Bhakti Shastri (081) – Bhagavad Gita Chapter 06 Text 08 to 14

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Hare Krishna.
Welcome back to our Bhagavad Gita Bhakti Shastra course. In the last class, we were discussing the first section of the sixth chapter. The sixth chapter is talking about Ashtanga Yoga.
So we discussed moving from the Yoga Aruruksha to the Arudha stage. So from the beginning to the advanced stage. And what essentially differentiates the beginning and the advanced stage is not just the externals.
Externally, there is a difference. Aruruksha or Munir Yogam, Karmakaranam Uchyate. That is the initial stage.
Karma, activity is the means of advancement. And Yoga Arudha Siddhasyaiva Shyamakaranam Uchyate. And 6.3 Krishna says that then when we become Arudha, then we give up work.
But that is not the essential difference between Aruruksha and Arudha. It is not that just by giving work, one will move from Aruruksha to Arudha. What makes the difference is the control of the mind.
The capacity to become equipoised towards the external things. So we discussed how the mind can act as the enemy. And then we discussed how the Yogi brings the mind under control.
So we will discuss a little bit more about Gyan Vigyanatruptatma in 6.7. Then we will move on to Vidit in 6.8. We will discuss that first. And then we will move forward. So… Let’s recite the verse once again.
Gyan Vigyanatruptatma Kutistho Vijitendriyaha Yuktaity Uchyate Yogi Samalostrashmakanchanaha So Gyan Vigyanatruptatma So let’s look at what is the implication of this. See, how does knowledge move towards realisation? So there are three stages. There is hearing, contemplating and applying.
It’s called Shravan, Manan and Nidhidhyasana. So hearing is Shravan, contemplating is Manan. And applying, internalising is Nidhidhyasana.
It’s talked about in the Upanishads. So… When we hear spiritual knowledge… This can be correlated with… When we hear, the knowledge enters into the ears. When we go further, we contemplate on it and it enters into the head.
At that time it becomes Gyan. And that when we internalise it, apply it further, then it enters into our heart. And then it becomes Vigyana.
So let’s understand this better now. So first time when we hear something, we hear so many things. We may hear some people doing some casual talk while we are walking along the road.
We hear so many news on the news in the TV channel. So we hear so many things from so many places. Now most of it, it doesn’t really enter much.
Or when it enters, it just doesn’t register over there. So we forget it soon. And we don’t really give it much thought after it enters the head through the ears.
So that’s how it dies away from our consciousness gradually. Although some impression might be there in the background, so when we talk about hearing, at that time say we are now discussing some philosophy. So hearing means first at least the ears are there, so things go inside.
And after that we contemplate. Actually Prabhupada says in one place that one should not hear like a hog. Now you wonder what is hearing like a hog.
The hog, it can have big ears. But actually it cannot understand philosophy. So hearing like a hog means being in animal consciousness and staying in animal consciousness.
Not letting one’s consciousness become erased by one’s hearing. Not becoming illumined and purified and transformed by hearing. That is hearing like a hog.
So after hearing we contemplate. So scriptures say that sense gratification leads to misery. We discuss in the 5th chapter, So now, how does it make sense? We feel like that.
So when we hear, at that time we think, does this really make sense or does it make sense? And we think in this way, we realise that we have certain conceptions and in what we are hearing, it is contradictory. So generally speaking, I discussed earlier how knowledge involves connecting the unknown with the known. So there is something that is known.
What is known in this case is sense gratification leads to pleasure. That’s what I have heard from my childhood, that’s what I have seen in the movies, that’s what all the ads are telling me. So that’s what I have heard.
So now when I hear from the scriptures that sense gratification leads to misery, now if I don’t take it very seriously, and it just comes in, these religious people keep saying things like this, they are all spoilsports, they are all key joys. They don’t want us to enjoy life. So if they don’t want to enjoy, let them not enjoy, but we are going to enjoy life.
So don’t bother about this religious stuff. So many people think of things like this, and they don’t take things very seriously. Then there have to be serious consequences.
The body is going to grow old, get deceased, and then all the bad karma that a person has done is going to come back as serious sinful reactions. So therefore a wise person doesn’t neglect scripture. So when we hear and we think about it, so the preconceptions that we have, and what we hear, if they contradict each other, then we have to seriously think, which is right, and why is it right? We can’t just wish away our preconceptions.
If we acquire our preconceptions based on certain experiences, or certain assumptions, or certain notions that we have acquired from various sources, then we have to challenge and counter them by conscious contemplation. Okay, scripture is saying like this, and here it is. So this is Gyan.
I have been thinking like this. Which is true? Contemplate. It seems like sense gratification leads to pleasure.
But are the people who are enjoying the sense of happiness, most of them we see, in the name of happiness, they engage in activities that are harmful to them. They engage in smoking, drinking, intoxication, which harm them, sometimes this harm others also, when under the control of these activities, they act and they harm others. How many people are drunk, they drive and they hurt others, they hurt themselves.
So beyond that, yes, it never leads to satisfaction. Pleasure is always temporary, and after that there is so much trouble. So then by conscious contemplation, we can understand what scripture is saying.
What I have been thinking of is false, what scripture is saying is true. This sort of contemplation when we do, then the knowledge that has gone from the ears, it just doesn’t come into one ear and go out of the other ear. It goes from the ear into the head.
It becomes settled over there. Even when it is settled over there, that means we have accepted it internally. There are various levels of internalisation.
One is the intellectual internalisation, when we intellectually understand it. But even after intellectually understanding it, there may not be emotional internalisation. Emotional internalisation means, that I accept, this is true.
This is true. And this is actually what happens many times, even when we intellectually internalise certain things, at that time still the problem remains that the feelings are still very much towards sense gratification. So if I had the opportunity to pounce on sense gratification, now somehow I am told, and I am to some extent accepted intellectually, that sense gratification doesn’t lead to pleasure, it leads to misery.
But still I feel, no, it leads to pleasure. So then that will require purification, that will require greater realisation. When that purification and realisation comes, then we move to the next stage.
The next stage is accepting the heart. So for example, somebody who is never drunk in one’s life, and has got no illusions about drinking, has seen how people when they drink, they just topple on the side of the street, or they just roll over on the table where they are drinking, they throw up stuff, and they get terrible hangovers, they make a fool out of themselves, they waste so much money. So one has seen how it leads to misery.
So one has no illusions about it giving some pleasure. So at that time, there is no inner battle between the feelings and the thoughts. There is no conflict, that I don’t feel that actually, I feel it will give me pleasure, but somehow I shouldn’t be doing it.
It’s not like that. There is no temptation on me. Now we may feel like this about alcohol, but we may not feel the same way about other pleasures.
For example, sexual pleasure, we may feel very strongly tempted about it, but as we become spiritually advanced, slowly, then more and more of the material pleasures will be exposed to be what they actually are. They are not sources of happiness. They are sources of delusion and sources of distress.
They delude us and they cause us to suffer. So gradually as we understand it, we move towards vijnana. Vijnana.
Vijnana means internalised in terms of, not just at the level of the head, at the level of the heart. So now, I talked about intellectual internalisation, emotional internalisation. Here we are not just talking about feelings in terms of the feelings of the mind.
Yes, the mind has feelings. Generally, what do we mean by realisation? Realisation means that when the mind accepts something, this is true. So when it goes deep into our heart, then I accept this is true.
That is realisation. Realisation means that which is a reality, we accept it to be a reality. That which is a reality.
But we are not accepting it to be a reality. When we accept it to be a reality, then that becomes a realisation. So we all want to move towards realisation.
And gradually we will be able to accept these things. Since gratification doesn’t lead to pleasure, it leads to misery. So therefore I should not indulge in it.
Not because I have been told not to do it, but because it is a path to misery. And why should I get involved in it? There are better ways to live life and the best way is to live by serving Krishna. Let me live in service to Krishna.
That is vijnana. When we give this inner acceptance. So Krishna is saying you are a jnana-vijnana-trupta-dharma.
When one has knowledge and one has realisation, then one becomes trupta, one becomes satisfied. Otherwise if one has jnana, sanskritification leads to misery. So one is hearing sanskritification leads to misery, but one is feeling sanskritification leads to happiness.
Why am I not allowed to do it? Then there is no trupti over there. There is dissatisfaction, there is irritation, there is frustration. So gradually by contemplating and living accordingly, we will be able to realise it.
So what is in between is at the level of hearing noise in the ears, but from the ears it goes to the head when we contemplate. And from the head, how does it go to the heart? When we apply it. So when we apply it, it goes to the heart.
So now we may wonder what comes first? Does the applying come first? Or does the knowledge going to the heart come first? Actually it’s both ways. With whatever little conviction we have, we apply. So an alcoholic may not feel alcohol as miserable.
When the urges come, the alcoholic feels, no, I want to enjoy this. But the alcoholic is told, no, no, no. The alcoholic understands, I have had enough experiences that lead to misery.
I am going to be sober now. I am not going to get involved in this. So nothing doing.
Let me just put this aside. So there has to be some determination. But when the determination is there, one goes beyond it.
So now, we discussed this briefly earlier. So Gyan and Vigyan, there are four examples which you can use for explaining how scriptural knowledge needs to be applied to be truly beneficial. So there are these four examples.
A map, a prescription, a recipe and a manual. See, all of these provide some information, some knowledge. But none of these truly benefit us unless we do something with that knowledge.
A map may tell me how I can go from Mumbai to Pune. But unless I make the journey, I won’t move from Mumbai to Pune. A prescription may tell me, okay, you are having cough now.
Take this, this, this. You will get cured. But unless I take the medicine, I won’t get cured.
A recipe can tell me how to make Rasgulla. But unless I use the recipe and cook the Rasgulla, I won’t have the Rasgulla. A manual may tell me how to operate a machine.
But unless I actually open the machine and start pressing the button and operating it, I can’t use the machine for any purpose. So scriptures are like that. They are like a map, a manual, a recipe or a prescription.
So unless we apply that, scriptural knowledge doesn’t benefit as much. And the difference between all these and scriptural knowledge is that scriptural knowledge application is largely internal. You have to apply it and application has to be internal.
So whether a person is applying it or not may not be so easily apparent. We will know whether we are applying it or not. But even if we are not applying it, others may think we are applying it.
And we may be satisfied with making others think that I am applying it rather than actually applying it. So that shouldn’t happen. Because if that happens, then mithyacharas, ujjhityas Krishna is talking about in the third chapter.
So we need to internalise the knowledge. Then we will become truptatma. So now, what prevents the gyana from becoming vidyana? There are two obstacles.
They are what? Desires and doubts. So desires originate from the mind and they entrap the karmis. Doubts originate from the intelligence and they entrap the jnanis.
Now, many times Bhagavad Gita Krishna says mayi arpit mano buddher Offer your mind and intelligence to me. Why these two specific faculties? Because they comprise our subtle body. And wherever our subtle body goes, that’s where we will go eventually.
So if we offer our subtle body to Krishna, then we offer ourselves to Krishna by that. So desires and doubts are what stop our subtle body from going towards Krishna. So now, desires make us feel there is so much enjoyment here, why should I go towards Krishna? And doubts, is this Krishna for real? Is this spiritual business for real? It also creates obstacles.
So doubts and desires, both are obstacles. Now when we say desires entrap karmis and doubts entrap jnanis, who are we? Actually we are the host of both. We have desires also and we have doubts also.
So we have both. So when we are talking about the paths or the practitioners, we have some karma tendency and we have some jnana tendency also. So, many devotees think that science is like jnana.
Science is jnana because scientists are intellectuals. There are so many formulas, so many complex scientific concepts. So actually speaking from the spiritual perspective, from the philosophical perspective, science is not jnana.
Science is largely karma. Why? Because science is jnana. Isn’t it similar to the path of jnanis? Thinking very deeply about what the nature of reality is.
There may be some scientists who think about what the nature of reality is. Most scientists think of how to bend the world to nature. Most people who are in the field of science, they work on technology.
And technology involves basically manipulating matter. And manipulating matter is karma. It is karma kanda.
So in the path of karma, for example, somebody has to produce rains. So then they will do some Indra yajna and by that rains will come. So now we may not believe today, people may not believe today that in that fire sacrifice yajna will come.
So putting aside the fact of whether people believe or not, what is the underlying principle over there? The principle is we are using some method to manipulate matter. Rains are material. Rains are not spiritual.
What comes down in the rains is matter. And the clouds from which the rains come, they are material. And devata in charge of that is also material.
So rains are material. So we are using some material phenomena, some yajna, to get some material result. The process itself may be high tech, but actually the essence of the process is material manipulation, material control, so that there can be material enjoyment.
So most of science is karma. It’s not jnana. It’s karma.
So that’s what happens. Today many people who are scientifically well educated also, they are filled with many desires for sense gratification. And this technology is used to promote sense gratification.
The whole entertainment industry, especially in that we have the porn industry, which is using advanced technology to bring out the most regressive desires, the lowest desires from people’s minds, and make them act on those desires. So either way, doubts and desires both obstruct us. So now, when I was saying that, today’s people have often the worst of both.
We have scientific education, which we mistake to be intellectual, and through this education we get a lot of doubts also. Does God exist? Does soul exist? Is reincarnation for real? Along with that, because this knowledge is used largely for sense gratification, so we are also filled with many desires. So doubts and desires both obstruct us.
Now among these two, which are more dangerous? Actually both are dangerous, but doubts are more dangerous. Because generally on the spiritual path, when desires come, desires make us feel lowly. I have so many material desires, and I am so impure.
But when doubts come, doubts make us feel superior. These people, they are so sentimental, they believe such stuff. I am not so sentimental, I am intelligent.
I won’t believe these things. So what happens is when we feel superior like this, then it becomes difficult for us to seek shelter, to ask for help, to try to find out what is the solution in a humble and submissive way. So that’s why in one sense doubts can be more dangerous.
Actually Prabhupada also considered philosophical deviation as far more dangerous than sensual deviation. If some disciple had some sensual fault on, Prabhupada would still encourage them to continue on. But if somebody philosophically deviated, Prabhupada was very strong in cautioning that devotee as well as other disciples.
So that’s about it. Now, what are we discussing earlier? Gyan Vigyan Gupta Atma. So we have to deal with our desires and we have to deal with our doubts.
So we deal with our desires by chanting, purification. We deal with our doubts also by chanting purification. But along with that systematically study, enquire and be patient.
We discussed earlier about how doubts can be dealt with by keeping certain doubts in a state of suspension. Neither judging them as true nor false, just keeping them in suspension. So now Krishna has talked in the previous verse about and this was about Samalosh Tashmakan Janaha is equal vision towards things.
Now Krishna described a higher level of consciousness where he describes equal vision towards all kinds of people also. It’s one thing to see things equally. It’s quite another to see people equally.
And that’s what Krishna talks about in the next verse. So Suhrun is friends. Very close well-wisher.
We have used the word Suhrun in the Bhagavad Gita earlier 5.29. Krishna is the intimate well-wisher. Greatest well-wisher of all living beings. Mitra is the friend.
Ari is the enemy. Udasi is the neutral. So Udasi and Madhyastha.
What is the difference between the two? Udasi is one who doesn’t take any side. Madhyastha is a person who tries to act as a mediator to bring conflict resolution by trying to act as a discussion channel for two opposing warring factions. Vishu is one who is envious.
Bandhushu is one who is a friend. Sadhushu is a saintly person and Papashu is a sinful person. One who sees all of them equally.
Such a person is higher. So Krishna is actually higher because why is such a person higher? Because such a person is able to see not just things equally but people also equally. It’s one thing to see things.
For example, this table, this computer, this door, this floor, this roof. All of them are made of matter. None of that can make me happy actually.
So that’s one level of equalisation. But things just stay at one place where people act. Some people are kind and smiling.
Some people are grim and frowning. Some people are very negligent of us. Some people are very loving and caring.
So different people are different kinds. How is that possible? Krishna has talked about something similar earlier in 5.18 when he has talked about how the person who is a yogi sees all living beings equally. Among the humans it was talked about Brahmane and Swapacha.
Brahmana is in the mode of goodness at the top in the spectrum and Swapacha, dog-eater, is in ignorance at the bottom of the spectrum. Krishna is saying that a person sees all of them equally. Now that spectrum, there included humans and animals also.
So Krishna is here focussing within that spectrum on human beings. He is saying there are different kinds of human beings. All living beings are also involved.
But specifically Krishna is talking about relationships. So the variety of relationships which we have. We generally see them among human beings.
But it can be among other beings also. Some animals are hostile, some animals are friendly, some animals are negligent. So it can apply to them also.
The point is equal vision towards all people. So when one has that equal vision, then one has stopped seeing other people based on their potential to provide a sense of gratification. We see people based on their potential to provide a sense of gratification.
Why is that? How is that? Generally, if a person is very good looking and that person attracts the glances of everyone. Why? Because people want to look at that person so that they can get some pleasure for the eyes again and again and again. So if somebody is not at all looking good, looking haggardly, then people don’t even notice such a person.
Why is that? Because their focus, their deciding point is simply how much is the potential for sense gratification that a person can have. If a person is looking very wealthy, then if such a person comes to office, people will come and meet. Maybe this person will give me some money, some bribe or whatever.
And everybody will have to be attentive. Somebody comes in torn clothes, dishevelled, wait there in the queue. And keep that person waiting for a long time.
What happens is, we see people based on their potential, we means materialistic people, or we when we are at the material level of consciousness, we see people based on their potential for providing the sense gratification. So where, when we have given up, we understood sense gratification will not make me happy, that has been mentioned, sarva sankalpa sannyasi. And so we discussed that, in this chapter earlier, 6.3, 6.4, talking about arudha and aroksha.
So the yoga arudha stages, sarva sankalpa sannyasi. One who has given up the desire for sense gratification, knowing that it cannot make one happy, then one doesn’t evaluate people based on their potential for sense gratification. And that’s how one can have equal vision.
And Krishna says, those who have such an equal vision, they can move forward, and they can actually take us forward, take a renounced order. They can renounce and go out of the world to situations elsewhere. So now Krishna describes about Dal, to go into the forest.
yogi nyanjita sadatam atmanam rahasi sthita ekakir chittatma virashira parikraha So yogi nyanjita sadatam. Yogi is the transcendentalist, nyanjita is engaged in, sadatam, always. atmanam rahasi sthita Atmanam, the one self, one self here means the body, mind, soul, everything.
rahasi means it’s a secluded place. sthita, when you situate one self in a secluded place. ekakir chittatma So externally, the one is secluded, and internally, one is concentrated.
One is controlled and concentrated. ekakir So rahasi means the place is secluded, and in a secluded place also sometimes there can be 5-6 people and they are just chit-chatting. There are no other people.
Rahasi and ekakir So a person goes to a secluded place where there are not many crowds and there also a person sits alone. ekakir So no distractions. Chittatma, one controls the mind.
And then virashira parikraha One doesn’t have too much material desires. One gives up material desires. And once it’s like this, then what happens? One can start practising, one starts practising the process of ashtanga yoga.
Especially Prabhupada explains in his purport that actually, it’s a significant statement, the impersonalist and the meditator are also indirectly Krishna conscious. How is that? Prabhupada explains that the impersonalist is meditating on Brahman and the meditator is meditating on Paramatma. So in that sense they are also indirectly Krishna conscious.
So however, if they become directly Krishna conscious, then that is an easier process and it is a more fruitful process. That will give them greater joy and they will make swifter spiritual advancement. But the point is they are also indirectly Krishna conscious.
And Prabhupada quotes about a parikraha. He says how a devotee practises this while not using anything in devotional service. We discussed about yukta vairagya and phalgo vairagya earlier.
And Prabhupada basically explains how a devotee is the perfect yogi. A devotee practises all these things. A devotee does not have any positions for oneself but uses positions in Krishna’s service.
So now, let’s move forward and discuss the aspects of Ashtang Yoga. Now, so Ashtang Yoga refers to the physical aspect. Ashtang Yoga has two aspects.
The physical aspect is called as Dhat Yoga. The psychological aspect is called as Dhyan Yoga. The physical aspect means Yama, Niyama, Asana and Pranayama.
These comprise the physical aspect. They are the Dhat Yoga. And the psychological aspect refers to one starts turning inwards.
Now this is not an absolute watertight division. In each of these things, even in the physical level also some level the mind is definitely involved. In the psychological aspect also the body is involved.
But the focus we are talking about is Ashtang Yoga. Now Bhakthanath Thakur writes in Prem Pradeep that Yoga is harmonisable with but not essential to Bhakti. That means if a devotee can practise Yoga and also do Bhakti.
The devotee can have Bhakti as the main process the devotee is practising but along with that the devotee can do Yoga also. Maybe for keeping health or helping in sense control. But that’s not essential.
It’s not that every devotee has to practise Yoga. Nowadays the practise of Yoga is largely widely been embraced for health purposes. So Vishal Prabhupada in this purport will time and again say that authentic Yoga practise means one has to give up sense gratification and go to the forest.
And that way one can become a true Yogi. Otherwise if one is living in a city engaging in sense gratification then that is not actually Yoga practise. So Vishal Prabhupada seems to be at many places quite critical of the fact that there are Yogis who, there are Yoga teachers who teach Yoga and most people practise Yoga for purely its health benefits and not for anything else.
So Yoga asanas, different people do different asanas and often it just becomes a largely physical accomplishment. Some people they want to lift weights and they say I can lift bigger weight than you. You lift this kg, I will lift this much kg.
So like that it becomes a physical competition. You can do that asana, I can do a tougher asana than this. You can stand on your head for 2 minutes, I can stand on my head for 5 minutes.
Somebody says I can stand on my head for 10 minutes, somebody says 15 minutes. So now this is this sort of competition for the sake of trying to prove how good one is. This is not actually the purpose of Yoga.
Far from the purpose of Yoga. So Prabhupada in that sense was critical of the misrepresentation of Yoga as a purely physical exercise. Actually there are many Yoga teachers also who are displeased by this.
They are authentic Yoga teachers and they see Yoga as a means for transcendence. Although of course that is not recommended in this age but still actually it is one of the means for transcendence. So when people practise it purely for exercise purposes then that is a misappropriation in the process of Yoga.
At the same time, so this is true, it is a misappropriation, it is a misrepresentation but Srila Prabhupada was also open to that sort of uses. If it could be used to attract people to Krishna Consciousness. Srila Prabhupada in South America.
This is described in Prabhupada Leela. Prabhupada Leela is the 7th volume of Leela Amrit. Prabhupada Leela was a 6 volume book.
So after he finished the 6 volumes, Satsvarupa Maharaj he had several miscellaneous pastimes which devotees sent him and he put them in an additional volume which is called as Prabhupada Leela. It is the 7th volume of Leela Amrit. So in that book it is described that Srila Prabhupada was in South America.
So the devotees told him that there are a lot of people who are interested in Indian culture because they are interested in Yoga. So how should we do that? So Prabhupada encouraged them and told them Yoga is not just about the body it is about the mind and the heart. And the best way to practise Yoga is to chant Hare Krishna.
So we don’t have to be disapproving of this culture of Yoga and the popularity of Yoga. But we have to elevate it to a deeper and higher understanding. So there are many devotees also who are Yoga teachers and they use Yoga.
They teach Yoga and while teaching Yoga they also teach Bhakti. They teach other aspects of Yoga. So that way we can definitely do that if people already have some interest in something connected with spirituality.
Yoga is not directly spirituality necessarily but it is connected with spirituality. If Yoga opens people’s minds towards the ancient wisdom then why not? Of the Vedic culture. This is the Vedic literature.
They have produced Yoga. Maybe there is something good in it. Yoga is helping me to improve my health.
Maybe it can offer me something more also. So that way people can become more open to explore these things. And if a door is opening to take Krishna to people who otherwise would never have considered Krishna so people, they were not interested in worshipping Krishna.
That is a religious activity. I am not interested in religion. You are interested in health? Yes.
You are interested in Yoga? Yes. Bhagavad Gita is a manual of Yoga itself? Oh really? I didn’t know that. I thought Bhagavad Gita is about Bhakti.
Bhakti is a Yoga. Oh, Bhakti is Yoga. So we can get people interested that way.
And as many devotees also may themselves do Yoga as a matter of exercise so that they can maintain health. And that is also fine. The time which we spend for doing some Yoga asanas we shouldn’t see that as a time for sadhana.
It is not a time we are spending for spiritual purposes. Time we spend for body purposes and that’s fine. Some devotees may do some jogging.
Some devotees may do some cycling. Some devotees may do some swimming. Some devotees may do some other kind of workouts.
Some devotees may do Yoga. So we all, if the body requires to do some kind of exercise and some devotees choose to do Yoga that is fine. So the only point is that physical should not be mistaken to be spiritual.
So if a devotee is able to maintain health without doing much Yoga asanas. It’s not necessary that others have to do Yoga. Yoga is Vedic culture.
Yoga is Vedic culture. There are so many other things in Vedic culture also. It’s not that every single devotee has to do Yoga.
And our primary sadhana is chanting Hare Krishna, doing Bhakti. But along with that, Yoga can be used as supplement for those who want it. It’s harmonisable with but not essential to Bhakti.
So now let’s look at these five stages of Ashtang Yoga. At the various stages we discussed. So let’s look at the next verse now.
शुच्यो तरं तत्रे काग्रम् मना कृत्वा यतचित्ते इंद्रिया क्रिया उपविष्या सने युञ्जा योगमात्मविश्विद्धः शुच्यो देशे पतिष्ठाप्य शुच्यो is a sacred place. शुच्यो is a sacred place. शुच्यो means pure.
शुच्यो means that it’s just a pure, sanctified place. deshe patishthapya. In such a place, one situates oneself, sthiramasanam atmanah.
One situates oneself on a sthiramasan, steady asana. Naati ucchuritam, naati neecham. One shouldn’t sit on a place that is too high or too low.
If it’s too high, then what will happen if one sits on a mountain top? Then one will do more of sightseeing than inward meditation. What is here, what is here, what is here? If it’s too low, one will not see. One won’t sit inside a ditch.
Something may come and fall and something may attack. It may not be very secure. Naati ucchuritam, naati neecham.
Chaila jinakushottaram. So, chaila jinakushottaram means what? Actually, one fixes the mind, one uses chaila jinakushottaram. Kusha is kusha grass and chaila jin is in the tiger skin.
So, there are certain materials which are recommended and these have specific purposes. So, chaila jin in the tiger skin is recommended because it keeps snakes away. So it’s not that the yogi has to kill a tiger to get the tiger skin.
No. Generally, the tiger, when it dies a natural death, then its skin can be taken. So, deer skin is also used by some people and the idea is that one of the principles of yoga, we should discuss now, is ahimsa.
So, actually, if one has to practise ahimsa, how can one kill a tiger? Definitely not. So, chaila, that is used. Whatever tiger naturally dies, then its skin can be taken.
And similarly, Prabhupada would say that actually, even if people want to eat meat, let the animals die naturally and then they can eat the meat. Eating meat directly is quite detrimental to one’s spiritual practise. Killing animals and eating meat is quite detrimental.
So, there can be deer skin or lion skin. Both are used at different times. So, chaila jinu kushudanam tatra ekagram manahakritva.
Fix the mind steadily. Ekagram, with one attention. And in the chitta, indriya, kriya, and the actions of the chitta, mind and the indriya, one brings it under control.
Manah, indriya, kriya, actions. So, upavishyasane yunjad. Upavishyasane.
Upavishyasane means situating on the asana, sitting on the asana. Yunjad, one engages in what? Yoga. What is the purpose of yoga? Atma vishuddhaye.
So, for the sake of purification. This last line can be used for meditating while doing japa also. Upavishyasane yunjad, yogam atma vishuddhaye.
So, when we in the morning sit down for our chanting, now we put everything else aside. Tatra ekagram manahakritva, indriya, kriya. This verse is a good verse for preparing our consciousness for meditation.
Now, I have any other things to do in life, but this is not the time. This is the time for fixing the mind on Krishna. Ekagram manahakritva.
And the mind is going here and there, the senses want to do this, do that. With the chitta, indriya, kriya, all of them under control. Upavishyasane yunjad.
Let me sit down now and you enjoy what? Yoga. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Ram, Hare Ram, Ram Ram, Hare Hare. For what purpose? Atma vishuddhaye.
Atma vishuddhaye, for the sake of purification. This chapter talks about the process of sadhana for this in Ashtang Yoga. But the principles are applicable to all parts of yoga.
And actually among all the 18 chapters in the Bhagavad Gita, the 6th chapter offers the maximum guidelines for the practise of sadhana, more than the other chapter. The 9th chapter talks about Rajya Vidya. There it is talking more about the glory of bhakti, glory of Bhagavan, glory of bhakti.
Similarly, 12th chapter talks about the glory of bhakta, the qualities of bhakta. So various chapters talk about different subject matters and they all give some hints about how devotees are and what is the glory of devotees. But in terms of practise of sadhana, this is a chapter that gives us the most direct instructions.
And these instructions, they can be directly applicable to sadhana bhakti or with slight modification they can be applied to sadhana bhakti also. So many verses in this chapter can be used as guides for our asana sadhana. So one of them is this one.
We may not go to the forest. We may not sit on a deerskin when we have to chant Hare Krishna. We may sit on a simple mat or a chair if we have some back problems, whatever, wherever we are sitting.
But the point is we have to become upavishyas in the evening. We sit in one place, yoga matam shuddha. So in some cases, some of us may not sit, some of us may stand also.
Some of us may walk while chanting. But either way, the point is yoga matam shuddha. When we walk and chant, it’s okay.
Some people want, some devotees want to combine, they want to do walking as exercise, they want to chant also. If that’s what they want to do, they have to be careful that they don’t get distracted while they are walking along. That’s why if somebody wants to walk and chant, it’s better that they walk over a small area and not go for a walk.
Because when you go for a walk, then we keep seeing new new scenery and when we see new new scenery, then that means new new distractions. If we are walking on a small place, again back and forth, back and forth, then there’s nothing new to see outside. Then because there are no distractions, then we get more impetus to focus the mind on Krishna or rather there is less, less things which take our mind away from Krishna and the mind has nothing to do.
Then the mind says, okay, let us hear Krishna only once. Let me do something which is fruitful. So in the purport, Prabhupada is constantly saying this point that one should chant Hare Krishna.
That is the way one can practise spiritual life in this age. So the best yoga for this age is chanting Hare Krishna. Now Krishna will describe the process of Ishtanga Yoga further.
So samam, kaya, shiro, grivam. Kaya is body, shiro is head, grivam is the neck, samam. So all of them in a straight line.
Sit straight. Most people sit slumped and sitting slumped also creates any back problems. So sit straight.
Now some people say, oh sitting straight. As soon as we hear sit straight, then normally everybody starts sitting straight at that time. But if you have to sit straight continuously for a long time, it’s not easy.
Back starts paining. So the yogis have to sit straight. Samam, kaya, shiro, grivam.
And then not only sit, dharayan, achalam, sthira. One has to sit straight also, not looking here, looking there, looking. Just one point.
Dharayan, achalam, sthira. Where does one look? Sampraiksha, nasika, agram, swam. Sampraiksha means look at.
Nasika is nose, agram. Nasika, agrasam. Agram, swam.
So what does it mean? If you remember in 5.27, 5.28, Krishna gave a brief description of ashtang yoga. And there he is talking about looking at the tip of the hair, dhruv or madhi. So there he said about look at the tip of the hair.
Now he is saying to look at the tip of the nose. So where are we supposed to look? The tip of the, in between the eyebrows or at the tip of the nose? So actually the point is we have to have sound focus of concentration, which is not very interesting. Because if it is too interesting, then what will happen is that will stimulate our imagination and start thinking of other things.
So actually you will say what is special about the tip of the nose or in between the eyebrows? Nothing is special. So because nothing is special, mind will not think of too many external things and then we will be able to draw the mind inwards. Point is focus, focus.
So we need some object for concentration. Some object for concentration is aided when we have some object for our vision. So if somebody closes the eyes, then it is quite likely the person falls asleep.
And the yogis are more troublesomely situated than the bhaktas. Because bhaktas can walk and chant also. Yogis cannot do yogasana while walking.
If they have to turn towards pratyaha, dhyan, dharma, they cannot do all this while walking. It all has to be done while sitting. So that is why it is not recommended you close the eyes.
Fix the eyes at one particular time. And this is cha-navalokayan. This is cha-navalokayan.
Means what? Don’t look here and there. Anavalokayan. So lokayan means to see.
Lok is the verb which is to see. So anavalokayan means don’t see here and there. Don’t look here, don’t look there.
Don’t be on a sightseeing mission. Actually one is focussing on turning inwards. So generally the previous verses in this verse, so the 11th was talking about externals, 12th was talking about internals.
Similarly here, 13th is talking about externals and 14th is talking about internals. The way we sit, all this is talking about externals. And then, prashantatma migatabhir, one makes the mind peaceful and one drives away fear.
Migatabhir. It’s not that a yogi is sitting in a jungle for meditation and then he keeps a gun next to him. If a tiger comes along, I’ll take the gun and shoot.
The yogi is always thinking about doing meditation on yoga and at the same time having a fun drink. Will somebody come and steal my gun away or what? We can’t do that. So we can see how difficult it is to practise.
To go to the forest and do meditation, there are so many problems. First of all, the biggest problem in Kali Yuga, there are very few forests remaining only. And even if there are some forests remaining somewhere, there are very few people who want to go to the forest.
And even if there are people who go to the forest, most of the forests, there are very few peaceful places. If there are no dangerous animals in the forest, there are still much more dangerous animals. There are pirates, there are bakoids, there are terrorists, there are lobberikas of different kinds.
So it’s not so easy in Kali Yuga to do this process. Even the physical aspect of it, what to speak of the internal aspect of it. So, prashantatma migatabhir, brahmachari vrateste taha.
So, one situates oneself in brahmacharya. Brahmachari vrateste. This is the first time in the Bhagavad Gita that explicitly brahmacharya is being referred to in the Bhagavad Gita.
Earlier in 4.26, there is a reference indirectly, shotradri indriyananye, shabdadi indriyananye, indriyagni sujuhati. So there Prabhupada explains that that refers to unadulterated brahmachari, naishtik brahmacharis and the regulated grahasthas. But that was an indirect reference.
This is the first explicit reference in the Bhagavad Gita to brahmacharya. Although, the point of sense control has been talked repeatedly, right from the second chapter itself, when Krishna talks about sattvapragya, and the point of detachment is always there, when Krishna is telling that one should act without detachment. But specifically brahmacharya is the reference over here.
When a person goes to the jungle, yogi, so the yogi goes following yogasanas. So now, actually speaking, the yogi doesn’t go with the yogini. They are not together.
A woman can also do yoga, but there is no mixing of the sexes there. There has to be brahmacharya. So here, now the word brahmacharya is a technical meaning and there is a generic meaning.
The technical meaning is generally associated with brahmacharis. Brahmacharis means it’s a particular ashram and males who do not get married and who fix their life in pursuit of brahman, they are called as brahmacharis. So Prabhupada explained that simply bachelors are not brahmacharis.
Those who are unmarried males, they don’t automatically, they are not brahmacharis. So actually one should be living in brahmacharya. Those who are trying to live in brahman, those who are trying to move towards brahman, brahman is spiritual reality.
So in a technical sense, males who choose not to marry and focus on spiritual truth, they are brahmacharis. But in a generic sense, anybody who is trying to do that person is a brahmachari. So in that sense, even householders, even females, they can be brahmacharis.
Even males who are married, they can be brahmacharis. So there is a principle, if one is living a life in pursuit of brahman, that is brahmachari. Now when Krishna is talking about over here, he is referring not just in a generic sense, he is using in a technical sense over here.
That one gives up sexual abstinence and one gives up sexual indulgence and focusses on pursuing the brahmacharya, pursuing spiritual reality. So in this case, generally speaking, the path of yoga in the Vedic culture was followed by men. So the women would generally, if for example, when say Dhritarashtra goes out of the forest, Gandhari also goes with her.
But then Dhritarashtra is doing meditation and Dhritarashtra while doing meditation, he brings out a fire from within his body and then Gandhari enters into the fire. So of course, women can also do austerities and if they do austerities, they also become purified. But generally, the focus has been on men.
So women can also be brahmacharis, is in that sense, if they are living in the pursuit of brahman. So brahmachari, Prabhupada used the definition in the parpoda of brahmacharya, he used the definition as, the rule is given by Yajnavalkya. So what is brahmacharya? With one’s actions, with one’s mind and with one’s words and in all places, in all circumstances, in all times.
So one who gives up sex life, that person is a brahmachari. So now Prabhupada explains in the parpoda that how one can be a brahmachari, actually practise is param drishtva, and one gets the higher taste and one is able to practise it. Otherwise, it is very difficult.
So now Prabhupada explains over here, no one can perform yoga or correct yoga practise through sex indulgence. So brahmachari vratesthita. Now when we talk about practising brahmacharya, the basic principle here is, one needs to regulate one’s senses.
Because otherwise, if one is engaging at the physical level, sex is not just a physical activity, it’s a physical activity, no doubt. But it also drags our conscious to the physical level, and it keeps our conscious on the physical level for a long time. Very few things drag our consciousness down and keep our consciousness on the physical level as much as sex.
That’s why if one wants to raise the consciousness higher towards spiritual reality, this is a vital rule one has to follow. Brahmachari vratesthita. And then Krishna is saying over here, manasanyamya machitto.
After it’s fixing, after regulating the mind, what does it mean? Machitto, fix the mind. And then, yuktasita matparaha. Now actually this is, yuktasita matparaha is something identical to what Krishna told in 2.61. 2.61 was, tani sarvani sanyamya yuktasita matparaha vasyehi yasi dhriyan tasya prajna pratishthita.
The person who has regulated the senses and fixes the mind on me, that person will conquer the senses, such a person is well situated. Prajna pratishthita, Krishna says. So at this stage when the yogi is fixing the mind on Krishna, what is he referring to? Krishna is revealing that ultimately the purpose of yoga is to fix the mind on me.
And the purpose of the yoga is to attain me. So actually the yogis, when they fix the mind, they are fixing the mind on the super soul. Krishna is saying, actually your super soul is actually me only, my expansion.
So that’s why he’s saying, fix the mind on me. This is the first reference in the sixth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita by Krishna to himself. Till now he has talked about attachment, he’s talking about realisation, he’s talking about equal vision, seclusion, but the first time he says fix the mind on me, fix the mind on me.
Now when the yogis fix the mind on Krishna, on the super soul, at this stage they may not realise that this super soul is the ultimate goal and that is the ultimate reality to be realised. It depends on the path that they are following and their concept that they have the absolute truth. But whatever the concept they have, they have to fix the mind in a certain centre.
So initially one starts off by fixing the eyes on the tip of the nose, but the mind needs some object for meditation and that object for meditation is Krishna. Manasaiyam Yamachitto. Regulate the mind and then fix it on me.
Then Yuktaasit Mat Paraha. So let us discuss further about fixing the mind on Krishna and some further technicalities of the process of strong yoga in our next class. Thank you very much.
Shri Mat Bhagavad Gita Ki Jai.