Gita Satsang - Chapter 6 : Verses 16-20 - Wed. Apr. 11, 2001

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Namaste,

 

mat chittaaH mat gata-praaNaaH bodhayantaH parasparam.h .

kathayantaH cha maa.n nitya.n tushhyanti cha ramanti cha ..

 

shriimad-bhagavad-giitaa 10:9

 

'With their thought on Me, with their life absorbed in Me,

instructing each other, and ever speaking of Me,

they are content and delighted.'

Ch.10:v.9.

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atha shhashhTho.adhyaayaH . Chapter 6 : Verses 16-20 [with Shankara-

Bhashya, tr. Sw.Gambhirananda]

 

dhyaana-yogaH. The Yoga of Meditation

 

Now are being mentioned the rules about the yogi's food etc.:

 

na aty ashnatas tu yogo .asti na cha-ikaantam anashnataH .

na cha atisvapnashiilasya jaagrato na-iva cha arjuna .. 16..

 

16. But, O Arjuna, Yoga is not for one who eats too much, nor for one

who does not eat at all; neither for one who habitually sleeps too

long, nor surely for one who keeps awake.

tu, but O Arjuna, yogaH na asti, is not; ati ashnataH, for one who

eats too much, for one who eats food more than his capacity; na ca,

nor is, anashnatah, for one who does not eat; ekaantam, at all.

This accords with the Vedic text, 'As is well known, if one eats that

much food which is within one's capacity, then it sustains him, it

does not hurt him; that which is more, it harms him; that which is

less, it does not sustain him' (Sa. Br.; Bo. Sm. 2.7.22). Therefore,

a yogi should not eat food more or less than what is suitable for

him. Or the meaning is that Yoga is not for one who eats more food

than what is prescribed for a yogi in the scriptures on Yoga. Indeed,

the quantity has been mentioned in, 'One half of the stomach is to be

filled with food including curries; the third quarter is to be filled

with water; but the fourth quarter is to be left for the movement of

air,' etc.

Similarly, Yoga is not for ati svapna-shiilasya, one who habitually

sleeps too long; and Yoga is na eva, surely not; jaagrataH, for one

who keeps awake too long.

How, again, does Yoga become possibel? This is being stated:

 

Yukta-ahaara-vihaarasya yukta-cheshhTasya karmasu .

Yukta-svapna-avabodhasya yogo bhavati duHkhahaa .. 17..

 

17. Yoga becomes a destroyer of sorrow of one whose eating and

movements are regulated, whose effort in works is moderate, and whose

sleep and wakefulness are temperate.

yogaH bhavati, Yoga becomes; duHkha-haa, a destroyer of sorrow-that

which destroys (hanti) all sorrows (duHkhaani)-, i.e., Yoga destroys

all worldly sorrows; yukta-aahaara-vihaarasya, of one whose eating

and movements are regulated- aahaara (lit. food) means all that is

gathered in, [According to the Commentator, aahaara, which also means

food, includes mental 'food as well. See Ch. 7.26.2.-Tr.] and vihaara

means moving about, walking; one for whom these two are regulated

(yukta) is yukta-aahaara-vihaara-; and also yukta-cheshhTasya, of one

whose effort (cheshhTaa) is moderate (yukta); karmasu, in works;

similarly, yukta-svapna-avabodhasya, of one whose sleep (svapna) and

wakefulness (avabodha) are temperate (yukta), have regulated periods.

To him whose eating and movements are regulated, whose effort in work

is moderate, whose sleep and wakefulness are temperate, Yoga becomes

a destroyer of sorrows.

 

When does a man become concentrated? That is being presently stated:

 

yadaa viniyata.n chittam aatmany eva avatishhThate .

niHspR^ihaH sarva-kaamebhyo yukta ity uchyate tadaa .. 18..

 

18. A man who has become free from hankering for all desirable

objects is then said to be Self-absorbed when the controlled mind

rests in the Self alone.

A yogi, niHspR^ihaH, who has become free from hankering, thirst;

sarva-kamebhyaH, for all desirable objects, seen and unseen; is

tadaa, then; uchyate, said to be; yuktaH, Self-absorbed; yadaa, when;

the viniyatam, controlled; chittam, mind, the mind that has been made

fully one-pointed by giving up thought of external objects;

avatishhThate, rests; aatmani eva, in the non-dual Self alone, i.e.

he gets established in his own Self.

An illustration in being given for the mind of that yogi which has

become Self-absorbed:

 

yathaa diipo nivaatastho ne~Ngate sopamaa smR^itaa .

yogino yata-chittasya yu~njato yogam-aatmanaH .. 19..

 

19. As a lamp kept in a windless place does not flicker, such is the

simile thought of for the yogi whose mind is under control, and who

is engaged in concentration on the Self.

yathaa, as; a diipaH, lamp; ni-vaata-sthaH, kept in a windless place;

na i~Ngate, does not flicker; saa upamaa, such is the simile-that

with which something is compared is an upamaa (smile)-; smR^itaa,

thought of, by the knowers of Yoga who understand the movements of

the mind; yoginaH, for the yogi; yata-chittasya, whose mind is under

control; and yu~njataH, who is engaged in; yogam, concentration;

aatmanah, on the Self, i.e. who is practising Self-absorption.

By dint of practising Yoga thus, when the mind, comparable to a lamp

in a windless place, becomes concentrated, then-

 

yatr-oparamate chitta.n niruddha.n yoga-sevayaa .

yatra cha-iv-aatmanaa-tmaanaM pashyan na-atmani tushhyati .. 20..

 

20. At the time when the mind restrained through the practice of Yoga

gets withdrawn, and just when by seeing the Self by the self one

remains contented in the Self alone [A.G. construes the word eva

(certainly) with tushhyati (remains contented).-Tr.];

yatra, at the time when; chittam, the mind; niruddham, restrained,

entirely prevented from wandering; uparamate, gets withdrawn; yoga-

sevayaa, through the practice of Yoga; ca, and; yatra eva, just when,

at the very moment when; pashyan, by seeing, by experiencing;

aatmaanam, the Self, which by nature is the supreme light of

Consciousness; aatmanaa, by the self, by the mind purified by

concentration; tushhyati, one remains contented, gets delighted;

aatmani eva, in one's own Self alone-. [samadhi is of two kinds,

Samprajnata and Asamprajnata. The concentration called right

knowledge (Samprajnata) is that which is followed by reasoning,

discrimination, blisss and unqualified egoism. Asamprajnata is that

which is attained by the constant practice of cessation of all mental

activity, in which the citta retains only the unmanifested

impressions.-Cf. C. W., Vol. I, 1962, pp. 210, 212.

According to A.G. the verses upto 6.20 state in a general way the

characteristics of samaadhi. From the present verse to the 25th,

Asamprajnata-samadhi is introduced and defined.-Tr.]

 

 

For Gita Dhyana Shlokas/Mantras and Mahatmya

/message/advaitin/6987

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Adi Shankara's commentary, translated by Swami Gambhirananda, at URL:

[kindly supplied by Madhava-ji]

advaitinGita/Shankara1/gmbCH6.htm

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Swami Chinmayananda's commentary at URL:

[kindly supplied by Ram-ji]

advaitinGita/Chinmaya/COMM6.HTM