Chapter Six
This is surely one of the most intriguing chapters of the Gita, for here we are given a detailed explanation of meditation addressed to the layperson. The same meditation techniques are given in more esoteric writings, such as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, but the Gita does it more simply, without any unnecessary mystery or complexity.
This chapter also explores the question, “Who is the true yogi?” This word yogi, if it has any associations for the Western reader, is likely to bring up images of rather far-out types who do strange contortions with their bodies. Yogis are still thought of as standing on their heads or reclining on a bed of nails. It is true that there are many practitioners of a kind of yoga that involves physical exercises and postures; and there are those who have achieved remarkable feats like lying on beds of nails, or even being buried alive and surviving. But this physical side of yoga (called hatha yoga, “the yoga of force”) is not what is meant in the Gita. In fact, though physical techniques have a place, the Gita regards undue emphasis on them as extreme, not belonging to the normal course of spiritual development.
In the Gita, the word yogi often has a more modest definition: it can mean a person who does his or her job with detachment from the rewards (6:1), or it can be rendered as “one who has attained the goal of meditation.” For yogi literally means “one who is accomplished in yoga,” and yoga means “integration of the spirit.” In this sense, yoga means wholeness or the process of becoming whole at the deepest spiritual level. The word yoga is also often used as a synonym for raja yoga, the practice of meditation as taught by Patanjali; for meditation is the direct means of becoming integrated, united with one’s truest, deepest Self. Thus a yogi, among other things, is a person who is an adept at meditation.
Until now, Krishna has been instructing Arjuna in the need for karma yoga, the active life of service. Now he is ready to initiate his disciple into the practice of the more interior disciplines of the spiritual life. Karma yoga, he says, is the path for those who wish to climb the mountain of Self-realization; for those who have reached the summit, the path is shama, the peace of contemplation. At the beginning of the spiritual life, great exertion is required; as the summit is approached, though the climb gets no easier, the dimension of contemplation or stillness is added. Many spiritual traditions, of course, use this image when speaking of the religious quest. The mountaintop is the place where the holy, like Moses, commune with God; and St. John of the Cross describes the path to union with God as climbing the mountain of Carmel.
In climbing this mountain, willpower, self-help, intense personal effort, are absolute essentials. The literal translation of verse 5 is “one should lift oneself up by one’s Self” – a play on the word atman, which can mean the highest Self as well as self in the ordinary sense. One’s self is thus one’s friend or one’s own enemy. The “lower self,” as Western mystics sometimes call it, is self-will – will in the negative, selfish sense. An unruly will twisted toward self-aggrandizement is an enemy lurking right inside the fort, where it can do the most damage. But those who “have conquered themselves by themselves” have their truest friend in the Self. Only those who have genuine self-discipline, who are “self-conquered,” live in peace.
These, Krishna says, are true yogis. They cannot harbor any malice, cannot even bring themselves to look upon anyone as an enemy. They are samabuddhi, “of equable mind.” The true yogi, the person who is truly integrated inside, looks upon and feels everyone else’s joy and sorrow just as if it were his own. He sees the Self in all beings, everywhere.
How is this self-conquest to be made? Very simply, the Gita teaches that the mind must be made one-pointed through the practice of meditation. This is the basic technique. In the Gita we do not see the tendency for elaboration, for ritual and mystery, that we sometimes find in the Hindu tradition. Krishna simply tells Arjuna, first, that he must find an appropriate place to meditate. A suitable spot for his practice will be clean and comfortable. In a nod to tradition, one verse recommends the meditation seat be covered with kusha grass and a deer skin – the traditional seat of the yogi. The important thing, however, is not how the meditation cushion is constructed, but what is going on in the mind. Meditation is an internal discipline to make the mind one-pointed, absolutely concentrated.
Second, Krishna offers a bit of advice about holding the body, head, and neck in a straight line. This may seem esoteric – a reference to the contortion-school of yoga – but actually it has a practical purpose. Sitting absolutely straight, with the spinal column erect, prevents drowsiness. Also, in advanced stages of meditation, it allows for the free flow of vital energy or kundalini (see Glossary).
Then practical advice is given: moderation is the path. Neither extreme asceticism nor indulgence will aid meditation. A superficial acquaintance with Hindu culture may leave the impression that it fosters either the sensuality of the Kama Sutra or the asceticism of the hermit. It is true that in Indian civilization we can easily see the ultimate development of the sensual and beautiful life in its finest manifestation, in painting, sculpture, music, and dance. And Indian cuisine is famous for its incredible variety of flavors and spices. India also presents us with the austere simplicity of the wandering holy man or sadhu. The Gita, however, recommends the middle path. Success in meditation, Krishna says, comes neither to those who eat or sleep too much nor to those who eat or sleep too little. The body should be neither overindulged nor treated harshly – the same recommendation the Buddha was to offer later, after many years of severe asceticism.
This chapter contains the famous verse (6:19) comparing the mind to a steady flame. By its very nature the untrained mind is restless, constantly wandering here and there in trying to fulfil its desires. It flickers wildly like a flame in a storm – never blown completely out, yet at the mercy of the wind. Wherever it wanders, Krishna says, it must be brought back to its source; it must learn to rest in the Self. Once it is at home in the depths of contemplation, the mind becomes steady, like an upright, unflickering flame in a windless place. In this deep meditation, and only there, can the human being find true fulfillment. Then “the still mind touches Brahman and enjoys bliss.”
Now Arjuna asks the inevitable question. Krishna is way ahead of him, and the struggling disciple calls out, “Wait a minute!” or words to that effect. He says, “My mind is so restless and unsteady that I cannot even comprehend anything about this state of mystic peace you are talking about.” The mind is so powerful, so turbulent, that trying to bring it under control is like trying to catch the wind.
Krishna admits that the mind is terribly hard to train, but he maintains that it can be done through regular practice if one has detachment. It is interesting that he does not offer to help Arjuna here; that will come later. For now, he tells Arjuna that he must do it for himself, through hard work and detachment from private, personal motives.
Then Arjuna asks a rather surprising question: what happens to the person who believes in a spiritual goal but does not pursue it to the end? What if one of his more powerful compulsive desires gets the better of him, scattering his resolution the way a cloud is scattered by the wind? Arjuna must be at least partly convinced that there is something to all this, but either he is not ready to begin meditating or he is afraid that somehow he might fail if he tried. If he were to fail, he asks, would he have lost everything – all that he had given up in worldly life as well as his goal of self-fulfillment?
Affectionately, Krishna assures Arjuna that no attempt to improve his spiritual condition could possibly be a wasted effort. Even looking ahead to the next life, he has nothing to lose and everything to gain. He will be reborn in a household suitable for taking up his quest where he left off. In his next life, he will feel drawn to the spiritual goal once again, and he will have a head start. The general Hindu belief is that Self-realization requires many, many lives of spiritual discipline. –D.M.
6: Practice of Meditation
KRISHNA
1 It is not those who lack energy or refrain from action, but those who work without expectation of reward who attain the goal of meditation. Theirs is true renunciation. 2 Therefore, Arjuna, you should understand that renunciation and the performance of selfless service are the same. Those who cannot renounce attachment to the results of their work are far from the path.
3 For aspirants who want to climb the mountain of spiritual awareness, the path is selfless work; for those who have ascended to yoga the path is stillness and peace. 4 When a person has freed himself from attachment to the results of work, and from desires for the enjoyment of sense objects, he ascends to the unitive state.
5 Reshape yourself through the power of your will; never let yourself be degraded by self-will. The will is the only friend of the Self, and the will is the only enemy of the Self.
6 To those who have conquered themselves, the will is a friend. But it is the enemy of those who have not found the Self within them.
7 The supreme Reality stands revealed in the consciousness of those who have conquered themselves. They live in peace, alike in cold and heat, pleasure and pain, praise and blame.
8 They are completely fulfilled by spiritual wisdom and Self-realization. Having conquered their senses, they have climbed to the summit of human consciousness. To such people a clod of dirt, a stone, and gold are the same. 9 They are equally disposed to family, enemies, and friends, to those who support them and those who are hostile, to the good and the evil alike. Because they are impartial, they rise to great heights.
10 Those who aspire to the state of yoga should seek the Self in inner solitude through meditation. With body and mind controlled they should constantly practice one-pointedness, free from expectations and attachment to material possessions.
11 Select a clean spot, neither too high nor too low, and seat yourself firmly on a cloth, a deerskin, and kusha grass. 12 Then, once seated, strive to still your thoughts. Make your mind one-pointed in meditation, and your heart will be purified. 13 Hold your body, head, and neck firmly in a straight line, and keep your eyes from wandering. 14 With all fears dissolved in the peace of the Self and all desires dedicated to Brahman, controlling the mind and fixing it on me, sit in meditation with me as your only goal. 15 With senses and mind constantly controlled through meditation, united with the Self within, an aspirant attains nirvana, the state of abiding joy and peace in me.
16 Arjuna, those who eat too much or eat too little, who sleep too much or sleep too little, will not succeed in meditation. 17 But those who are temperate in eating and sleeping, work and recreation, will come to the end of sorrow through meditation. 18 Through constant effort they learn to withdraw the mind from selfish cravings and absorb it in the Self. Thus they attain the state of union.
19 When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering like the flame of a lamp in a windless place. 20 In the still mind, in the depths of meditation, the Self reveals itself. Beholding the Self by means of the Self, an aspirant knows the joy and peace of complete fulfillment. 21 Having attained that abiding joy beyond the senses, revealed in the stilled mind, he never swerves from the eternal truth. 22 He desires nothing else, and cannot be shaken by the heaviest burden of sorrow.
23 The practice of meditation frees one from all affliction. This is the path of yoga. Follow it with determination and sustained enthusiasm. 24 Renouncing wholeheartedly all selfish desires and expectations, use your will to control the senses. 25 Little by little, through patience and repeated effort, the mind will become stilled in the Self.
26 Wherever the mind wanders, restless and diffuse in its search for satisfaction without, lead it within; train it to rest in the Self 27 Abiding joy comes to those who still the mind. Freeing themselves from the taint of self-will, with their consciousness unified, they become one with Brahman.
28 The infinite joy of touching Brahman is easily attained by those who are free from the burden of evil and established within themselves. 29 They see the Self in every creature and all creation in the Self. With consciousness unified through meditation, they see everything with an equal eye.
30 I am ever present to those who have realized me in every creature. Seeing all life as my manifestation, they are never separated from me. 31 They worship me in the hearts of all, and all their actions proceed from me. Wherever they may live, they abide in me.
32 When a person responds to the joys and sorrows of others as if they were his own, he has attained the highest state of spiritual union.
ARJUNA
33 O Krishna, the stillness of divine union which you describe is beyond my comprehension. How can the mind, which is so restless, attain lasting peace? 34 Krishna, the mind is restless, turbulent, powerful, violent; trying to control it is like trying to tame the wind.
KRISHNA
35 It is true that the mind is restless and difficult to control. But it can be conquered, Arjuna, through regular practice and detachment. 36 Those who lack self-control will find it difficult to progress in meditation; but those who are self-controlled, striving earnestly through the right means, will attain the goal.
ARJUNA
37 Krishna, what happens to the man who has faith but who lacks self-control and wanders from the path, not attaining success in yoga? 38 If a man becomes deluded on the spiritual path, will he lose the support of both worlds, like a cloud scattered in the sky?39Krishna, you can dispel all doubts; remove this doubt which binds me.
KRISHNA
40 Arjuna, my son, such a person will not be destroyed. No one who does good work will ever come to a bad end, either here or in the world to come.
41 When such people die, they go to other realms where the righteous live. They dwell there for countless years and then are reborn into a home which is pure and prosperous. 42 Or they may be born into a family where meditation is practiced; to be born into such a family is extremely rare. 43 The wisdom they have acquired in previous lives will be reawakened, Arjuna, and they will strive even harder for Self-realization. 44 Indeed, they will be driven on by the strength of their past disciplines. Even one who inquires after the practice of meditation rises above those who simply perform rituals.
45 Through constant effort over many lifetimes, a person becomes purified of all selfish desires and attains the supreme goal of life.
46 Meditation is superior to severe asceticism and the path of knowledge. It is also superior to selfless service. May you attain the goal of meditation, Arjuna! 47 Even among those who meditate, that man or woman who worships me with perfect faith, completely absorbed in me, is the most firmly established in yoga.