Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 29

Chapter 6 verse 29

“With the mind harmonized by yoga, he sees the Self abiding in all beings and all beings in the Self; he sees the same everywhere”

When an individual’s frame of reference goes beyond their body, mind, intellect and starts expanding to all things, beings and objects of the surrounding world as their own and no different than themselves, one has become a true yogi then. Complete Knowledge or purna vidya is the only way to get to this state of being. The famous sage sukha, son of vedha vyasa, who was associated with all beings on earth and call for Sukha in one instance was answered by the trees, birds and forest itself since he had merged his Self into the cosmos. Sanatana Dharma is an experiential way of life with plenty of history, concepts, lab experiments done in the lab of life itself to get inspired from and lead a purposeful life.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 28

Chapter 6 verse 28 

“The yogi, always engaging the mind thus in the practice of yoga, freed from sins, easily enjoys the infinite Bliss of ‘Brahman-contact’” 

Yoga in this verse refers to the detachment from the body, mind and intellect and attachment to the immutable Self and infinite Bliss. When the person is in that state, no action or thought is attached to the doer since the doer does not claim authorship for the action or thought!

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 27

Chapter 6 verse 27

“Supreme bliss verily comes to this yogi, whose mind is quite peaceful, whose passion is quietened, who is free from sin and who has become brahman”

Continuing on from previous verses, Lord says that when the mind is bereft of thoughts which one doesn’t cling on it, the passion which arises from desire laden thoughts and actions is automatically quelled and the hence the source of distraction is eliminated to get to the immutable Self. Sin in sanatana dharma is nothing but actions and thoughts which takes one away from dharma-right thing to do or think. The consequence of a sin from the law of karma is that one needs to exhaust the effect of that thought or action in a future time. Nobody is permanently condemned to heaven or hell based on their deeds-meritorious or sinful. Heaven and hell are not permanent places in sanatana dharma. They exist both on earth and elsewhere. In fact every moment could be heaven and hell based on our thoughts, actions and perceptions. The only refugee is to stay with the dharmic way and pursue the highest purpose in life, to get liberated from this cycle of birth and death!

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 26

Chapter 6 verse 26

“From whatever cause the restless and unsteady mind wanders away, from that let him restrain it and bring it back under the control of the Self alone”

What causes the mind to wander away? Thoughts. If we let thought go by without clinging on to it then it would help the mind not to waver or restless. It is very difficult to do but stillness of body and posture is helpful and slowly with practice, stillness of mind is achieved.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 24-25

Chapter 6 verse 24-25 

“Abandoning, without reserve, all desires born of sankalpa, and completely restraining the whole group of senses by the mind from all sides, little by little, let him attain quetitude by his intellect held firm; having made the mind established in the Self, let him not think of anything” 

The other day, I listened to a speech from Sri Sri Ravishankar who said that one should take a sankalpa to achieve something and promptly offer that desire to the Lord and surrender. That sankalpa should not be thought about again. This act of surrending our sankalpas to divine is the culmination of all yogas-karma, bhakti, raja and jnana. As well, difference between the mind and intellect is that mind is the storehouse of emotions from thoughts and intellect helps converts these thoughts into ideas and action. If the mind is able to achieve the dismissal of thoughts, then quietness is achieved and hence abandoning sankalpas is possible. This is a profound technique. It is not that men will not have desires. We just need the forbearance to give it up in the altar of divine.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 23

Chapter 6 verse 23

“Let it be known; the severance from the union with pain is yoga. This yoga should be practiced with determination and with a mind steady and without despair”

In Upanishads, our ancient sages have sometimes explained concepts through negation instead of enumerating what a particular concept means; they talk about what it is not. “Na ithi-not that”. Likewise, Lord reminds us that even though yoga means union of body, mind, intellect with the immutable soul, it also means to severe oneself from the union of pain. As my Guruji says, pain is inevitable, suffering is completely optional. To detach oneself from the effects of pain is to be in yogic state of being. This mental fortitude and determination to practice not to suffer due to pain inflicted is also yoga. How can that happen? If we surrendered ourselves wholly to our Guru/God, then everything which happens to us is just a passing cloud which wets us with a downpour of rain but once the cloud passes, sun is shining bright again. Nothing lasts forever, even pain and suffering!

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 22

Chapter 6 verse 22

“Which having obtained, he thinks there is no other gain superior to it; wherein established, he is not moved even by heavy sorrow”

Once the person attains the state of eternal bliss and becomes a yogi and in nirvikalpa Samadhi, there is nothing else to attain and pair of opposites do not affect that person- neither heavy sorrow or huge gains, suffering or elation, heat and cold etc., This is the reason why it is said that once a person reaches the state of Jivan mukta, any action performed does that attach to them since they don’t associate themselves to that action. The doer ship is completely dropped.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 21

Chapter 6 verse 21

“When, the yogi feels that infinite Bliss, which can be grasped by the pure intellect and which transcends the senses-wherein established he never moves from the Reality”

Lord points to the infinite bliss as a state which transcends body, mind, intellect and the senses. Once the person gets to this state, there is no returning back from jivan mukthi. The person is said to have attained nirvikalpa Samadhi. We may however get to more temporary states of bliss such as sleep state or even momentary states of thoughtlessness which are not to be confused for this eternal state of bliss. The bliss state cannot be realized by the body, mind, intellect or senses but only understood by that Self itself. Anything which can be described is NOT that state!

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 20

Chapter 6 verse 20

“When the mind, restrained by the practice of yoga, attains quietitude and seeing the Self by the self, he is satisfied in his own Self;”

In Tripura rahasya, a scripture of the conversation between Lord Dattatreya and Parasurama, there are several stories of men from ancient times who tried to control the mind through the mind. Dattatreya says that is not possible. One cannot control the mind by itself. Purging thoughts as it appears is a great way to quiet the mind. This approach might take long but it is not impossible. It is also said that sankalpa or desires to achieve something by itself is not bad. One could come up with a sankalpa and then drop it. Clinging on to the desire of fruit of action is what causes issues.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 19

Chapter 6 verse 19

“’As a lamp placed in a windless place does not flicker’, is a simile used to describe a yogi of controlled mind, practicing yoga of the Self”

Swami Chinmayananda used to joke about how a head of the household shuts him off in a room in the house and says he is going to meditate and cannot be disturbed. The whole house has to be silent for his meditation session. When I began my meditation practice over a year ago, I used to exhibit the same behavior. Over time, I realized that what I really need to shut off is my thought not the external environment. Is it easy? Not really but when the external environment stops affecting oneself less and less over time, that’s progress. The lamp can glow in a windless place without flickering for sure, could we strengthen the lamp in such a way to not get affected even when there is considerable wind of life situations blowing through? That’s what that the yogi is able to achieve. Let us strive to be there!

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 18

Chapter 6 verse 18

“When the perfectly controlled mind rests in the Self only, free from longing for all objects of desires, then it is said: ‘He is united’ (Yuktah)”

When the mind and intellect withdraws it from external objects of desires and attachments and focuses inward towards immutable Self, the person becomes one with the divine and becomes a ‘Yuktah’-united with the divine or other original Self. This meditative state could be practiced every moment of everyday if we focus on the present moment only and not dissipate energy with needless thoughts and action.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 17

Chapter 6 verse 17

“Yoga becomes the destroyer of pain for him who is moderate in eating and recreation, who is moderate in his exertion during his actions, who is moderate in sleep and wakefulness”

It is interesting that the absolute truth as stated by the ancient sages, incarnations of the divine holds true for all ages. Each individual discovers this truth at their appointed time in their own right. Buddha discovered moderate living and that enabled him to reach state of enlightenment. The Lord is just pointing to the same knowledge which is already existing in ‘sanatana dharma’ and in its scriptures-Vedas. The truth is one, wise men say it in different ways-‘Ekam sat, vipraha bahuda vadanthi’. Scriptures have clearly mentioned that there is no need for extreme actions for bodily functions in order to realize Self. Treating the body as a vehicle to effect transformation from man to godliness is important and not associating oneself with the body, mind and intellect complex is the recipe for that to happen. For example, if one sits in an uncomfortable position to meditate, how can the mind concentrate?

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 16

Chapter 6 verse 16

 “Verily, yoga is not possible for him, who eats too much, nor for him who does not eat at all, nor for him who sleeps too much, nor for him who is always awake” 

I just finished reading a book by my Guruji-Om Swami called “Mind full to Mindful” on Zen meditation where he begins with an episode of the Buddha where he realizes (satori or instant realization in Japanese) listening to a sitar player talking about how the string could be too tight or too loose and both are not good. Likewise, Buddha realized that too much pleasure while he was at the palace or complete depravation of the body now are not good either. Once he realized this mistake, he started feeding himself appropriately having understood that depriving the body of food in order to attain Self realization is not smart at all. Treating hunger as a disease of the body and treat it in a timely fashion is advice Adi Sankara has also given in his “sadhana panchakam” as well. Krishna in this verse talks about moderation in eating, sleeping and other activities in order to manage energies around the person who is aspiring to achieve Self realization through meditation.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 15

Chapter 6 verse 15

“Thus, always keeping the mind balanced, the yogi, with his mind controlled, attains the peace abiding in Me, which culminates in total liberation or Moksa”

Mind control and thoughtlessness is the key to effective meditative state. Once the body, mind and intellect complex is lost by the individual soul, the person can attain the eternal peace which is the abode of the divine lord. He says that peace which abides in Me can be attained. “Shanthi” takes on a whole new meaning here. Permanent peace is what is being referred to in this verse.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 14

Chapter 6 verse 14

“Serene-minded, fearless, firm in the vow of Brahmacarya, having controlled the mind, meditating, thinking of Me and balanced, let him sit, having Me as the supreme goal”

With single pointed focus on attaining Brahman, with no desires and focused on the supreme divine power, when a person meditates, they attain peace and bliss.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 13

Chapter 6 verse 13

“Let him firmly hold his body, head, and neck erect and still, gazing at the tip of the nose, without looking around”

Further in the position recommended for artful and peaceful meditation, Lord asks that the meditator keeps the body, head and neck erect and straight as an arrow and maintain stillness of the body. While maintaining this stillness, one should let the eyes focus on an object such as the tip of the nose without taking their gaze from this object just to focus the mind and eliminate all thoughts. Zen meditation asks one to focus on an object or gaze on the wall. Zen came much later. Krishna has taken pains to describe in detail meditative techniques and posture and this signifies how important body, mind and intellect control is to reach eternal bliss and realize the higher Self.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 11-12

Chapter 6 verse 11-12

“Having established a firm seat of his own in a clean spot, neither too high nor too low, made of a cloth, a skin and kusa-grass, one over the other-there, having made the mind single pointed, with the actions of the mind and the senses controlled, let him, seated on the seat, practice yoga for the purification of the self”

In the earlier verse, Krishna talked about how to control the mind and body and bring about thought control. In these 2 verses, Krishna links the stillness of the mind to the stillness of the body. Correct posture during meditation ensures building up of the correct levels of energy and keeps the energy without it getting dissipated. Choosing a clean location, correct elevation, correct seat and then taking the mind and intellect inward towards contemplation of oneself in the Self is key to a good meditation.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 10

Chapter 6 verse 10

“Let the yogi try constantly to keep the mind steady, remaining in solitude, alone with the mind and body controlled, free from hope and greed”

There are 2 key points to ponder over in this verse. The person who brings all their energy and attention to the present moment and thus eliminate the anticipation of the future or the thoughts from the past is free from expectation of a particular result in the future born out of desire and greed. They also are the ones who bring their body, mind and intellect under control and even if they are among other beings, practice the art of solitude in their actions and thoughts. In other words, be in a constant meditative state at all times. These 2 points would qualify a great yogi!

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 9

Chapter 6 verse 9

“He, who is of the same mind to the good-hearted, friends, relatives, enemies, the indifferent, the neutral, the hateful, the righteous and the unrighteous, excels”

Life is all about energy management. A peak performance Olympic champion athlete does not expend energy on useless things. Likewise the uber vedantin recognizes that everyone and everything surrounding them are bringing those experiences they were supposed to receive from their prarabdha karma or ripened results of actions from prior times. The people who provide various different experience and interactions are only messengers of that experience or message in order for us to learn profound lessons in the path to Self realization. These messengers are not to be despised or perched up in the roof top. Having a steady mind and treat all people interactions- good, bad, ugly or awesome as just experience to be lived, would optimize our energy expended and make us a champion vedantin!

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 8

Chapter 6 verse 8

“The yogi who is satisfied with knowledge and wisdom, who remains unshaken, who has conquered the senses, to whom a lump of earth, a stone and gold are the same, is said to be harmonized and said to have attained nirvikalpa samadi”

Further to last verse, Krishna asks to treat highs and lows, fortune and penury as same. The person who views different forms of earth matter as the same- dust, sand, dirt, stone, gold and other precious stones are just matter at the end. Even body, mind and intellect are elements of matter and are impermanent. The person with this knowledge of permanence and impermanence is said to be a harmonized being and when attains realization of higher Self, attains nirvikalpa samadi while in physical living state itself.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 7

Chapter 6 verse 7

“The supreme Self of him who is self-controlled and peaceful, is balanced in cold and heat, pleasure and pain, as also in honor and dishonor”

My guruji talks about one’s internal friends and foes- 2 internal friends of man is conscience and will power with which one can lead a sustainable, disciplined life of high morals, truth and compassion. The foes are everything which takes one away from clear conscience and strong will power to stick to the right thing to do. In this verse, Krishna is indicating that the person who uses their friends to get to the higher Self and be self-controlled and peaceful, they can wade through the pair of opposite situations- cold and heat, pleasure and pain, fame and disrepute. The various vicissitudes of life would not affect a Self centered person.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 6

Chapter 6 verse 6

 “The Self is the friend of the self for him who has conquered himself by the Self; but to the unconquered self, the Self stands in the position of an enemy like the external foe”

 It is not so much that the higher Self becomes a friend or enemy to the lower self. The egoistic person still will get constantly questioned by the higher Self on why they are walking down the wrong path and will be considered friend or enemy depending on whether the ego in them wants to listen to the higher calling. When we get counter advise even from others such as parents, siblings, friends, colleagues and relatives, one does resist that advise for a long time until we realize the truth of the advise and we heed to it. This realization sometimes comes from experience or just time is a teacher and we call that process ‘maturity’. Effort from oneself is very important to achieve equanimity of mind, body and intellect and you can phone a friend by contemplation and meditation or let the mind, intellect and ego take over and destroy ourselves. The choice is ours!

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 5 verse 5

Chapter 6 verse 5

 “Let a man lift himself by his own Self alone and let him not lower himself; for, Self alone is the friend of oneself and this Self is the enemy of oneself”

 This is a famous verse I have heard before many times but didn’t know the meaning. Even when I read the plain translation, it was not clear so I had to read Swami Chinmayananda’s commentary to comprehend this verse. Every person becomes aware of their ideal state and current state. Everyone knows in their deepest recess of their hearts what the absolute right thing to do is: Dharma. Do we do it? Do we allow the lower self to rise to the higher Self? The Guru and divine Grace can help direct a person but self effort is stressed in Bhagavat Gita and all sanatana dharma scriptures without fail time and again. This constant struggle to better oneself to rise to the higher Self and manage to stay at that space without getting pulled down again by the lower self is an important goal. We are our biggest friend and enemy in the same vein. Let us not get the ego and egoistic desires come in the way of reaching our higher Self.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 4

Chapter 6 verse 4

 “When a man is not attached to sense objects or to actions, having renounced all thoughts, he is said to have attuned to yoga”

In Vivekachudamani, Adi Shankara talks about sama aadhi sat sampathi- 6 jewels to Self attainment. Sama-mind control was talked about in the previous verse by Krishna. In this verse dama is being illustrated. Dama is the control of the sense organs. When a person controls their senses organs and organs of action, thus helping to renounce thoughts, they become a yogi and self realized person.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 3

Chapter 6 verse 3

“For a sage who wishes to attune to yoga, action is said to be the means; for the same sage who has attuned to yoga, inaction is said to be the means”

Action without expecting fruits of the action is the way to bring body, mind and intellect in unison- otherwise called yoga and person who does this would be a yogin. For the person who has accomplished this, they view both action and inaction as one and the same- sama in Sanskrit means mind control or thought control. Krishna says in earlier verse to get to a state of thoughtlessness. In this verse, he says that the yogin reaches that state in which all actions appear as if they are not doing anything and inaction is neither superior nor inferior to action at that point. This verse should not be misconstrued as a self realized yogi doesn’t need to act- just that they drop the doer ship.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 2

Chapter 6 verse 2

“Please know yoga to be that which they call renunciation; no one verily, becomes a yogi who has not renounced thoughts”

Lord further clarifies that yoga and sanyasa are both the renunciation of the fruits of action as well as thoughts binding us to senses, sense objects and desires. Residing constantly in a state of meditation and contemplation of who we are and not getting attached to the false self or ego is the key to be a yogi or a sanyasi. One can be a sanyasi right here and now.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 1

Chapter 6 verse 1

“He, who performs his bounden duty without depending on the fruits of actions, is a sanyasi (renunciate) and a yogi;not he who renounces all action and fire (in the belly and form of actions)”

Arjuna had initially wanted to run away from the battlefield and become a sanyasi and live out his existence by begging for food and living in the forest. In the last 5 chapters, Krishna has explained to him the need to act; act without expectations of a particular fruit of action and in this verse, here summarizes that entire teaching so far with both a positive affirmation and negation of what not to do. He describes who is a sanyasi and a yogi and declares who is not a sanyasi. In his opinion, the person who just walks away from his duties and loses all interest in what is assigned to him as part of the fabric of the universe is not a renunciate and no better than any other insentient being on this planet.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 5 verse 29

Chapter 5 verse 29

“Knowing Me as enjoyer of sacrifices and austerities; the great Lord of all worlds, the friend of all beings, he attains peace”

Throughout this chapter, Krishna enumerates the power of performing actions with the attitude of renunciation of the fruits of the action and detachment from the doer ship itself. He started this chapter with the saying that renunciation of action and performance of action are one and the same if we realize the attitude with which the action needs to be performed to develop complete detachment from desires. He concludes the chapter with a hard hitting message that all sacrifices, austerities and/or any action performed ultimately reaches Him. If this is realized, the person attains eternal peace.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 5 verse 28

Chapter 5 verse 28

 “With senses, mind and intellect controlled, having liberation as his supreme goal, free from desire, fear and anger, the sage is verily liberated forever”

Fear and anger are 2 sides of the desire coin. Fear happens due to uncertainty of a certain future where there is an anticipated desire and anger happens when a particular desire doesn’t come to pass in reality. To rid of all forms of desire is a state one can reach with complete control of the mechanism of body, mind and intellect. This is what is achieved by the unyielding practices of the sages or Vedanta student.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 5 verse 27

Chapter 5 verse 27

“Shutting out all external contacts and fixing the gaze as though between the eyebrows, equalizing the outgoing and incoming breath moving within the nostrils”

This is the first sloka I have encountered which gets into meditation and raja yoga in the Bhagavat Gita. There is an entire chapter coming up on meditation in chapter 6. The importance of watching the breath has been highlighted by Lord here with focus on both incoming and outgoing breath and the concentration of the eyes and attention in between the 2 eyebrows. Attempt should be made to bring mind through a single chant to a thoughtless state. It is very difficult but with God’s grace is achievable.