🕉️ Dhyana Yoga (Dhyān Yog)

श्रीभगवानुवाच | अनाश्रितः कर्मफलं कार्यं कर्म करोति यः | स संन्यासी च योगी च न निरग्निर्न चाक्रियः ||६-१||

śrībhagavānuvāca . anāśritaḥ karmaphalaṃ kāryaṃ karma karoti yaḥ . sa saṃnyāsī ca yogī ca na niragnirna cākriyaḥ ||6-1||

6.1 The Lord said He who, without depending on such fruits of works as heaven, etc., performs them, reflecting, 'The performance of works alone is my duty (Karya). Works themselves are my sole aim, because they are a form of worship of the Supreme Person who is our Friend in every way. There is nothing other than Him to be gained by them' - such a person is a Sannyasin, i.e., one devoted to Jnana Yoga, and also a Karma Yogin, i.e., one devoted to Karma Yoga. He is intent on both these, which is the means for attaining Yoga, which is of the nature of the vision of the self. 'And not he who maintains no sacred fires and performs no works,' i.e., not he who is disinclined to perform the enjoined works such as sacrifices, etc., nor he who is devoted to mere knowledge. The meaning is that such a person is devoted only to knowledge, whereas a person who is devoted to Karma Yoga has both knowledge and works. Now Sri Krsna teaches that there is an element of knowledge in the Karma Yoga as defined above.

यं संन्यासमिति प्राहुर्योगं तं विद्धि पाण्डव | न ह्यसंन्यस्तसङ्कल्पो योगी भवति कश्चन ||६-२||

yaṃ saṃnyāsamiti prāhuryogaṃ taṃ viddhi pāṇḍava . na hyasaṃnyastasaṅkalpo yogī bhavati kaścana ||6-2||

6.2 Know Karma Yoga only to be that which they call as Sannyasa i.e., as Jnana Yoga or knowledge of the real nature of the self. Sri Krsna substantiates this by the words, 'For no one whose delusive identification of the body with the self is not abandoned, becomes a true Karma Yogin.' 'One whose delusion is abandoned is one by whom the delusion of identifying the self with Prakrti (body), which is in reality distinct from the self, is not rejected by the contemplation of the real nature of the self. One who is not of this kind is one whose delusion is not abandoned. One who is not of this kind cannot become a Karma Yogin of the type described here. It has already been said: 'He whose every undertaking is free from desire for fruits and delusive identification of the body with the self ৷৷.' (4.19). Sri Krsna now teaches that by Karma Yoga alone one succeeds in Yoga without the risk of fall.

आरुरुक्षोर्मुनेर्योगं कर्म कारणमुच्यते | योगारूढस्य तस्यैव शमः कारणमुच्यते ||६-३||

ārurukṣormuneryogaṃ karma kāraṇamucyate . yogārūḍhasya tasyaiva śamaḥ kāraṇamucyate ||6-3||

6.3 Karma Yoga is said to be the means for an aspirant for release who 'seeks to climb the heights of Yoga,' i.e., the vision of the self. For the same person, when he has climbed the 'heights of Yoga,' i.e., when he is established in Yoga - tranility, i.e., freedom from actions is said to be the means. A man should perform actions until he has attained release (Moksa) in the form of the vision of the self. Full release comes only with the fall of the body. The 'vision of the self' referred to here is called Moksa by courtesy. When does not become established in Yoga? Sri Krsna replies:

यदा हि नेन्द्रियार्थेषु न कर्मस्वनुषज्जते | सर्वसङ्कल्पसंन्यासी योगारूढस्तदोच्यते ||६-४||

yadā hi nendriyārtheṣu na karmasvanuṣajjate . sarvasaṅkalpasaṃnyāsī yogārūḍhastadocyate ||6-4||

6.4 When this Yogin, because of his natural disposition to the experience of the self, loses attachment, i.e., gets detached from sense-objects, i.e., things other than the self, and actions associated with them - then he has abandoned all desires and is said to have climbed the heights of Yoga. Therefore, for one wishing to climb to Yoga, but is still disposed to the experience of the sense-objects, Karma Yoga consisting of the practice of detachment to these objects, becomes the cause for success in Yoga. Therefore one who wishes to climb to Yoga must perform Karma Yoga consisting in the practice of detachment from sense-objects. Sri Krsna further elucidates the same:

उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् | आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ||६-५||

uddharedātmanātmānaṃ nātmānamavasādayet . ātmaiva hyātmano bandhurātmaiva ripurātmanaḥ ||6-5||

6.5 By the self (Atman), i.e., by the mind, which is unattached to sense-objects, one should raise the self. One should not allow the self to sink by a mind which is of the contrary kind. 'For the self alone,' i.e., the mind alone is the friend of the self; and it alone is the foe of the self. [The figure of speech here is of Samsara as the ocean in which the individual self is like an object with liability to sink. What causes its sinking is the lingering attachments of the mind to some objects, though in the discipline of Jnana Yoga one may keep aloof from such objects. A mind with such attachments is the foe and without them, the friend.]

बन्धुरात्मात्मनस्तस्य येनात्मैवात्मना जितः | अनात्मनस्तु शत्रुत्वे वर्तेतात्मैव शत्रुवत् ||६-६||

bandhurātmātmanastasya yenātmaivātmanā jitaḥ . anātmanastu śatrutve vartetātmaiva śatruvat ||6-6||

6.6 A person whose mind is conered by himself in relation to sense-objects, has that mind as his friend. In the case of one whose mind is not conered in this way, his own mind, like an enemy, remains hostile. The meaning is that it acts, against his attainment of supreme beatitude. It has been stated by Bhagavan Parasara also: 'The mind of man is the cause both of his bondage and his release. Its addiction to sense objects is the cause of his bondage; its separation from sense objects is the means of one's release' (V. P., 6.7.28). The proper condition for the beginning of Yoga is now taught:

जितात्मनः प्रशान्तस्य परमात्मा समाहितः | शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु तथा मानापमानयोः ||६-७||

jitātmanaḥ praśāntasya paramātmā samāhitaḥ . śītoṣṇasukhaduḥkheṣu tathā mānāpamānayoḥ ||6-7||

6.7 Of him whose self is conered, i.e., whose mind is conered, whose mind is free from fluctuations and who is very calm, 'the great self' becomes well secured, i.e., exceedingly well secured in connection with heat and cold, pleasure and pain, and honour and dishonour. Here the individual self (Pratyagatman) is called 'the great self' (Paramatman), as the context justifies this only. It can also be called 'great', because it is at a higher stage relatively to previous successive stages. Or the word may be construed as follows: The self is secured greatly - Atma parma samahitah. [In any case it should not be taken as the Supreme Being].

ज्ञानविज्ञानतृप्तात्मा कूटस्थो विजितेन्द्रियः | युक्त इत्युच्यते योगी समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः ||६-८||

jñānavijñānatṛptātmā kūṭastho vijitendriyaḥ . yukta ityucyate yogī samaloṣṭāśmakāñcanaḥ ||6-8||

6.8 That Karma Yogin whose mind is content with the knowledge of the self and the knowledge of the difference, i.e., whose mind is content with the knowledge concerning the real nature of the self as well as with the knowledge of the difference of Its nature from Prakrti; 'who is established in the self' (Kutasthah), i.e., who remains as the self which is of the uniform nature of knowledge in all stages of evolution as men, gods etc. whose senses are therefore subdued; and to whom 'earth, stone and gold are of eal value' because of his lack of interest in any material objects of enjoyment on account of his intense earnestness to know the real nature of the self as different from Prakrti - he, that Karma Yogi, is called integrated i.e., fit for the practice of Yoga which is of the nature of the vision of the self. And also.

सुहृन्मित्रार्युदासीनमध्यस्थद्वेष्यबन्धुषु | साधुष्वपि च पापेषु समबुद्धिर्विशिष्यते ||६-९||

suhṛnmitrāryudāsīnamadhyasthadveṣyabandhuṣu . sādhuṣvapi ca pāpeṣu samabuddhirviśiṣyate ||6-9||

6.9 'Well-wishers' (Suhrt) are those who wish one well, regardless of differences in age. 'Friends' (Mitra) are well-wisheres of eal age. 'Foes' (Ari) are those who wish ill to one because of some particular cause. 'The indifferent' (Udasina) are those devoid of both friendship and hostility because of the absence of causes for both; 'neutrals' (Madhyastha) are those who are by their very nature incapable of both friendship and hostility. 'The hateful' are those who wish ill to one even from birth. 'Relations' are those who bear goodwill from birth. 'The good' are those devoted to virtue. 'The sinful' are those given to sin. Because of the self being the only end of Yoga, and because of there being no gain and no opposition from well-wishers, friends, etc., he who could regard them all with an eal eye as selves, excels in respect of fitness for the practice of Yoga.

योगी युञ्जीत सततमात्मानं रहसि स्थितः | एकाकी यतचित्तात्मा निराशीरपरिग्रहः ||६-१०||

yogī yuñjīta satatamātmānaṃ rahasi sthitaḥ . ekākī yatacittātmā nirāśīraparigrahaḥ ||6-10||

6.10 The Yogin who is steady in the practice of Karma Yoga, should 'constantly', i.e., daily when practising Yoga, fix his mind to the practice of Yoga, i.e., make himself engaged in the vision of the self. He must remain in a 'solitary place,' i.e., a place devoid of crowd and noise. And even there he must be 'all alone,' i.e., must not have a second person with him. He should 'control his thought and mind,' i.e., he should control the activities of thinking. He must be free from 'desire', i.e., he should not depend on anything except the self and be without the 'sense of possession,' without the idea of mineness with regard to anything other than the self.

शुचौ देशे प्रतिष्ठाप्य स्थिरमासनमात्मनः | नात्युच्छ्रितं नातिनीचं चैलाजिनकुशोत्तरम् ||६-११||

śucau deśe pratiṣṭhāpya sthiramāsanamātmanaḥ . nātyucchritaṃ nātinīcaṃ cailājinakuśottaram ||6-11||

6.11 - 6.12 'In a clean spot,' i.e., in a spot pure in itself, not owned or controlled by impure persons and untouched by impure things; having 'established a firm seat,' a seat made of wood or similar material, which is neither too high nor too low; which is covered with cloth, deer-skin and Kusa grass in the reverse order; seated on it in a way which promotes the serenity of mind; having the mind concentrated on Yoga; and holding the activities of the mind and senses in check in all ways - he should practise 'Yoga', i.e., practise the vision of the self for 'the purification of the self,' i.e., to end his bondage.

तत्रैकाग्रं मनः कृत्वा यतचित्तेन्द्रियक्रियः | उपविश्यासने युञ्ज्याद्योगमात्मविशुद्धये ||६-१२||

tatraikāgraṃ manaḥ kṛtvā yatacittendriyakriyaḥ . upaviśyāsane yuñjyādyogamātmaviśuddhaye ||6-12||

6.11 - 6.12 'In a clean spot,' i.e., in a spot pure in itself, not owned or controlled by impure persons and untouched by impure things; having 'established a firm seat,' a seat made of wood or similar material, which is neither too high nor too low; which is covered with cloth, deer-skin and Kusa grass in the reverse order; seated on it in a way which promotes the serenity of mind; having the mind concentrated on Yoga; and holding the activities of the mind and senses in check in all ways - he should practise 'Yoga', i.e., practise the vision of the self for 'the purification of the self,' i.e., to end his bondage.

समं कायशिरोग्रीवं धारयन्नचलं स्थिरः | सम्प्रेक्ष्य नासिकाग्रं स्वं दिशश्चानवलोकयन् ||६-१३||

samaṃ kāyaśirogrīvaṃ dhārayannacalaṃ sthiraḥ . samprekṣya nāsikāgraṃ svaṃ diśaścānavalokayan ||6-13||

6.13 - 6.14 Keeping the trunk, head and neck erect and motionless; well seated in order to be steady; looking not in any direction but gazing at the tip of the nose; serene, i.e., holding the mind extremely peaceful; fearless; firm in the vow of celibacy; holding the mind in check; and fixing his thoughts on Me - he should sit in Yoga, i.e., remain concentrated and intent on Me, i.e., he should concentrating on Me only.

प्रशान्तात्मा विगतभीर्ब्रह्मचारिव्रते स्थितः | मनः संयम्य मच्चित्तो युक्त आसीत मत्परः ||६-१४||

praśāntātmā vigatabhīrbrahmacārivrate sthitaḥ . manaḥ saṃyamya maccitto yukta āsīta matparaḥ ||6-14||

6.13 - 6.14 Keeping the trunk, head and neck erect and motionless; well seated in order to be steady; looking not in any direction but gazing at the tip of the nose; serene, i.e., holding the mind extremely peaceful; fearless; firm in the vow of celibacy; holding the mind in check; and fixing his thoughts on Me - he should sit in Yoga, i.e., remain concentrated and intent on Me, i.e., he should concentrating on Me only.

युञ्जन्नेवं सदात्मानं योगी नियतमानसः | शान्तिं निर्वाणपरमां मत्संस्थामधिगच्छति ||६-१५||

yuñjannevaṃ sadātmānaṃ yogī niyatamānasaḥ . śāntiṃ nirvāṇaparamāṃ matsaṃsthāmadhigacchati ||6-15||

6.15 'Ever applying his mind on Me,' i.e., the Supreme Brahman, the Supreme Person and the holy and auspicious object of meditation, 'the Yogin of controlled mind,' i.e., one having his mind steady because of his being purified in mind through contact with Me, comes to the peace which abides in Me, which is of the highest degree of beatitude. That means he comes to the peace which is the supreme end of beatitude which abides in Me. For the person who commences Yoga of the self, Sri Krsna, after thus teaching how the mind should be fixed on the Lord, who is the holy and auspicious object of meditation, proceeds in order to effect the purification of the mind, to speak of the other side of Yoga:

नात्यश्नतस्तु योगोऽस्ति न चैकान्तमनश्नतः | न चातिस्वप्नशीलस्य जाग्रतो नैव चार्जुन ||६-१६||

nātyaśnatastu yogo.asti na caikāntamanaśnataḥ . na cātisvapnaśīlasya jāgrato naiva cārjuna ||6-16||

6.16 Over-eating and excessive fasting are opposed to Yoga. So also are excessive recreation and non-recreation, too much of sleep and too much of vigil. So too, are overwork and idleness.

युक्ताहारविहारस्य युक्तचेष्टस्य कर्मसु | युक्तस्वप्नावबोधस्य योगो भवति दुःखहा ||६-१७||

yuktāhāravihārasya yuktaceṣṭasya karmasu . yuktasvapnāvabodhasya yogo bhavati duḥkhahā ||6-17||

6.17 The 'yoga which destroys all sorrows,' i.e., unties bondages, is successfully practised by him who is temperate in eating and recreation, temperate in exertion, and temperate in sleep and vigil.

यदा विनियतं चित्तमात्मन्येवावतिष्ठते | निःस्पृहः सर्वकामेभ्यो युक्त इत्युच्यते तदा ||६-१८||

yadā viniyataṃ cittamātmanyevāvatiṣṭhate . niḥspṛhaḥ sarvakāmebhyo yukta ityucyate tadā ||6-18||

6.18 When the mind which usually goes after sense enjoyments, abandons such desires and 'rests on the self alone,' i.e., becomes well-settled on account of discerning unsurpassable good in the self alone and rests there alone steadily, without movement - then, being 'free of yearning for all desires,' one is said to be integrated. He is said to be fit for Yoga.

यथा दीपो निवातस्थो नेङ्गते सोपमा स्मृता | योगिनो यतचित्तस्य युञ्जतो योगमात्मनः ||६-१९||

yathā dīpo nivātastho neṅgate sopamā smṛtā . yogino yatacittasya yuñjato yogamātmanaḥ ||6-19||

6.19 As a lamp does not flicker in a windless place, i.e., does not move, but remains steady with its illumination - this is the simile used to illustrate the nature of the self of the Yogin who has subdued his mind, who has got rid of all other kinds of mental activity and who is practising Yoga concerning the self. The meaning is that the self remains with its steadily illumining light of knowledge because all other activities of the mind have ceased, just as a lamp kept in a windless place has an unflickering flame.

यत्रोपरमते चित्तं निरुद्धं योगसेवया | यत्र चैवात्मनात्मानं पश्यन्नात्मनि तुष्यति ||६-२०||

yatroparamate cittaṃ niruddhaṃ yogasevayā . yatra caivātmanātmānaṃ paśyannātmani tuṣyati ||6-20||

6.20 - 6.23 Where, through the practice of Yoga, the mind, which is subdued everywhere by such practice, 'rejoices', i.e., rejoices in surpassing felicity; and where, perceiving through Yoga 'the self (Atman)' by 'the mind (Atman)' one is delighted by the self and indifferent to all other objects; and where, through Yoga, one 'knows', i.e., experiences that infinite happiness which can be grasped only by the 'intellect' contemplating on the self, but is beyond the grasp of the senses; where, remaining in that Yoga, one does not 'swerve from that state,' because of the overwhelming happiness that state confers; having gained which, he desires for it alone, even when he is awakened from Yoga, and does not hold anything else as a gain; where one is not moved even by 'the heaviest sorrow' caused by any berevaement like that of a virtuous son - let him know that disunion from all union with pain, i.e., which forms the opposite of union with pain, is called by the term Yoga. This Yoga must be practised with the determination of its nature as such from the beginning with a mind free from despondency, i.e., with zestful exaltation.

सुखमात्यन्तिकं यत्तद् बुद्धिग्राह्यमतीन्द्रियम् | वेत्ति यत्र न चैवायं स्थितश्चलति तत्त्वतः ||६-२१||

sukhamātyantikaṃ yattad buddhigrāhyamatīndriyam . vetti yatra na caivāyaṃ sthitaścalati tattvataḥ ||6-21||

6.20 - 6.23 Where, through the practice of Yoga, the mind, which is subdued everywhere by such practice, 'rejoices', i.e., rejoices in surpassing felicity; and where, perceiving through Yoga 'the self (Atman)' by 'the mind (Atman)' one is delighted by the self and indifferent to all other objects; and where, through Yoga, one 'knows', i.e., experiences that infinite happiness which can be grasped only by the 'intellect' contemplating on the self, but is beyond the grasp of the senses; where, remaining in that Yoga, one does not 'swerve from that state,' because of the overwhelming happiness that state confers; having gained which, he desires for it alone, even when he is awakened from Yoga, and does not hold anything else as a gain; where one is not moved even by 'the heaviest sorrow' caused by any berevaement like that of a virtuous son - let him know that disunion from all union with pain, i.e., which forms the opposite of union with pain, is called by the term Yoga. This Yoga must be practised with the determination of its nature as such from the beginning with a mind free from despondency, i.e., with zestful exaltation.

यं लब्ध्वा चापरं लाभं मन्यते नाधिकं ततः | यस्मिन्स्थितो न दुःखेन गुरुणापि विचाल्यते ||६-२२||

yaṃ labdhvā cāparaṃ lābhaṃ manyate nādhikaṃ tataḥ . yasminsthito na duḥkhena guruṇāpi vicālyate ||6-22||

6.20 - 6.23 Where, through the practice of Yoga, the mind, which is subdued everywhere by such practice, 'rejoices', i.e., rejoices in surpassing felicity; and where, perceiving through Yoga 'the self (Atman)' by 'the mind (Atman)' one is delighted by the self and indifferent to all other objects; and where, through Yoga, one 'knows', i.e., experiences that infinite happiness which can be grasped only by the 'intellect' contemplating on the self, but is beyond the grasp of the senses; where, remaining in that Yoga, one does not 'swerve from that state,' because of the overwhelming happiness that state confers; having gained which, he desires for it alone, even when he is awakened from Yoga, and does not hold anything else as a gain; where one is not moved even by 'the heaviest sorrow' caused by any berevaement like that of a virtuous son - let him know that disunion from all union with pain, i.e., which forms the opposite of union with pain, is called by the term Yoga. This Yoga must be practised with the determination of its nature as such from the beginning with a mind free from despondency, i.e., with zestful exaltation.

तं विद्याद् दुःखसंयोगवियोगं योगसंज्ञितम् | स निश्चयेन योक्तव्यो योगोऽनिर्विण्णचेतसा ||६-२३||

taṃ vidyād duḥkhasaṃyogaviyogaṃ yogasaṃjñitam . sa niścayena yoktavyo yogo.anirviṇṇacetasā ||6-23||

6.20 - 6.23 Where, through the practice of Yoga, the mind, which is subdued everywhere by such practice, 'rejoices', i.e., rejoices in surpassing felicity; and where, perceiving through Yoga 'the self (Atman)' by 'the mind (Atman)' one is delighted by the self and indifferent to all other objects; and where, through Yoga, one 'knows', i.e., experiences that infinite happiness which can be grasped only by the 'intellect' contemplating on the self, but is beyond the grasp of the senses; where, remaining in that Yoga, one does not 'swerve from that state,' because of the overwhelming happiness that state confers; having gained which, he desires for it alone, even when he is awakened from Yoga, and does not hold anything else as a gain; where one is not moved even by 'the heaviest sorrow' caused by any berevaement like that of a virtuous son - let him know that disunion from all union with pain, i.e., which forms the opposite of union with pain, is called by the term Yoga. This Yoga must be practised with the determination of its nature as such from the beginning with a mind free from despondency, i.e., with zestful exaltation.

सङ्कल्पप्रभवान्कामांस्त्यक्त्वा सर्वानशेषतः | मनसैवेन्द्रियग्रामं विनियम्य समन्ततः ||६-२४||

saṅkalpaprabhavānkāmāṃstyaktvā sarvānaśeṣataḥ . manasaivendriyagrāmaṃ viniyamya samantataḥ ||6-24||

6.24 - 6.25 There are two kinds of desires: 1) those born of contact between the senses and objects like heat, cold etc.; 2) those generated by our mind (will) like that for sons, land etc. Of these, the latter type of desires are by their own nature relinishable. Relinishing all these by the mind through contemplation on their lack of association with the self; having relinished the ideas of pleasure and pain in respect of unavoidable desires resulting from contract; restraining all the senses on all sides, i.e., from contact with all their objects - one should think of nothing else, i.e., other than the self. Little by little 'with the help of intellect controlled by firm resolution,' i.e., by the power of discrimination, one should think of nothing else, having fixed the mind on the self.

शनैः शनैरुपरमेद् बुद्ध्या धृतिगृहीतया | आत्मसंस्थं मनः कृत्वा न किञ्चिदपि चिन्तयेत् ||६-२५||

śanaiḥ śanairuparamed buddhyā dhṛtigṛhītayā . ātmasaṃsthaṃ manaḥ kṛtvā na kiñcidapi cintayet ||6-25||

6.24 - 6.25 There are two kinds of desires: 1) those born of contact between the senses and objects like heat, cold etc.; 2) those generated by our mind (will) like that for sons, land etc. Of these, the latter type of desires are by their own nature relinishable. Relinishing all these by the mind through contemplation on their lack of association with the self; having relinished the ideas of pleasure and pain in respect of unavoidable desires resulting from contract; restraining all the senses on all sides, i.e., from contact with all their objects - one should think of nothing else, i.e., other than the self. Little by little 'with the help of intellect controlled by firm resolution,' i.e., by the power of discrimination, one should think of nothing else, having fixed the mind on the self.

यतो यतो निश्चरति मनश्चञ्चलमस्थिरम् | ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वशं नयेत् ||६-२६||

yato yato niścarati manaścañcalamasthiram . tatastato niyamyaitadātmanyeva vaśaṃ nayet ||6-26||

6.26 Wherever the mind, on account of its fickle and unsteady nature, wanders, because of its proclivity to sense-objects, he should, subduing the mind everywhere with effort, bring it under control in order to remain in the self alone by contemplating on the incomparable bliss therein.

प्रशान्तमनसं ह्येनं योगिनं सुखमुत्तमम् | उपैति शान्तरजसं ब्रह्मभूतमकल्मषम् ||६-२७||

praśāntamanasaṃ hyenaṃ yoginaṃ sukhamuttamam . upaiti śāntarajasaṃ brahmabhūtamakalmaṣam ||6-27||

6.27 Supreme happiness, which is of the nature of experience of the self in its essential nature comes to this Yogin whose 'mind is at peace,' i.e., whose mind does not swerve from the self, whose mind abides in the self; whose impurities are thery completely burnt away; whose Rajas is thery 'wholly annulled,' i.e., in whom the ality of Rajas is destroyed; and who has thus become the Brahman, i.e., who remains steady in his essential nature as the Atman. 'Hi' (for) is added to indicate reason. The meaning is this: 'On account of the nature of the self which has the form of supreme bliss.'

युञ्जन्नेवं सदात्मानं योगी विगतकल्मषः | सुखेन ब्रह्मसंस्पर्शमत्यन्तं सुखमश्नुते ||६-२८||

yuñjannevaṃ sadātmānaṃ yogī vigatakalmaṣaḥ . sukhena brahmasaṃsparśamatyantaṃ sukhamaśnute ||6-28||

6.28 Thus, in the above - said manner, devoting himself to the Yoga of the self and by that means expelling all old impurities, the Yogin attains 'perfect', i.e., boundless felicity at all times easily, without stress and strain. The felicity is born of the contact with the Brahman (Atman), meaning the joy of experience of the Brahman. Now Sri Krsna says that the mature stage of Yoga consists of four degrees, as stated in the succeeding verses from 29th to 32nd.

सर्वभूतस्थमात्मानं सर्वभूतानि चात्मनि | ईक्षते योगयुक्तात्मा सर्वत्र समदर्शनः ||६-२९||

sarvabhūtasthamātmānaṃ sarvabhūtāni cātmani . īkṣate yogayuktātmā sarvatra samadarśanaḥ ||6-29||

6.29 (i) On account of the similarity between one self and other selves when They are separated from Prakrti (i.e., the body), all selves are by Themselves only of the nature of knowledge. Inealities pertain only to Prakrti or the bodies they are embodied in. One whose mind is fixed in Yoga has the experience of the sameness of the nature of all the selves as centres of intelligence, the perceived difference being caused only by the body. When separated from the body all are alike because of their being forms of centres of intelligence. An enlightened Yogin therefore sees himself as abiding in all beings and all beings abiding in his self in the sense that he sees the similarity of the selves in himself and in every being. When one self is visualised, all selves become visulaised, because of the similarity of all selves. This is supported by the statements: 'He sees sameness everywhere' (6.29). The same is again referred to in, 'This Yoga of eality which has been declared by you' (6.33), and the statement 'The Brahman when uncontaminated is the same everywhere' (5.19).

यो मां पश्यति सर्वत्र सर्वं च मयि पश्यति | तस्याहं न प्रणश्यामि स च मे न प्रणश्यति ||६-३०||

yo māṃ paśyati sarvatra sarvaṃ ca mayi paśyati . tasyāhaṃ na praṇaśyāmi sa ca me na praṇaśyati ||6-30||

6.30 (ii) He who, having reached the highest stage of maturity, views similarity of nature with Me, i.e., sees similarity of all selves to Myself when They are freed from good and evil and when they remain in Their own essence, as declared in the Sruti, 'Stainless he attains supreme degree of eality' (Mun. U., 3.1.3); and 'sees Me in all selves and sees all selves in Me.' That is, on viewing one of Them (selves), one views another also to be the same, because of their similarity to one another. To him who perceives the nature of his own self, I am not lost on account of My similarity to him i.e., I do not become invisible to him. He (the Yogin) viewing his own self as similar to Me, always remains within My sight when I am viewing Myself, because of similarity of his self with Me. Sri Krsna describes a still more mature steps (of Yoga):

सर्वभूतस्थितं यो मां भजत्येकत्वमास्थितः | सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि स योगी मयि वर्तते ||६-३१||

sarvabhūtasthitaṃ yo māṃ bhajatyekatvamāsthitaḥ . sarvathā vartamāno.api sa yogī mayi vartate ||6-31||

6.31 (iii) The Yogin who, fixed in the state of Yoga in oneness because he has the same form of uncontracted knowledge (as Myself), worships Me steadfastly by renouncing the differences of the Prakrti (i.e., of the body) - then that Yogin, even while coming out of Yoga, howsoever he may live, views Me only, when viewing his own self and all other beings. The meaning is that he views his similarity to Myself in his own self and in the self of all beings. Now Sri Krsna proceeds to speak of the maturest stage beyond this:

आत्मौपम्येन सर्वत्र समं पश्यति योऽर्जुन | सुखं वा यदि वा दुःखं स योगी परमो मतः ||६-३२||

ātmaupamyena sarvatra samaṃ paśyati yo.arjuna . sukhaṃ vā yadi vā duḥkhaṃ sa yogī paramo mataḥ ||6-32||

6.32 (iv) He who - because of the similarity between his own self and other selves, as they are all constituted similarly of uncontracted knowledge in their essential being - views the pleasures in the form of the birth of a son and the sorrows in the form of the death of a son of his own and of others, as eal, on the ground of their eal unrelatedness to such pleasures and pains to him. Viewing his own pleasures and pains of the above description as being not different from those of others of the same kind - tht Yogin is deemed the highest; he is judged as having reached the summit of Yoga. [The idea is to prevent misconstruing the verse as meaning that one shares the joy and misery of all as his own. It means only that the highest type of yogins understand that the self is unrelated to the pain and pleasures of his own body-mind. He understands also that the same is the case with other selves.]

अर्जुन उवाच | योऽयं योगस्त्वया प्रोक्तः साम्येन मधुसूदन | एतस्याहं न पश्यामि चञ्चलत्वात्स्थितिं स्थिराम् ||६-३३||

arjuna uvāca . yo.ayaṃ yogastvayā proktaḥ sāmyena madhusūdana . etasyāhaṃ na paśyāmi cañcalatvātsthitiṃ sthirām ||6-33||

6.33 Arjuna said This Yoga as explained by you consists in maintaining eality of vision everywhere, viz., i) among themselves which have been so far known to be of different kinds such as gods and men, and ii) between the individual selves and the Supreme, in so far as (a) all the selves are of the same form of knowledge, and (b) in so far as the individual self (i.e., the released soul) and the Supreme are alike free from Karma. I do not see how this Yoga can be steadily established in my mind, fickle as the mind is.

चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद् दृढम् | तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम् ||६-३४||

cañcalaṃ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthi balavad dṛḍham . tasyāhaṃ nigrahaṃ manye vāyoriva suduṣkaram ||6-34||

6.34 For the mind, which is found to be fickle even in matters incessantly practised, cannot be firmly fixed by a person in one place. It agitates that person violently and flies away stubbornly elsewhere. Regarding such a mind, which by nature is fickle even in matters practised, I regard that its restraint and fixing in the self, which is of ite opposite nature, is as difficult as restraining a strong contrary gale with such things as a fragile fan etc. The meaning is that the means for the restraint of the mind should be explained.

श्रीभगवानुवाच | असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम् | अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते ||६-३५||

śrībhagavānuvāca . asaṃśayaṃ mahābāho mano durnigrahaṃ calam . abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate ||6-35||

6.35 The Lord said No doubt, the mind is hard to subdue on account of its fickle nature. However, it can be subdued with difficulty by cultivating favourable attitude in the direction of the self by repeated contemplation of Its being a mind of auspicious attributes (these being eternality, self-luminosity, bliss, freedom from Karma, purity etc.), and by the absence of hankering produced by seeing the host of evil alities in objects other than the self hankered for.

असंयतात्मना योगो दुष्प्राप इति मे मतिः | वश्यात्मना तु यतता शक्योऽवाप्तुमुपायतः ||६-३६||

asaṃyatātmanā yogo duṣprāpa iti me matiḥ . vaśyātmanā tu yatatā śakyo.avāptumupāyataḥ ||6-36||

6.36 Yoga is hard to attain even in spite of great efforts by one of unrestrained self, i.e., of unrestrained mind. But the same Yoga which is of the form of sameness of vision can be attained by proper means by one who is striving, whose 'mind is subdued,' i.e., by one whose mind is conered by works (Karma Yoga) taught before, which is of the nature of My worship and which includes within itself knowledge (Jnana). Then Arjuna puts estions in order to hear the greatness of Yoga, as it really is, which he has already heard about at the beginning of the teaching, 'Here there is no loss of effort' (2.40). There the greatness of Karma Yoga as inclusive of knowledge of the self with Yoga as its culmination was taught. This alone is the real greatness of Yoga.

अर्जुन उवाच | अयतिः श्रद्धयोपेतो योगाच्चलितमानसः | अप्राप्य योगसंसिद्धिं कां गतिं कृष्ण गच्छति ||६-३७||

arjuna uvāca . ayatiḥ śraddhayopeto yogāccalitamānasaḥ . aprāpya yogasaṃsiddhiṃ kāṃ gatiṃ kṛṣṇa gacchati ||6-37||

6.37 - 6.39 Arjuna said What way does he go, who has embarked on Yoga endowed with faith, but who by inadeacy of exertion in practice, does not gain success in Yoga and has his mind wandering from Yoga? Does he not perish like a small piece of cloud torn from a large mass of cloud - perish without reaching another large mass of cloud? Now does he not fall away from both (sides)? He has no support and is confused on the path leading to the Brahman. He is without any support in the sense that Karma or rituals which constitutes the means of heaven etc., does not give support for a person who is devoid of attachment to fruits; for Karma is the means for generating its own fruits. He is also confused in the path leading to the Brahman on which he has just begun to traverse; He has lost his way. Does he then get lost by falling down from both sides, these being attainment of heaven on the one hand and liberation on the other. Does he not thus perish? You should remove this doubt altogether from my mind; for there is no other remover of this doubt than You, who always perceive directly all matters simultaneously.

कच्चिन्नोभयविभ्रष्टश्छिन्नाभ्रमिव नश्यति | अप्रतिष्ठो महाबाहो विमूढो ब्रह्मणः पथि ||६-३८||

kaccinnobhayavibhraṣṭaśchinnābhramiva naśyati . apratiṣṭho mahābāho vimūḍho brahmaṇaḥ pathi ||6-38||

Sri Ramanuja did not comment on this sloka

एतन्मे संशयं कृष्ण छेत्तुमर्हस्यशेषतः | त्वदन्यः संशयस्यास्य छेत्ता न ह्युपपद्यते ||६-३९||

etanme saṃśayaṃ kṛṣṇa chettumarhasyaśeṣataḥ . tvadanyaḥ saṃśayasyāsya chettā na hyupapadyate ||6-39||

6.37 - 6.39 Arjuna said What way does he go, who has embarked on Yoga endowed with faith, but who by inadeacy of exertion in practice, does not gain success in Yoga and has his mind wandering from Yoga? Does he not perish like a small piece of cloud torn from a large mass of cloud - perish without reaching another large mass of cloud? Now does he not fall away from both (sides)? He has no support and is confused on the path leading to the Brahman. He is without any support in the sense that Karma or rituals which constitutes the means of heaven etc., does not give support for a person who is devoid of attachment to fruits; for Karma is the means for generating its own fruits. He is also confused in the path leading to the Brahman on which he has just begun to traverse; He has lost his way. Does he then get lost by falling down from both sides, these being attainment of heaven on the one hand and liberation on the other. Does he not thus perish? You should remove this doubt altogether from my mind; for there is no other remover of this doubt than You, who always perceive directly all matters simultaneously.

श्रीभगवानुवाच | पार्थ नैवेह नामुत्र विनाशस्तस्य विद्यते | न हि कल्याणकृत्कश्चिद् दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति ||६-४०||

śrībhagavānuvāca . pārtha naiveha nāmutra vināśastasya vidyate . na hi kalyāṇakṛtkaścid durgatiṃ tāta gacchati ||6-40||

6.40 The Lord said Neither here nor there is destruction for him who has begun Yoga with faith and has then fallen away from it. The meaning is that there is no destruction either in the form of failure of attainment of desires or in the form of Pratyavaya, which means the attainment of what is undesirable because of defects in the performance of works. Therefore no one who practises this incomparably auspicious Yoga ever comes to an evil end in the present, past or future. Sri Krsna explains how this is so:

प्राप्य पुण्यकृतां लोकानुषित्वा शाश्वतीः समाः | शुचीनां श्रीमतां गेहे योगभ्रष्टोऽभिजायते ||६-४१||

prāpya puṇyakṛtāṃ lokānuṣitvā śāśvatīḥ samāḥ . śucīnāṃ śrīmatāṃ gehe yogabhraṣṭo.abhijāyate ||6-41||

6.41 This person, who had wandered away from Yoga because of desire for whatever kind of enjoyments, he will gain those very enjoyments through the excellence of Yoga alone. Having attained to the worlds of those who do meritorious acts, he will dwell there for a long time, i.e., till his desire for such enjoyments gets exhausted. Then, devoid of desire for these enjoyment, this person who has swerved from Yoga at the very beginning of Yoga, is born, by virtue of the excellence of Yoga, in a family of those who are competent to practise Yoga.

अथवा योगिनामेव कुले भवति धीमताम् | एतद्धि दुर्लभतरं लोके जन्म यदीदृशम् ||६-४२||

athavā yogināmeva kule bhavati dhīmatām . etaddhi durlabhataraṃ loke janma yadīdṛśam ||6-42||

6.42 If one swerves from the right path at an advanced stage of Yoga, he will be born in a family of wise Yogins who practise Yoga and are themselves capable of teaching Yoga. Thus, these two types of birth - one in the family of those who are fit to practise Yoga and the other in that of accomplished Yogins - are hardly met with among common people in this world. But Yoga is of such great potentiality that even this rare blessing is achieved through it.

तत्र तं बुद्धिसंयोगं लभते पौर्वदेहिकम् | यतते च ततो भूयः संसिद्धौ कुरुनन्दन ||६-४३||

tatra taṃ buddhisaṃyogaṃ labhate paurvadehikam . yatate ca tato bhūyaḥ saṃsiddhau kurunandana ||6-43||

6.43 - 6.44 There, in that existence, he regains the mental disposition for Yoga that he had in the previous birth. Like one awakened from sleep, he strives again from where he had left before attaining complete success. He strives so as not to be defeated by impediments. This person who has fallen away from Yoga is borne on towards Yoga alone by his previous practice, i.e., by the older practice with regard to Yoga. This power of Yoga is well known. Even a person, who has not engaged in Yoga but has only been desirous of knowing Yoga, i.e., has failed to follow it up, acries once again the same desire to practise Yoga. He then practises Yoga, of which the first stage is Karma Yoga, and transcends Sabda-brahman (or Brahman which is denotable by words). The Sabda-brahman is the Brahman capable of manifesting as gods, men, earth, sky, heaven etc., namely, Prakrti. The meaning is that having been liberated from the bonds of Prakrti, he attains the self which is incapable of being named by such words as gods, men etc., and which comprises solely of knowledge and beatitude. After thus describing the glory of Yoga the verse says:

पूर्वाभ्यासेन तेनैव ह्रियते ह्यवशोऽपि सः | जिज्ञासुरपि योगस्य शब्दब्रह्मातिवर्तते ||६-४४||

pūrvābhyāsena tenaiva hriyate hyavaśo.api saḥ . jijñāsurapi yogasya śabdabrahmātivartate ||6-44||

6.43 - 6.44 There, in that existence, he regains the mental disposition for Yoga that he had in the previous birth. Like one awakened from sleep, he strives again from where he had left before attaining complete success. He strives so as not to be defeated by impediments. This person who has fallen away from Yoga is borne on towards Yoga alone by his previous practice, i.e., by the older practice with regard to Yoga. This power of Yoga is well known. Even a person, who has not engaged in Yoga but has only been desirous of knowing Yoga, i.e., has failed to follow it up, acries once again the same desire to practise Yoga. He then practises Yoga, of which the first stage is Karma Yoga, and transcends Sabda-brahman (or Brahman which is denotable by words). The Sabda-brahman is the Brahman capable of manifesting as gods, men, earth, sky, heaven etc., namely, Prakrti. The meaning is that having been liberated from the bonds of Prakrti, he attains the self which is incapable of being named by such words as gods, men etc., and which comprises solely of knowledge and beatitude. After thus describing the glory of Yoga the verse says:

प्रयत्नाद्यतमानस्तु योगी संशुद्धकिल्बिषः | अनेकजन्मसंसिद्धस्ततो याति परां गतिम् ||६-४५||

prayatnādyatamānastu yogī saṃśuddhakilbiṣaḥ . anekajanmasaṃsiddhastato yāti parāṃ gatim ||6-45||

6.45 Because of such excellence of Yoga, through accumulation of merit collected in many births the Yogin striving earnestly, becomes cleansed from stains. Having become perfected, he reaches the supreme state, even though he had once gone astray. Sri Krsna now speaks of the superiority of the Yogin above all others because of his being devoted to the supreme goal of human existence.

तपस्विभ्योऽधिको योगी ज्ञानिभ्योऽपि मतोऽधिकः | कर्मिभ्यश्चाधिको योगी तस्माद्योगी भवार्जुन ||६-४६||

tapasvibhyo.adhiko yogī jñānibhyo.api mato.adhikaḥ . karmibhyaścādhiko yogī tasmādyogī bhavārjuna ||6-46||

6.46 Whatever end of human endeavour is attained by mere austerity, by knowledge of different subjects (i.e., different from experience of the self) and by mere rituals like the horse-sacrifice etc., greater than all these is the end achieved through Yoga. Conseently the Yogin is superior to those who practise austerity, to those who possess learning and to those who perform rituals. Therefore, O Arjuna, become a Yogin. Thus, so far the vision of the self, which has been expounded in the teaching of Prajapati as forming a part of supreme Vidya, has been taught; then Sri Krsna extols that supreme Vidya:

योगिनामपि सर्वेषां मद्गतेनान्तरात्मना | श्रद्धावान्भजते यो मां स मे युक्ततमो मतः ||६-४७||

yogināmapi sarveṣāṃ madgatenāntarātmanā . śraddhāvānbhajate yo māṃ sa me yuktatamo mataḥ ||6-47||

6.47 'Yoginam', which is the genitive case, has to be taken in the sense of the ablative. In the verses beginning with, 'He sees the self as abiding in all beings' (6.29), Yogins at four degrees of attainment have been mentioned. Since the Yogin who is now mentioned in this passage cannot be included in the four types mentioned earlier, the genitive case specifying one out of many will be inappropriate here. In 'api sarvesam,' those who practise austerities etc., are referred to by the word 'sarva' (all). According to the principle set forth, here also the case ending has to be taken as ablative. The meaning therefore is that the Yogin who is now referred to, is the most integrated compared with those mentioned earlier and all other types. Compared to this Yogin, the differences in point of superiority and inferiority among the other Yogins such as the performers of austerities etc., are of no significance like mustard-seeds compared to Mount Meru. Even though there exists smallness and bigness in relation to one another among mustard-seeds, still when compared to Meru, such distinctions among them have no significance, as they are all small compared to Meru. I consider him the most integrated who, with his innermost self, has his mind fixed on Me, on account of My being the only object of his overflowing love and also on account of his having a nature which cannot be supported by anything other than Myself; who has 'faith,' i.e., who strives rapidly to attain Me because of his being unable to bear a moment's separation from Me on account of My being very dear to him; and who 'worships Me,' i.e., serves Me with devotion and meditates on Me - Me whose sportive delight brings about the origination, sustentation and dissolution of the entire cosmos filled with multifarious and innumerable objects of enjoyment, enjoyers, means and places of enjoyment; who is untouched by any evil without exception; whose divine figure is the treasue-house of innumerable multitudes of auspicious, unlimited and unsurpassed attributes such as knowledge, power, lordship, energy, potency and splendour; whose divine figure is the treasure-house of infinite, unsurpassed attributes agreeable and highly worthy, such as radiance, beauty, fragrance, tenderness, pervading sweetness and youthfulness which are uniform, inconceivable and divine, wondrous, eternal and flawless; whose essential nature and alities transcend all thought and words; who is the great ocean of compassion, condescension, paternal love and beauty; who is the impartial refuge of all beings without exception and without considerations of any difference; who is the reliever of the distress of supplicants; who is the great, unfathomable ocean of affection for supplicants; who has become visible to the eyes of all men without abandoning His essential nature; who has incarnated in the house of Vasudeva; who has made the entire would illumined with His limitless and excellent glory; and who has satisfied the entire universe with the impeccable glory of beauty. The idea is that I, who by Myself alone see all things directly as they are, look upon him, the last mentioned type of Yogi here, as superior to all other types mentioned earlier.