When the mind restrained by the practice of yoga attains that infinite bliss

Meditation Yoga 

Chapter 6, Verse 20

yatroparamate cittaṁ

niruddhaṁ yoga-sevayā

yatra caivātmanā’tmānaṁ

paśyann-ātmani tuṣyati

When the mind, restrained by the practice of yoga, attains that infinite bliss, and when seeing the Self by the mind, one is satisfied by the Self alone.

The mind of a yogi, who is fully established in God, naturally withdraws itself completely from the outside world. In that state, the outside world no longer finds its place in the mind of a yogi. This is the state of Samadhi. Samadhi is not only achieved in meditation. Once one has attained Samadhi in meditation, even if one dwells in the outside world, one is always fully in Samadhi. One does all one’s actions, whatever one needs to do, in the same state of Samadhi. One doesn’t run away from doing outer action, but one is also fully absorbed in God. Even if it appears on the outside that one is a normal human being, in reality one is not normal, one is fully in God Himself. He does everything in a state of complete detachment at all times. Such a mind is said to be still and in “infinite bliss.”

When one is sitting in meditation and attains God-Realisation, “seeing the Self by the mind,” the mind is not dwelling on the outside reality anymore, it is not dwelling on the objects of the senses. Here the Self reveals to the mind who He is: “one is satisfied by the Self alone”, because one perceives the Divine Light. When Bhagavan Krishna says that “one is satisfied by the Self alone,” He means that one perceives one’s unity with God: one perceives that one’s own Atma is the Paramatma; one sees that there is no difference between the Atma and Narayana. The Atma has all the qualities of Narayana; only the quantity is different. The Supreme has limited Himself to be present in the Atma. Within the Atma, one perceives all the divine qualities, one perceives God. For such a yogi, there is no difference between the Atma and God. The mind is completely settled, purified and the soul rejoices in God only. The mind also doesn’t rejoice elsewhere, only in the Self, in the Divine.

In your sadhana, when you are fully concentrated on a certain deity, on your Ishtadev for example, the deity reveals that there is no difference between the deity and you. This is their duty, their connection with you. So if you are fully absorbed in Krishna, you won’t see Krishna as separate from you. He is the core of everything. He is the Ultimate. The mind doesn’t rejoice anywhere else. If you have seen the most wonderful thing of your life only one time, just by closing your eyes, you will always see it, no? Your mind will never forget about it. Have you seen the Mona Lisa?Everybody whose mind is focused on the outside reality will say, “How beautiful! How beautiful! How beautiful!” But if one has seen something much more beautiful, then the Mona Lisa will be put away, thrown in a corner somewhere. Then the supreme beauty will be ever-present. That’s what happened in the life of Annamacharya.

Annamacharya was always looking at the eyes of his two wives, praising them and singing their glory, “How beautiful are your eyes! How beautiful are your eyes! Such beautiful eyes do not exist anywhere else in the world! I have never seen such almond-shaped eyes in this world...”

Up in Vaikunta, the Lord was looking at him saying, “My goodness! I did not send you there for that!” Imagine what the Lord is going through in the Vaikunta deep inside your heart. He is saying, “My goodness! I have sent you to Earth to realise Me. Why are you looking outside yourself? Why are you looking at ‘Mona Lisa’ out there? Look inside! The beauty that you have inside you is much more beautiful!” Looking at the state of Annamacharya, the Lord said, “Oh my goodness! I have to go down there and remind this poor guy.” The Lord left Vaikunta in a rush and manifested Himself in this world.

Annamacharya was taking a walk with his wives. Do you know how he was walking? His two wives were walking side by side and he was walking backwards so that he wouldn’t lose sight of his wives’ eyes. The Lord said to Himself, “My goodness! My dear Annamacharya, I sent you there to spread My Love and look at what you are doing. I must remind you who you are.” Annamacharya was in reality the incarnation of the sword of Narayana. In truth, everybody is an incarnation of Narayana, a manifestation of Narayana. The Lord says, “By listening to the Gita, I am reminding you who you are. You are here listening to the Gita. Awake!”

The Lord came to Earth and appeared to Annamacharya disguised as a Brahmin. Since Annamacharya was walking backwards, he could not see who was behind him, so the Lord purposely stood behind him. Annamacharya bumped into Him, turned and said, “Oh! Sorry! I didn’t see where I was walking!” The Lord said, “Of course you didn’t! You were walking backwards! How could you see? You don’t have eyes in the back of your head! What are you doing, My dear?” Annamacharya replied, “I am looking at my beautiful wives.” The Lord said, “What are you looking at that is so beautiful? These are just two bags of bones.' Annamacharya was shocked!

The Lord continued, “The body is made of panchatattva, the 5 elements. Nothing else. Once it is burned, it becomes ash. It decays. There is nothing permanent in it. You are praising your wives, right? How beautiful are their eyes! How beautiful are their faces! But when these get old, what will you do? Will you still praise them? The eyelashes will probably not even open? Will you still praise those eyes then? No, you won’t praise them.” Who praises an old lady? Nobody! It’s true! This is the reality! Who praises an old man? Nobody! You only praise an old man when he is a Guru. When the Guru gets old, it doesn’t matter: the Guru is centred in the Divine, so you praise him. Lord Krishna says to Arjuna, “Everybody looks at the one who has achieved the Divine state, and they also try to be like that. But nobody cares about the ones who have doomed themselves.” You come here, you live your life, you die, and nobody even remembers you. What have you done in life? Nothing! But, it’s not about whether people remember you or not. It’s about if you have done your dharma while you were here. When you do your dharma, you will achieve the Lord; then you will be eternally with Him.

The Lord said to Annamacharya, “What a waste of time, My dear! Why are you praising these bags of bones, which will only last for a limited time and then…be finished? When their eyes drop…finish!” Then He said, “Come! I will show you a pair of eyes which are even more beautiful than these eyes. Here you are looking at four eyes. I will show you only two.”

So the Lord took Annamacharya to the Lord’s Balaji Temple in Tirupati. The temple was closed, so Annamacharya waited outside. When the temple doors opened, Annamacharya’s eyes and Lord Balaji’s eyes met, and Annamacharya perceived the whole universe in Lord Balaji’s eyes, just by looking at Him. At that moment, he received full Realisation: his eyes had turned from the outside perception to the cosmic eyes of the Lord.

Lord Krishna says in the Gita, “Don’t let yourself be fooled by outside appearances. You have to first perceive the Lord within the core of yourself. Once you have perceived that beauty within yourself, then you will look at the whole creation of God with the eyes of knowledge. The Supreme Being will be visible in all His creation. Then you will not just look at perishable matter, but you will look at the imperishable One, the ever-existing One, the Ultimate, the One who pervades everything, man and woman, the trees, the animals, the whole of creation. This is the state of a yogi. This is the state Krishna referred to when He says, “…seeing the Self by the mind, one is satisfied by the Self alone,” because one perceives that reality within oneself and in everything.

After the Lord showed Annamacharya His Divine eyes, Annamacharya perceived the Reality beyond the outer reality. His perception of the four eyes of his wives completely changed. He perceived the Lord, who is the Supreme, in his own wives. He saw the divinity not only in himself, but he also saw the divinity in them. He said, “Mothers, I worship you! You have relieved me from the bondage of suffering and made me see the Lord.”

The same thing happened with Goswami Tulsidas and his wife. Tulsidas was a saint who lived in India in the 16th century. His love for Lord Rama was so great that, wherever he looked, he would see only Rama. At that time in India, as now, people followed the caste system. There was the Brahmin caste, the highest caste, and the Shudra caste, the lowest caste. When Tulsidas’ parents died, nobody looked after him: wherever he went, people would go away from him, because he was from a low caste. But Tulsidas’s love for Rama was so great that he always carried a small statue of Lord Rama with him.

One day Tulsidas’ Guru took him to his ashram and said to the people there, “You always think that you know God, but you only know Him through scriptures, only through what is said in the books. But the Lord Sri Hari is above all this. He loves everybody and everybody is equal to Him. He is with anybody who calls Him with sincere heart.” So the Guru took Tulsidas under his care and looked after him. Tulsidas grew up and became well-versed in Sanskrit. His main aim was to give the Ramacharitamanas, “The Story of Lord Rama”, to the people in their own language.

He started to compose poems and sing the Ramacharitamanas in Awadhi, a local dialect of Hindi. The Brahmins didn’t like this at all, because they said that Sanskrit was the language of the devas, of the gods. Well, that’s what they said. Similarly, some people think that God only speaks Latin. Tulsidas’ main aim was to write the “The Story of Lord Rama” into Awadhi and give it to the people, to everybody, equally. But because of that, he had many enemies.

When the time came for Tulsidas to get married, one of his brothers who was against him said “I will marry the girl you have chosen. Not you!” But the girl’s father wanted Tulsidas to get married to his daughter, Ratnavali. Finally, they married and were very happy. They went to get the blessing of the Guru. The Guru gave Tulsidas the small statue of Rama which he had brought to the ashram when he was very small and told him, “I don’t have anything to give you on this special day, but take this statue of Rama and never forget about Him!” Tulsidas replied, “Guruji, how could I ever forget about Rama?” He took the statue of Rama home, put it on the altar and from that moment on, he completely forgot about Rama, because his mind was focused only on his wife. He got so obsessed with his wife that she became everything to him.

Every moment, day and night, he only wanted to be next to his wife.

Tulsidas and his wife had a clothing shop which was given to them as a wedding present by his wife’s father. One day Tulsidas had to go to another town to get some clothes for the shop. In the morning he said goodbye to his wife and went to the other shops to buy his things. During the day, his wife got a message that her father was not well and he asked to see her for the last time before he died. She quickly rushed to her father’s bedside. When Tulsidas came home and didn’t find his wife, he became angry. He found a note on the bed saying, “I have gone to my father’s place. I need some time for myself, because I have seen how obsessed you are with me and because my father is ill.” Tulsidas could not bear this and went to his father-in-law’s place. On the way, there was a big storm and he had to swim across a river. When he finally arrived, he saw that the door was locked and wondered how to go inside. So he started climbing over the wall of the house.

On the wall there was a snake. He pulled the snake, thinking that it was a rope. He took it with him inside the house and then realised that it was a snake! His wife said, “Look at what you have done because of the obsession that you have for this bag of bones! If you would have had the same obsession for Rama, He would have delivered you and you would have attained Him by now.” At that moment, the truth of those words hit Tulsidas and he remembered that his Guru had told him to always look after Rama. He had told him to never let go of the Name of Rama. But due to delusion, he had forgotten about it and his wife had acted as a guru, reminding him of his dharma.

At that moment, Tulsidas let go of everything and surrendered to Rama. He started looking for Rama everywhere saying, “What is the use of not finding you. You are the Lord of the universe. Let me see You! What is the use of life, if I don’t see You? Praised be my wife who has reminded me of Your Love.” Later on, the wife of Goswami Tulsidas became one of his greatest devotees.

Such a wife is worthy to be praised, because she supports her husband. She forgets about her own personal wishes or desires. Sri Paramahansa Ramakrishna was always praising Sarada Devi, because in Sarada Devi, a dedicated wife, he would always remember the Divine Mother. This is the greatness of women, when they become a source of support for the spiritual benefit of all.

Bhagavad Gita 

God within oneself starts to shine all the divine qualities.

Meditation Yoga

Chapter 6, Verse 19

yathā dīpo nivātasthe

neṅgate sopamā smṛtā

yogino yata-cittasya

yuñjato yogam-ātmanaḥ

Motionless, like the light of a lamp in a windless place, is the controlled consciousness of the yogi who practises union with the Self.

Here Lord Krishna says that when the mind is restrained by the practice of yoga, it becomes “motionless, like the light of a lamp in a windless place.” When people have faith and are surrendered, nothing can move them. No disturbance of the outside reality can deviate them from their aim. They are fully in control.

Bhagavan Krishna says that the focus and concentration of the disciplined mind of a bhakta, of a devotee, is so fixed on God in meditation that it doesn’t move to anything else. When you are absorbed in that reality, you are not thinking of when you will finish your meditation. And you don’t set your alarm clock next to you, because your mind, even while you’re sitting in meditation, will be sitting on the alarm. You will not be hearing the cosmic sound within you, but you will be waiting to hear the

alarm ringing. This is not the state of a yogi. Here Krishna makes an analogy between a still mind and an unmoving flame: the mind is “motionless like the light of a lamp in a windless place.” A flame is always moving, but when it is sheltered, blocked from all sides, it doesn’t move, it doesn’t flicker; it is stable, it shines, it radiates light! Like that, when one is fully absorbed in the Divine Self, God within oneself, nothing can deviate one from the path and automatically one starts to shine all the divine qualities.

Bhagavad Gita 

This is yoga.

Meditation Yoga

Chapter 6, Verse 18

yadā viniyataṁ cittam

ātmany-evāvatiṣṭhate

niḥspṛhaḥ sarva-kāmebhyo

yukta ity-ucyate sadā

When all the mental consciousness is perfectly controlled and liberated from desire and remains still in the Self, then it is said, “He is verily in yoga.”

“When all the mental consciousness is perfectly controlled...” Then the mind is focused on the Divine and one is free. The mind is not jumping left and right, thinking about what one has to eat; or one is falling down asleep, and so on. The mind is not

running to the outside reality.

When one is “…liberated from desire and remains still in the Self, then it is said, ‘He is verily in Yoga.’” When one is absorbed within one Self, within the Divine Consciousness, one’s vibration is changed and one gets exclusively established in Narayana, who is the supreme peace, supreme bliss. In such a state, one overcomes all outer attractions. One is detached from everything which is perishable and from the worldly enjoyment. Therefore, one is free and longs for only one thing: God. One perceives the unity beyond diversity; in all the worldly diversity, one perceives only the Divine, the Love of God. This is truly yoga. If people have not perceived the Divine within the core of themselves and don’t emanate the divine qualities, they are still on the way towards perfection, towards unification with the Divine. They are not yet established in yoga, they are just practising. But the ones who are always fully absorbed in serving, fully absorbed in the Love of God, automatically start to reflect the divine qualities through them. Verily, this is yoga.

Bhagavad Gita 

One attains the supreme peace and bliss

Meditation Yoga

Chapter 6, Verse 17

yuktāhāra vihārasya

yukta ceṣṭasya karmasu

yukta svapnāvabodhasya

yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā

Yoga becomes the destroyer of sorrow for one who is moderate in food and recreation, who is temperate in actions, who is moderate in sleep and wakefulness.

“Yoga becomes the destroyer of sorrow for one who is moderate in food and recreation.” When people have control over their diet and their leisure time, this shows that they have control over the senses, the body, and the mind, and so they enter the Samadhi state in meditation. They show their purity, their clarity, their faculty of concentration, their willingness, liveliness, their willingness, excitement, and enthusiasm for doing their sadhana.

“...temperate in actions...” Controlling the food and the sleep affect what you reflect externally. If people have no control over food, they overeat and get heavy; then they can’t even do any asana postures.

“...who is moderate in sleep and wakefulness.” Here Lord Krishna emphasises that it is not about stopping sleeping and then afterwards looking like a zombie. He says that there is a time to sleep, a time to rest. There is time to be awake and a time to eat. The whole day is divided into four parts: twenty-four hours divided by four means that there are six hours for each part of the day. Now, you are already wondering, “How will I sit and meditate for six hours?” No. I am sure that you are actually thinking, “How can I eat for six hours?” Some people are probably wondering, “Why is Swamiji telling me to sleep for only six hours? This is terrible! How can I do that?” No, no! You have to sleep according to what your body needs. If you need eight hours, then sleep eight hours. If you need four hours, then sleep four hours. If you need three hours, then sleep three hours. It doesn’t matter. You have to respect what your body needs, so that you don’t ruin yourself and your dhyaan can be done properly. What is the use of not sleeping and then when you sit for meditation, you are falling left and right? It’s useless, isn’t it? What is the use of not eating and then when you sit for meditation, you see a plate of food in front of you? Or when you have eaten too much, you can’t even sit for meditation? If you have slept too much or if you have not slept at all, it doesn’t help, you know? Excesses don’t help one’s meditation. Even if the shastras say that it is good to sleep less and stay awake, one has to observe oneself and see what one really needs.

“Yoga becomes the destroyer of sorrow...” Success in Dhyaana Yoga elevates one to God-Realisation, and one attains the supreme peace. In that state, one is fully absorbed in the ocean of bliss.

Bhagavad Gita 

Eating too much food induces sleep and laziness and creates various disorders in the body,

Meditation Yoga

Chapter 6, Verse 16

nāty-aśnatas-tu yogo’sti

na caikāntam-anaśnataḥ

na cāti svapnaśīlasya

jāgrato naiva cārjuna

Verily this yoga is not for him who eats too much or sleeps too much; neither is it for him who gives up sleep and food, O Arjuna.

Eating too much food induces sleep and laziness and creates various disorders in the body, due to the accumulation of undigested matter. The body only needs a moderate amount of food. When you eat too much, not all of it gets digested and the excess stays in the body and creates imbalance. Then you can’t concentrate while doing meditation. That’s why some people need a siesta after eating. Abstaining from food also acts on the mind, the senses and the vital organs. When the sadhaks, the devotees sit for sadhana, their mind is focusing on food. If you say, “Today I will not eat!” That day the food will look much more appealing than usual, the smell will be stronger than usual, and your stomach will start growling. This will disturb the mind and when the mind gets disturbed, it can’t concentrate, and so this interferes with the practise of meditation. Bhagavan says that when you sit for meditation, your mind should be fixed on God and not on food or on a siesta.

Lord Krishna also says that one shouldn’t sleep too much. A reasonable amount of sleep helps to rest, refresh and strengthen the body. But as I said before, sleeping too much makes one feel drowsy, lazy, and not well, and due to that, one can’t concentrate in meditation. Then it becomes serious! You lose control, or you go into depression, or you start looking like a vampire with red eyes. Here Bhagavan also says that to abstain from sleep doesn’t contribute to a successful meditation. If you don’t sleep, your body will get exhausted. You will not be refreshed and then there will be complete disorder inside you. So a little bit of sleep is very important so that the body can refresh itself in the divine energy. During sleep, you completely lose your ego identity, and by losing the ego identity, you are fully absorbed into the Divine. Then the Divine energises every cell and every vital organ in the body, so that when you wake up, you feel fresh, you are full of energy, you are ready for another day.

Bhagavad Gita 

If you have control over diet and your sleep, your meditation will be successful and will lead you to God-Realisation.

Meditation Yoga

Chapter 6, Verse 15

yuñjann-evaṁ sadā’tmānaṁ

yogī niyata-mānasaḥ

śāntiṁ nirvāṇa paramāṁ

mat-saṁsthām adhigacchati

Always putting himself in yoga by controlling his mind, the yogi attains to the supreme peace of Nirvana which has its foundation in Me.

“Always putting himself in yoga by controlling his mind.” The one who controls his diet, who controls what he puts into his body, who controls his mind, such a yogi “attains to the supreme peace of Nirvana which has its foundation in Me.”

Here Bhagavan says that the foundation of Nirvana is in Him, but it is not Him! Nirvana is just one state of Realisation. Many people say that the state of Nirvana is the ultimate state, but actually the ultimate state of Realisation, the supreme state, is beyond Nirvana. Nevertheless, Lord Krishna says here that when one has reached a certain purity, by controlling the mind, the diet, the body and the senses, then through meditation one enters into the state of Nirvana. Controlling what you eat, what kind of diet you have, is very important, because it has an effect on your meditation. Plants have a calm, peaceful nature, they are shanti. When you eat vegetarian food, automatically you also become shanti. On the other hand, meat contains the emotion of aggression in it from the animal! If you eat meat, you can’t sit and meditate because this quality will also awaken inside you. That’s why what you eat is very important!

It is also very important to control your sleep and your wakefulness. How long are you sleeping? Too little is not good! Too much is not good! For a yogi, six hours of sleep is enough. I think that science also says this, no? If people are not doing yoga, they need eight hours of sleep. Yogis need less. If you sleep less, it helps your concentration. Of course, you have to respect your own nature. Imagine that people

say, “I went to listen to this Swamiji and he said to sleep six hours a night.” Then you try it and wake up in the morning like a zombie. You don’t know what you are doing and nothing works. The scriptures say that you have to control your sleep, but if your body needs seven or eight hours, then sleep seven or eight hours. It’s best to respect your body’s needs: otherwise later, when you sit for meditation, you may fall asleep and be snoring, because you are not fully in control. So, six hours is enough, seven, or eight hours is okay, but much more than that is not good! You will see that when you sleep longer, eleven or twelve hours, afterwards you don’t feel good, your body is drained of energy, you have a headache, you feel lazy, drowsy, and zombified. And when you look in the mirror, you don’t even recognise yourself. You are shocked. You get depressed just by looking at yourself. Then you can’t meditate! And what about God- Realisation? It’s far away! You have to sleep only enough to be able to concentrate and continue your spiritual advancement. But don’t sleep during the day! That’s not good.

If you have control over your diet and your sleep, your meditation will be successful and will lead you to God-Realisation. It will lead you to supreme bliss, to supreme peace. Having reached a state like this, where one is fully surrendered to the Divine, there is never again suffering or sorrow. Once one has reached this state of Nirvana, there is no way that one will go backwards. When one attains this state of Nirvana, one breaks out of the cycle of birth and death. One doesn’t fall victim to grief, fear, or anxiety; one is always fully merged into this divine, blissful state, which has its foundation in Krishna Himself. In the state of Nirvana, one perceives the Supreme Lord in His glory, within one’s own Self: one also perceives Him in His sagun and nirgun aspects, which are respectively, the Lord with form and without form.

In the previous verse, Lord Krishna gives instructions about the seat that one should use to perfect one’s meditation. I would like to clarify that the asana Lord Krishna is talking about is your personal asana in your room, in your house or in your private areas. In a temple, you don’t have a specific place just for you. So don’t think that if you used to sit in one place and then somebody else sits there that you should

go and attack the person saying, “That’s my place! You have invaded my space!” No! In temples, like the Shree Peetha Nilaya Temple, there are no private places. Well, I have one. But apart from my seat and the deities’ seats, no one else has a private place. In the temples or public places, the seats are for everybody. However, when you do your dhyaan, you should be alone. It is better to meditate alone! Because the moment there is somebody else, your mind will be focused on that person.

Bhagavad Gita 

When you sit for meditation, you will perfect yourself.

Meditation Yoga

Chapter 6, Verses 13-14

samaṁ kāya-śiro-grīvaṁ

dhārayann-acalaṁ sthiraḥ

saṁprekṣya nāsikāgraṁ svaṁ

diśaś-cānavalokayan

praśāntātmā vigata-bhīḥ

brahmacāri vrate sthitaḥ

manaḥ saṁyamya mac-citto

yukta āsīta mat-paraḥ

Holding the body, head and neck erect, motionless; the vision drawn in and fixed between the eyebrows; not regarding the regions; the mind kept calm and free from fear; the vow of Brahmacharya observed; the whole controlled mentality turned to Me, one must sit firm in yoga, wholly surrendered to Me.

Here Bhagavan Krishna says that during meditation, one must keep the spine straight, with the neck and the head, all in one line. One has to be “motionless, the vision drawn in and fixed between the eyebrows.” This means that with deep concentration, without following any outward impulse or distraction, one has to focus: the gaze must be “fixed between the eyebrows.” Lord Krishna says that the eyes should not be fully open or closed but semi-closed (like Lord Shiva’s eyes) and focusing on the tip of the nose.

The purpose of fixing the gaze on the tip of the nose is to avoid outer distractions and avoid falling asleep. Because if you keep the eyes fully open you may suddenly get distracted: “Oh, a fly...”. On the other hand, if the eyes are fully closed, you may fall asleep while meditating. Whereas when you have the eyes semi-closed, you stay focused! You will not fall asleep and you will not get distracted. Nevertheless, the mind should be fixed on God. The eyes are focusing on the tip of the nose, but the mind should not be focused on the nose... okay? Don’t get these two things mixed up. I am telling you to sit in meditation with semi-closed eyes focusing on the tip of the nose. Here I am not telling you to look at your nose, I said for you to fix the gaze on the tip of the nose, but the mind must be focused on God, on Paramatman, Parabrahma.

If you practise meditation as described in this verse, if the mind is focused, you will have control over it and you will not have a sleep attack, which afterwards you will call ‘meditation’. Fixing the gaze at the tip of the nose also helps to develop firmness within. It helps to overcome the fear of the opposites, the fear of duality, the fear of not doing things properly. By sitting for meditation in a state of fear, you are not free. But if you focus on God within yourself, if you let the mind dwell on the Divine, when you sit for meditation, you will perfect yourself.

Observing “Brahmacharya” means that for one to fully focus in meditation, one should control and avoid the flow of energy downwards. One should avoid being in a relationship and use this energy for their own spiritual growth. Imagine how much energy there is in it. With this energy one can create another body. The fusion between the sperm and the ovule is like an ‘atomic bomb’. A new body can be created from these two energies. You have this power, but someone who is really longing for God- Realisation will not use this power, this energy, in an outward action. In this verse, Lord Krishna emphasises the importance of observing “the vow of Brahmacharya” during meditation, because if you have not yet developed self-control, you will be controlled by self-enjoyment or lust. However, with self-control a yogi is free. That’s why Krishna is training Arjuna to observe the vow of Brahmacharya. He says, “I am not telling you to fully stop this energy, but during the time of your sadhana, it is very important to keep yourself pure and to restrain yourself, to keep this energy and use it for advancing yourself spiritually.” This will also help the mind to not drown itself in the tendencies of the lower region, but to focus on the higher goal, on the Divine, to make you strong spiritually.

“The whole controlled mentality turned to Me.” God is present everywhere. If the yogi practising meditation wants to see God, “he must sit firm in yoga.” One should sit fearlessly in meditation, not thinking that one is doing something wrong or right. One should not be looking at the watch asking, “When are these fifteen minutes, which Swamiji told me to do, going to end?” Or set the alarm and then when the fifteen minutes have passed, say, “Ah, finished! I have done it!” On the contrary, when people do their meditation or their Atma Kriya Yoga practice, they should be fully absorbed in it and should love doing it.

If during meditation one entertains the smallest fear in the mind, one will naturally feel distracted and lonely. When one sits for meditation, one should hold firm and fully trust in God, be “wholly surrendered to Me.” One should not think about one’s limitations, but should fully surrender to the Divine with faith and love. If the mind is disturbed during this time, one should remind oneself that God is there, that in that moment of meditation you are in His presence. That’s why I said that setting a time is very important: it’s like you sent Him an invitation to come and He is present there! You are not alone, you are in His presence! So, there can be no fear at all.

When yogis sit for meditation and the time for them to leave this plane arrives, they automatically advance to a higher plane. If they are meditating, and then due to samskaras they die, this brings them to their highest good. It can happen and has happened many times: the Atma leaves to the spiritual plane. The ones who have taken the path of meditation on the Absolute Reality, God, will never come back to this same reality, but they will always incarnate to advance spiritually. They will find their way, their spiritual path, and they won’t go backwards. There is a continuation. For example, you are all sitting here because you have done something ‘good’ in your last life. You have some good karma, otherwise you would not be here. In this life, you have received the great punya to be on the spiritual path, to receive Atma Kriya Yoga, and through that, God has manifested Himself in His omnipresence inside each one of you. He is guiding you on your spiritual path, in His nirgun form and in His sagun form. He has a multitude of forms and aspects, like Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Jesus, and many others.

Bhagavad Gita 

Meditation is the state where one is fully immersed in the Love of God within.

Meditation Yoga

Chapter 6, Verses 11-12

śucau deśe pratiṣṭhāpya

sthitam-āsanam ātmanaḥ

nāty-ucchritaṁ nāti-nīcaṁ

cailājina kuśottaram

tatraikāgraṁ manaḥ kṛtvā

yata-cittendriya kriyaḥ

upaviśyāsane yuñjyād

yogam-ātma viśuddhaye

He should set his firm seat in a pure spot, neither too high, nor too low, covered with a cloth, a deer skin, and sacred grass; seated there with a concentrated mind, and with the workings of the mental consciousness and

the senses under control, he should practise yoga for self-purification.

In these verses, Bhagavan Krishna explains that it’s important to have a fixed place to meditate and a proper seat, or asana, to sit on.

“He should set his firm seat in a pure spot.” Even though you should be comfortable, the seat should not be too soft: it has to be firm. In ancient times, yogis used a wooden seat or a stone slate as a base for their asana.

“... neither too high, nor too low.” The seat should not be too high, because if you are sitting too high and you go into deep meditation or deep sleep, you might fall down! Your meditation will be disturbed or you may fall and get hurt. If you are sitting near the floor or directly on the floor, there will always be an exchange of energy: the heat, or the cold, will have an effect on your body. Furthermore, if there is a small animal crawling around, it will crawl on you! Imagine that you are sitting for meditation, and you have not yet perfected it, you are not yet completely absorbed into the higher Self where you are not aware of the body consciousness. And then

small flies are flying all around you, or ants are crawling on you! In India, probably even snakes would be crawling on you. All this will disturb you and interfere with your

meditation.

“... covered with a cloth.” The purpose of a cloth is to make you feel more comfortable when you are in meditation. Then you won’t end up feeling pains in your legs and say, “I am sitting too long on this hard wood. It’s terrible!” So Krishna says that you can make the seat a little bit softer by putting a piece of cloth over it.

“...with a deer skin, with sacred grass.” In ancient times, the yogis used to meditate seated on a deer skin. They would not go around killing deer to get the skin, but they would use the skin from an animal which had died naturally. Do you know why they used deer skin? Because it is said that deer skin acts like an insulation which protects the energy that flows through your body when you are absorbed in the Divine rhythm during meditation. During meditation the energy flows through all the chakras, from the base up to the head, and you become like a pillar of energy. You have to utilise this energy for your spiritual growth. You have to sustain this energy inside you and not let it slip away. That’s why Lord Krishna says to place a deer skin on the seat. 

However, put Kush grass under the deer skin. Kush grass, which we use in prayers, is considered to be the hair of Narayana, so it’s very holy. Then put a piece of cloth over the deer skin, because the deer skin is not that comfy to sit on: it pricks you. The hairs on the deer skin seem smooth when they are all laying in the same direction, but if you move just a little bit, they will prick your behind, which will be very uncomfortable, and then you’ll start scratching and moving even more. So, the cloth over the deer skin will protect you. It will keep the hairs laying in one direction, otherwise they will prick you, then you’ll move, and move and you’ll not be able to concentrate. Furthermore, placing the Kush grass under the deer skin, will protect the deer skin, and prevent its decay.

Therefore, Lord Krishna advises putting these three layers on the seat: Kush grass, a deerskin, and a cloth. This kind of asana will help the bhakta, the sadhak, to concentrate during meditation.

But please note very well that the deer skin which the yogis used was from an animal which died naturally. So for the sake of your meditation, don’t buy a skin from an animal that was killed. When somebody kills an animal, he kills it for his own personal pleasure or gain. By buying the skin of that killed animal, you are participating in its killing and taking upon yourself that karma. What good would this bring you? It would not bring you any good. It would be better to have a proper seat made only of Kush grass. Kush grass is very good for meditation!

Āsanam ātmanaḥ means, “The seat belongs to oneself.” One should not sit on somebody else’s seat when one meditates. Because when you sit on your own asana, there is a certain energy which is emanating from it and this energy is important for your spiritual growth. Your asana becomes a place of concentration of energy. And if you use somebody else’s asana, you don’t know which level of energy or which level of concentration they put in it. By utilising the asana of a person who has a low frequency of energy, you get in contact with that energy and automatically your whole attitude changes. This is why, in these verses, Bhagavan Krishna explains how important it is to keep one’s own asana. 

When the bhakta has his own asana, his own place, the right timing, and the “workings of the mental consciousness and the senses under control, he should practise yoga for self-purification,” cittendriya kriyaḥ. Here Krishna says that the mind and the intellect have to be under control. You have to concentrate yourself to the point where there is a complete suspension of all activities. In that state, the mind doesn’t run towards the outside world; the mind is stable. So focus the mind on the object of meditation. What is the object of meditation? God. By concentrating the mind on God, by fixing the mind on the Divine, the senses are automatically under control.

“... he should practise yoga for self-purification.” Here Lord Krishna emphasises that when one practises meditation, it is to purify oneself, so one can reach the state where one is fully immersed in the Love of God within. One should not meditate to attain any worldly glory or worldly object. So you shouldn’t say, “I am meditating. O God, I want something!”

Bhagavad Gita 

When you set a certain time to sit for meditation, you are inviting God to manifest Himself at that moment.

Meditation Yoga

Chapter 6, Verse 10

yogī yuñjīta satatam

ātma‌naṁ rahasi sthitaḥ

ekākī yatacittātmā

nirāśīr aparigrahaḥ

Let the yogi continually practise union with the Self, sitting apart and alone, with all desire and idea of possession banished from his mind, self- controlled in his whole being and consciousness.

“Let the yogi continually practise union with the Self.” Here the term ‘yogi’ refers to the bhakta, the spiritual practitioner who is doing yoga, the one who is longing for God. The yogi, who has reached perfection through yoga is seated in the Self focusing on God Himself alone. “Sitting apart and alone, with all desire and idea of possession banished from his mind:” When one has a controlled mind and doesn’t have any sense of possession or any attachment to any kind of desire, then, one is eligible to sit in meditation.

Here Krishna was talking to people who are on the spiritual path, who are longing for God. He says, “Find a suitable place to practise meditation.” He advised one to withdraw oneself from the world. Those who are on the spiritual path, have to withdraw into themselves from time to time: they have to go within themselves. The spiritual sadhaks who are busy in the world wherever they are, whatever they are doing, should find time, from time to time, to sit down for meditation, dhyaan, to withdraw from the outside world and enter into the inner quietness within the Self. It’s like recharging the batteries! As long as the mind runs towards the outside reality, the battery is discharging. However, it is difficult to sit down for meditation when there are people around, especially if you are just freshly starting on the spiritual path. Once you have mastered meditation, that’s not a problem. But when you have not yet mastered meditation, it’s important to find your own place.

There are certain rules saying that you should have a fixed place for meditation and a proper asana or seat. In the next verse, Krishna will tell us about the importance of the seat and how important it is to always meditate in the same place.

“... self-controlled in his whole being and consciousness.” One is self-controlled in the mind, one is self-controlled in the body, one is self-controlled in the breath, through pranayama, the breathing exercises. Practise meditation! Let the mind and the intellect be absorbed in the thought of God! That’s the meditation one should practise and this practise should be unbroken! One must discipline oneself and not find excuses for not doing one’s spiritual practice. You shouldn’t say, “Today there is a nice movie. I am going to watch it at nine o’clock. I should sit down for meditation, but there is this movie, so I will watch it and then afterwards I will sit for meditation.”

The time and the place of meditation are very important, because when you set a certain time to meditate, you are inviting God to be there with you. It’s like if you invite

a friend to come to your place and then you are not there to welcome your friend. How would it be? Or you are invited somewhere, you are ringing the bell and you see all the lights off. Then someone turns the light on and you see the person in pyjamas saying, “Ai! I thought it was tomorrow!” How would it be? You would be shocked, no? So, here it is the same thing. When you set a certain time to sit for meditation, you arei nviting God to manifest Himself at that moment. And you can have this expectation that, as you sent the invitation, God will come and be eagerly waiting for you inside yourself at that time. Let’s say you plan to meditate at nine o’clock. In your mind, you have already created this appointment with God, so the Divine will manifest Himself at this appointed time within you. He will be waiting for you, for your consciousness, for your Atma to be completely focused on the meditation. That’s why the time of meditation is also very important.

Bhagavad Gita 

True yogis are here on Earth to love they always stay in that loving state

Meditation Yoga

Chapter 6, Verse 9

suhṛn mitrāry-udāsīna

madhyastha dveṣya bandhuṣu

sādhuṣv-api ca pāpeṣu

sama-buddhir viśiṣyate

He who is equal and impartial in action to a friend, an enemy and to a neutral person, also to a sinner and a saint, he excels.

A self-controlled person who is centred in God finds no difference anywhere. Once one has perceived the Divine within one’s own Self, one doesn’t judge anyone, since one is fully absorbed in the service of God, and finding Him everywhere.

Someone who truly loves, doesn’t see any differences. This happens to people in daily life. When you are freshly in love with someone, even if it is the worst person in the world, everything is perfect! All is good! You are in seventh heaven – I would not say in the seventh heaven, but on the seventh cloud – and there you are so intoxicated with this love, that you don’t see any of the differences between you, so you don’t have any judgements. But when you fall out in love, when you fall down from the seventh cloud, then you see everything completely differently. Then the worldly diversity starts to reveal itself, you become aware of the outer reality and then you suffer. However, it is important to note that it was you who put yourself in such a state, because you let yourself fall into that love. Your suffering is not due to the other person. You didn’t know what was inside the other person, even if the person had said, “I love you!” You didn’t know whether the person truly loved you or not. Words, words! So you can’t just accuse the other person and say, “You are the cause of my misery.” If you looked within, your soul would tell you, “How stupid is this mind! It was listening to mere words and disregarding what the person was doing. How blind!”

Lord Krishna says that for a true yogi, it doesn’t matter. True yogis are here on Earth to love: they always stay in that loving state and in that loving state, there is no judgement. It’s not like human love, where you put someone high up on a pedestal, and then the moment you hear or see something that you don’t like about the person you think you love, then you become aggressive, and depressive – you become all the ‘sives’ – expansive, expressive, oppressive, and possessive. All kinds of ‘sives’ start ‘to sive’ you. Whereas the ones who excel are above all this, as they look at everything equally and rejoice in God Consciousness. They see that it is God who is doing this multitude of activities through His creation. It is God who has manifested Himself and is enjoying Himself while He is doing everything. Here Bhagavan Krishna says of the one who was in God Consciousness, “He is not a saint! He is not a yogi! He is greater than that! He excels!” These ones perceive the Divine within their own Self. They don’t only perceive the Divine when they are sitting and praying. No! At all times, wherever they go, whoever they meet, they see only God. Whatever they do, it’s only to serve Him. So there is not a moment when the mind is far away from Him.

Bhagavad Gita 

The mind of a true yogi is not attached to anything, so he happily lets go of everything but God

Meditation Yoga

Chapter 6, Verse 8

jñāna vijñāna tṛptātmā

kūt‌astho jitendriyaḥ

yukta ity-ucyate yogī

sama-loṣṭāśma kāñcanaḥ

The yogi, who is established in the knowledge of the Self, tranquil and self-poised, master of his senses, regarding alike earth, stone and gold, is said to be firmly in yoga.

For the one who has self-control, who sees the oneness everywhere and perceives the Divine equally, there is no difference between “earth, stone and gold”, because the source of everything is God Himself. One who has conquered oneself is above the duality, heat and cold, honour and dishonour. In such a state of oneness with the Divine, these people live in the world. They see the worldly objects, they experience everything which is connected to the body, the mind and the senses, they experience everything which is coming and going in life, yet they are not touched by anything. Even though they are living amidst the duality and the diversity of the outside world, there are no unhealthy reactions happening in their minds like fear, desire, jealousy, or anger. These people who have a self-controlled mind are always tranquil: they are above all the modifications of the mind, at all times, and in all circumstances. They are realised.

In this state of oneness, one doesn’t have any attachment to anything, one doesn’t find happiness in worldly objects. The senses don’t run towards the outside reality, but are fully under control. These people regard alike earth and gold, which symbolise attachment and greed. In this verse Lord Krishna says, “For a bhakta, it doesn’t matter! Even if a bhakta earns a whole palace made of gold, it doesn’t mean anything to him.”

Lahiri Mahasaya had the desire from a previous life to see a golden palace. Just to fulfil and finish that desire, Mahavatar Babaji materialised a golden palace for him. But Lahiri Mahasaya knew that this palace would not make him happy, so he stayed out of it. He didn’t start dancing, saying, “Yippee! Yippee! Now I have a palace”, like Ravana did.

Demon Ravana was so proud of his golden city that Hanuman burned down to nothing. Hanuman is not attached to anything but Rama. Imagine Hanumanji getting attached to the gold in this city and starting to think, “Why should I burn all this gold? I will take it home! I will make good use of it.” Here Lord Krishna said that a true yogi, a saint, is not fooled by the outer reality or bound by what he has or doesn’t have. It’s equal! The mind of a true yogi is not attached to anything, so he happily lets go of everything but God.

Bhagavad Gita 

Attained the calm of perfect self-mastery

Dyaana Yoga

Chapter 6, Verse 7

jitātmanaḥ praśāntasya

paramātmā samāhitaḥ

śītoṣṇa sukha-duḥkheṣu

tathā mānāpamānayoḥ

When one has conquered the mind and attained the calm of perfect self-mastery; when one has transcended the dualities of cold and heat, pleasure and pain, as well as honour and dishonour; then one is firmly established in the Supreme Self.

Here Lord Krishna explains that when one has realised that all sense objects of this world are an illusion, one runs away from such attachment, finding no happiness in it; in this way one controls the senses. When the mind and the senses are controlled, they don’t run after the sense objects, so one can direct the senses to where one wants; this is ʻself-masteryʼ. If the mind and senses are under control, they can be focused on God, on the image of the Divine, which will lead one towards God-Realisation.

The ones who are completely surrendered to God, the ones who are fully absorbed into Brahman, through the control of the mind, don’t get disturbed by anything. They are not touched by pleasure or pain, honour and dishonour, or anything. These opposites don’t affect them at all, because they see the Divine in everything. This is the quality of someone who has merged into his own Self. He reflects calmness, peace, tranquillity and joy. These qualities emanate from the ones who are not agitated by anything; they are free.

Bhagavad Gita 

The mind is the friend of one who has conquered the mind.

Meditation Yoga

Chapter 6, Verse 6

ndhur-ātmā’tmanas tasya

yenātmaivātmanā jitaḥ

anātmanastu śatrutve

vartetātmaiva śatruvat

The mind is the friend of one who has conquered the mind. But for one whose mind is uncontrolled, the mind remains hostile, like an adversary.

So again, Lord Krishna keeps repeating in different ways that one who has conquered the body, and the senses, whose mind is always focused and fully under control, easily redeems himself from worldly existence and attains God-Realisation. Whereas the “…one whose mind is uncontrolled, the mind, remains hostile, like an adversary.” In this state, one is a slave to the mind, the senses and the body. It’s like a person who is sick, because he has lots of poison inside him. These people do everything to oppose their own spiritual growth, because of egoism, sense of possession, attraction and repulsion, lust, anger, and greed: they fall victim to these sinful acts due to the mind. They become their own adversary.

Nobody can make you unhappy, but yourself. The cause of your happiness doesn’t lie in somebody else, but in you! If you want to be happy, you are happy. And if you want to be sad, you are sad. Very often people say, “I feel very sad, because you have not given me attention.” This is an example of an uncontrolled mind and stupidity. One should face the truth, which is, “I feel sad, but I don’t want to change anything! I am just enjoying feeling sad, because this person has not looked at me and doesn’t pay any attention to me.” You see this happen in daily life, don’t you? Due to this, people become the source of their own misery. Whereas when one doesn’t expect anything, one is free and develops true happiness.

If you change the mind, if you train the mind to see in a different way, in a positive way, then you will be happy. You will not be miserable. You will not be attached. That’s why the song says, Jiv Jago, Jiv Jago Gorachandra Bole: “Awake, human, awake!”

Bhagavad Gita