Bhagavatgita a detailed study chapter6 yoga of meditation

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46. thapasvibhyo aDhiko yogee jnaanibhyoapi matho aDhikaH

 

karmibhyaH cha aDhiko yogee thasmaath yogee bhava

arjuna

 

The yogi so far described above is superior to those who follow austerities, who pursue knowledge and those who follow the karmamarga. Therefore Arjuna . be a yogi.

 

There are many disciplines prescribed for spiritual progress. Following austerities is called thapas, like controlling the mind and body and concentrating on an ideal with the purpose of attaining something , either in this world or the next. Visvamithra was the classical example of this kind of thapasvee.

 

Acquiring knowledge of Brahman by the study of scriptures is another and one who does that is referred to here as jnani, and the term jnana should not be confused with brahmajnana which is the result of only the direct experience of Brahman. The one who has the latter is termed as jnani in the next chapter in sloka `chathurviDhaabajanthe maam,' where Krishna mentions four kinds of persons who resort to Him, aarthee, arThaaThee , jinjnaasu and jnani. The word jnani in this sloka denotes jijnaasu, one with the thirst for knowledge.

 

The thapasvee mentioned above can be classified as the arThaarThee, one who practice austerities for result and the karmi can come under aarthee, as he is dissatisfied with his lot and wants to better himself.

 

The term karmi, means those who follow the injunctions of the karmakanda for satisfying various desires in this world and the next and for the mitigation of ills of the world and perform the rituals prescribed in the karmakanda of the Vedas.

 

Then who is the yogi specified here? It is the one who , by the path of jnanayoga, karmayoga or bhakthiyoga, has cleansed his inner equipment and contemplates on the divine with equanimity and detachment and who in due course become qualified for experiencing Brahman.

 

As explained in this chapter earlier, yoga of meditation is not possible for one who has not given up all worldly desires and controlled his mind fully. Then there is a single thought of divinity in his mind and he alone attains the final goal of self-realisation.

 

Granting that the yogi has single-pointed concentration, what should be his object of contemplation? This is answered in the next sloka.

 

47.yoginaam api sarveshaam madhgathena antharathmanaa

 

SrdDhaavaan bhajathe yo maam sa Me yukthathamo

mathaH

 

Of all the yogis the one whose mind and intellect is engrossed in Me, one who contemplates on Me with faith is integrated in yoga, in My opinion.

 

madhgathena antharaathmanaa, when the inner equipment, antharaathman, consisting of mind and intellect is absorbed in the Lord,

 

Sraddhaavaan- one who has full faith that this is the path of salvation as made out by the scriptures.

 

bhajathe maam- one who worships Me The root `bhaj' has many meanings one of them being `to adore.' It is in this sense the word is used here and not in the common meaning of worship with flowers or singing etc.

 

As explained earlier in the chapter to detach the mind from the lower, one has to attach it to the higher. There is nothing higher than the Lord Himself and when all thoughts are centered on Him all the worldly shackles fall off and yoga becomes as obvious as the fruit on hand. The perfect example of this yoga are the gopis of Brindavan. Their entire thoughts, emotions and their senses were completely immersed in Krishna. Hence they attained the supreme state very easily, which even the sages strive hard to reach,. They stand as the definition of the word yoga described by Patanjali in his yogasuthra.

 

 

Krishna says that such a yogi is in his opinion is yukthathama, most integrated in yoga..

 

The Gita is traditionally divided into three parts, 1. First six chapters, 2. chapters 7to 12 and 3.chapters 13 to 18, the whole gita being the elucidation of the mahavakya, thath thvam asi, `that thou art.' The first six chapters denote the meaning of thvam, the individual soul, the next six describe the thath, the nature of Brahman, the absolute reality and the last six with asi, elaborating on how the individual soul becomes united with the supreme self.

 

According to visishtadvaita , it can be taken to mean the three reals, isvara, jeeva and jagath, the first part explaining the nature of jiva , the second , of the Lord, Isvara and the last is about the jagath, world.

 

The three sections of Gita are also believed to represent the three themes of the philosophy of Visishtadvaita , namely, thathva, hitha and purusharTha, that is, what is the reality, how to attain it and the benefits on attaining it.

But in reality it is difficult to segregate the chapters of Gita like this because all these principles permeate through all the chapters. Hence the Gita should be read as one whole, poornam, without parts, as the Lord Himself.

 

Thus with this chapter the first part of Gita ends.