Gita 18.52 Take shelter of renunciation to cultivate inner absorption

Transcript

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thank you Bhagavad Gita 18.52 vikta sevi laghvashi yathvakaya manasaha dhyana yoga paronityam vairagyam samupashritaham Krishna is continuing to describe the path of jnana yoga wherein one moves towards spiritual perfection through contemplation and discrimination so it centers on disassociating oneself from matter by dispassionate analysis that was mentioned in the previous verse vidhya vishuddhaya yukto dhritya atmanam ni amyacha so with purified intelligence regulating the mind shabda deen vishayans tyaktva ragad vimshobi dashyacha regulate the attachment and aversion and turn away from the sense objects such as the sound now the next verse this is the verse we are discussing now vivikta sevi so all this turning away has various aspects turn away from the general mass of people because most of them are materialistic so vivikta sevi vivikta means secluded live in a secluded place so that one can turn inwards actually seclusion or solitude is essential for contemplation and inner growth of course to value seclusion to benefit from seclusion one needs to be secluded not just from people distanced not just from people but also from the mind when we have the capacity to distance ourselves from our mind then distancing ourselves from the continuous inputs coming from the world especially in terms of interacting with people that can help us to think direct our thoughts towards life’s deeper truths vivikta sevi laghvashi laghvashi that one who eats little laghu is less laghu bhagwata amrit is a small bhagwata so laghvashi is one who eats less so it’s interesting that krishna has said earlier that one who eats too little or one who eats too much cannot be a yogi so there is definitely the need for balance but especially when one is adopted in the renounced order and is turning away from the world one should try to decrease one’s eating laghvashi by such decreasing one’s eating one learns to move slowly but surely towards lesser and lesser dependence on matter and material things and thus one can move towards inner progress so laghvashi as long as we are dependent on matter and material things we not only have to interact with them but our consciousness has to be engaged with them to the extent we decrease our dependence on matter to that extent our consciousness becomes available for higher pursuits it’s like a person who is very attached to cricket they’re constantly looking at the news to find out what is the latest cricket update this update, that update, that update but somebody who has distanced themselves who has detached themselves then there is no need for that sensory input and then they can their consciousness becomes available for higher pursuits vikta sevi laghvashi yat vakkaya manasa and yat means regulation, control vakkaya manasa the three primary faculties through which we function in this world the body, the speech and the mind regulating them so then what dhyana yoga paro nityam dhyana yoga in this way one becomes absorbed inwards so one goes deep into meditation now broadly speaking the trajectory here that Krishna is talking about applies to the renounced order, renounced order can either refer to the process of dhyana yoga or it can refer to the process of dhyana yoga in dhyana yoga from the stage of pratyahara onwards one needs to turn away from the world one needs to renounce the world and focus on cultivating inner contentment and by such cultivation of inner contentment one can grow spiritually so dhyana yoga paro nityam vairagyam samapashritah vairagyam samapashritah Krishna says in taking complete shelter of renunciation it’s interesting at this stage one may not know the spiritual reality and thus there is no spiritual object that one is taking shelter of at this stage what we are taking shelter of is the object which is the means to become detached from the world vairagyam samapashritah become wholeheartedly renounced become deeply dependent on spiritual truth go beyond the pursuit of the senses and focus entirely on the pursuit of spiritual reality so it’s interesting how may one take shelter of renunciation that means one wholeheartedly embraces the path of renunciation if it’s raining we take shelter of an umbrella so in this world there is a shower of sensual desire coming towards us from various directions and as this shower keeps coming we need to turn away from it and the way we can turn from it is by purification by renunciation so one makes the determination now I am going to renounce the world that renunciation that commitment itself helps us to become single pointed to become dedicated to move towards steady sincere and deep absorption absorption that can become so engaging that can help us to get away from distraction so renunciation the renounced order has its principles and the extent one can embrace the principles of the renounced order to that extent one becomes free from worldly entanglements so Krishna is focusing here on those embracing the path of renunciation vivek tsedi laghvashi so the association of worldly people is one sensory stimulation so cut off from that so all the preceding elements can be said to be ways in which one can take shelter of renunciation so cut off the association of mundane people then food is the primary source of attachment in this world and for that distance yourself from the craving for food by becoming satisfied with simple and meager food don’t crave to get lots of delicious foods to eat and then the mind the senses, mind body, speech they all crave for stimulation for titillation so regulate that yathvakaaya manasaha and then all this cannot be sustained because we cannot live by saying simply by saying no we do need to say yes to something higher so that saying yes to something higher is what spirituality is about so when we learn to say yes to the higher dhyana yoga paro nityam in this way by turning oneself inwards by determinately cultivating inner absorption we can embrace take shelter of renunciation thank you