BHAGAVAD-GITA 6:20-23

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 6:20-23

 

yatroparamate cittam

niruddham yoga-sevaya

yatra caivatmanatmanam

pasyann atmani tusyati

 

sukham atyantikam yat tad

buddhi-grahyam atindriyam

vetti yatra na caivayam

sthitas calati tattvatah

 

yam labdhva caparam labham

manyate nadhikam tatah

yasmin sthito na duhkhena

gurunapi vicalyate

 

tam vidyad duhkha-samyoga-

viyogam yoga-samjnitam

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

yatra--in that state of affairs where; uparamate--cease (because one

feels transcendental happiness); cittam--mental activities;

niruddham--being restrained from matter; yoga-sevaya--by performance

of yoga; yatra--in which; ca--also; eva--certainly; atmana--by the

pure mind; atmanam--the self; pasyan--realizing the position of;

atmani--in the self; tusyati--one becomes satisfied;

sukham--happiness; atyantikam--supreme; yat--which; tat--that;

buddhi--by intelligence; grahyam--accessible;

atindriyam--transcendental; vetti--one knows; yatra--wherein;

na--never; ca--also; eva--certainly; ayam--he; sthitah--situated;

calati--moves; tattvatah--from the truth; yam--that which; labdhva--by

attainment; ca--also; aparam--any other; labham--gain;

manyate--considers; na--never; adhikam--more; tatah--than that;

yasmin--in which; sthitah--being situated; na--never; duhkhena--by

miseries; guruna api--even though very difficult; vicalyate--becomes

shaken; tam--that; vidyat--you must know; duhkha-samyoga--of the

miseries of material contact; viyogam--extermination;

yoga-samjnitam--called trance in yoga.

 

TRANSLATION

 

In the stage of perfection called trance, or samadhi, one's mind is

completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of

yoga. This perfection is characterized by one's ability to see the

self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In that

joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness,

realized through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never

departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no

greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken,

even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual

freedom from all miseries arising from material contact.

 

PURPORT

 

By practice of yoga one becomes gradually detached from material

concepts. This is the primary characteristic of the yoga principle.

And after this, one becomes situated in trance, or samadhi, which

means that the yogi realizes the Supersoul through transcendental mind

and intelligence, without any of the misgivings of identifying the

self with the Superself. Yoga practice is more or less based on the

principles of the Patanjali system. Some unauthorized commentators try

to identify the individual soul with the Supersoul, and the monists

think this to be liberation, but they do not understand the real

purpose of the Patanjali system of yoga. There is an acceptance of

transcendental pleasure in the Patanjali system, but the monists do

not accept this transcendental pleasure, out of fear of jeopardizing

the theory of oneness. The duality of knowledge and knower is not

accepted by the nondualist, but in this verse transcendental

pleasure--realized through transcendental senses--is accepted. And

this is corroborated by Patanjali Muni, the famous exponent of the

yoga system. The great sage declares in his Yoga-sutras (3.34):

purusartha-sunyanam gunanam pratiprasavah kaivalyam svarupa-pratistha

va citi-saktir iti.

 

This citi-sakti, or internal potency, is transcendental. Purusartha

means material religiosity, economic development, sense gratification

and, at the end, the attempt to become one with the Supreme. This

"oneness with the Supreme" is called kaivalyam by the monist. But

according to Patanjali, this kaivalyam is an internal, or

transcendental, potency by which the living entity becomes aware of

his constitutional position. In the words of Lord Caitanya, this state

of affairs is called ceto-darpana-marjanam, or clearance of the impure

mirror of the mind. This "clearance" is actually liberation, or

bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam. The theory of nirvana--also

preliminary--corresponds with this principle. In the Bhagavatam

(2.10.6) this is called svarupena vyavasthitih. The Bhagavad-gita also

confirms this situation in this verse.

 

After nirvana, or material cessation, there is the manifestation of

spiritual activities, or devotional service to the Lord, known as

Krsna consciousness. In the words of the Bhagavatam, svarupena

vyavasthitih: this is the "real life of the living entity." Maya, or

illusion, is the condition of spiritual life contaminated by material

infection. Liberation from this material infection does not mean

destruction of the original eternal position of the living entity.

Patanjali also accepts this by his words kaivalyam svarupa-pratistha

va citi-saktir iti. This citi-sakti, or transcendental pleasure, is

real life. This is confirmed in the Vedanta-sutra (1.1.12) as

ananda-mayo 'bhyasat. This natural transcendental pleasure is the

ultimate goal of yoga and is easily achieved by execution of

devotional service, or bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yoga will be vividly

described in the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita.

 

In the yoga system, as described in this chapter, there are two kinds

of samadhi, called samprajnata-samadhi and asamprajnata-samadhi. When

one becomes situated in the transcendental position by various

philosophical researches, he is said to have achieved

samprajnata-samadhi. In the asamprajnata-samadhi there is no longer

any connection with mundane pleasure, for one is then transcendental

to all sorts of happiness derived from the senses. When the yogi is

once situated in that transcendental position, he is never shaken from

it. Unless the yogi is able to reach this position, he is

unsuccessful. Today's so-called yoga practice, which involves various

sense pleasures, is contradictory. A yogi indulging in sex and

intoxication is a mockery. Even those yogis who are attracted by the

siddhis (perfections) in the process of yoga are not perfectly

situated. If yogis are attracted by the by-products of yoga, then they

cannot attain the stage of perfection, as is stated in this verse.

Persons, therefore, indulging in the make-show practice of gymnastic

feats or siddhis should know that the aim of yoga is lost in that way.

 

The best practice of yoga in this age is Krsna consciousness, which is

not baffling. A Krsna conscious person is so happy in his occupation

that he does not aspire after any other happiness. There are many

impediments, especially in this age of hypocrisy, to practicing

hatha-yoga, dhyana-yoga and jnana-yoga, but there is no such problem

in executing karma-yoga or bhakti-yoga.

 

As long as the material body exists, one has to meet the demands of

the body, namely eating, sleeping, defending and mating. But a person

who is in pure bhakti-yoga, or in Krsna consciousness, does not arouse

the senses while meeting the demands of the body. Rather, he accepts

the bare necessities of life, making the best use of a bad bargain,

and enjoys transcendental happiness in Krsna consciousness. He is

callous toward incidental occurrences--such as accidents, disease,

scarcity and even the death of a most dear relative--but he is always

alert to execute his duties in Krsna consciousness, or bhakti-yoga.

Accidents never deviate him from his duty. As stated in the

Bhagavad-gita (2.14), agamapayino 'nityas tams titiksasva bharata. He

endures all such incidental occurrences because he knows that they

come and go and do not affect his duties. In this way he achieves the

highest perfection in yoga practice.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.