In the sixth chapter, Lord Krishna stresses on the constant vigilance of both the body and the mind. He tells about the upliftment of the Atma, about how to meditate, about the qualities, and the attributes of the person of meditation, about balance, about the wandering, and the fickle mind, and how to control it. Even the person who has strayed from the path of yoga, can be redeemed, he can also be liberated, and no harm ever comes to one who treads the path of good, he tells about all these.
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Lord Krishna tells Arjuna: One who keeps on doing his prescribed and his ordained duty, without the desire for any reward, he is the yogi, he is the sanyasi. He is not a sanyasi, who stops doing sacrifice, and who does not do any work.
Partha, consider only disciplined work, only disciplined activity, to be renunciation, and also understand this, that nobody can become a yogi, without renouncing all his selfish desires, all his selfish motives, and all his passions, as well as the rewards of all his actions.
For the person who seeks to attain yoga, selfless action is the way. When he has attained yoga, then to remain there, and to go forward from there, peace and stability are the way.
When a person is not entangled in the objects of the senses, or in his actions, and when he renounces all his desires, then is he said to have attained yoga, then is he called a yogi.
Man has to work for his own upliftment, for his own salvation. He has to uplift, and redeem himself.
Through his mind, he should lift himself upward, never letting his mind fall, because the mind is the enemy, and the mind is the friend.
One who has subdued and controlled his mind, his own mind becomes his best friend, his biggest ally; but for the one who has not controlled his mind, his very own mind, becomes his biggest enemy, his biggest foe.
When a person has controlled his mind, and on controlling the mind, when he experiences complete peace, and tranquility, then his Atma always remains in meditation. In heat and in cold, in honour and in dishonour, in happiness and in sorrow; in all these conditions, he is always at peace.
The person whose Atma, whose Spirit, is satisfied by both learnt and experienced knowledge and wisdom, who is still, stable and firm, and who has subdued his senses, and for whom mud, stones, gems, diamonds, gold and silver, are all the same, such an impartial person is considered to be full of yoga, he is considered to be joined with the Supreme.
The person who does not distinguish between friend and foe, between well wishers and haters, between the good hearted and the evil, between relatives and the unknown, between the partial and the neutral; who sees all equally and as the same, that person is considered to be superior, to be the foremost among men.
The yogi should sit alone, in a secluded place and, always alert, he should bring his mind under his control. Desiring nothing, he should concentrate, and focus his mind only on the Param Atma.
He should sit in a good, clean place, on a comfortable seat, neither too high, nor too low, and he should focus his mind, to bring his consciousness under his control.
For the purification of the soul, the yogi should practice meditation.
He should keep his body, his neck, and his head, erect and still. He should not move or fidget.
He should look at the tip of his nose, not look anywhere else, and not allow the eyes to wander.
With steady mind, without any fear, pure in heart and mind, with patience, he should turn his mind towards Me, and, focusing only on Me, he should make Me the object of his deepest devotion.
In this way, the yogi who has brought his mind under control, always engaged in yoga, attains that peace and final release, liberation, and redemption, which is situated in Me.
Yoga is not for the glutton, it is not for one who eats too much, nor is yoga for him who starves himself, it is not for the one who does not eat at all.
Yoga is not for him who sleeps too much, or for him who keeps awake too much.
The person whose eating and recreation, both are regulated, whose all desires, and all efforts are regulated, whose sleep and waking are regulated, the life of such a one becomes completely disciplined, and it is this discipline that destroys all his sorrows.
The person who is able to extinguish all the desires of his consciousness, and who, disciplining himself, sets himself firmly, and stays only in his Atma, then is he said to be absorbed in yoga.
A lamp in a sheltered place, protected from the wind, does not flicker, and burns steadily. The yogi, who has brought his consciousness under control, and who has, through the practice of yoga, also brought his mind and his Atma under his discipline and control, he is like the sheltered lamp, always calm, composed and steady.
When his consciousness, which has been controlled by meditation, and is absorbed in yoga, becomes tranquil, then, through his intelligence, he sees his own Atma, as the Divine Atma, and finally, he finds joy in that Atma.
There he finds that supreme joy and bliss which is beyond the reach of his intelligence, his mind and his senses and, after reaching which, and situated in which, he is never far from the truth, and is never again confused or baffled.
On attaining that stage, he understands and realizes, that he could get nothing better, nothing bigger, and being situated in which, he is not affected by the deepest of sorrows. Even the biggest of misfortunes and adversity to not affect him.
That state, that stage, is called yoga. The bonds, the chains that bind us to sorrow, and which prevent us from uniting with the Supreme, cutting those very bonds, cutting those very chains, is called yoga.
That yoga should be practiced with firm resolve, with strong desire, and with calm and tranquil mind and consciousness.
Renouncing all the desires, and all the passions that result from his selfish motives, renouncing them completely, controlling all the senses, and the mind from all sides, and persevering, with patient intelligence, he should make himself calm and tranquil, for making his mind and his Atma still and steady. He should attain the meditative state, and not think of anything.
Where ever the fickle and the unsteady mind wanders, from there he should get hold of it, and bring it back under the control of his Atma.
The greatest happiness comes to that yogi, whose mind is calm and tranquil, who has rid his mind of all taints, who is sinless, who is free from the sins of the past, and who has become one with the Supreme, the Param Atma.
In this way the yogi, who has rid himself of all his sins, whose Atma is always engaged in yoga, such a yogi easily experiences the ultimate joy, that comes from contact with the Supreme.
The person who is absorbed in yoga, who sees everyone with the same impartial eye, he sees Me, the Param Atma residing in all living beings, and he sees the Atma of all living beings, residing in Me, the Param Atma.
He sees every one, and he sees every thing as the same. He sees unity in all My diverse creation.
He who sees Me everywhere, and in every thing, and who sees every thing in Me, I am never separate from him, nor is he ever separate from Me.
The yogi, who single pointedly focused, seeing Me present and living in the hearts of all beings, worships Me, no matter how active he is, no matter how many actions he does, he would still dwell in Me.
The person who considers every thing and everyone like himself, who considers both joy and sorrow as the same, even though he himself may be in joy, or he himself may be in sorrow, such a one is considered to be complete yogi.
Hearing these words of Lord Krishna, Arjuna says to him : Lord, this yoga of equipoise, of keeping the mind balanced, and under control, because of the fickle nature of the mind, I find it very difficult to practice. For the mind is very fickle, sharp and obstinate, and controlling it would be like controlling the wind, very, very difficult.
Lord Krishna replies : You are right Partha, the mind is, indeed, very fickle, and bringing it under control would also be very difficult. Still understand that through constant practice, through renunciation, and through detachment, the mind can be brought under control.
I also believe that attaining yoga is not for him who has not controlled himself. But the controlled person, through perseverance and determination, using appropriate techniques, can bring his mind under his control.
Another doubt seizes Arjuna's mind and he asks Krishna : Lord, a person, who, full of faith and devotion, worships you constantly, but because of a fickle and restless mind, he is not able to control himself, and after having started on the path of yoga, he strays from that path, and does not reach the final goal of redemption and liberation, what is his condition?
Fallen from both the spiritual and the material planes, without a firm hold anywhere, after straying from the path leading to the Absolute, like a rent cloud, does he not perish? Does he not get destroyed? Dispel this doubt of mine completely, because there is no one but you who can do so.
Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna : Listen Partha, listen dear friend, the person who does good work, who does good actions and who treads the path of goodness, never ever comes to any harm. He can never perish in this world or in any other.
The person who strays from the path of yoga, goes to the worlds of the pure souled. He stays there for many, many years, and is again born in the homes of the good, the prosperous, and spiritual people. Or he may even be born in the homes of intelligent yogis. Such a birth in this world is very rare indeed.
There he remembers all his previous efforts of trying to attain Brahm, and using that as another beginning, he again renews his efforts to reach the Supreme.
Such a person, such a yogi, who has strayed from the path of yoga, he, too, on account of the efforts and practice put in by him during his previous births, is propelled onward, is pushed forward, and on attaining the knowledge of yoga, such an inquirer, goes beyond the norms and the teachings of the Vedas and the Scriptures.
But that yogi, who, cleansed of all sins, and purified through rigorous labour and effort, who constantly keeps trying to reach the Ultimate, to make himself complete; he, on account of the efforts of all his previous births, and the resulting realization, keeps on progressing, and ultimately, eventually, he gains liberation and salvation.
The yogi is greater than the ascetics who do austerities. He is greater than the wise, and greater than those who do actions only for themselves. He is also greater than those who do rituals prescribed in the Scriptures. Therefore, Partha, you become a yogi.
And among all the yogis too, I consider that yogi to be the biggest yogi, who completely surrenders his body and his soul to Me, and worships Me with the utmost faith and devotion.
END OF CHAPTER SIX
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om
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