when we start meditating and watching our mind function. If we sit still for a few minutes and pretend that we are outsiders watching our mind, we can see that within just a few minutes, our mind is able to roam in so many different directions. We need to slowly rein this wandering mind by reinforcing the form of the Lord in our minds and trying to think of that again and again.
Why do children study in class rooms? Why can they not study under trees or in gardens? When Children are placed outside their minds will wander and it will not be possible to teach them or make them concentrate. Only when they are placed in rooms and provided with an atmosphere where they will not have distractions, the child can be made to concentrate. Similarly, a person who desires to meditate cannot seat himself in a place which is full of distractions. He needs to go somewhere where he will be alone and away from the disturbances of the world. He also needs to constantly think about the Lord. In practical life, it is not possible for us to seek a forest or jungle. Since we are all animals in this concrete jungle, we can only try and find an empty room in the house where we will be able to free ourselves from outside distractions.
We should think about the Lord not only when we are meditating, but also at all times. Once Narada became very proud and thought to himself that he was the greatest devotee of the Lord. The Lord wanted to teach him a lesson and so told him that His greatest devotee was a farmer who lived in earth. Narada wanted to know how a farmer could be the greatest devotee and went to see him. He saw that the farmer, before ploughing his field in the morning said "Narayana" and then started his daily routine. In the night, before going to sleep, again he said, "Narayana". He did not pray or do any other rituals other than this. Narada wondered how this man could be the greatest devotee of the Lord. He went to the Lord once more to talk about this. When he reached Vaikunta, the Lord asked him if he could take a cup filled with oil and cross all the three worlds without spilling even a single drop on the ground. Narada also accepted to do so and he carefully crossed all the three worlds, taking extra care not to spill even a single drop. He reached Vaikunta successfully and told the Lord that he had completed his mission. The Lord asked Narada, how many times he had thought of the Lord during this trip. Narada was silent. He also realized that the Lord had taught him a lesson.
Narada considered himself a great devotee and yet when he was involved in another work, even for a little while, he had totally forgotten the Lord, while the farmer, who was working day and night, managed to find time to think about the Lord, every day. This is all that the Lord expects from us. As devotees who are still engaged in day to day activities, it may not be possible for us to remove ourselves from all activities and think about the Lord at all times. We should strive to think of him, while still doing all our work and if we do that then we are sincere devotees of the Lord. We should also try and keep some time aside for meditation, because it will teach us to control our minds and calm our mind which is subjected to all the harassment of this world. The next Sloka describes how to meditate.
The yogi should firmly fix his seat in a clean place. The seat should consist of kusha grass, a deer skin and a cloth one over the other, and it should not be too high or too low.
The right place for meditation should be clean. It can be naturally clean like in a beautiful garden or the banks of a river. It can be cleaned by removing the dirt etc. Clean surroundings naturally help to elevate the mind and so this is recommended. The kusha grass is supposed to be made from the hair of the boar or varaha incarnation of Lord Vishnu and is considered sacred. This should be the bottom layer. This is covered by deerskin so that the grass won’t prick the skin and the static electricity from the body does not pass to the ground. The deerskin is covered by a cloth so that the deerskin does not prick or stick to the body and cause discomfort.
The seat should not be too high. If it is too high, then the person who is meditating might fall down and be hurt, if he happens to fall asleep. If it is too low, the insects on the ground might disturb his meditation. So, it is prescribed that he should seat himself neither too high nor too low. One should not use another person’s seat for the practice of meditation and so it is said that one should use his own seat.
Once a lady got into a bus and found that there were no vacant seats. As soon as she went near a seat, a man got up. Unfortunately, she was a fighter for women’s liberation!! She thought, "Why should a man offer me a seat? Am I weak ? So she pushed the man back to his seat and refused to let him move. The bus came to the next stop and again, the man tried to get up and again, she pushed him back. Finally, the man said, "Look lady, you have to let me go. It is already two miles past my stop" Coming back to the Sloka, the yogi should use his own seat and this is described as aatmanaH aasanaM. He should place the seat firmly because if the seat shakes or moves then the meditation will be disturbed. The next Sloka describes what a Dhyanayogi should do after seating himself firmly in a clean place.
After occupying the seat, concentrating the mind and controlling the functions of the mind and senses, he should practice yoga for self purification.
Even in worldly affairs we need to have one pointedness. Many of the great scientists have been able to succeed in research only because they were able to think of nothing else. There is the famous story of how Archimedes made his discovery of buoyancy in the bathtub. The structure of benzene was discovered by a scientist in his dream. It is said, "Apples were falling down before Newton". When an apple fell on Newton’s head, he was able to discover gravity, because he had tuned his mind to the right frequency. We can catch the right station, only if we are tuning the radio. If the radio is off, it will not catch anything! These instances show that whatever these scientists were doing, they were are always contemplating on their goal. We only have to compare ourselves to see how different we are from them. When we go to work, we think of everything else except the office work. Wherever we go, there are so many distractions and so we get easily carried away. However, great people are those who have shown single mindedness in their work.
Once a Sadhu was shot by an arrow. The pain was unbearable and the arrow had to be pulled out. There was no anesthetics etc. in the olden days and people were wondering how to go about it. The people who knew him said, "Don’t try to pull out the arrow now. Wait till he starts his daily prayers". Such was his concentration when praying that he was totally unaware of the outside world, not even that a painful arrow was being pulled out!.
Concentration is extremely difficult because we have cluttered our minds with all kinds of thoughts. We should try not to be bothered about trivial things. Our mind has immense capacity and we waste it on minor things like bothering about which movie is showing in which theater or what to cook and how much salt or pepper to add to dishes and so on. The same mind has the power to put man in space and it has been used by great men to realize God. It is hence entirely up to us to use our minds in the best way possible. We should use our power of concentration in the best way possible and meditation helps us to achieve control over our minds.
The purpose of meditation must be self purification. We should not seek worldly objects through meditation. The power of meditation is such that, almost anything can be gained by meditation. If we wish to get only worldly objects then that is all that we will get. We should strive and get rid of evil aspects such as ignorance and attachment to the world, if we want to realize God. A yogi’s aim should only be God realization
In this verse, the aspirant was asked to practise dhyaanayoga. The next two verses explain in detail about how a yogi should sit, what should be his mental outlook, the rules to follow and what he should meditate on.
The yogi should keep the trunk, head and neck straight and steady, remain firm and fix the gaze at the tip of the nose and not look in any other direction.
The yogi should not look in any direction to avoid distractions. He should look at the tip of the nose with his eyes half closed. The eyes should not be fully closed because then he will sleep. It should not be fully open because then he will be distracted by the objects that he can see. The sleep that comes to closed eyes is tamas. The activity of the open eyes is rajas. Hence the intermediate state is prescribed and he should keep the eyes half closed. He should remain firm without any physical or mental activity.
It is true that the Lord teaches us how to sit, how to keep our eyes focused and so on. But all this is of no use unless we ourselves find the need to concentrate and make our mind one pointed. Once we have this determination to become concentrated, then each of us will find our own means of meditating and achieving this.
The yogi should sit absorbed in thoughts of Me, firm in the vow of brahmacharya and fearless, keeping himself perfectly calm and with the mind held in restraint and fixed on Me (the Lord),
The yogi is described as fearless. Once a Sardarji was travelling by plane for the first time. His neighbour asked him, "Are you not afraid?". The Sardarji said, "No, why should I be?". The neighbour said, "What if this plane crashes?". The Sardarji said, "Why should I care, It is not my plane!!" All fears like fear of disease, dishonor or criticism and death arise only when there is a feeling of I and "Mine" and the attachment to the body. When a person realizes that the body is perishable while the soul or the real self is not, then there will be no fear at all in his mind and hence he will be fearless.
The yogi is described as serene or calm. This is because he is free from likes and dislikes. These are present only in that person who is attached to worldly objects. The problem with attachment to worldly objects is that there can be no satisfaction at all from them. When a person realizes that only God is present in all objects, he does not feel the presence of different objects. He has no attachment to any objects, because he does not see it as different from him and so he does not desire them. He is not afraid that he will not get them or angry that somebody might come in his way. He is free from the evils of lust, anger and fear because he sees everything as the same and so, he gets peace.
This yogi should then control his thoughts and concentrate on the Lord and his form and activities. He should remain absorbed in the thoughts of the Lord, if he wants to realize God. The Lord says that the devotee should completely surrender himself to the thoughts of the Lord. We often recite the sloka, "ananyaaschintayantomaaM ye janaaH paryupaasathe". What does this mean? This is a promise from God. He says "I shall protect those people who think of nothing else but me, who are totally devoted to me" The yogi also should always think of the Lord. If We completely surrender ourselves to God and are totally absorbed in Him, then He will take care of us. If we have this faith, then we will not be worried under any circumstance, we will not be oppressed by all our problems. Our worries are due to the fact that we feel we are the doers. We should get rid of this feeling, simply perform our assigned tasks and leave the results to God, with total faith and devotion.
Last week, we discussed Slokas 10 to 14. In slokas 10 to 13, there are detailed descriptions of the setting and process of meditation. The Lord describes, where the yogi must sit, how he must sit and how he should focus his mind and concentration. The fourteenth verse describes the process of meditation on God. The Lord asks the yogi to keep his heart calm, be fearless, control his mind and be firm in his path, have the Lord as his supreme goal and completely surrender himself to the Lord.
Once the yogi meditates in this fashion, with full concentration, what does he achieve? This is described in the next sloka.
Once a man joined a company as the new MD. As soon as he joined, the old MD met him, gave him 3 envelopes and said, "There is a custom in our company. Every MD who leaves, gives the new MD these three envelopes. Whenever you face problems which you can’t solve, open these one by one to find the solution". After a few months, he had some problems with the union and he did not know what to do. He then remembered the envelopes and opened the first envelope. The message read "Blame it on your predecessor". So, he called a meeting and said that all the problems were due to the old MD and managed to satisfy the union. Then a few more months passed and again he had a major problem - this time with the sales. Having no other option, he now opened the second envelope. The message said "reorganize" and he did this and soon the problem was solved. After the first year, he ran into a very serious problem and the company fell into very difficult times. He tried a lot of things, but everything failed. Finally he opened the third envelope. The message said, "Now, it is your turn to prepare three envelopes".
Like the old MD, the Lord also has given us detailed instructions in our practice of meditation. But all this is only up to a point. Beyond that, it is in our hands. In a lab, suppose we are doing an experiment, we are told, what are the conditions that we have to maintain. Sometimes, we need to keep the temperature or pressure constant, we need to add the ingredients in a specific manner and so on and so forth. Similarly, for success in meditation, all the conditions are prescribed in great detail by the Lord. But as He says in the beginning of the chapter, only each person can help himself. No matter whose help we take, be it our Guru or a friend or books, if we want to succeed, the ultimate effort must be ours alone. A person cannot hope to control his mind using someone else’s help. The spiritual path is a lonely one, in the sense that there cannot be anyone else to accompany us. Each of us needs to make our way, and grope through it, with the confidence and motivation only from within ourselves.
Meditation is not a part time job. One needs to constantly think about achieving God realization, if we want to succeed in it. Just as we discussed last week, how scientists and inventors could achieve their goal only because they were constantly thinking about it at all times, so too the yogi must think about God realization at all times and should constantly strive towards it.
The Lord now describes the regulations that a yogi must follow in the next two verses.
Arjuna, this yoga is neither for one who overeats, nor for one who starves himself. It is neither for one who sleeps too much, nor for one who is always awake.
A Sardarji, and a Madrasi were doing construction work on top of a 20 floor building. They were sick and tired of finding the same lunch everyday. One day, the Madrasi opened his lunch box & said, "Idlis again!! If I see Idli once more, I will jump off this building". The Sardarji also opened his box and said, "Chappathis again! If I see Chappathis once more, I will jump off this building". The next day, the Madrasi opens his lunch box, sees Idlis and jumps off the building and dies. The Sardarji then opens his lunch, sees Chappathis, and jumps and dies. In their funeral, the Madrasi’s wife is crying. She says, "If I had known, he was so bored of Idlis, I would never have packed it". The Sardarji’s wife says, "I don’t know what to say, he packs his own lunch!!".
It is said that too much of anything is good for nothing. The Lord says the same here in the context of regulating our diet. The Lord also advocates the yogi to regulate his sleep. When a person sleeps too much, he becomes lazy and inert. When he does not sleep at all, he becomes drowsy and sleepy and loses alertness. So people who sleep too much or too little cannot practice meditation.
So, What precaution must we take? This is further explained in the next Sloka.
Yoga, which removes sorrow is possible only for that person who is regulated in diet and recreation, regulated in performing actions and regulated in sleep and wakefulness
Once a woman was accused of poisoning her husband. In the court, the lawyer asked her, "Lady, you put poison in your husband’s coffee and watched him drink it. Did you not feel pity for him, even for a moment". She said, "Yes, I did feel sorry for him for a moment, when he asked for a second cup". Moderation in food, is not asking for the second cup. Moderation is not filling our stomach till we feel that it will burst at the seams. Moderation in food means that a yogi should eat the food which is of Sattvik nature. The food should be obtained in an honest manner, it should be pure, it should be easy to digest, light and only as much as is required.
Moderation in action means that all actions that are performed should be done happily and for the welfare of others. The yogi should not exert himself so much that he will be too tired. He should perform actions that are expected in the right manner.
The yogi should also be moderate in sleep and wakefulness. He should go to sleep early and rise early. Wakefulness also means that he should be awake and alert to the fact that the human life should be used to attain salvation. It is a special gift which needs to be utilized in the right manner and should not be wasted in pursuit of material objects.
Each of us, are given two sources of capital when we enter this world. We are given a certain amount of time to live in this world, which is our age and we are given a certain amount of wealth. We have income and expenditure of both of these. All that we spend on eating, recreation etc. are on the expenditure side of our material wealth. Our job and what we earn are on the income side. Similarly sleep or leisure activities are the expenditure side of our age and the time we spend thinking about God is on the income side.
Of the 24 hours in a day, if we divide equally, we have 6 hours to spend on each of these four activities, namely eating, working, sleeping, and thinking of the Lord. On the wealth side, suppose a person spends more than he earns, his life will be ruined. If we were to spend 6 hours on eating and recreation, then we will have only 6 hours for working. So, we increase our work time and compensate by reducing the time on eating and recreation. Similarly we should also use more of our age for spiritual contemplation and less for sleep and other activities. Just as wealth will be wasted if we eat more and earn less, age is wasted when we sleep and spend our time in other activities, instead of thinking of God.
We can remember God during all our activities of the day and be thankful for all that we have been blessed with. Often, many of us have a tendency to complain about everything. When we are asked, Are you happy?, immediately people say, "No, there are so many problems that I have. Problems at work and home, health problems etc." Instead of being worried about all the minor problems, we should be positive in our attitude and try and think of all the blessings that we have. All of us have so many things to be thankful for. Instead of thanking God for our general good health, we complain about head aches or minor health problems, instead of thanking Him for our good jobs, we start saying that it is boring or find some other problem to be unhappy about, instead of being thankful that we get a vacation at all, we complain that the vacation is too short or delayed. There are so many people who are less fortunate and we are indeed blessed. We have taken all these things so much for granted that we do not feel we need to be thankful for them. When we go to sleep in the night, there is no guarantee that we will wake up in the morning, or we can even walk or talk!! Even the smallest of our actions are gifts of God and it is only natural that we think of Him with gratitude in all our actions.
It is hence that the yogi is asked to regulate all activities such as eating, sleeping etc. and devote his time in contemplation of the Lord. When a yogi achieves moderation in all these activities then his yoga helps in removing all the sorrow. All of us know that sorrow is only caused by attachments to this world and when a person moderates all the worldly activities, then his attachment to them will be minimal and he will perform only what is absolutely necessary for him. He will not indulge excessively in such activities and hence he will be able gain happiness by concentrating and achieving his goal of God realization.
The Lord had given detailed instructions on how to meditate and even what precautions to follow in terms of food, actions and sleep. Now, how can a person know, if his meditation is progressing well? This is answered in the next Sloka.
When a person’s thoroughly disciplined mind gets focused on God alone, then this person who is free from yearning for all enjoyments, is said to be established in yoga
The desire for worldly objects is so strong that even people who appear to be great devotees sometimes cannot free themselves from it. Three priests were discussing about what they do with the money that they get in the collection plate. One priest said, "I draw a line and then throw the money in the air. Whatever lands in front of the line, I give it to God and I take the rest." The second priest said, "I also do something similar. I draw a circle and throw the money in the air. Whatever lands outside, I give to God and I keep the rest". The third priest said, "I also do something similar. I throw all the money in air. Whatever God can catch, he can keep"
As long as a person has desire for worldly objects, there is no way that he can focus his mind on God. On the other hand, when a person is able to constantly think about the Lord alone, and no other thoughts disturb him, then it means he has become firmly established in meditation. This means that he has understood the true nature of the material objects and no more needs or wants them He is able to focus his entire attention on thinking about God and he is a true yogi.
The nature of his mind is further described in the next verse using a beautiful example.
The mind of the yogi practicing meditation on God is so disciplined and unwavering, like a light which does not flicker in a windless place.
In this verse, the yogi’s mind is described to be very steady. It is described to be like a flame that is sheltered. We might think, when some one is describing the steadiness, will it not be more appropriate to compare it to something steady and firm like a wall or a pillar or a mountain? How come, it has been compared to a flame? The example used here is most appropriate because, it takes into account the nature of the mind. The mind is flickering by nature and not steady at all times. Only under the right circumstances, the mind can be steadied. The wind described here is comparable to the various worldly objects that are present everywhere, just like wind which is present everywhere. When wind blows, then the flame flickers, similarly, when all these objects attract us, then, the mind wanders towards all of them and is disturbed by them. Just as there is light in the flame, there is the light of God in our minds. The light will be steady when the lamp is kept in a place that is sheltered from the winds. Similarly, when the mind is disciplined and sheltered by meditation, then there are no desires in the mind and it remains steady in the thoughts of God
Last week we discussed Slokas 15 to 19. The yogi had been asked to discipline his mind and constantly think of the Lord. When he manages to meditate in this fashion, then he realizes God. The yogi was also taught to be moderate in food, sleep, recreation and all actions which are required for sustenance. He should only carry on those actions that are required and it should be done in the right manner. Once the yogi disciplines his mind and is able to focus his thoughts on God alone, then he is said to be established in yoga. His mind becomes as steady as a lamp in a windless place, because his mind is sheltered by meditation from the winds of desire and yearning.
Some people shelter their mind from knowledge itself. Once a villager won a lottery. So, he took his wife and went to a big city for the first time. They went to a five star hotel and booked a room. They wanted to make sure that they don’t appear stupid, so as soon as they entered a room they told the porter, "Don’t think, we villagers will accept anything that you give. This room is very narrow, does not have any windows and does not even have a bed. We refuse to stay here". He replied, "But sir, we haven’t reached your room. This is only the lift".
Having said that the yogi reaches the state of peace and bliss of God realization, the Lord now describes this state in the following verses.
The state in which, the mind is controlled by yoga and becomes still and the yogi uses his purified self to realize God within himself and rejoices in that self.
The determination to practice meditation is called dhaaraNaa, while the process of meditation, where there is a continuous flow of the mind towards the self and there are no thoughts of anything else is called dhyaana. In the process of meditation there are three elements - the person who meditates - the meditator, the process of meditation and aim to be achieved. When a person is aware that he is meditating on God, then the process is only meditation. But when a person becomes so engrossed in his aim to reach God, that he does not think of either himself or the process and is aware of nothing other than God, then he reaches samaadhi (trance). In the former state, there is ekagra or total concentration of mind and the person who is meditating is trying to concentrate consciously, but in the latter there is niruddha and the mind gets tied up and there is no awareness of anything and he becomes one with God.
A man was walking through a forest pondering life. He walked, pondered, walked, and pondered. He felt very close to nature and even close to God. He felt so close to God that he felt if he spoke God would listen. So he asked, "God, are you listening?" And God replied, "Yes my son, I am here." The man stopped and pondered some more. He looked towards the sky and said, "God, what is a million years to you?" God replied, "it is just a second" He then asked, "and what is a million rupees". "Just a paisa" God, "Can you give me a million rupees?". God replied, "Sure, in a second"
When yogis meditates with total concentration, during the meditation process, they reach a stage when they can gain mystical powers. This might deviate them from the ultimate Goal. These are all obstacles because they again tempt the yogi with material riches, power etc. These have to be overcome and only when a yogi remains indifferent to them, he can reach the ultimate stage of God realization.
The yogi realizes the self in him, by his own self, because the self remains the same. The main obstacles to realizing the self are the attachments to worldly objects. When the yogi begins to meditate, he lets go of all attachments to the world and the mind becomes quiet and then he is able to realize the inner joy. This joy is so permanent that he is completely satisfied with it and does not seek or want anything else.
The nature of the joy experienced in this stage is further described in the next sloka.
In this state, the soul experiences joy which is permanent and beyond the reach of the senses and which can be perceived only by the intellect and once established in this state the yogi does not move from the reality of God on any account.
Talking of joy, a friend of mine used to say that "marital bliss" is a contradiction in terms. He says you can either be married or have bliss. Once, A man was boasting to his friends that he was taking his wife to Rome for their 40th wedding anniversary. "What will you do for your 50th?" one of them asked. He said, "I will go and get her back."
raajasik joy is that which is perceived by the sense objects. Joy derived by sense indulgence or sense pleasures, are raajasik joy. Happiness from eating a rich meal, seeing a movie etc. are raajasik. In this sloka, the joy is described to be atiindriyam.h which means that the senses cannot grasp it. It cannot be seen, felt, smelt or tasted. It is beyond the grasp of the senses and so it is superior to raajasik happiness.
saattvik joy is that which is derived by going to the temple or thinking about God or helping others. Even saattvik joy is only temporary because it lasts only at the time of that action. However in this shloka, the joy is described as aatyantikam.h which means that it is eternal. It is complete and continuous. So this joy is superior to even saattvik joy.
The yogi gets happiness which cannot be perceived by any of the senses. We cannot perceive oxygen by our senses, but we know that it exists. We cannot perceive emotions such as love, hate or affection by our senses but we can know it by our intellect. Similarly when the yogi reaches this stage, the joy will not be perceived by his senses but understood by his superior intellect. It is said that he never moves from the truth. This is because, he has the knowledge that the only reality is God and everything else is unreal. This is the tattva which is referred to in the sloka. Since, he knows this truth and has become established in God, he will never want to fall from that state into the material world and hence he never moves from the truth.
This state of joy is further explained in the next sloka.
And having obtained this state, the yogi does not think of any other gain as greater than this state and he is so established in this state that he is not shaken by the heaviest of sorrows.
yaM - which: laabhaM - gain (in the form of God realization) : labdhvaa - having obtained : aparaM - any other : na manyate - does not consider : adhikaM tataH - greater than that : cha - and : yasmin.h sthitaH - established in which : guruNaa duHkhena api - even by the heaviest sorrows: na vichaalyate - is not shaken
If a person gets the taste of sweets, then just eating sugar will not be satisfactory to him. When he gets 1000 rupees, then 10 rupees is not of value to him. A person who lives in a big house will not want to go and live in a single room. Similarly, when the eternal happiness of God realization is perceived, it is so great that everything else seems trivial. A person might get happiness from eating and sleeping. But he gets bored of taamasik joy, and then starts running after those things that satiate the senses. Even this raajasik joy gets boring when a person savors the happiness of devotion to God. The happiness of God realization is superior to even this saattvik joy and therefore it is superior to everything else. Having attained this, the yogi will not feel that there is anything else that is comparable to this.
In this shloka, the yogi is also said to be unshaken even by the greatest sorrows. Even if he is bodily harmed or somebody who is very close to him becomes sick or even dies, he is not affected. This is possible because the yogi is now totally identified with God and so he is not affected by anything that happens to the body. All the contacts with this world are only superficial and he has become above all these and hence sorrow which is caused due to this attachment cannot affect him. In the next sloka, the Lord further inspires us to gain the supreme happiness of God realization.
That state called yoga, which is free from the contact of sorrow (in the form of birth and death), should be known. This yoga should be practiced firmly, without getting discouraged.
vidyaad.h - one should know : taM - that state : duHkhasa.nyogaviyogaM - which is free from the contact of sorrow : yogasa.nGYitam.h - is called as yoga : saH - that : yogaH - yoga : anirviNNachetasaa - without tiring or giving up : nishchayena - with firmness : yoktavyaH - should be practised.
When a person accepts his affinity with the world, it means that he believes that he is born in this world, possesses money, house, car, family and owns all material things. Each of these things are silken threads that tie him to the world and as many possessions that he has, so many threads are tying him up. Whenever any of these are pulled away from him the thread gets snapped and he gets hurt by it. If he wants to move up and reach God he cannot because all the threads pull him down. The beauty of this situation is that, the moment, he decides that he has to be untied and ignores them then they break away and they set him free. All the strings exist only as long as he himself accepts them. So, when a person decides to give up all the affinity to this world, then automatically, he decides to dissociate himself from the sorrows of this world. When a person frees himself from this, then he reaches God and does not have to be born again. So he becomes free from the contact of this sorrow of birth and life.
Once a pious man who reached the age of 80 suddenly stopped going to the temple. Alarmed by the man's sudden absence, the priest visited the man. "How come after all these years we don't see you at temple?" "Well..," the old man replied, "When I reached 80, I thought that God must have forgotten about my death... I don't want to remind him now..."
Such is the nature of attachment to this world, that we do not want to leave it at all, even though we know that all the problems we face are due to this attachment. One of my friends used to say, "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die!!" This is the kind of attachment we all have towards this world. When a person frees himself from attachment to this world, then he also frees himself from the agonies of birth and death and this state is defined as the state of yoga. The yoga of meditation has to be practiced with determination. The yogi should not start feeling that there are no results and he should not give up in the middle. This is the meaning of the term anirviNNachetasaaa - without giving up hope, untiringly, zealously. He should realize his goal and should not stop till he achieves the joy of God realization.
This is necessary not only in meditation, but also in all our actions. Many of us do not achieve our full potential because we give up too soon and do not try hard enough. There is a big bridge that connects Newyork with Long Island, which is called the Brooklyn bridge. The bridge was built by a man called Washington, based on his father’s inspiration. When they started building this, there was an accident and the father was killed. The son was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged. One day, he had an idea. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife. For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife`s arm, and based on this the engineers built the bridge. Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal. Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realized with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.
The next verse describes the requirements for meditation on God within one’s own self.
Completely renouncing all desires arising from the thoughts of the world and fully restraining all the senses from all sides by the mind.
saN^kalpa prabhavaan.h - arising from the thoughts of the world : kaamaa.n - desires : sarvaan - all of them : asheshhataH - without any remnants : tyaktvaa - renouncing : manasaa - by mind : indriyagraamaM - the entire group of senses : samantataH - from all sides : viniyamya - fully restraining
This verse says that all desires are caused only due to the thoughts of the world. All the desires such as desire to possess objects, all hopes, lust and even a desire to live in this world arise only because of attachment to this world. The yogi’s mind should be totally free from such thoughts.
A young man told his friend. "I don’t know what to do?" Every time, I decide to marry a girl and take her home, my mother doesn't like her." "Oh, that's easy," his friend replied. "All you have to do is find someone who's just like your mother." "I already tried that," the young man cried. "Immediately, my father rejected her!"
Our likes and dislikes, feelings and desires are all so deep rooted that however much we try to get rid of them, some traces always remain. When a box has camphor in it or sandalwood or masala in it, even when the box is empty, the smell will still persist. Similarly, even though there may be no desires left, some traces might persist. The yogi is asked to remove even these traces of desire, because they are sufficient to cause him to deviate from his path.
It is true that the senses run towards all the worldly objects. Sometimes, when we are trying to concentrate on a book, something catches our eye and immediately we are distracted, there is a slight sound and our ears lead us to be distracted, there is a whiff of perfume or cooking and our nose leads us to distraction. So senses are always running after the worldly objects. But the senses can distract a person only when the mind is not powerful enough to control them. The yogi is asked to use his mind to totally cover all the senses from all sides and prevent them from causing distractions. The mind should be made one pointed by concentration and when the yogi has complete control over his mind then the senses will not distract him. Once the yogi has removed all traces of desire and completely restrained all his senses with his mind, what should he do? This is discussed in the next sloka.
Through gradual practice the yogi should attain calmness and fixing his mind on God using his reason and being firm in his path, he should think of nothing else.
shanaiH shanaiH - through gradual practice : uparamed.h - should attain tranquility: dhR^itigR^ihiitayaa bud.hdhyaa - becoming firm using his intellect : manaH - mind : aatmasa.nsthaM kR^itvaa - focussed on God, within himself : ki.nchidapi na chintayet.h - and thinking of nothing else.
The yogi is told here that gaining control of the mind is a gradual process. Although the yogi tries to focus his mind on God, it keeps wandering and thinks about the worldly objects. The yogi has to gradually bring back his mind to thoughts of God. He has to constantly try and be firm in his path. When a small child is running around the house and picks up a knife, the mother tries to stop it by cajoling and coaxing it. If she does not succeed she tries to distract it or explain to it or finally punish it. The child also keeps going back to the same knife every time. Similarly the mind has to be coaxed and cajoled or even forced not to deviate and the yogi should bring it back to the right track.
The yogi should try and focus his mind on God. Every time his mind deviates to something else, he should realize that all that is not God and saying thus, he can bring his mind back to God. With time, he should also negate the process itself. He should get rid of the feeling that he is meditating on God, or he should become one with God. This is the ultimate stage where he thinks of nothing else but God. In this stage there is no process of meditation and there is no one who is meditating, because he is himself God. When he becomes totally absorbed then there are absolutely no thoughts at all, because even the thought that he is meditating will not be there. This is the meaning of "na kinchidapi chintayeth".
Once A woman came home and shouted to her husband, "Pack your bags! I won the lottery!" "Should I pack for warm or cold weather?" asked her husband. "It doesn't really matter, so long as you get out of this house in an hour!" The desire for worldly objects is such that it turns even a husband against a wife, a friend against a friend and makes a person extremely selfish.
When we perform actions, if we understand that it is God who is present everywhere, it makes our actions just and unbiased. We will not do anything for ourselves, because we do not think of ourselves as different from anybody. We will not have any fear that somebody might take away something because we see don’t see them as different from us. When all actions are performed keeping in mind that God is present everywhere only then, the same thoughts persist while meditating. While meditating also one should remember that it is God who is present everywhere in every one, at all times, places, things, incidents and actions. When we truly understand this, only then we would be able to remain established in God without thinking of anything else.
Two weeks back we discussed Slokas 20 to 25. The Lord says that the yogi who has controlled his mind and is constantly thinking about the Lord gets the happiness of God realization. This happiness is the greatest happiness. All our understanding is totally dependent on our senses. We touch, taste, smell, see objects and understand about them. But this divine happiness cannot be reached by any of the senses. It cannot be experienced using the senses, cannot be analyzed using our intelligence, but will be understood in our mind. Even If I am in a dark room, where I cannot see anything, I do not need any light to know that I am standing there. I do not need to see touch or feel myself to know that I am there. It is something that is evident to me. This happiness too will be naturally understood and not experienced through the senses. Once this happiness is gained, the world can give nothing greater than this to the yogi. No other happiness gained from worldly enjoyments will seem to have any worth. Even the greatest sorrows be it pain, disease or death will affect the yogi because he is in a state that is beyond all that. The Lord then gave a description for the word yoga. He said "dukha saMyoga viyogam yogaH". Yoga is nothing but freedom from sorrow. It is divorce from sorrow. So yoga must not only be known by us, but it should be practiced with determination. If a yogi wants this supreme happiness, he should be able to renounce all desires. This is not an overnight process. It should be done slowly - shanaiH shanaiH uparameth. Very gradually he should get rid of desires, then he should try to restrain his senses using his mind and become calm and focus his mind on God alone. Is this an easy task? Can this mind become focused so easily? The Lord answers this in the next verse.
By whatever cause the mind, which is restless and fidgeting, wanders away, the yogi should bring it back from that and concentrate only on the Self.
The mind works by association. The boy knew about the teacher and he could make a statement about the experiment. The mind just moves from one thought to another. Here the lord describes the mind using two adjectives - asthiraM and cha.nchalaM. asthiraM means that it cannot hold on to one idea. It keeps jumping from one idea to another. And cha.nchalam means restless. Even when there is one thought in the mind, the mind keeps running up and down that thought. The mind is like a monkey. Just as the monkey jumps from branch to branch of a tree, the mind keeps jumping from one thought to another. We may be sitting in front of the Lord and chanting Krishna, Krishna. While we are saying this, the mind thinks, what happened to Krishna who studied with me in school. Thinking about the school, the mind runs into the school and thinks about the teacher who taught us in school. From the teacher, the mind thinks that the teacher is now in London and runs to London. Then it thinks, personally I like America better and runs to the US. Once in the US, the mind also does a bit of sightseeing!! So, it jumps to the Niagara falls. The mind thinks "Oh! How wonderful the Niagara falls are". Now it suddenly remembers the what it was originally doing and comes back and falls at Krishna’s feet. Krishna is standing there only ready to bless us, but the mind has traveled the entire World. So starting from Krishna, we travel the entire world, from our school to London to US that too to Niagara falls, thanks to this unsteady mind. Swami Chinamayananda saya that all Indian gods have smiles in their face, because they know this is what happens when we pray. We have our mind wandering in all directions and then think that our prayer session was excellent!! The Lord says that the mind will keep jumping, but call it back every time. When we say Krishna and then think about a friend, say "No, come back and again think about the Lord". Just as a child which is restless will keep running away from its mother and the mother keeps bringing the child back, the mind needs to be brought back again and again. Just as a train can only travel along a track and if it derails, it has to brought back, when ever our mind derails from the track, we need to pull it back. When bullocks are used to plough a field, they are yoked together so that they will work well. Similarly, our mind needs to be yoked and this yoking of the mind with thoughts of God is called yoga.
Man is an animal who will do anything only if there are any benefits for him. When we want to a horse to move, we need to show it a carrot - an incentive so that it will move. Human nature always questions, "What’s in it for me?". So, too, the yogi might wonder, what he will get when he controls his mind and is always meditating on God. In The next verse, The Lord deals with the benefits of withdrawing the mind from all sides and concentrating on God.
Supreme bliss truly comes to that yogi whose mind is calm, whose passions are subdued, who has become one with Brahman and who is without sins.
When we go on our vacation, we often plan to go to Tirupati. We take either a car or some people even walk up to Tirupati. They walk for hours together and then go up the hills, have a bath in the cold water, stand for hours in the queue and then finally reach the altar. The moment they see the Lord, they feel a great amount of joy that all the efforts don’t seem to be much. That joy is so supreme that they cannot express it in words, they feel that for that one moment of joy, anything can be done again. They come and say, "Today, I felt God." The whole year they spend in these memories and then the next year they set out on the same trip. They do everything in the same manner, walk up, have a bath, stand in the queue and stand in front of the altar all the time waiting for that same joy to sweep them and then nothing happens. Then they say, "this time it was not like the last time". This is because the first time, the happiness came naturally, unexpectedly, but the second time, they are not really experiencing the event, but all the time they are comparing the event with their memories. Because of this the mind is in great