Gita 08.08 – Practice to take consciousness beyond endlessly deceptive material reality to Krishna
Thank you Bhagavad Gita 8.8 abhyasa yoga yuktena yoga yuktena by being engaged in yoga and abhyasa practice by systematically practicing yoga cetasa na anyagamina and not letting the consciousness go anywhere else paramam purusham divyam paramam purusham the supreme purusha who is divya who is divine transcendental yatiparthani chintayan entertain anuchintayan by such systematic remembrance so there is an interesting shift from the first person to the third person in this verse in the previous verse krishna has clearly said maam therefore prasmat sarveshu kaaleshu maam anusmara yukten remember mayy arpitamano buddhi indicating your mind and clearness to me maam evaishyasya asamshaya you will surely come to me so after krishna has talked about it this way using maam thrice in one verse now suddenly krishna shifts to a third person reference third person he says that paramam purusham divyam yatiparthan chintayan yati you will attain the supreme purusha the divine supreme purusha so what is going on here krishna is now talking about so here krishna is talking from the perspective of the yogis who have not yet understood that it is krishna who is the supreme object that they are pursuing they are thinking of the supreme object to be they as of at this level they don't know who the supreme object is usually when they are practicing yoga they of course know that they have to do but who that is they don't know specifically and whether that is the highest reality or whether they are to aim for a reality beyond about this some of the yogis may have some confusion but as far as krishna is concerned he is going to speak from their perspective and then going to take the discussion to a higher level where he enables them to see how they can they too can come to the level of spiritual consciousness that recognizes krishna to be the highest spiritual reality that progression will happen gradually so here krishna says that abhyasa yoga by steady practice abhyasa now the word abhyasa is significant it has come several times in the bhagavad gita most prominently in response to arjuna's apprehension that the mind is extremely difficult to control when he raised that in 6.33 and 34 so it is as difficult as controlling the raging when arjuna said and then krishna responded in 6.35 by saying yes it is difficult undoubtedly to control the mind but it is possible by practice and by attachment so abhyasa is practice so here krishna is also recommending practice in the previous verse may raise the question that and of course it is not only the previous verse in general we may get the question how is it possible to fix the mind always how is it possible to fix the mind always so krishna says over here it is possible if you practice to keep yourself engaged in yoga don't let the consciousness go here and there keep it fixed on spiritual truth krishna has talked about it earlier in 6.25 when he stated that so he said yes the mind will wander in 6.26 he said wherever whenever the mind wanders because the mind is useless and unsteady then you bring it under the control under the control of the self it is possible so here krishna is stating that that similar practice we have to do fixing the mind on spiritual reality is not easy but it is possible by practice na anya gamina gam is to go gamina anya gamina is to go elsewhere the mind is constantly pleasure seeking and its search for pleasure it goes here it goes there it goes everywhere and it needs to be regulated with conviction that all those other things where we have promised pleasure we have promised they are actually dead ends the material reality is endlessly attractive but it is endlessly deceptive also that means there is always something new to attract you will never run out of new objects nowadays with technology inventing newer and newer gadgets all of which promise to be better and better so this endless attractiveness of the material world has become expanded further at the same time it's not just endlessly attractive it's also endlessly deceptive deceptive means that the very things that promise pleasure they allure us with the promise of a huge amount of pleasure but when we actually indulge in those objects the pleasure is minimal if at all present and the indulgence often turns out to be an anticlimax where we rather than getting pleasure end up getting frustrated we end up getting irritated we end up getting flabbergasted but whatever be the negative feelings towards the pleasures of this world they don't last for long we are frustrated by enjoying one object we are and yet soon when the opportunity to enjoy another object comes up immediately we indulge in it and thus we end up looking for something new chasing something new in an endless process that means we recognize that yes for many lifetimes I have chased after the objects of this world and none of them have given me any pleasure you know new book to read new gadget to enjoy new game to play new partner to relate with a new job a new position a new dress all these new things none of them live up to the high when we understand that we at our core are spiritual and then we start searching for a spiritual reality we start searching for the supreme spiritual reality and that supreme spiritual reality is Krishna Paramam Purusham Divyam so when we understand as Krishna will state later in the 10th chapter how everything attractive in this world manifests the spark of his all attractive splendor in 10.41 he says that the one last verses of the 10th chapter states that 41 42 says that everything in this world is sustained by him by just a fraction of him and then he also says that whatever beautiful and glorious things are found in this world they manifest so when we understand that whatever is attractive here manifests the spark of Krishna splendor then we don't let ourselves get carried away by those objects instead we focus on Krishna Paramam Purusham Divyam Yatipartham Anuchintayan Anuchintayan means that we contemplate systematically we don't just think about Krishna whenever we like to we understand that this is the Krishna is the source the basis of all my likes whatever I like in this world ultimately its likability comes from Krishna and therefore if I persevere in my devotion to him if I become purified then something that is unlimitedly attractive will become accessible and relishable to me through the purity and the devotion and when this conviction continues then one continues practicing the process of yoga then the person will attain the supreme person thank you.