Shrimad Bhagavad Gita (CHAPTER 6)

15. "The yogi with a restrained mind who thus meditates on me incessantly at last attains to the sublime peace that dwells in me."

The yogi who thus always reflects on Krishn, an ideal, accomplished teacher and dwells in God, with a controlled mind achieves his sublime peace. So Arjun is told to constantly devote himself to the task. The treatment of the subject is now almost complete. In the next two verses, Krishn then points out the importance of physical discipline, regulated food, and recreation for the worshipper who aims at the conquest of ultimate bliss.

16. "This yog, O Arjun, is neither achieved by one who eats too much or too little, nor by one who sleeps too much or too little.’’

Moderation in food and sleep are necessary for a man who wishes to be a yogi. Now, if the man who eats and sleeps immoderately cannot achieve yog, who can?

17. "Yog, the destroyer of all grief, is achieved only by those who regulate their food and recreation, who strive according to their capacity, and who sleep in moderation."

If a man eats too much, he is overtaken by lethargy, sleep, and negligence. And the act of meditation is simply not possible in such a condition. On the contrary, fasting will weaken the body and there will not be enough strength to even sit straight and firm. According to my revered teacher, one should eat a little less than one’s need. Recreation, as understood here, is walking according to the available space. Some physical exercise is a necessity; circulation is slowed down in the absence of such exertion and one falls prey to illness. How much a man sleeps or remains awake is determined by age, food, and habit. The most exalted Maharaj Ji used to tell us that a yogi should sleep for four hours and be constantly engaged in meditation. However, men who curb their sleep by force soon lose their sanity. Along with all these, there should also be sufficient effort for the accomplishment of the undertaken task, for without this the act of worship cannot be carried out well. He succeeds in achieving yog who excludes all thoughts of external objects from his mind and who is constantly engaged in meditation. This is what Krishn emphasizes again:

18. "A man is said to be endowed with yog when, restrained by the practice of selfless action and contented with Self, his mind is freed from all desires.’’

Thus, when disciplined by the practice of selfless action,the mind of a man is firmly centered on God and is indeed dissolved in him, and when there remains no desire, the worshipper is said to have attained to yog. Let us now see what a well-restrained mind is.

19. "An analogy is (usually) drawn between the lamp whose flame does not flicker because there is no wind and the fully restrained mind of a yogi engaged in contemplation of God.’’

When a lamp is kept where there is not a whiff of air, its wick burns steadily and the flame goes straight up-it does not tremble. So it is used as a simile for the subdued mind of a yogi who has completely given himself up to God. However, the lamp is just an illustration. The kind of lamp that is spoken of here is now going almost out of use. So let us take yet another example. When an incense- stick is burnt, its smoke rises straight up if it is undisturbed by wind. But this, again, is no more than an analogy between smoke and the mind of a yogi. True that the mind has been conquered and restrained, but it is still there. What spiritual splendour is realized when the restrained mind too is dissolved?

20. "In the state in which even the yog-restrained mind is dissolved by a direct perception of God, he (the worshipper) rests contented in his Self.’’

This state is achieved only by a constant and long practice of yog. In the absence of such exercise, there can be no restraint of the mind. So when the intellect, the refined mind that has been curbed by yog, also ceases to be because it is absorbed in God, the worshipper perceives him through his Self and abides with contented happiness in his own Self. He apprehends God, but he dwells contented in his Soul. In the moment of attainment he sees God, face to face as it were, but the very next moment he finds his own Self overflowing with the eternal glories of that God. God is immortal, constant, unmanifest, and vital; and now the worshipper’s soul too is imbued with these divine attributes. True, but now it is also beyond thought. So long as desire and its urges exist, we cannot possess the Self. But when the mind is restrained and then dissolved by direct perception, the very next moment after the visionary experience the embodied Soul is endowed with all the transcendental qualities of God. And it is for this reason that the worshipper now lives happily and contented in his own Self. This Self is what he really is. This is the point of crowning glory for him. The idea is further developed in the next verse.

22. "In this state, in which he believes that there can be no greater good than the ultimate peace he has found in God, he is unshaken by even the direst of all griefs.’’

After he is once blessed with God’s transcendental peace, settled firmly in the state of his realization, the yogi Is freed from all grief, and now even the most painful sorrow cannot affect him. It is so because the mind, that feels, is now itself dissolved. So-

23. "It is a duty to practise this yog, untouched by miseries of the world, with vigour and determination, and without a sense of ennui."

That which is equally free from worldly attraction and repulsion is named yog. Yog is experiencing the final beatitude. Attainment of the ultimate essence, that is God, is yog. Engaging in this yog without a sense of monotony or boredom (ennui) and with resolution, is a sacred obligation. He who is patiently engaged in selfless action is the one who succeeds in achieving yog.

24. "Abandoning all desire, lust, and attachment, and pulling in by an exercise of the mind the numerous senses from all sides, -’’

It is man’s duty to sacrifice all the desires that arise from will along with attachment and worldly pleasure and restrain well with his mind, the senses from straying here and there. And after having done this,-

25. "His intellect should also rein in the mind firmly and make it contemplate nothing except God and, thus step by step, he should proceed towards the attainment of final liberation.’’

The final dissolution in God comes only gradually with the practice of yog. When the mind is fully under control, the Self is united with the Supreme Spirit. However, at the beginning, when the worshipper has just set out on the path, he has to concentrate his mind patiently on, and think of nothing else except, God. The way of this spiritual enterprise is that attainment comes only with constant application. But at the outset, the mind is restless and refuses to stay at one point. This is what Yogeshwar Krishn speaks of now.

26. "Doing away with the causes that make the inconstant and fickle wander among worldly objects, he should devote his mind to God alone.’’

Strictly keeping out all allurements that tempt the changeable and restless mind to associate with worldly objects, the worshipper should try repeatedly to confine it to the Self. It is often contended that the mind should be let free to go wherever it tends to go. After all, where else can it go except to nature, which is also a creation of God? So if it roams amidst nature, it is not transgressing the bounds of God. But according to Krishn this is a misconception. There is no room for such beliefs in the Geeta. It is Krishn’s injunction that the very organs through which the mind strays here and there should be curbed in order to devote it solely to God. Restraint of mind is possible. But what is the consequence of this restraint?

27. "The most sublime happiness is the lot of the yogi whose mind is at peace, who is free from evil, whose passion and moral blindness have been dispelled, and who has become one with God.’’

Nothing is superior to the happiness that comes to this yogi, for this is the happiness that results from identity with God; and this ultimate bliss comes only to that man who is perfectly at peace in his heart and mind, free from sin, and whose property of passion and moral blindness has been subdued. The same idea is stressed again.

28. "Thus constantly dedicating his Self to God, the immaculate yogi experiences the eternal bliss of realization.."

 The emphasis here is on sinlessness and continuous devotion. The yogi needs to possess these qualities before he can experience the blessedness of touching God and merging into him. So worship is a necessity.

29. ‘‘The worshipper, whose Self has achieved the state of yog and who sees all with an equal eye, beholds his own Self in all beings and all beings in his Self."

Yog brings about the state in which the even-minded worshipper sees the extension of his Soul in all beings and the existence of all beings in his own Soul. The advantage of the perception of this unity of all beings is the burden of the next verse.