THE HOLY GITA, CHAPTER NUMBER 06, DHYANA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF MEDITATION, VERSE NUMBER 13

THE HOLY GITA

CHAPTER NUMBER 06

DHYANA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF MEDITATION

VERSE NUMBER 13

Text in Transliteration:

samam kaayasirogreevam dhaarayanna achalam sthirah

samprekshya naasikaagram svam disas  chaa ‘navalokayan

Text in English:

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

COMMENTS BY SWAMI SIDBHAVANANDA:

When the body, head and neck are held erect, the spinal cord becomes vertical. In this posture harmonized breathing takes place easily and freely and good thoughts come in naturally. The posture assumed for meditation should be firm, facile and deliberate. Consciousness of the body is got over in this manner. As the mind calms down in meditation, the ehe-balls assume steadiness and seem as if they are gazing at the tip of the nose, while actually at rest. In meditation all modifications of the mind merge in the Self beaming as Bliss or as Pure Consiousness.

SRI RAMAKRISHNA AS QUOTED BY SWAMI SIDBHAVANANDA:

When a bird is brooding on her eggs for hatching, she puts on a vacant look taking notice of things around her. Even such is the case with the eyes of the yogi in meditation.

In meditation there is one-pointedness of the mind. Then eyes see not and ears hear not; body becomes inert, as it were any snake crawling on the body is not sensed then by the yogi, nor does snake apprehend any danger from its contact with the human body.

COMMENTARY BY DR. S. RADHAKRISHNAN

Posture or aasana is here mentioned. Patanjali points out that the posture should be steady and pleasing so as to aid concentration. A right posture gives serenity of body. The body must be kept clean if the living image of God is to be installed in it.

Sampreksya naasikaagram. The gaze is to be fixed on the tip of the nose. A wandering gaze is not a help to concentration.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIVANANDA:

The Lord describes here the pose or Asana and the Drishti (gaze) in this verse.

You cannot practise meditation without a firm seat. If the body is unsteady, the mind will also become unsteady. There is an intimate connection between the body and the mind.

You should bot shake the body even a bit. You should attain mastery over the Asana (Asana-Jaya) by daily practice. You shoud be as firm as a statue or a rock. If you keep the body, head and neck erect, the spinal cord also will be erect and the Kundalini will rise up steadily through the subtle ‘nerve-channel’ (Nadi) called the Sushumna. Sit in the ‘lotus pose’ or ‘adept pose’. This will help you in maintaining the nervous equilibrium and mental poise. You should steadily direct your gaze towards the tip of your nose. This is known as the Nasikagra Drishti. The other gaze is the Bhrumadhya Drishti or gazing between the two eyebrows where the psychic centre known as the (Ajna Chakra is situated. This is described in chapter V verse 27. In Bhrumadhya Drishti direct the gaze towards the Ajna Chakra with closed eyes. If you practise this with open eyes, it may produce headache. Foreign particles  or dust may fall into the eyes. There may be distraction of the mind also. Do not strain the eyes. Practise gently. When you concentrate your gaze at the Ajna Chakra you will experience Divya-Jyotis (perception of supra-phenomenal lights ). This ai an experience to give encouragement, push you up in the spiritual path and convince you of the existence of transcendental or supra-physical things. Do not stop your Sadhana. Yogins and those Bhaktas who meditate on Lord Siva concentrate on the Ajna Chakra with Bhrumadhya Drishti. You can select whichever Drishti suits you best.

Though the gaze is directed towards the tip of the nose when the eyes are half-closed and the eyeballs are steady the mind should be fixed only on the Self . therefore you will hae to gaze, as it were, at the tip of the nose. In chapter VI verse 25 the Lord says: ‘Having made the mind abide in the Self, let him not think of anything’. Gazing at the tip of the nose will soon bring about concentration of the mind.

Whichever be the point selected, visualise your own tutelary deity there and feel His Living Presence.