Bhagavad Gita (6)

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CHAPTER 6TAMING THE MIND AND SENSES(Dhyana

Yoga)"...

not simply to know God, but to literally become one with God! This is

the profound plan and purpose of creation that is hidden from most

people."1. Krishna continues the dialogue : "The person who works in the world without needing or expecting a reward is both a sanyasi (true renunciate) and karma-yogi (action yogi).

But the person who merely refrains from acting in the world is neither

of these. You cannot just discard worldly duties, but must do them to

the utmost extent of your human capacity for excellence.2. "I

repeat, Arjuna, nobody can really become one with the Godhead without

leaving their desires behind and abandoning their attachment to the

fruits of their actions. The paths of desireless action (karma yoga) and renunciation (sanyasa)

may seem to be different from one another but they are not. All

spiritual growth is based on surrendering attachments and selfish

motives.3. "The path for those who are climbing to spiritual heights in selfless action (karma yoga). For those who have made the summit (union with God), deep serenity and absence of thought is their way.4.

"God cannot be perceived in the mental ferment of the worldly. You have

to blot out thoughts of the world. When you are no longer attached to

performing action and have eliminated any desires for worldly things,

only then will you have climbed to the highest state of yoga (which again is union with Divinity).5-6.

"I must emphasize, Arjuna, that you have to lift yourself by your own

efforts! You must not allow yourself to be demeaned by your ego-self.

Know that the self can be both friend and foe - a friend when used to

conquer the mind, senses, and body; a foe when it drags one into the

mind, senses, and body. True Self (Atma) is the ally; the ego-mind self

is the enemy.7. "The serene person who is absorbed in God,

living thus in peace, is the true renunciate. Maintaining an even mind

in heat and cold, pleasure and pain, honor and disgrace marks the

spiritually mature. Maintaining physical, mental, and intellectual

balance no matter how difficult the challenge leads to permanent

cheerfulness, which is the sure sign of a yogi. (Recall, a true yogi is not a spiritual recluse, but a godly person of discipline who lives fully in the world.)8. "The person who knows the Atma

has conquered the senses and is calm under all circumstances - that

person has climbed to the summit of human consciousness. That yogi

considers a clod of mud, a stone, or a gold nugget with the same

equal-mindedness. Worldly people pursue earthly things; godly ones

pursue only the Divine.9. "The yogi

who looks with the same eye upon saints or sinners, relatives or

strangers, friends or foes, well-wishers or even those wishing harm is

indeed supreme."THE METHOD OF MEDITATION10.

"To attain this godly state, Arjuna, you must become fully immersed in

the True Self through the process called meditation (dhyana yoga).

You have to control your mind, body, and senses and become free of

possessions, expectations, desires, and greed. You must live alone, at

least internally, in a quiet place. This inner discipline called

meditation is imperative because it is the means for achieving lofty

and necessary ends.11-12. "The method of meditation includes locating a clean spot to sit, neither too high or low, covered with kusha

grass, a deerskin, and a cloth, in that order. Then the meditator

strives to still all thoughts and sensations. Thus cleansing the mind

returns it to its original state, inviting God to enter.13-14.

"While meditating, sit up straight, keep your body still, and keep your

eyes from wandering by gazing at the tip of your nose. Or close the

eyes and focus on the center of spiritual consciousness between your

eyebrows. Remain in perfect calmness with your thoughts fixed on Me,

the Divine.15. "Through long concentration one's mind ceases

its wandering. After some time one develops what is in essence a new

sensory faculty known as medhanadi, an intuitive penetrating skill that makes knotty issues of life no longer problems. The yogi with his or her mind constantly on the Divine finds deep serenity, the zenith of Self-realization, and merges with Me.16-17.

"People who eat too much or too little or who sleep too much or too

little will not succeed in meditation. Eat only food that does not heat

up the body or excite the mind. When you balance and regulate you

habits of eating, sleeping, working, and playing, the meditation

dissolves sorrow and destroys mental pain."THE YOGI18-19.

"The mind has long been dissipated by worldly things and does not

easily come under sway, Arjuna. But when one perfectly controls and

fully withdraws the mind from selfish cravings, one is in yoga, union with Divinity. The mind of the yogi, totally focussed on the True Self, is unwavering like the steady flame of a candle in a sheltered place.20.

"When the mind becomes still and quiet, the Self reveals itself. At

these depths one experiences the joy and peace of complete fulfillment.21-22.

"When you dive deep into this infinite bliss of the Lord, which is

above and beyond the senses, you never again wander from the innermost

Truth. The goal and the means for reaching the goal become one and the

same; life itself becomes a meditation.23. "In this supreme

state you desire nothing else whatsoever and cannot be shaken by any

calamity. To be in this mental state is to know the real meaning of

yoga (union with God). Indeed, to achieve this state is to sever your

contact with pain and surely bring an end to all your sorrow.24-26.

"Renounce all selfish desires, which are but products of the ego. Use

your mind to curb all your senses. Rein in your restless and fidgety

mind from wandering outside to seek stimulation and satisfaction. Turn

it inward and train it to rest in God. Keep your attention anchored in

the Atma, your True Self. Think of nothing else. Then, peace and quiet will gradually arise in you.27-28. "The one who reposes in utter quiet with the Divine, cleansed of desires and passions, who knows the truth of Atma, rests in the Supreme bliss of Brahman. Constantly united with the Godhead, this yogi's bliss is eternal.29. "Touched in this way by God, this yogi sees unity and the True Self (Divinity) everywhere, in every creature, in all creation.30.

"Those who see Me in everything and everything in Me, know the

staggering truth that the Self in the individual is the Self in all. As

they live in constant spiritual awareness, I am never out of their

sight or lost to them - nor are they ever out of My sight or lost to Me.31.

"Those who are in this cosmic union with Me, worship Me (Brahman) in

the hearts of all. Whatever their external way of living or status, as

they have shifted from self to God they live their lives in Me - and

thus each of their contacts with other beings is, inwardly, an

adoration.32. These high yogis

know with certainty that they are one with Brahman, and therefore one

with the universe. Thus they experience the joys and sorrows felt by

others as happening to the whole. This is the loftiest spiritual union.

I regard these yogis as highest of all - "33-34.

Arjuna interrupts again : "It's impossible, Krishna! My mind is so

restless, so turbulent I can't imagine ever being able to achieve the

loftiness you're teaching. The human mind is a nursery of waywardness,

so strong it can drag an elephant, full of stubborn desires for worldly

things. Indeed, it's like a mule. If it doesn't get what it wants it

turns petulant and scheming. My mind can never be caught; it never

halts in one place. Trying to catch and tame it is like trying to

restrain the wild wind."35. Krishna breaks into a smile. "You

know the nature of the mind, Arjuna. It is restless and hard to subdue,

but it can be done. There are four main ways to do it : through regular

practice, relentless inquiry, non-attachment, and firm faith. Let Me

explain."Through regular practice (abhyasa) you can draw the mind away from worldly attractions and back into the Atma. As it becomes more interior it becomes calmer. Relentless inquiry into the Self (vichara) leads to knowledge of Atma, the True Self Within. Non-attachment (vairagya) results from self-inquiry and discrimination (buddhi).

When you actively turn your thoughts to all the bad consequences of the

desires as they arise in you, the passion for them gradually dries up.

As your passion diminishes, your mind comes under control. Firm,

dedicated faith (sraddha) brings you the raw force of determination, will. All four methods are subsidiaries of the practice of meditation.36.

"Those who have no mastery over their ego will find it difficult to

control the mind. But those who struggle hard by the correct means

(relentless practice and nonattachment) will prevail over their wayward

minds."KRISHNA'S PROMISE37. Arjuna again interrupts, "What if one dies trying, Krishna? What happens to the imperfect yogi

who may have faith but simply can't subdue his mind and therefore

wanders from the path, loses sight of the goal, and then dies, foiled

in the attempt? Will this yogi

have failed in both worlds, this one and the hereafter, like the cloud

that just dies in the sky, unable to fulfill its mission of dropping

rain? Dispel this dark cloud of doubt in me, Krishna."40.

Krishna responds, "Spiritual work is never wasted. Fear not, my friend.

One who does this good work will not come to a bad end in this world or

any world beyond. You must know this profound truth, Arjuna : The one

who strives for realization never comes to grief!41-43. "According to the law of karma,

souls reincarnate in environments befitting their spiritual

attainments. Good people (even those who have veered from the spiritual

path) go, when they die, to the heaven of those who do good deeds. They

dwell there for a number of years and then take birth again, this time

into a home that is pure and prosperous. A few of them will be born

into a family that is spiritually advanced, but such births are

difficult to obtain. When this happens, the good environment draws out

their latent spirituality and leads them rapidly toward liberation.44.

"The ones born into the pure and prosperous houses have the opportunity

at first to enjoy the relatively tame desires they held in their former

bodies. But as soon as those pleasures are done they feel irresistibly

drawn to spirituality by the force of the good habits they strove for

in the previous life. Even those who showed only a faint interest,

merely inquiring about spiritual matters, progress further than the

ones who merely follow the rites and ceremonies of their belief systems

unthinkingly, and thus stall their true spiritual advancement.45.

"Through constant spiritual effort over many lifetimes a person becomes

purified of all desires and achieves the ultimate goal of becoming one

with God. Being a yogi means that one is seriously on the path but not necessarily at the end of it. One is a 'yogi' during the process of becoming and should persist birth after birth, until fit for merging with the Supreme Godhead.46-47. "The yogi moving

toward Divinity is deemed more highly evolved than ascetics who

practice severe penance, higher than the learned ones who know the

scriptures, and above the ritualists who perform their rites seeking

favors. All of these are to some extent still entangled in desire. So

be a yogi, Arjuna!"Know that the true yogi

has chosen a great yet attainable ideal in life: to turn Godward, to

constantly and consciously move toward Divinity - to not simply know

about God, but to know God in the fullest sense, to literally become

one with the Divine!"This is the profound plan and purpose of

creation that is hidden from most people, Arjuna, be the one who gives

Me his whole heart. That yogi will be My very own."(From : The Bhagavad Gita (A Walkthrough for Westerners) by Jack Hawley)Copyright reserved by author Visit : Sai Divine Inspirations : http://saidivineinspirations.blogspot.com/ Sai Messages : http://saimessages.blogspot.com/ Love Is My Form : http://loveismyform.blogspot.com/