Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 36

Chapter 6 verse 36

“Yoga, I think, is hard to be attained by one of uncontrolled self; but the self-controlled, striving, can obtain it by proper means.”

What is the proper means to gain control of the body, mind and intellect through yoga? It is the act of discipline of the body activities, training the mind to not lose energy in fleeting thoughts all the time and intellect to work on only what is dharmic, according to one’s svadharma and sattvic. It is important to note that Lord is just suggesting to Arjuna how to go about reaching the pinnacles of yoga. That’s why the word ‘I think’. He is not saying you have to do this because I told you so. The Lord has set up the entire Universe based on the laws of nature and karma and Man reaps what he sows. Grace is available in equal parts to everyone who wants to tap into it. We need to know to open the tap and receive the abundance of divine grace!

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 35

Chapter 6 verse 35

“The blessed Lord said: Undoubtedly, the mind is difficult to control and restless; but, by practice, and by dispassion, it is restrained.”

Any wise person first has the empathy to understand where the other person is situated, puts themselves in the other person’s place and then shares their perspective. Lord Krishna is the wisest of the wise and Lord of all saints and sages. He most compassionately starts by agreeing with Arjuna about the difficulty of controlling the mind but also lovingly explains that with self restraint and dispassion, it is possible to control the mind. In vivekachudamani, Adi Shankara talks about the method by which the Self can be realized. The first habit to develop for that path is “Vairagya” or dispassion. The Vedas and Upanishads are full of utterances which say “na iti”- this is not me or this is not mine. By detaching ourselves from identification of self with body, mind and intellect and with only the immutable Self, the path of Self realization begins.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 34

Chapter 6 verse 34

“The mind verily is restless, turbulent, strong and unyielding; I deem it quite as difficult to control as the wind”

Arjuna as if seeking clarification for all of us spiritual seekers, states that it is indeed very difficult to control the mind whose difficulty is comparable to controlling the wind or for that matter any force of nature. In our scriptures, ‘deva’ is not just the divine beings of a upper world but also denotes our senses. The metaphor of the Indra- who is lord of the devas is to signify that, he who controls the senses, controls the world. He who falls victim to the senses, succumbs to the vagaries of the world. Arjuna, after hearing Krishna enumerate how to control one’s mind and focus attention on the immutable soul is not convinced how to go about it. The power of the inherent vasanas or tendencies in each of us is so strong that even when the Divine is directly advising us, we cannot receive the knowledge until we are ready for it! Is that not obvious after almost 6 chapters of the Bhagavat Gita and so many years of all of our lives being lived in this illusory existence.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 33

Chapter 6 verse 33

“Arjuna said: This ‘yoga of equanimity’ taught by you, I see not its enduring continuity because of the restlessness of the mind”

Arjuna is an innocent seeker and is asking a sincere question which plagues many of us spiritual aspirants. Majority of us identify ourselves with the body, mind and intellect complex and find it very difficult to get over the fickle mind and its vicissitudes. The compassion of Krishna in this instance to impart this knowledge of mind control to a spiritual layman like Arjuna can only be Divine compassion. This aspect should teach us a lesson that the Lord is ocean of compassion and will not let us down if we surrender to Him and sincerely seek his help.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 32

Chapter 6 verse 32

“He, who, through the sameness of the Self, sees equality everywhere, be it pleasure or pain, is regarded as the highest yogi”

Yoga is union-the usual definition is union of the body, mind and intellect with the immutable Self. Krishna has in addition given various definitions of yoga in this chapter-union with severance from pain, union with the Self of everyone else, union with equanimity during pair of opposites-pleasure or pain, happiness or sorrow, fame or shame etc., This is the same state Krishna talks about in chapter 2- Sthitha Prajna- person who has complete control of the mind and makes it steady. Krishna has repeated the description of this state of being multiple times already in different verses of the Bhagavat Gita so far. Some lessons are worth repeating especially if it is being drilled into our souls by Divine themselves.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 31

Chapter 6 verse 31

“He, who, being established in unity worships Me, dwelling in all beings, that yogi abides in Me whatever be his mode of living”

The person who realizes that the supreme being- Paramatma is ONE and that entity pervades everyone and everything in this universe reaches the state of eternal bliss and once they reach that state, what they do for a living on a daily basis does not matter. They don’t do anything in spite of their actions, they don’t think anything in spite of their thoughts since those thoughts don’t cling to them.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 6 verse 30

Chapter 6 verse 30

“He, who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, he never gets separated from Me nor do I get separated from him”

All forms of yoga attain the same goal- supreme knowledge. When the innate understanding happens that “Isa vashyam idham sarvam”-everything is divinity personified, then the person does not have to gain anything more. Karma, Bhakti, Raja and Jnana yoga all culminate in knowledge of the supreme being and immutable Self. Once the total surrender happens, the self merges into the Divine.