Dhyåna-yoga
The Yoga of Meditation
6:1: The Blessed One said: One who performs his obligatory activitieswithout taking refuge in them is the true renouncer and yogi, notsomeone who lives without fire and performs no actions.
6:2: What they call renunciation, O son of Pandu, know to beyoga, for truly one who has not renounced desire cannot become a yogi.
6: 3: For one who wishes to ascend to sagehood, karma-yoga issaid to be the means. For one who has ascended to this plateau,tranquility is said to be the means.
6:4: When one is not attached to sense objects or activities andhas renounced all desire, such a person is said to have ascended toyoga.
6:5: One must raise oneself up by his or her self, otherwise theperson will surely sink. Indeed, the Self is one's only friend, but theSelf is also one's only enemy.
6:6: For one who has conquered the self, the self is a friend.However for one whose mind is not conquered, the self is the greatestenemy.
6:7: Being entrusted to the supreme Self, for one who hasconquered the individual self, the mind is tranquil in cold, heat,happiness, pain, honor or dishonor.
6:8, 9: One who is satisfied with the knowledge one has bothlearned and realized, and who stands firm therein, whose senses aresubdued and yoked, and to whom a lump of earth, a stone and gold are thesame, is said to be a yogi.
Such a person equally regards well-wishers, friends, enemies, those whoare neutral and those who mediate between them, as well as those arewho envious, relatives, the righteous and the unrighteous, and thussurpasses all others.
6:10: One who is a yogi must constantly keep the mind steady,abide in solitude, restrain the consciousness, be devoid of expectationsand free from greed.
6:11, 12: Such a person should choose a clean place and thereestablish a firm meditation seat - composed of a cloth and deerskincovering kusa-grass - which is neither too high nor too low.
There, with the mind focused on one point, one who has controlled themind, senses and actions, sitting on the seat, should practice yoga forself purification.
6:13, 14: Holding the body, head and neck straight, maintaining astill and steady gaze on the tip of the nose, without looking around,
The self being tranquil having cast off all fear, one who is abrahmacari [a devoted student of enlightenment] of steadfast mind, whocompletely controls the thinking processes and who is yoked to Me,should sit and meditate upon Me as the ultimate goal.
6:15: Thus always practicing that which leads to nirvana, one whois a yogi, whose mind is always controlled, abides in Me and attainspeace.
6:16, 17: Yoga can not be practiced by one who eats too much norby one who eats too little, by one who sleeps too much nor sleeps toolittle, O Arjuna.
For one who practices [self] control in eating, recreation, exertion,activities, sleeping and wakefulness, yoga becomes the destroyer ofpain.
6:18: When one perfectly controls the mind, is free from materiallongings and is devoid of all desire, then that person is said to bewell established in yoga.
6:19: "As a lamp in a windless place does not flicker" - this isthe comparison considered by the yogi whose mind is likewise controlledby the practice of yoga.
6:20-23: Where mental activities are restrained in the quietudeof yogic service [or practice], certainly the living entity, by virtueof yoga, realizes the Supreme Being and is thus satisfied. The infinitebliss which is conceived through this intelligence is transcendental.Established in this Reality, one knows what is and what is not. Byunderstanding this, one knows what is gain and what is loss. Being soestablished, one understands that there is nothing greater [than thatrealization] and is not disturbed by even the weightiest sufferings. Onemust know what suffering is through yoga, and thus enter into yogictrance [or equanimity]. This yoga should be practiced without deviation.
6: 24, 25: Mentally renouncing all material desires which areborn of mental resolve without exception, and restraining the sensesfrom all sides,
Step by step, with the intellect held in great conviction, by the power of the mind, one should attain repose in the self.
6:26: From wherever the restless and unsteady mind wanders, fromthere restrain it and bring it back under the control of the self.
6:27: A yogi whose mind is peaceful, whose passions are pacifiedand who is free from sin, attains the greatest happiness and becomes onewith Brahman.
6:28: Thus practicing yoga the yogi is freed from all materialcontamination and relishes the highest happiness by being in contactwith Brahman.
6:29: The Self is abiding within all beings. One who sees theSelf within, is yoked by the yoga system and one who sees impartially,sees Me everywhere.
6:30: One who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, fromsuch a one I do not disappear nor is that person ever lost from Me.
6:31: One who worships Me as abiding within all beings attainsunity in every way. Such a person is a true yogi and always abides inMe.
6:32: One who sees the Self manifested everywhere, who regardshappiness and suffering equally, O Arjuna, is considered to be anaccomplished yogi.
6:33: Arjuna said: This yoga of equanimity expounded by You, Oslayer of the demon Madhu, I do not consider viable, because of therestless condition [of the mind which is not] steady.
6:34: The mind is restless, O Krishna, it is turbulent, strongand obstinate. I think that to restrain it must be more difficult thanrestraining the wind.
6:35: The Blessed One replied: Without a doubt, O mighty armedone, the restless mind is difficult to control. However, O child ofKunti, by detachment it can be restrained.
6:36: For one who is unbridled [the fruits of] yoga are verydifficult to obtain. In My opinion however, for one who is selfcontrolled and who endeavors by the proper means it is possible.
6:37-39: Arjuna inquired: What is the destination of one who hasfaith in the yoga process, but whose mind wanders and is uncontrolledand who therefore fails to attain perfection in yoga?
O mighty armed, does such a person not, fallen from both [material andspiritual success] like a torn cloud, perish without support, beingdeluded concerning the path of Brahman?
This is my doubt, O Krishna. Kindly dispel it completely, for other than You there exists no one who can.
6:40: The Blessed One said: O child of Partha, neither in thisworld nor in the next does destruction exist for one whose activitiesare good. Such a person never ends in indigence.
6:41, 42: Having achieved the planets of the righteous, one whohas fallen from the yogic principles dwells there for countless years.At last such a person takes birth into a wealthy and/or pious family,
Or else takes birth in a family of wise yogis. Indeed, such a birth is very rare in this world.
6:43: Then the person regains the knowledge acquired in theprevious body and resumes the endeavors for perfection from that point, Ochild of Kuru.
6:44: As a result of that previous practice the person iscaptivated and instinctively becomes inquisitive about yoga. She or hetranscends the ritual observances and scriptural edits.
6:45: By determined practice a yogi whose sins have been washedaway by constant endeavor, after many births, at last attains thehighest refuge.
6:46,47: The yogis are superior to those who undergo austerities[the ascetics], to the followers of wisdom [jnana-yogis] and to thedevotees of action [karma-yogis]; therefore, O Arjuna, be a yogi. And ofall the different types of yogis, one who is situated in Me with his orher full being, in absolute faith, who worships Me, such a devotee isconsidered the most devout by Me.
Here Ends Chapter Six
Go to: Chapter Seven.
Go to: Notes and References.
Go to: Cover Page.
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