VERSE NUMBER 41 OF SAMKHYA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF KNOWLEDGE

THE HOLY GITA

CHAPTER TWO

SAMKHYA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF KNOWLEDGE

VERSE NUMBER 41

Text in Transliteration:

vyavasaayaatmikaa buddhir eke ‘ha kuru nandana

bahushaakyaa hy anantaas cha buddhayo ‘vyavasaayinaam

Text in English:

  To the firm-in-mind, O joy of the Kurus, there is in this but one decision: many branching and endless are the decisions of the infirm-in-mind.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI CHIDBHVANANDA:

   A number of students work at a problem in mathematics. Wrong answers they get are numberless and they are constantly shifting. But when the right answer is arrived at by a smart student, he no more deviates from it. Earthly hankering are innumerable and people go on changing constantly from one to another. But to the seeker of the Divine the purpose is one and all endeavours are concentrated on it.

Firmness in mind comes to the one who learns concentration, which is serviceable both to the sacred and the secular. When the divergent sunbeams are focussed with the aid of a lens to one point, their powers of heat and light get intensified. Ignition of a combustible thing then becomes possible. Even so, the mind trained in concentration can both know and do a thing to perfection.

It was possible for Arjuna alone, among the disciples of Drona, to shoot his arrow successfully at a target within a grove. His success was entirely due to concentration.

When Swami Vivekananda was in America, he had an occasion to watch a few students practising shooting. Their target was three or four egg shells tethered to float and dance on the rustling brook. The failure of all of them brought a smile on the lips of the swami. The provoked youths challenged the ability of this strange observer. Handling a gun for the first time in life, the Swami shot and smashed the shell that he aimed at. “The secret of success lies in concentration,” said he when the others wondered how he could achieve it at the very first attempt, as claimed by him.

Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, the famous scientist, demonstrated to the world that all the feeling and sensations found in man are in the plants as well. When questioned as to how he could probe into that mystery, he replied, “To know all about the plants I became myself a plant mentally.” He meant to say that unknown becomes known through concentration and attention.

Reaching Godhood, the hardest of all, is possible to none but the firm-in-mind. The one-pointed devotion of the Gopi, Srimati Radha to Sri Krishna illustrates this fact. Her mind and sense organs function exclusively for the communion with Sri Krishna. All her mentations are directed to Him. Whatever her eyes see are all associated with Him. the ears ever bring to her messages pertaining to her Darling.  The food she eats comes from Him. His grace is her life. Another extraordinary phenomenon presents itself through this milk-maid. When the mind gets fully concentrated the sense organs assume new powers. They are able to function one for the other. The melody emanates from Sri krishna’s flute; it comes floating in the air until it contacts Radha’s ears. Instantaneously her mind becomes the receiving as well as the broadcasting instrument of that sound. The within and the without become one symphony. According to her experience as the all-pervading Nada-brahmam, Sri Krishna alone is contacted at all levels. There is nothing strange in her ears sensing the Sound-Reality; the olfactory sense experiences the fragrance in It; consistent with its capacity the sense of touch feels the presence of the Sound-Reality; and the tongue tastes the Sound-Reality in its own way. All the five senses together pay homage in their respective ways to the Sound-Reality which is Sri Krishna. A concentrated mind opense realms of the Reality unknown to the ordinary. Through one-pointedness, realization of the Reality and at-one-ment with It is possible. This exalted state can be attained by means of Samkhya and yoga merging into one. The one who is firm-in-mind is therefore the best among men.

COMMENTARY BY DR. S. RADHAKRISHNAN:

The discursiveness of the irresolute buddhis is contrasted with the concentration, the single-mindedness of the resolute. Human life finds its fulfilment through self-devotion to a commanding end and not in the unfettered pursuit of endless possibilities. One-pointedness has to be acquired by cultivation. Distraction is our natural condition from which we have to be freed but bot by the mysticisms of nature or sex, race or nation but by a genuine experience of Reality. Single-mindedness backed by such an experience is a supreme virtue and cannot be twisted to fanaticism.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIVANANDA:

 Here, in this path to Bliss there is only one thought of a resolute nature; there is single-minded determination. This single thought arises from the right source of knowledge. The student of Yoga collects all the dissipated rays of the mind. He gathers all of them through discrimination, dispassion and concentration. He is free from wavering or vacillation of the mind.

The worldly-minded man who is sunk in the mire of Samsara has no single-minded determination. He entertains countless thoughts. His mind is always unsteady and vacillating.

If thought cease, Samsara also ceases. Mind generates endless thoughts and this world comes into being. Thoughts, and names and forms are inseparable. If the thoughts are controlled, the mind is controlled and the Yogi is liberated.

Comments by the blogger:

Concentration is not an art, but a proven science. Without it nothing is possible. You just look at the predatory animals like the puma or lioness of tiger, when they stalk their prey! The satellite channels showing such scenes are simply amazing. Even for very ordinary animals like the house lizards indulge in this kind of stalking, which is nothing but concentration. We are stalked by the mosquitoes. Have you ever watched them how they stalk us? Mostly animals use their best of concentration to get food and during the season their mates. But concentration is not an art, it is a science. Those animal species which concentrated best could adopt in succeeding births the techniques as well as the limbs to last in the changing world in agreement with the changing climes. This is called by Charles Darwin as Natural Selection. Nature alone does not select, the species themselves concentrate and this is also known as adaptation to the surrounding environment.

So concentration is a matter of survival for all the species of the animal kingdom.

But Man is a higher animal; a thinking animal with high discrimination.

When the ancient Rishis and Sages of Rig-Vedic India concentrated, it grew in to a science first, later degraded into different sects of religion. Even among the religions of the world there could be said to be going on a Natural Selection in which the Hindu Way of Life stands first. It is founded not on any superficiality or a life of a single Man, but purely on concentration, which was segregated into four Yogas in the Gita by Sri Krishna!

Yoga and meditation is nothing but pure science, in the sense, if a Muslim or a Christian perform Yoga and indulge in meditation, he is sure to attain Nirvana or Kaivalya Moksha. This is proof enough isn’t it? It is not enough that the Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi has influenced the world community to observe a world day for yoga. It is principally known and understood by the world community as a form of keeping the body and mind fit. That is an art. But Yoga is not an art, it is pure science. But the PM’s efforts at introducing yoga in schools are stoutly disputed on religious grounds. The secular Indians can be purchased by other religions by money and other inducements because there are enabling provisions in the Indian Constitution. This is the only country where the majority cannot even freely talk and practise their religion without criticism from others. Open some TV channels and much offensive criticism is going on about the Hindus’ non observance of the sabbatical and instead segregate the weekends for celebrations and observances.

 Concentration is a science and a gift given to the world some four-five thousand years ago by the Hindu Sages and Saints. Let yoga be introduced in schools and prohibition be observed through out India. Otherwise we would lose our youths to the unashamed pursuit of materialism. If we can’t save our religion and our youths the world will suffer in the ultimate analysis.

Acharya Kripalani, one of the famous followers of the Mahatma Gandhi, famously said that if he were the PM of India, he would announce Yoga as part of the educational system and the pepper soup as the National drink!