Panchajanyam Hrshikesah-chapter8-adhyaya6

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Bhagavatgita- Chapter 8 â€" Yoga of meditation

 

 

Karmayoga is normally prescribed to the householder who has to discharge his duties which are obligatory in his stage of life. But by the same process he can scale the height of the yoga of meditation. The karma done without attachment giving up the fruit therein purifies the mind preparing him for the practice of dhyanayoga, Yoga of meditation. He is commended by Krishna as being the yogi and a sanyasi at the same time. ‘ Anaasrithah karmaphalam kaaryam karma karthi yah sa sannyaasee cha yogi cha. ‘ Renunciation , sannyaasa means giving up and he who does it is a sannyaasi. Yoga is the concentration of mind and he who has it is a yogi. So by merely giving up rituals and obligatory duties does not make one a sannyasi or an a yogi. The rejection of the agency , the feeling that I am the doer is common to both yoga and sannyasa. Without mental renunciation yoga is not possible

 

This raises a question whether renouncing the world and becoming a sannyaasi is not approved by Krishna. .It is not so. .Only to the one who has not yet scaled the height of yoga of meditation need follow Karmayoga which serves as the means to attain his goal. ‘Aarurukshormmuneryogam karmakaaranamuchyathe yogaaroodasya thasyaiva shamahkaaranamuchyathe.’ When he has already ascended to the height shamah , quiescence, which means withdrawal from all work is the means of salvation.

 

But how to know that one has scaled the height? The answer is given as ‘yadhaahinendhriyaartheshuna karmasvanushajjathe sarvasankalpa sannyaasee yogaaroodasthadhochyathe.’ When one becomes detached from the sense objects and also from all works seeing no purpose to be realised by him through them, then, he is said to be a yogaarooda, one who has reached the peak of yoga. This is because once the desires are discarded , renunciation of work follows.

 

When the peak is reached self is lifted up by itself. ‘Udhdhareth aathmanaathmaanam naathmaanam avasaadhayeth aathmaivahyaathmano bandhuh aatmaiva ripuraathmanah ‘ No external aid can help in elevating oneself which includes the learning of sasthras . All the external means to meditation like study of sasthras, japa , chanting and others can only help in purifying our internal equipment to make us ready to concentrate. But to attain yoga an subsequent liberation one has to transcend the body mind and intellect, the latter termed as the inner equipment, and identify with one’s self. This could be achieved only through Self alone. This is what has been implied by udhdhqreth aathmanaathmaanam. The diffidence that whether this could be done is dispelled by the words ‘ naathmaanam avasaadhayeth,’ elevate the Self and not push it down, which means ‘do not give up.’ Self alone is the friend, aathmanyaivaathmano bandhuh, aathma here meaning the inner self Aathmaiva ripuraathmanah, the self alone becomes the enemy. Here the word self means not the aathma but the mind and intellect.

 

In interpreting the words like yoga, aathma and other similar ones having a generally understood meaning , one must be careful and construe their meaning according to the context in which they are mentioned. Many distorted versions are only due to the failure of doing so or deliberate misinterpretation. To the one who has controlled himself the Self , aathmaa, becomes a friend because he identifies himself with his Self and not with his body, mind and intellect, which constitute non-self. On the other hand if he identifies himself with his non-self it prevents him from realizing his Self and becomes his enemy..

 

The yogi who has subdued his senses and mind, remains peaceful and becomes rooted in the Supreme Self. ‘Jithaathmanafprashaanthasya paramaathmaa samaahithah.’ . To him the duality like heat and cold or joy and sorrow do not exist and he treats gold, stone and mud alike. He alone can be termed as a yogi whose mind is saturated with jnana and vijnana, ‘jnanavijnanathrpthaathma’ unmanifest and manifest Brahman, who is immutable, kutastha having mastered the senses, ‘vijithendhriyah’

 

The experience of heat and cold belongs to the body and felt through the indhriyas. When the mind attaches itself to the indhriyas the sensations give rise to joy or sorrow. The sage who is detached from the body and mind through jnana and vijnana is not affected by anything that happens to him and hence he is kutastha, immutable and unshakable like the anvil of the ironsmith which , even though repeatedly hit does not undergo any change like the piece of iron that is placed on it, which alone changes in shape being red-hot. The Self is called kutastha as is unaffected by the changes in the body, mind and intellect which are like red-hot iron, full of raga. (raga means colour especially red, signifying rajas.) So the one who has identified with the Self remains unaffected by the changes which pertain only to body, mind and intellect.

 

Such a sage, a sthithaprajna, has samabudhdhih, same attitude towards everyone whether he is a suhrd, mithra , ari, udhaaseena ,madhyastha, dhveshya or bandhu likewise towards righteous and unrighteous A suhrd is one who does good without expecting anything in return. While mithra is one who befriends for a purpose. Ari is an enemy or adversary and udhaaseena is an indifferent person. Madhyastha is a mediator, dhveshya is one who hates you and bandhu is a relation. In short he treats all alike without having likes and dislikes. It is interesting to note that the words mithra and ari are juxtaposed with one another and so are the words dhveshya and bandhu. This implies that the pairs are interchangeable. A mithra who is friendly for some specific purpose can become an ari , an adversary when the purpose is not fulfilled. Similarly a bandhu will soon become dhveshya. One who shows bitterness or hatred towards you is often a relative as we see around us in this world. As these characteristics belong to the non-self, the yogi ,who is united with his Self is not bothered about it. He ignores the container and sees only the content

 

So long Krishna has been elaborating on the state of yogaarooda, the one who has scaled the heights of meditation. Now He starts to give the guidelines to reach that state, namely the discipline to be followed by a aarurukshu, one who is desirous of reaching that state.

 

'Yogee yunjeetha sathatham aathmaanam rahsi sthithah Ekaakee yatha chitthaathmaaniraaseeraparigrahah.' One who wishes to meditate should keep himself scclded as meditation is not possible in a crowd. He should be alone,ekaakee. Nowadays group meditation has become popular and this may appear to be a bit out of place but the words rahasi sthithah and ekaakee are used to indicate that the meditation should be done in a place and time o as to have no disturbance or interruptions.That is why in those days the sages retired to the forest to do thapas..

 

But simply by retiring to a secluded place will one be able to meditate. This is a common misconception. When we try to insist the importance of persistent contemplation of God to develop bhakthi we often hear people say " How can we think of God all the time living in the world pressed by our family commitments? It may be possible if we are allowed to go to a secluded spot away from family atmostphere." What they do not understand is that even if they go to Himalayas they take thieir thoughts with them. This is what exactly Krishna told Arjuna in th eighteen chapters of the Gita when he wanted to go away from the battlefield. Then what should an aspirant do?The answer is given in the next line ' yatha chitthaathmaa niraaseeh aparigrahah.'

 

One who wishes to scale the heights of meditation should be yathachitthaathmaa, self-controlled, niraasee,without desire and aparigrahah,without possessions.This does not mean renouncing the world physically but mentally, like King Janaka., by giving up clinging attachments to wordly pleasures and possessions.

 

Next Krishna elaborates on the physical aids to meditation. The spot must be clean, conducive to spirituality, the seat must be firm to reduce anxiety and covered with kusa grass, a hide and a cloth in that order.These conditions have to be understood in the context of the period of Gita and should not be confused with the modern times. The point stressed here is that the seat on which you meditate must be comfortable and secure just enough to enable you to concentrate.

 

Similar idea is presented in the description of the posture in meditation. 'Samamkaayasirogreevam dhaarayannachalam sthirah samprekshya naasikaagram svamdhisaschaanavalokayan.' This sloka is translated as 'holding the body, head and neck evenly ans steadily, the resolute yogin fixes his gaze on the tip of his nose, not looking around.' This instruction is not given so as to make the mitator cross-eyed or stiff-back! It only means thatone should not be distracted by body movement or by outward objects. Fixing the gaze at the tip of the nose signifies the position of the half-closed eyes as being kept open one will be tempted to look around and closing them may induce him to sleep!

 

With tranquillised inner sense and indriyas under control the yogi should direct his thoughts on the Supreme Reality. Thus he gets peace which will culminate in emancipation, nirvana.

 

To get into such state that enables one to meditate some disciplineary measures in life are necessary. Eating and sleeping should be moderate. 'Naathyasnasthu yogo asthi na chaikaanthm anasnathah.' Too much eating is bhoga which is contrary to yoga. Eating too little will make one weak physically as the saying goes, 'sariram aadhyam khalu dharmasadadhanam,' it is yoga saadhanam also. Same thing goes for sleep. So a yogi should be moderate in all his activities

 

Now how would an aspirant come to know that he has become integrated in yoga? 'Yathaa viniyatham chittham aathmanyevaavathishtathe nissprhah sarvakaamebhyah yukth ithyuchyathe thadhaa.' The mind of such a yogi will be completely absorbed in the Self and free from cravings for objects of desires The mind of the yogi is compared to the flame of a lamp steady when there is no wind,'Yathaadheepo nivaathastho nengathe sopamaasmrtha.'

 

At this stage the mind rejoices in the Self alone, where there is a bliss that is endless, 'aathyanthikam,' discerned only by the intellect, being beyod the grasp of the senses, atheendhriyam. Reaching that state there is nothing more to be gained and even an immense grief does not affect such a yogi. This yoga , is termed as duhkhasamyogaviyoga yoga,' disjunction from the conjunction with duhkha ,by Krishna. He further says that this yoga has to be practised with an undijected mind,' anirvinna chethasaa.'.

 

The natural rejoinder to this would be " How can I practise this?" Krishna anticipates this and answers it Himself. First one has to give up alldesires born of thoughts,'sankalpaprabhavaan kaamaan thyakthvaa sarvaan aseshathah,' by controlling the senses with the mind on all sides, ' mansaivendhriya graamam viniyamya samanthathah.' Slowly and gradually, 'sanaih sanaih' the mind should be trained to concentrate on Brahman . It is easily said than done. True,says Krishna, but you have to withdraw the mind from wherever it wanders. The nature of the mind is that if you control it in one direction it runs in another. So draw back the mind persistently when it runs from one object to the other.

 

Usually we find that when you sit down to japa, for instance before you chant the name, say, Rama, the mind wanders to the Ramanextdoor and by the time it has dwelt on his history past and present and you become aware of its wanderings you would come to the end of your japa. So, says Krishna, 'yatho yatho nischarathi manah chanchalam asthiram thathsththo niyamyaithath aathmanyevavasam nayeth.' Withdraw the mind the moment it wanders and concentrate on the Self and again when it stars to run bring it back . Reining the mind thus it finally does your bidding..

 

A yogi who can do this easily attains the union with Brahman and enjoys infinite bliss.He sees himself in all beings and all beings in himself because everything is in Brahman and Brahman is in everything. Such ayogi is called samadharsanah, sees unity everywhere.We see multilicity because we identify ourselves with body mind and intellect and the rest as something other than ourselves. When one identifies with his Self

which is the same Self everywhere there is no duality.

 

Krishna ends up the discourse of dhyanayoga by saying 'the one whosees Me everywhere and all in Me never loses me nor I ever lose him. He is established in Me and abides in Me always no matter what he is doing.' The same idea Sankara expresses in Bajagovindam, 'Yogaratho vaa bhogaratho vaa sangaratho vaa sangaviheenah yasya brahmani ramathe chittham nandati nandatinandatyeva.' One whose mind is established in Brahman is always in bliss whether he is in meditation or engaged in worldly pursuits whether he is in company or alone. Such ayogi who looks on all as his own Self is deemed the highest.

 

Krishna has been talking about the state of yogaarooda whichis rather difficult to understand by the uninitated and Arjuna was like us and to him it is next to impossible to control the mind and bring it to the state of one-pointedness. He says, 'chcnchalam hi manah krishna pramaathi balavaddhrdam thasyaaham nigraham manye vaayoriva sudhushkaram.' The mind, he says, is very unsteady,turbulent,tebnacious and powerful. Therefore I consider that the control of the mind is asa difficult as controlling the wind, which is to say that it is impossible.

 

We are under the control of the mind and not vice versa. So like arjuna we feel that it is next to impossible to control our mind.But even in everyday life without any spiritual pursuit one has to exercise certain amount of control mentally, orally and physically in order to live a happy and peaceful life. As our speech and action are only the external manifestation of our thoughts the reins of control must be applied to our mind before the thoughts get transferred into words or action.This is what has been emphasised in the second chapter of the Gita by'dhyaayatho vishayaan pumsah---'(BG2-62,63.)

 

Do not despair, says Krishna, 'asamsayam mahaabhaaho mano dhurnigraham chalam abhyaasena thu kountheya vairaagyena cha grhyathe, in the oft -quoted and one of the most important slokas of the Gita. Ofcourse the mind is fickle and uncontrollable. But it can be controlled by abhyasa and vairagya. Dispassion, vairagya comes from renouncing the desires of the world as mentioned in an earlier sloka'sankalpaprabhavaan kaamaan---' and the abhyasa consists in withdrawing the mind slowly and gradually on each and every occasion when it plays truant, as made out in the earlier sloka 'yatho yatho nischarathi--.'

 

In the beginning of the 6th chapter of the Gita it is said 'aarurukshormuneryogam karma kaaranam uchyathe.' In the beginning to renounce the desires karmayoga is practised. To do action without attachment to the fruit results in the removal of desire. When the agentship is given up and all actions are done as the work of the Lord, one feels that he is the instrument in His hands. In the modern times it is fitting to give the analogy of a computer to explain karmayoga. The computer does the work it is programmed for though very efficiently, more or less like a sentient being, yet it is only an instrument. Similarly we are programmed according to our karma an dif we do our work efficientlywithout attachment to the fruit like the computer, which has no desire of its own we will be the instrument of God through which His grace flows.

When the desires are removed one gets detachment, vairagya and the mind is no more agitated and become the slave of the yogi . But till one achieves this constant practice,abhyaasa is essential. The phrase 'vairagyena cha,' is significant because no amount of practice will be fruitful without dispassion. Only because of the absence of vairagya the mind is dhurnigraha and chala. Therefore Yoga is not possible without controlling the mind but can be achieved easily by one who ceaslessly trying with his mind under control, ' Asamyathaathmanaa yogo dhushpraapa ihti me mathih vasyaathmanaa thu yaththaasakyo avaapthum upaayathah.'

 

Now Arjuna comes out with another question. Suppose an aspirant starts meditation wth full faith and tries to control his mind unsuccessfully nd before he accomplishes it his life is cut short.What will be the fate of such a person ? Should he start his spiritual practie from the beginning in his next life? Or is he lost like a torn cloud deprived of both ,the Self realisation and the hdeavenly enjoyment which he would have if he had proceeded in the karma marga, meaning kamykarma?

 

Here Krishna as the Supreme Self gives the assurance, 'na hi kalyanakrth kaschith durgathim thaatha gachchathi,' that none who strives for self redemption ever comes to harm. The what happens to a yogabhrashta, one who has strayed from the path of Self realisation and meets his end of life? Krishna says, ' praapyapunyakrthaam lokaan ushithva saasvatheessamaah sucheenaam srimathaam gehe yogabhrashto abhijaayathe..'

The man who has slipped from yoga goes to the meritorious worlds and stays there for long time and then takes birth in ahome of a householder who conform to vedic ordinances and who are rich in resource. There due to poorvajanma vaasanas he is drawn towards yoga and when the obstructing vasanaas are weakened he pursues the yogic path.

 

Depending upon the state upto which he has advanced in yoga he perhaps gets birth in the family of wise yogins though it is rare because this happes only to a near perfect yogin like Jadabharatha who are very rare. Being born in the family of yogis he acquires memory of ideas accumulated in his previous birth and strives harder to reach perfection.

The idea is that one need not lose courage and confidence as to whether he will be able to achieve perfection in this life. Whatever we do comes to our aid later and we start from where we left. This is because the spiritual vasanaas once acquired never perish and even when one slips back they always come to him at the right time as in the case of Ajamila . So the right time to start is now!

 

Even he who seeksto comprehend the essence of yoga and begins to tread the pathof yoga goes beyond the realm of the friuts of karma specified in the vedas like heaven, jijnaasurapi yogasya sabdabrahmaathivarathathe.' Sabdabrahma means the vedas and refers to those who follow karmakaanda of the vedas. . It is relevant here to compare the words of Krishna 'thrigunyavishayaa vedaah nisthrigunyo bhavaarjuna,'(BG-2-45) So how much more would be the gain of the one who has fully undestood Yoga and follows the practice of Yoga! 'prayatnaath yathamaanasthu yogii samsuddhakilbhishah anekajanmasamsiddhah thatho yaathi paraam gathim.' The yogi who strives hard and who has been perfected through the efforts of many lives attais the supreme goal free of all sins.

 

Krishna ends up by saying that the yogi is superior to those wo do penance, who master the vedas and who follow the karmamarga, and even among them the one who worships the Lord with full faith knowing Him to be his inner self is considered to be the foremost .

 

END OF PART I-Adhyayas 1to 6