Bits of life

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Karma yoga leads to salvation step by step. First, comes purification of the mind. Then comes knowledge, and then renunciation of all action and eventually, salvation.

The yogi sits on an asan with a calm mind. He shuts out all the outside contacts. Closes his eyes and fixes his attention on the point in the middle of the eyebrows (Bhru Madhya). He should equalize the outgoing and incoming breath moving within his nostrils.

Rhythmic breathing is described here. The mind becomes steady if the breathing is rhythmical. When the breath becomes rhythmical, there is perfect harmony in the mind and the whole system. With the senses, the mind and the intellect controlled, the sage is verily liberated forever. If one can control the senses of anger and fear and desire peace comes involuntarily. Through constant contemplation, he attains to absolute freedom or salvation.

Chapter-6
Dhyana Yoga or the Yoga of Meditation.
Here Krishna speaks or the sanyasi and a yogi. Both sanyasi and yogi are one and the same. He performs his duty without ceremony such as a holy fire or offerings to the deities. Karma yoga or the yoga of action is the stepping stone for the Dhyana Yoga or the yoga of meditation. It is the means or the external aid to the yoga of meditation. For a man who cannot practice meditation for a long time and who is not able to keep his mind steady in meditation, action is a means to get himself firmly rooted in yoga. Action leads to steady concentration and meditation. For a sage who is firmly rooted in yoga, renunciation of action becomes easy and it leads to his set goal of attaining to Moksha or salvation. The more perfectly he abstains from actions, the steadier his mind is. The more peaceful he becomes, the more easily and thoroughly his mind is fixed in the Self.

Upanishads tell us, “do not think of objects. Then desires will die by themselves. How do you not think of objects? You can do so by thinking of God or the Self. Renunciation of thoughts implies that all desires are born of thoughts. You think first and then act (strive) afterwards to possess he objects of your desire for enjoyment.

“Whatever a man desires, that he wills;
And whatever he wills, that he does.” ( Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)

Renunciation of action necessarily follows from the renunciation of desires.
Everything from desire to renunciation depends on the self. Either you rise or fall by the self alone. Self alone is the friend of oneself, and the self alone is the enemy of oneself. Thus we can see that friends and enemies are within the self not outside the self. They exist in the mind only. It is mind that makes a friend an enemy and an enemy a friend.

If you are attached to a friend on account of delusion or affection, this will become a cause of your bondage to the world of objects. The self should be able to conquer this situation and make you strong enough to resist these sense objects and rise beyond them.
For a yogi who conquered the senses, views a clod of earth, piece of stone and gold are the same. He is said to be harmonized. He views friends, enemies, the indifferent, the neutral, the hateful, the relatives, the righteous and the unrighteous, in the same way. He is steady in his equanimity. Such man is the model yogi.
The yogi constantly tries to keep the mind steady, remaining in solitude, alone with the mind and the body controlled and free from greed and hope.

A householder with yogic tendencies and spiritual inclination can practice meditation in a solitary and quiet room in his own house or outside the house in a solitary place such as the banks of a river. The practice must be constant. Only then can one attain self realization surely and quickly. If you practice meditation in fits and starts and for a few minutes a day will not be able to achieve any tangible goal or results in Yoga. The yogic aspirant must be free from desire, greed and hope. Only then he will have steady mind. The tendencies of craving, desiring and greed will the mind confused and often in turmoil. It is ever in a state of restlessness. They are the enemies of a steady mind. If there are more possessions than necessary then the mind will be thinking of them and thinking of how to keep them and protect them. if the senses are in turbulence and if you don’t have the power to withdraw them then you will have no peace even in a solitary cave in the Himalayas. On the other hand, in you have your senses under control you can find perfect solitude and peace even in the most crowded and noisy place in a big city.

The details regarding the practice of meditation-
In this part of the chapter, the Lord describes how to prepare yourself for the practice of meditation.
Seat or asan for meditation-
First, find a clean spot. Spread the Kusa-grass over the ground. Over this spread tiger skin or deer skin. Over it spread a white cloth.

Sit on a naturally clean spot such as a river bank. There having mad the mind one pointed, with the actions of the mind and the senses under control, let him practice the yoga for the purification of the self.
Never despair. Through regular and constant meditation you can purify the subconscious mind and its constant memories. The fire of meditation will burn all the thoughts.

The posture of meditation-
The aspirant must hold his body, head and neck erect and still gazing at the tip of his nose without looking around. The spinal cord should be erect. Sit in the lotus pose or adept pose. This will help you in maintaining equilibrium and mental poise. It is better to practice meditation with closed eyes. Be serene and fearless. Be firm and fix your mind on Me. thus keeping the mind balanced, and senses controlled, the yogi attains peace.

Krishna went on explaining what kind of a man is eligible for the practice of meditation.
A man who eats too much or a man who eats not at all, both are not suitable for meditation. A man who sleeps too much or he who has no sleep is not suitable. Yoga becomes a destroyer of pain for him who eats moderately and who is disciplined in recreation. He should be moderate in exertion of action and who is moderate in sleep and wakefulness. When the perfectly controlled mind rests in the Self only, free from longing from all the objects of desires, then it is said. “He is united."

As a lamp placed in a windless spot does not flicker, the Yogi of controlled mind practicing Yoga in the Self is not disturbed. A steady mind will serve as a powerful searchlight to find out the hidden spiritual treasures of the Self.

When the mind is controlled in such a manner by the practice of yoga it attains quietude and on seeing the Self by the self he is satisfied unto himself. When he, the yogi starts feeling the pleasure of Infinite Bliss, his intellect transcends the senses and he never moves from that Reality. He is not moved by even great sorrow.

This yoga must be practiced with determination and with an undesponding mind. A spiritual aspirant with a wavering mind will not be able to attain success in Yoga. He will leave the practice when he meets with some obstacles on the path.
The practitioner of the yoga of meditation must be bold, cheerful and self reliant. Whenever the mind becomes restless the aspirant must bring it back under the control of the self. When the passions are quieted Supreme Bliss comes to him and he is the Brahman who is free from sin. He sees the same Supreme Self everywhere and in every animate and inanimate thing.

Lord Krishna said,
“ He who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me , he never becomes separated from nor do I become separated from him. I and the sage become one and the same. He is not lost to me neither am I lost to him. I dwell in him and he dwells in me.
Thus established in Unity, he worships Me Who dwells in all beings. He abides in me whatever may be his mode of living. Undoubtedly, O Arjuna! The mind is difficult to control. But by practice and more practice and dispassion, it may be controlled."

Arjuna asks,
O Krishna! He who is unable to control himself although he has faith and whose mind wanders away from yoga, what end does he meet? Does he perish like a rent cloud supportless?”

Krishna replies,
“There is no destruction for him either in this world or in any other. None who does good ever comes to grief. Having attained to pure mindedness and the righteous path, such a man who fell from yoga is reborn in a house of the pure and wealthy. Or he will be born in the family of yogis. A birth like this is very difficult to obtain.”

By the former practice he is born again to achieve the goal that he failed to achieve in the previous life. As soon as his mind becomes strong and steadfast, the influence of the evil actions will end and the yogic samskaras (good tendencies that come by birth) will begin to manifest. He will start his yogic practices vigorously and attain the final beatitude of life.

The significance of Yogi-
The Yogi is superior to the ascetics and even superior to men of knowledge. He is also superior to men of action. Therefore, be thou a Yogi Arjuna!

Chapter 7
Yoga of wisdom and realization-

Krishna informs Arjuna that “among thousands of men one perchance strives for perfection. And even among the successful strivers, only perchance knows Me in essence.

You should know that I am the source and cause of this universe. The whole universe originates from me and dissolves in me. there is nothing whatsoever higher than me. I am the sapidity in water. Am the light in the moon and the sun. I am the syllabic Om in all the Vedas, sound in ether and virility in men. I am the sweet fragrance in earth and the brilliance in the fire, the life in all beings. I am the austerity in the ascetics. Know me Arjuna, as the eternal seed of all beings. I am the intelligence in the intelligent and I am the splendor in the splendid objects. Of the strong I am the strength devoid of attachment and desire and in all beings I am the desire unopposed to Dharma. All beings that are pure and active and inert know that they proceed from me. They are in Me. I am not in them.”

Towards the end of the chapter, the Blessed Lord talks about the four kinds of virtuous men.
They are the distressed, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of wealth and the wise.
The distressed is he who suffers from a chronic or an incurable disease, he whose life is in jeopardy due to an earthquake, volcanic eruption, thunder, and attack by a dacoit and so on. Example is that of Draupadi.
The seeker of knowledge is an inquirer into the nature of things. He feels that sensual pleasure is not the highest kind of pleasure. He knows there is pure bliss unmixed with grief which is to be found within.
Seeker of wealth craves for money, wife, and position etcetera. Sugriva, Vibhishana are examples of this type of devotees.

The fourth and the final kind of virtuous men are the wise. They have attained self illumination. Kamsa, Ravana thought of the Lord out of fear. Hence they are also regarded as devotees.