Saturday, January 13, 2007

Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

PATH OF MEDITATION


Verse 6.01-02

Lord Krishna said:

The renounced person is not the one who does not work. Nor the person who does his work for a self benefit and has a motive behind his action can be said to be a renuncient. Renunciant is one who performs the prescribed duties without seeking its fruit for personal benefit. One can never become a yogi unless he renounces the desire for sense gratification.

Verse 6.03-04

If a person approaches his work without the intention of self benefit is a Karma yogi and that is the way to attain equanimity of mind. One becomes a Yogi when he or she has no desire for sensual pleasures, or attachment to the fruits of work, and has renounced all personal selfish motives.

Verse 6.05-09

If one elevates his mind, his mind would be his friend. If one degrades it, it becomes his enemy.

When one has control over his mind, it is his friend. When one has no control over it, it becomes his enemy.

The one who has control over his mind is the one who has control over his organs and remains tranquil in cold and heat, in pleasure and pain and in honor and dishonor.

The one who has control over his mind is the one who is impartial with friends and enemies; friends and relatives; and sinners and saints.

Verse 6.10-26

A yogi is one who meditates to achieve control over his mind, senses and desires.

Meditation is one which is performed in solitude, sitting in a comfortable position concentrating on self purification.

The posture for sitting on meditation is to sit erect holding the waist, spine, chest, neck and head erect; fixing the eyes and the mind steadily on the front of the nose and making sure that he does not waver and look around. Whenever his restless and unsteady mind wanders away, he should gently bring it back to the reflection of God and ultimately reach the stage when the mind remains steady and unflickering like the flame of the lamp sheltered by the thought of divine from the wind, i.e. from the reach of the senses.

He should be moderate in eating, sleeping, working and in entertainment and should observe celibacy.

To be perfectly disciplined and to become free of desires, one should focus his mind on Me. The one who does so attains peace and comes to Me.

The meditation is a tool attain self realization and once attained, even greatest of calamities does not affect him. This self realization is the Yoga, the bliss.

Verse 6.27-32

One who has attained this self realization is a Yogi. With his desires under control and himself abiding the Divine in his mode of living, lives free of faults. Such a yogi is enabled to engage his mind with the Spirit enjoying inflict bliss.

Since he himself has merged with the Supreme Being and since the Supreme being resides in every body, the Yogi sees every one as equal and feels the pain and pleasures of others as his own.

Verse 6.33-36

Arjuna said:

O Krishna, I find the restraining of my mind as difficult as restraining the wind. What should I do?

Lord Krishna said:

Sure it is difficult to restrain the human mind. Only detachment and repeated practice of meditation can make it free of restlessness.

Verse 6.37-45

Arjuna said:

If one takes to mind control, control of the senses and pursues attainment of self realization but fails due to unsubdued mind, does he not lose both the worldly pleasures as well as the heavenly bliss?

Lord Krishna said:

An unsuccessful yogi is reborn in the house of pious and spiritually advanced family. There he is fine tuned to get his spiritual advancement which he could not get in his previous life. His efforts in his previous life remain to assist him to proceed towards God in this life. One who does good, is never overcome by the evil.

Verse 6.46-47

The yogi, who is devoted to meditation, is superior to the ascetics, vedic scholars and those who perform rituals. Therefore Arjuna, rise to become a Yogi.

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