BHAGAVAD-GITA 5:27-28

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 5:27-28

 

sparsan krtva bahir bahyams

caksus caivantare bhruvoh

pranapanau samau krtva

nasabhyantara-carinau

 

yatendriya-mano-buddhir

munir moksa-parayanah

vigateccha-bhaya-krodho

yah sada mukta eva sah

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

sparsan--sense objects, such as sound; krtva--keeping;

bahih--external; bahyan--unnecessary; caksuh--eyes; ca--also;

eva--certainly; antare--between; bhruvoh--the eyebrows;

prana-apanau--up-and down-moving air; samau--in suspension;

krtva--keeping; nasa-abhyantara--within the nostrils;

carinau--blowing; yata--controlled; indriya--senses; manah--mind;

buddhih--intelligence; munih--the transcendentalist; moksa--for

liberation; parayanah--being so destined; vigata--having discarded;

iccha--wishes; bhaya--fear; krodhah--anger; yah--one who;

sada--always; muktah--liberated; eva--certainly; sah--he is.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Shutting out all external sense objects, keeping the eyes and vision

concentrated between the two eyebrows, suspending the inward and

outward breaths within the nostrils, and thus controlling the mind,

senses and intelligence, the transcendentalist aiming at liberation

becomes free from desire, fear and anger. One who is always in this

state is certainly liberated.

 

PURPORT

 

Being engaged in Krsna consciousness, one can immediately understand

one's spiritual identity, and then one can understand the Supreme Lord

by means of devotional service. When one is well situated in

devotional service, one comes to the transcendental position,

qualified to feel the presence of the Lord in the sphere of one's

activity. This particular position is called liberation in the

Supreme.

 

After explaining the above principles of liberation in the Supreme,

the Lord gives instruction to Arjuna as to how one can come to that

position by the practice of the mysticism or yoga known as

astanga-yoga, which is divisible into an eightfold procedure called

yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and

samadhi. In the Sixth Chapter the subject of yoga is explicitly

detailed, and at the end of the Fifth it is only preliminarily

explained. One has to drive out the sense objects such as sound,

touch, form, taste and smell by the pratyahara process in yoga, and

then keep the vision of the eyes between the two eyebrows and

concentrate on the tip of the nose with half-closed lids. There is no

benefit in closing the eyes altogether, because then there is every

chance of falling asleep. Nor is there benefit in opening the eyes

completely, because then there is the hazard of being attracted by

sense objects. The breathing movement is restrained within the

nostrils by neutralizing the up-moving and down-moving air within the

body. By practice of such yoga one is able to gain control over the

senses, refrain from outward sense objects, and thus prepare oneself

for liberation in the Supreme.

 

This yoga process helps one become free from all kinds of fear and

anger and thus feel the presence of the Supersoul in the

transcendental situation. In other words, Krsna consciousness is the

easiest process of executing yoga principles. This will be thoroughly

explained in the next chapter. A Krsna conscious person, however,

being always engaged in devotional service, does not risk losing his

senses to some other engagement. This is a better way of controlling

the senses than by the astanga-yoga.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.