Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (48 page)

TRANSLATION

A transcendentalist should always try to concentrate his mind on the Supreme Self; he should live alone in a secluded place and should always carefully control his mind. He should be free from desires and feelings of possessiveness.

PURPORT

Kṛṣṇa is realized in different degrees as Brahman, Paramātmā and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means, concisely, to be always engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. But those who are attached to the impersonal Brahman or the localized Supersoul are also partially Kṛṣṇa conscious, because impersonal Brahman is the spiritual ray of Kṛṣṇa and Supersoul is the all-pervading partial expansion of Kṛṣṇa. Thus the impersonalist and the meditator are also indirectly Kṛṣṇa conscious. A directly Kṛṣṇa conscious person is the topmost transcendentalist because such a devotee knows what is meant by Brahman or Paramātmā. His knowledge of the Absolute Truth is perfect, whereas the impersonalist and the meditative
yogī
are imperfectly Kṛṣṇa conscious.

Nevertheless, all of these are instructed herewith to be constantly engaged in their particular pursuits so that they may come to the highest perfection sooner or later. The first business of a transcendentalist is to keep the mind always on Kṛṣṇa. One should always think of Kṛṣṇa and not forget Him even for a moment. Concentration of the mind on the Supreme is called
samādhi
or trance. In order to concentrate the mind, one should always remain in seclusion and avoid disturbance by external objects. He should be very careful to accept favorable and reject unfavorable conditions that affect his realization. And, in perfect determination, he should not hanker after unnecessary material things that entangle him by feelings of possessiveness.

All these perfections and precautions are perfectly executed when one is directly in Kṛṣṇa consciousness because direct Kṛṣṇa consciousness means self-abnegation, wherein there is very little chance for material possessiveness. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī characterizes Kṛṣṇa consciousness in this way:

anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārham upayuñjataḥ
nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate
prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ
mumukṣubhiḥ parityāgo vairāgyaṁ phalgu kathyate.

(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 2.255-256)

"When one is not attached to anything, but at the same time accepts everything in relation to Kṛṣṇa, one is rightly situated above possessiveness. On the other hand, one who rejects everything without knowledge of its relationship to Kṛṣṇa is not as complete in his renunciation."

A Kṛṣṇa conscious person well knows that everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa, and thus he is always free from feelings of personal possession. As such, he has no hankering for anything on his own personal account. He knows how to accept things in favor of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and how to reject things unfavorable to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He is always aloof from material things because he is always transcendental, and he is always alone, having nothing to do with persons not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the perfect
yogī.

Bg 6.11, Bg 6.12, Bg 6.11-12

TEXTS 11-12

TEXT

śucau deśe pratiṣṭhāpya

sthiram āsanam ātmanaḥ

nāty-ucchritaṁ nāti-nīcaṁ

cailājina-kuśottaram

yata-cittendriya-kriyaḥ

upaviśyāsane yuñjyād

yogam ātma-viśuddhaye

SYNONYMS

śucau-
in sanctified;
deśe-
in the land;
pratiṣṭhāpya-
placing;
sthiram-
firm;
āsanam-
seat;
ātmanaḥ-
self-dependant;
na-
not;
ati-
too;
ucchritam
-high;
na
-nor;
ati-
too;
nīcam-
low;
caila-ajna-
soft cloth and deerskin;
kuśottaram-kuśa
grass;
tatra-
thereupon;
ekāgram-
one attention;
manaḥ
-mind;
kṛtvā-
doing so;
yata-citta-
controlling the mind;
indriya-
senses;
kriyaḥ-
activities;
upaviśya-
sitting on;
āsane-
on the seat;
yuñjyāt-
execute;
yogam
-yoga practice;
ātma
-heart;
viśuddhaye-
for clarifying.

TRANSLATION

To practice yoga, one should go to a secluded place and should lay kuśa-grass on the ground and then cover it with a deerskin and a soft cloth. The seat should neither be too high nor too low and should be situated in a sacred place. The yogī should then sit on it very firmly and should practice yoga by controlling the mind and the senses, purifying the heart and fixing the mind on one point.

PURPORT

"Sacred place" refers to places of pilgrimage. In India the
yogīs,
the transcendentalists or the devotees all leave home and reside in sacred places such as Prayāg, Mathurā, Vṛndāvana, Hṛṣīkeśa, and Hardwar and in solitude practice
yoga
where the sacred rivers like the Yamunā and the Ganges flow. But often this is not possible, especially for Westerners. The so-called
yoga
societies in big cities may be successful in earning material benefit, but they are not at all suitable for the actual practice of
yoga.
One who is not self-controlled and whose mind is not undisturbed cannot practice meditation. Therefore, in the
Bṛhan-Nāradīya Purāṇa
it is said that in the Kali-yuga (the present
yuga
or age) when people in general are short-lived, slow in spiritual realization and always disturbed by various anxieties, the best means of spiritual realization is chanting the holy name of the Lord.

harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā.

"In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the only means of deliverance is chanting the holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way."

Bg 6.13, Bg 6.14, Bg 6.13-14

TEXTS 13-14

TEXT

samaṁ kāya-śiro-grīvaṁ

dhārayann acalaṁ sthiraḥ

samprekṣya nāsikāgraṁ svaṁ

diśaś cānavalokayan

brahmacāri-vrate sthitaḥ

manaḥ saṁyamya mac-citto

yukta āsīta mat-paraḥ

SYNONYMS

samam-
straight;
kāya-śiraḥ-
body and head;
grīvam-
neck;
dhārayan-
holding;
acalam-
unmoved;
sthiraḥ-
still;
samprekṣya-
looking;
nāsikā-
nose;
agram-
tip;
svam-
own;
diśaḥ-
all sides;
ca-
also;
anavalokayan-
not seeing;
praśānta-
unagitated;
ātmā-
mind;
vigata-bhīḥ-
devoid of fear;
brahmacāri-vrate-
in the vow of celibacy;
sthitaḥ-
situated;
manaḥ-
mind;
saṁyamya-
completely subdued;
mat-
unto Me (Kṛṣṇa);
cittaḥ-
concentrated;
yuktaḥ-
actual
yogī
;
āsīta-
being so;
mat-
unto Me;
paraḥ-
ultimate goal.

TRANSLATION

One should hold one's body, neck and head erect in a straight line and stare steadily at the tip of the nose. Thus with an unagitated, subdued mind, devoid of fear, completely free from sex life, one should meditate upon Me within the heart and make Me the ultimate goal of life.

PURPORT

The goal of life is to know Kṛṣṇa, who is situated within the heart of every living being as Paramātmā, the four-handed Viṣṇu form. The
yoga
process is practiced in order to discover and see this localized form of Viṣṇu, and not for any other purpose. The localized Viṣṇu-mūrti is the plenary representation of Kṛṣṇa dwelling within one's heart. One who has no program to realize this Viṣṇu-murti is uselessly engaged in mock-
yoga
practice and is certainly wasting his time. Kṛṣṇā is the ultimate goal of life, and the Viṣṇu-murti situated in one's heart is the object of
yoga
practice. To realize this Viṣṇu-murti within the heart, one has to observe complete abstinence from sex life; therefore one has to leave home and live alone in a secluded place, remaining seated as mentioned above. One cannot enjoy sex life daily at home or elsewhere and attend a so-called
yoga
class and thus become a
yogī
. One has to practice controlling the mind and avoiding all kinds of sense gratification, of which sex life is the chief. In the rules of celibacy written by the great sage Yājñavalkya it is said:

karmaṇā manasā vācā sarvāvasthāsu sarvadā
sarvatra maithuṇa-tyāgo brahmacaryaṁ pracakṣate.

"The vow of
brahmacarya
is
meant to help one completely abstain from sex indulgence in work, words and mind-at all times, under all circumstances, and in all places." No one can perform correct
yoga
practice through sex indulgence.
Brahmacarya
is taught, therefore, from childhood when one has no knowledge of sex life. Children at the age of five are sent to the
guru-kula,
or the place of the spiritual master, and the master trains the young boys in the strict discipline of becoming
brahmacārīs.
Without such practice, no one can make advancement in any
yoga,
whether it be
dhyāna, jñāna
or
bhakti.
One who, however, follows the rules and regulations of married life, having sexual relationship only with his wife (and that also under regulation), is also called
brahmacārī.
Such a restrained householder
brahmacārī
may be accepted in the
bhakti
school, but the
jñāna
and
dhyāna
schools do not admit even householder
brahmacārīs.
They require complete abstinence without compromise. In the
bhakti
school, a householder
brahmacārī
is allowed controlled sex life because the cult of
bhakti-yoga
is so powerful that one automatically loses sexual attraction, being engaged in the superior service of the Lord. In the
Bhagavad-gītā
it is said:

viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ
rasa-varjaṁ raso 'py asya paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate

Whereas others are forced to restrain themselves from sense gratification, a devotee of the Lord automatically refrains because of superior taste. Other than the devotee, no one has any information of that superior taste.

Vigatabhīḥ.
One cannot be fearless unless one is fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A conditioned soul is fearful due to his perverted memory, his forgetfulness of his eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. The
Bhāgavatam
says,
bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syād īśād apetasya viparyayo 'smṛtiḥ:
Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the only basis for fearlessness. Therefore, perfect practice is possible for a person who is Kṛṣṇa conscious. And since the ultimate goal of
yoga
practice is to see the Lord within, a Kṛṣṇa conscious person is already the best of all
yogīs.
The principles of the
yoga
system mentioned herein are different from those of the popular so-called
yoga
societies.

Bg 6.15

TEXT 15

TEXT

yuñjann evaṁ sadātmānaṁ

yogī niyata-mānasaḥ

śāntiṁ nirvāṇa-paramāṁ

mat-saṁsthām adhigacchati

SYNONYMS

yuñjan-
practicing like this;
evam-
as mentioned above;
sadā-
constantly;
ātmānam-
body, mind and soul;
yogī-
the mystic transcendentalist;
niyata-mānasaḥ-
regulated mind;
śāntim-
peace;
nirvāṇa-paramām-
cessation of material existence;
mat-saṁsthām-
in the spiritual sky (the kingdom of God);
adhigacchati-
does attain.

TRANSLATION

Thus practicing control of the body, mind and activities, the mystic transcendentalist attains to the kingdom of God [or the abode of Kṛṣṇa] by cessation of material existence.

PURPORT

The ultimate goal in practicing
yoga
is now clearly explained.
Yoga
practice is not meant for attaining any kind of material facility; it is to enable the cessation of all material existence. One who seeks an improvement in health or aspires after material perfection is no
yogī
according to
Bhagavad-gītā.
Nor does cessation of material existence entail one's entering into "the void," which is only a myth. There is no void anywhere within the creation of the Lord. Rather, the cessation of material existence enables one to enter into the spiritual sky, the abode of the Lord. The abode of the Lord is also clearly described in the
Bhagavad-gītā
as that place where there is no need of sun, moon, nor electricity. All the planets in the spiritual kingdom are self-illuminated like the sun in the material sky. The kingdom of God is everywhere, but the spiritual sky and the planets thereof are called
paraṁ dhāma,
or superior abodes.

A consummate
yogī,
who is perfect in understanding Lord Kṛṣṇa, as is clearly stated herein
(mat-cittaḥ, mat-paraḥ, mat-sthānam)
by the Lord Himself, can attain real peace and can ultimately reach His supreme abode, the Kṛṣṇa-loka known as Goloka Vṛndāvana. In the
Brahma-saṁhitā
it is clearly stated
(goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūtaḥ)
that the Lord, although residing always in His abode called Goloka, is the all-pervading Brahman and the localized Paramātmā as well by dint of His superior spiritual energies. No one can reach the spiritual sky or enter into the eternal abode (Vaikuṇṭha Goloka Vṛndāvana) of the Lord without the proper understanding of Kṛṣṇa and His plenary expansion Viṣṇu. Therefore a person working in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the perfect
yogī
, because his mind is always absorbed in Kṛṣṇa's activities.
Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ.
In the
Vedas
also we learn:
tam eva viditvātimṛtyum eti:
"One can overcome the path of birth and death only by understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa." In other words, perfection of the
yoga
system is the attainment of freedom from material existence and not some magical jugglery or gymnastic feats to befool innocent people.