BHAGAVAD-GITA 6:13-14

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 6:13-14

 

samam kaya-siro-grivam

dharayann acalam sthirah

sampreksya nasikagram svam

disas canavalokayan

 

prasantatma vigata-bhir

brahmacari-vrate sthitah

manah samyamya mac-citto

yukta asitamat-parah

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

samam--straight; kaya--body; sirah--head; grivam--and neck;

dharayan--holding; acalam--unmoving; sthirah--still;

sampreksya--looking; nasika--of the nose; agram--at the tip;

svam--own; disah--on all sides; ca--also; anavalokayan--not looking;

prasanta--unagitated; atma--mind; vigata-bhih--devoid of fear;

brahmacari-vrate--in the vow of celibacy; sthitah--situated;

manah--mind; samyamya--completely subduing; mat--upon Me

(Krsna); cittah--concentrating the mind; yuktah--the actual yogi;

asita--should sit; mat--Me; parah--the ultimate goal.

 

TRANSLATION

 

One should hold one's body, neck and head erect in a straight line and

stare steadily at the tip of the nose. Thus, with an unagitated,

subdued mind, devoid of fear, completely free from sex life, one

should meditate upon Me within the heart and make Me the ultimate goal

of life.

 

PURPORT

 

The goal of life is to know Krsna, who is situated within the heart of

every living being as Paramatma, the four-handed Visnu form. The yoga

process is practiced in order to discover and see this localized form

of Visnu, and not for any other purpose. The localized visnu-murti is

the plenary representation of Krsna dwelling within one's heart. One

who has no program to realize this visnu-murti is uselessly engaged in

mock yoga practice and is certainly wasting his time. Krsna is the

ultimate goal of life, and the visnu-murti situated in one's heart is

the object of yoga practice. To realize this visnu-murti within the

heart, one has to observe complete abstinence from sex life; therefore

one has to leave home and live alone in a secluded place, remaining

seated as mentioned above. One cannot enjoy sex life daily at home or

elsewhere and attend a so-called yoga class and thus become a yogi.

One has to practice controlling the mind and avoiding all kinds of

sense gratification, of which sex life is the chief. In the rules of

celibacy written by the great sage Yajnavalkya it is said:

 

karmana manasa vaca

sarvavasthasu sarvada

sarvatra maithuna-tyago

brahmacaryam pracaksate

 

"The vow of brahmacarya is meant to help one completely abstain from sex

indulgence in work, words and mind--at all times, under all

circumstances, and in all places." No one can perform correct yoga

practice through sex indulgence. Brahmacarya is taught, therefore,

from childhood, when one has no knowledge of sex life. Children at the

age of five are sent to the guru-kula, or the place of the spiritual

master, and the master trains the young boys in the strict discipline

of becoming brahmacaris. Without such practice, no one can make

advancement in any yoga, whether it be dhyana, jnana or bhakti. One

who, however, follows the rules and regulations of married life,

having a sexual relationship only with his wife (and that also under

regulation), is also called a brahmacari. Such a restrained

householder brahmacari may be accepted in the bhakti school, but the

jnana and dhyana schools do not even admit householder brahmacaris.

They require complete abstinence without compromise. In the bhakti

school, a householder brahmacari is allowed controlled sex life

because the cult of bhakti-yoga is so powerful that one automatically

loses sexual attraction, being engaged in

the superior service of the Lord. In the Bhagavad-gita (2.59) it is said:

 

visaya vinivartante

niraharasya dehinah

rasa-varjam raso 'py asya

param drstva nivartate

 

Whereas others are forced to restrain themselves from sense

gratification, a devotee of the Lord automatically refrains because of

superior taste. Other than the devotee, no one has any information of

that superior taste.

 

Vigata-bhih. One cannot be fearless unless one is fully in Krsna

consciousness. A conditioned soul is fearful due to his perverted

memory, his forgetfulness of his eternal relationship with Krsna. The

Bhagavatam

(11.2.37) says, bhayam dvitiyabhinivesatah syad isad apetasya viparyayo

'smrtih. Krsna consciousness is the only basis for fearlessness. Therefore,

perfect practice is possible for a person who is Krsna conscious. And

since the ultimate goal of yoga practice is to see the Lord within, a

Krsna conscious person is already the best of all yogis. The

principles of the yoga system mentioned herein are different from

those of the popular so-called yoga societies.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.