#Gita Chapter 06 (English translation)
Chapter 6
YOGA OF MEDITATION–AATMA SAMYAMYA YOGA
Sri Krishna Bhagavan speaks:
He is a sannyaasi and a yogi who performs his duties without depending on the fruits of the action; (he is not a sannyaasi or a yogi) who merely observes rituals and shuns all action. II6.1II
Renunciation is yoga, son of Pandu (Arjuna). You cannot be a yogi without renouncing your expectations. II6.2II
If you are seeking the heights of spiritual meditation, practice is the means. If you have attained the heights of spiritual meditation, inaction (quietude) is the means. II6.3II
When a man is not attached to sense-objects or to actions, having renounced all thoughts, then he is said to be attuned to yoga. II6.4II
(Closely verbatim to Swami Chinmayananda, The Holy Geeta)
Raise yourself by your Self. Do not lower yourself. You yourself are your best friend and your worst enemy. II6.5II
That Self is your friend when you use It to conquer your lower nature. But when you have not conquered your lower nature, It is like an external foe. II6.6II
The self-controlled and serene man, established in the Supreme Self, is balanced in cold and heat (physical level), pleasure and pain (mental level), as also in honour and dishonour (intellectual level). II6.7II
He is said to be a yogi who is satisfied with the knowledge as presented in the scriptures and has made that knowledge his own experience. He remains unmoved, with his organs under control, and treats a stone and gold as equal. II6.8II
He excels who looks impartially upon a benefactor, a friend, a foe, one who is neutral, an arbiter, the hateful, a relative, the virtuous, and even a sinner. II6.9II
A yogi should constantly concentrate his mind by staying in a secluded place, alone, with mind and body controlled, without expectations or wants. II6.10II
Choosing a clean place, you should sit in a firm posture on a seat that is neither too high nor too low, layered with a mat made of kusa grass, a deerskin, and then a white cloth. II6.11II
Making your mind single-pointed, controlling the actions of the mind and senses, seated thus on the seat, practice meditation for self-purification. II6.12II
Holding your body, head, and neck erect and steady, gazing at the tip of your nose, do not be distracted. II6.13II
Fixing your mind on Me with Me as your Supreme Goal, sit with a peaceful mind, free from fear, a sense of celibacy, having controlled the mind. II6.14II
(Note: See Vocabulary Notes for the context of the word "Me".)
Keeping your mind always in communion with Me, controlling your mind, you will attain that Peace which leads to liberation. II6.15II
Yoga is neither for him who eats too much, nor for him who abstains from eating; nor for him who sleeps too much or for him who is awake too much. II6.16II
Yoga dispels sorrow for him who regulates his eating and recreation, balances his actions, moderates his sleep and wakefulness. II6.17II
When the mind is perfectly controlled and established in the Self, free from desire, he is said to be Self-absorbed. II6.18II
The yogi who has conquered his mind and is absorbed in the Self is like a lamp that does not flicker when placed in a windless space. II6.19II
When the mind, restrained by the practice of yoga, attains quietude and when seeing the Self by the self, he is satisfied in his own Self;… II6.20II
(Verbatim from Swami Chinmayananda, The Holy Geeta)
…when he (the yogi) feels that Infinite Bliss–which can be grasped by the (pure) intellect and which transcends the senses; once thus established he never moves from the Reality;… II6.21II
…having obtained It, he thinks It is the ultimate gain; established in It, he is not moved even by heavy sorrow. II6.22II
This inner severance of the contact with sorrow is yoga. It should be practiced with determination and a mind devoid of despondence. II6.23II
Abandoning all desires born of thought and imagination, restraining the senses with the mind at every point… II6.24II
…gradually, you can attain quietude with the help of reason controlled by fortitude, fixing the mind on the Self; and not think of anything else. II6.25II
Whatever causes the shaky and unsteady mind to go astray, you must restrain the mind and bring it back to the focus of the Self alone. II6.26II
Supreme Bliss comes to the yogi whose mind is tranquil, whose passions are quieted, who has become Brahman, who is free from sins. II6.27II
Always abiding in the Eternal, free from sin, the yogi easily enjoys the Bliss which flows from realization of the Infinite. II6.28II
He who experiences this union sees the Self in all beings and all beings in the Self. He perceives everything everywhere with same-ness. II6.29II
He who observes Me in all and all in Me, I will never lose sight of him nor will he lose sight of Me. II6.30II
(Note: See Vocabulary Notes for the context of the word "Me".)
He who abides in all beings, who worships Me in all beings, dwells in Me in every way… II6.31II
…that yogi is the best who judges what pleasure and pain are to all beings by the same standard that he would apply to himself, Arjuna. II6.32II
Arjuna speaks:
I do not see how I can attain this equipoise that you speak of, because my mind is wavering, Madhusudhana (Sri Krishna). II6.33II
Krishna, my mind is restless, turbulent, strong and unyielding. It is as difficult to control as the wind. II6.34II
Sri Krishna Bhagavan speaks:
Undoubtedly the mind is restless and difficult to control. But it can be restrained by practice and dispassion, Kaunteya (Arjuna). II6.35II
My conviction is that this yoga is hard to attain for a man who is uncontrolled. But it is possible to obtain for the man who strives for self-control. II6.36II
Arjuna speaks:
Krishna, if a man’s mind wanders, though having faith (in yoga), and does not attain that perfection in yoga, what happens to him? II6.37II
Fallen from both (Path of Action and Path of Knowledge), without support, having become deluded on the path of Brahman, does he not get ruined like a scattered cloud, Mahaabaaho? II6.38II
(Arjuna refers to Sri Krishna using a name--Mahaabaaho--that Sri Krishna has used to address Arjuna).
Krishna, please dispel this doubt of mine completely. You are most fit to dispel this doubt. II6.39II
Sri Krishna Bhagavan speaks:
My beloved child, (Sri Krishna addresses Arjuna as his son, his disciple) there is no ruin for him that treads the path of righteousness in this world, nor in the next world. II6.40II
Having attained the worlds of the righteous and lived there for everlasting years, the man who is not able to attain perfection in yoga will be born again in the home of the pure and the prosperous. II6.41II
Or he may even be born in a family of wise yogis. Indeed a birth like this is very difficult to obtain. II6.42II
There he obtains the knowledge acquired in his former body and strives more than ever for perfection, Kurunandana (Arjuna). II6.43II
For he who has not attained that perfection of yoga is propelled forward despite himself by very powerful habits formed in past lives. Even he who merely wishes to know this yoga frees himself from the result of performing Vedic rituals. II6.44II
Striving assiduously, perfected through many births, the yogi is freed from sin and reaches the Highest. II6.45II
A wise man is superior to a man of austerity, to a scholar, and to a man of action. Therefore, be a wise man, Arjuna! II6.46II
Among the yogis, he is the most devout who has faith in Me and abides in Me. II6.47II
Concluding verse:
Om! Such is the Truth in the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. This is the knowledge of Supreme Consciousness. It is a scripture of union; a dialogue between Sri Krishna (the teacher) and Arjuna (the student). The sixth discourse ends, titled “Yoga of Meditation–Aatma Samyamya Yoga”.