Bhagavat git a a detailed study- end of fifthchapter-yoga of renunciation

March 12, 2009

27. sparSaan krthvaa bahiH baahyaan chakshuH chaiva

anthare bhruvoH

praaNaapaanou samou krthvaa

naasaabhyantharachaariNou

Shutting out all the sense contacts outward, fixing the eyes at the space between the eyebrows, equalizing the inward and outward breaths that move inside the nostrils,

28. yathendhriyamanobuddhiH muniH mokshaparaayanaH

vigathecChaabhayakroDhaH yaH sadhaa yuktha eva saH

Controlling his senses, mind and intellect, casting off desire, fear and anger, the sage who is intent on attaining salvation becomes liberated for ever.

At the end of the chapter as usual Krishna hints at the contents of the chapter to follow, namely dhyanayoga. He has been explaining about karma yoga and jannayoga in the foregoing chapters which stress the inner and outer control in order to attain liberation. Now it is time to answer the inevitable question about the way of doing it. The practical side of yoga is outlined in the next chapter about which a mention is made here.

sparSaan krthvaa bahih baahyaan means giving up all sensual contacts with the outside world. This does not imply shutting one self within four walls because experience of the sensual pleasures can very well be in the mind itself as made out in the sloka `dhaayatho vishayaan pumasah,' (Ch.2.62/63) This is indicated by the phrase `yathendhriya manobudDhih,' controlling the mind and intellect, in the next sloka. Hence the first requisite for yoga of contemplation, dhyanayoga is control of the mind and intellect by turning them away from the sense contacts when the outward flow towards the sensual objects is automatically stopped.

How this can be done is indicated by the phrase vigathecchaabhayakroDhaH, which is the prerequisite to yathendhriya manobudDhi. Attachment to worldly pleasures comes from desire which in its wake gives rise to fear of losing what one desired and anger when there is an obstacle to achievement of the object of desire. So as Krishna termed desire as mahaaSano mahaa paapmaa(ch.3.37)and as dushpoora anala (ch.3.39) in the third chapter, it is the desire which is the root of all evil and when it is given up, the mind becomes controlled.

Hence the seeker of salvation, mokshaparaayana, controls his mind and intellect by controlling desire which results in the absence of sensual contacts, which means that the sense contact does not affect him.

After doing this the yogi sits down to meditation, the details are prescribed in the next chapter with a mention of basic disciplines here as chakshuH chaiva anthare bhruvoh and praanaapaanou samou krthva etc.

ChakshuH anthare bhruvoh- with eyes fixed between the eye brows. Krishna is not advising us to become cross eyed! It should not be taken literally. It denotes only concentration at one point. Raising the eyes towards the eyebrows as though gazing between them avoids distraction and also upward glance means elevationg our attention to a higher objective.

praaNapaanou samou krthvaa- When one is agitated the inward and outward breaths are not even . Making them even means that the mind is at rest.

In this state the yogi becomes yuktha experiencing the peace of Brahman and becomes liberated for ever.

29. bhokthaaram yajna thapasaam sarvalokamahesvaram

suhrdham sarvabhoothaanaam jnaathvaa maam Saanthim

rcchathi

Knowing Me as the enjoyer of all sacrifices and austerities, and as the supreme Lord of all the worlds and the real friend of all beings, one gets everlasting peace.

As the chapter is about karmayoga Krishna clinches the issue and ends the chapter by saying that by dedicating all work to the Lord knowing Him to be the master of all and also the true friend, one will get salvation.

Bhoktharam yajnathapasaam- The Lord is the receiver of all sacrificial offering and all austerities are directed only to Him . This will be further elaborated in chapter 9 as `yepyanyadhevathaa bhakthaaH ---` (Ch 9.23) because He is the Lord of all beings in all the worlds, being the Self of all.

Yajna here means all work done as an offering to the Lord and thapas denotes the austerities undertaken for self control.

Suhrdham sarvabhoothaanaam- He is the real friend of all. Suhrdh means Shobhanam hrdh asya asthi ithi, one who has a good heart. The Lord is the closest friend of all as He showers His grace on all without expecting anything in return. He asks only for pure heart that loves Him for His sake. He then returns the love thousand fold as a true friend. The word suhrdh is used here to denote that even though He is the overlord of all we need not fear Him and keep our distance out of reverence and awe as in the case of a supreme master because he is also our friend.