CH 6, Verse 1

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Chapter 6

 

Atha shhashhtho'dhyaayah.

(aatmasa.nyamayogah)

 

Dhyana Yoga

The Yoga of Meditation

 

Shree Bhagavaan uvaacha:

 

Anaashritah karma-phalam kaarya.n karma karoti yah /

sa sa.nnyaasee cha yogee cha na niragnir na

ch'aakriyah //

 

The Blessed Lord said:

 

He who performs his duty, without depending on the

fruits of work, is a sanyaasi and he is a yogi; not he

who gives up fire, nor he who remains without action.

 

LESSONS FROM BHAGAVAD GITA – 54

>From the discourses of Pujya Sri Swamiji

Compiled by: Swami Dattananda

Bhakti Mala, December 1997

 

The sixth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita deals with the

yoga of Meditation. So it is called "Dhyana Yoga".

Performance of work without any selfish motive is the

preliminary accessory of yoga of meditation. To

highlight this truth, the Lord says:

 

"He who performs his duty, without depending on the

fruits of work, is a sanyaasi and he is a yogi; not he

who gives up fire, nor he who remains without action"

(Chapter 6, Verse 1).

 

It is a fact that most of the people are not ready to

lead a life of seclusion and contemplation. They are

engaged with the work of everyday life, which they

cannot give up all of a sudden, and to take to a life

of meditation. But a sanyaasi or a yogi is he who is

ready to devote his whole life and energy in the

meditation of God. A real sanyaasi gives up all work

and rites and sacrifices like pouring oblations into

fire as his mind remains completely absorbed in the

thought of God.

 

But a householder cannot give up the duties of his

life and turn to meditation on God all of a sudden

because his mind is not prepared for that. Such a man

has to perform his daily duties and the rites and

sacrifices like pouring oblations into fire as

prescribed by the scriptures. And if he performs them

without seeking their results he is a sanyaasi and a

yogi.

 

Without depending on the fruits of work means without

craving for the fruits of work. He who craves for the

fruit of work depends on it. But the renouncer does

not depend on it. As such, he performs the daily

duties of his life and the obligatory rites and

rituals without any desire for the fruits or results.

Such a worker excels the worker who craves for the

fruit. He is the renouncer and the yogi, and not the

person who has merely given up the sacred household

fires and rituals in the name of sanyaasa.

 

It is said in the verse that the man who performs his

daily duties without seeking the reward of results is

not only a sanyaasi (renouncer) but also a yogi. Yoga

means an undisturbed state of mind. The man who has

given up the desire for the fruit of his work can sit

quietly in meditation, because he is not disturbed by

the thought of the result of his work. When this

internal renunciation is strong, even if the man

remains in the household, nothing would disturb his

peace of mind. So he is a yogi. The idea is: just as a

man who has renounced the household fires and works is

a renouncer and a yogi, so also is he who works

without attachment to the fruits of work.

 

 

 

 

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