Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (47 page)

TRANSLATION

For one who is a neophyte in the eightfold yoga system, work is said to be the means; and for one who has already attained to yoga, cessation of all material activities is said to be the means.

PURPORT

The process of linking oneself with the Supreme is called
yoga,
which may be compared to a ladder for attaining the topmost spiritual realization. This ladder begins from the lowest material condition of the living entity and rises up to perfect self-realization in pure spiritual life. According to various elevations, different parts of the ladder are known by different names. But all in all, the complete ladder is called
yoga
and may be divided into three parts, namely
jñāna-yoga, dhyāna-yoga
and
bhakti-yoga.
The beginning of the ladder is called the
yogārurukṣa
stage, and the highest rung is called
yogārūḍha.

Concerning the eightfold
yoga
system, attempts in the beginning to enter into meditation through regulative principles of life and practice of different sitting postures (which are more or less bodily exercises) are considered fruitive material activities. All such activities lead to achieving perfect mental equilibrium to control the senses. When one is accomplished in the practice of meditation, he ceases all disturbing mental activities.

A Kṛṣṇa conscious person is, however, situated from the beginning on the platform of meditation because he always thinks of Kṛṣṇa. And, being constantly engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa, he is considered to have ceased all material activities.

Bg 6.4

TEXT 4

TEXT

yadā hi nendriyārtheṣu

na karmasv anuṣajjate

sarva-saṅkalpa-sannyāsī

yogārūḍhas tadocyate

SYNONYMS

yadā-
when;
hi-
certainly;
na-
not;
indriya-artheṣu-
in sense gratification;
na-
never;
karmasu-
in fruitive activities;
anuṣajjate-
does necessarily engage;
sarva-saṅkalpa-
all material desires;
sannyāsī-
renouncer;
yoga-ārūḍhaḥ-
elevated in
yoga; tadā-
at that time;
ucyate-
is said to be.

TRANSLATION

A person is said to have attained to yoga when, having renounced all material desires, he neither acts for sense gratification nor engages in fruitive activities.

PURPORT

When a person is fully engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, he is pleased in himself, and thus he is no longer engaged in sense gratification or in fruitive activities. Otherwise, one must be engaged in sense gratification, since one cannot live without engagement. Without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one must be always seeking self-centered or extended selfish activities. But a Kṛṣṇa conscious person can do everything for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa and thereby be perfectly detached from sense gratification. One who has no such realization must mechanically try to escape material desires before being elevated to the top rung of the
yoga
ladder.

Bg 6.5

TEXT 5

TEXT

uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ

nātmānam avasādayet

ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur

ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ

SYNONYMS

uddharet-
one must deliver;
ātmanā-
by the mind;
ātmānam-
the conditioned soul;
na-
never;
ātmānam-
the conditioned soul;
avasādayet-
put into degradation;
ātmā-
mind;
eva-
certainly;
hi-
indeed;
ātmanaḥ-
of the conditioned soul;
bandhuḥ-
friend;
ātmā-
mind;
eva-
certainly;
ripuḥ-
enemy;
ātmanaḥ-
of the conditioned soul.

TRANSLATION

A man must elevate himself by his own mind, not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.

PURPORT

The word
ātmā
denotes body, mind and soul-depending upon different circumstances. In the
yoga
system, the mind and the conditioned soul are especially important. Since the mind is the central point of
yoga
practice,
ātmā
refers here to the mind. The purpose of the
yoga
system is to control the mind and to draw it away from attachment to sense objects. It is stressed herein that the mind must be so trained that it can deliver the conditioned soul from the mire of nescience. In material existence one is subjected to the influence of the mind and the senses. In fact, the pure soul is entangled in the material world because of the mind's ego which desires to lord it over material nature. Therefore, the mind should be trained so that it will not be attracted by the glitter of material nature, and in this way the conditioned soul may be saved. One should not degrade oneself by attraction to sense objects. The more one is attracted by sense objects, the more one becomes entangled in material existence. The best way to disentangle oneself is to always engage the mind in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The word
hi
is
used for emphasizing this point, i.e., that one
must
do this. It is also said:

mana eva manuṣyāṇāṁ kāraṇaṁ bandha-mokṣayoḥ
bandhāya viṣayāsaṅgo muktyai nirviṣayaṁ manaḥ.

"For man, mind is the cause of bondage and mind is the cause of liberation. Mind absorbed in sense objects is the cause of bondage, and mind detached from the sense objects is the cause of liberation." Therefore, the mind which is always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the cause of supreme liberation.

Bg 6.6

TEXT 6

TEXT

bandhur ātmātmanas tasya

yenātmaivātmanā jitaḥ

anātmanas tu śatrutve

vartetātmaiva śatru-vat

SYNONYMS

bandhuḥ-
friend;
ātmā-
mind;
ātmanaḥ-
of the living entity;
tasya-
of him;
yena-
by whom;
ātmā-
mind;
eva-
certainly;
ātmanā-
by the living entity;
jitaḥ-
conquered;
anātmanaḥ-
of one who has failed to control the mind;
tu-
but;
śatrutve-
because of enmity;
varteta-
remains;
ātmā eva-
the very mind;
śatruvat-
as an enemy.

TRANSLATION

For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his very mind will be the greatest enemy.

PURPORT

The purpose of practicing eightfold
yoga
is
to control the mind in order to make it a friend in discharging the human mission. Unless the mind is controlled, the practice of
yoga
(for show) is simply a waste of time. One who cannot control his mind lives always with the greatest enemy, and thus his life and its mission are spoiled. The constitutional position of the living entity is to carry out the order of the superior. As long as one's mind remains an unconquered enemy, one has to serve the dictations of lust, anger, avarice, illusion, etc. But when the mind is conquered, one voluntarily agrees to abide by the dictation of the Personality of Godhead, who is situated within the heart of everyone as Paramātmā. Real
yoga
practice entails meeting the Paramātmā within the heart and then following His dictation. For one who takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness directly, perfect surrender to the dictation of the Lord follows automatically.

Bg 6.7

TEXT 7

TEXT

jitātmanaḥ praśāntasya

paramātmā samāhitaḥ

śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣu

tathā mānāpamānayoḥ

SYNONYMS

jita-ātmanaḥ-
of one who has conquered his mind;
praśāntasya-
of one who has attained tranquility by such control over the mind;
paramātmā-
the Supersoul;
samāhitaḥ-
approached completely;
śīta-
cold;
uṣṇa-
heat;
sukha
-in happiness;
duḥkheṣu-
in distress;
tathā-
also;
māna
-honor;
apamānayoḥ-
in dishonor.

TRANSLATION

For one who has conquered the mind, the Supersoul is already reached, for he has attained tranquility. To such a man happiness and distress, heat and cold, honor and dishonor are all the same.

PURPORT

Actually, every living entity is intended to abide by the dictation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is seated in everyone's heart as Paramātmā. When the mind is misled by the external illusory energy, one becomes entangled in material activities. Therefore, as soon as one's mind is controlled through one of the
yoga
systems, one is to be considered as having already reached the destination. One has to abide by superior dictation. When one's mind is fixed on the superior nature, he has no other alternative but to follow the dictation of the Supreme. The mind must admit some superior dictation and follow it. The effect of controlling the mind is that one automatically follows the dictation of the Paramātmā or Supersoul. Because this transcendental position is at once achieved by one who is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the devotee of the Lord is unaffected by the dualities of material existence, namely distress and happiness, cold and heat, etc. This state is practical
samādhi,
or absorption in the Supreme.

Bg 6.8

TEXT 8

TEXT

jñāna-vijñāna-tṛptātmā

kūṭa-stho vijitendriyaḥ

yukta ity ucyate yogī

sama-loṣṭrāśma-kāñcanaḥ

SYNONYMS

jjñāna-
acquired knowledge;
vijñāna-
realized knowledge;
tṛpta-
satisfied;
ātmā
-living entity;
kūṭasthaḥ-
spiritually situated;
vijita-indriyaḥ-
sensually controlled;
yuktaḥ
-competent for self-realization;
iti
-thus;
ucyate
-is said;
yogī
-the mystic;
sama
-equiposed;
loṣṭra-
pebbles;
aśma-
stone;
kāñcanaḥ-
gold.

TRANSLATION

A person is said to be established in self-realization and is called a yogī [or mystic] when he is fully satisfied by virtue of acquired knowledge and realization. Such a person is situated in transcendence and is self-controlled. He sees everything-whether it be pebbles, stones or gold-as the same.

PURPORT

Book knowledge without realization of the Supreme Truth is useless. This is stated as follows:

ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ
sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ.

"No one can understand the transcendental nature of the name, form, quality and pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa through his materially contaminated senses. Only when one becomes spiritually saturated by transcendental service to the Lord are the transcendental name, form, quality and pastimes of the Lord revealed to him."
(Padma Purāṇa)

This
Bhagavad-gītā
is
the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. No one can become Kṛṣṇa conscious simply by mundane scholarship. One must be fortunate enough to associate with a person who is in pure consciousness. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person has realized knowledge, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, because he is satisfied with pure devotional service. By realized knowledge, one becomes perfect. By transcendental knowledge one can remain steady in his convictions, but by mere academic knowledge one can be easily deluded and confused by apparent contradictions. It is the realized soul who is actually self-controlled because he is surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. He is transcendental because he has nothing to do with mundane scholarship. For him mundane scholarship and mental speculation, which may be as good as gold to others, are of no greater value than pebbles or stones.

Bg 6.9

TEXT 9

TEXT

suhṛn-mitrāry-udāsīna-

madhyastha-dveṣya-bandhuṣu

sādhuṣv api ca pāpeṣu

sama-buddhir viśiṣyate

SYNONYMS

suhṛt-
by nature a well-wisher;
mitra-
benefactor with affection;
ari
-enemy;
udāsīna-
neutral between the belligerents;
madhyastha-
mediator between the belligerents;
dveṣya-
envious;
bandhuṣu-
among the relatives or well-wishers;
sādhuṣu-
unto the pious;
api-
as well as;
ca-
and;
pāpeṣu
-unto the sinners;
sama-buddhiḥ-
having equal intelligence;
viśiṣyate
-is far advanced.

TRANSLATION

A person is said to be still further advanced when he regards all-the honest well-wisher, friends and enemies, the envious, the pious, the sinner and those who are indifferent and impartial-with an equal mind.

Bg 6.10

TEXT 10

TEXT

yogī yuñjīta satatam

ātmānaṁ rahasi sthitaḥ

ekākī yata-cittātmā

nirāśīr aparigrahaḥ

SYNONYMS

yogī
-a transcendentalist;
yuñjīta-
must concentrate in Kṛṣṇa consciousness;
satatam-
constantly;
ātmānam-
himself (by the body, mind and self);
rahasi-
in a secluded place;
sthitaḥ-
being so situated;
ekākī-
alone;
yata-cittātmā-
always careful in mind;
nirāśīḥ-
without being attracted by anything else;
aparigrahaḥ-
free from the feeling of possessiveness.