Bhagavatgita a detailed study-chapter 6-yoga of meditation

March 20, 2009

18. yadhaa viniyatham chittham athmaani eva avathishTathe

nissprhaH sarvakaamebhyo yuktha ithi uchyathe thadhaa

When the mind, controlled rests on the Self, being free from desires and attachments hen one is said to be yuktha, one who is integrated in yoga.

The state described by yuktha is no different from that of sThithaprjna, explained in the second chapter but here we have amore detailed account of an integrated mind, referred to in the second chapter. When is a mind said to be established in the self, `aathmani eva avathishTathe'? When it is controlled , yadhaa viniyatham, How this is achieved? When the mind is free from desires and attachments, nissprhaH sarvakaamebhyaH.

But against the common misconception that one should never have any desire, Vedanta is not against desires as even to attain liberation is a desire and to see and sing about and serve the lord as a prelude to this is also a desire. But Vedanta is against the clinging to the desire only, which is termed as sanga in second chapter in the sloka 62 `Dhyaayatho vishyaan pumsaH--.' Desire is only a thought like saying "I like this girl." But when it turns out to be sanga , attachment due to dwelling upon the object of desire to the exclusion of everything else it becomes an obstacle to spiritual progress. This of course refers to the early stages because when one attains the final state of a sTithaprajna he becomes free from likes and dislikes and entirely free from desire of any sort. Why this happens is explained in sloka20.

19 yaThaa dheepo nivathastho nengathe sopamaasmrthaa

yogino yatha chitthasya yunjathe yogam aathmanaH

The mind of the yogi who practices meditation is compared to a flame of a lamp which does not flicker in a place devoid of wind.

In the absence of wind there is no movement of the flame of a lamp. Thoughts occur in the mind constantly, each one being replaced by the next, hence the mind is termed as fickle. This can be very well experimented when we sit down to do japa or when a student sits down to study. Thoughts which we never knew we had will crowd the mind at that time! What we to steady the mind then is to direct it towards the object of our devotion. When there is no wind, the flame of the lamp burns steadily upwards. So too the mind of a yogi is turned upwards without thought disturbances.

In the next four slokas we have a complete description of the state of yoga.