THE HOLY GITA, CHAPTER NUMBER 06, DHYANA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF MEDITATION, VERSE NUMBER 14

THE HOLY GITA

CHAPTER NUMBER 06

DHYANA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF MEDITATION:

VERSE NUMBER 14

Text in Transliteration:

prasaantaatmaa vigatabhir brahmachaarivrate sthitah

manah samyamya maccitto yukta aasrta matparah

Text in English:

Serene and fearless, firm in the vow of a Brahmachari, subdued in mind, he should sit in yoga thinking on Me and intent on Me alone.

COMMENTARY BY SIDBHAVANANDA:

That mind is said to be serene, which is as placid as a rippleless lake. As there is in the yogi a heroic deliberation to train the mind this way, fear finds no place in him. he is a Brahmachari who, untouched by lust, is pure as a baby in thought, word and deed. As his mind has not been allowed to become Satanic, subjugation of the mind is a matter of course with him. No two conflicting things simultaneously occupy one’s mind. The yogi’s mind is dedicated to serve and commune with Paramatman only. He is therefore ever intent on Iswara.

SRI RAMAKRISHNA AS QUOTED BY SWAMI SIDBHAVANANDA:

When a person observes the vow of Brahmacharya rigidly for twelve years he develops a new sensory nerve known as Medhanadi. It is the intuitive faculty. Intricate and knotty problems of life are no problems to him. that penetrating faculty makes it possible for him to intuit Iswara as well, it being the acme of enlightenment.

COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:

brahmachaarivrate sthitah; firm in the vow of celibacy. The aspirant for yoga must exercise control over sex implulses Hindu tradition has insisted on brahmacharya from the beginning. In the Prasna Upanishad Pippalaada asks the seekers to observe brahmacharya for a year more at the end of which he undertakes to initiate them into the highest wisdom. In Chanandogya Ypanishad, Brahmaa taught Indra the the knowledge of Reality after making him undergo brahmacharya for 101 years. Brahmacharya is defined as abstinence from sex intercourse in thought, word and deed in all conditions and places and times. The gods are said to have conquered death by brahmacharya and penance. In Jnaanasamkalinee Tantra, Siva says that true tapas is brahmacharya and he who practises it uninterruptedly is divine, not human. It is not ascetic celibacy that is meant by brahmacharya, but control. Hindu tradition affirms that a householder who controls his sex life is a brahmachaari quite as truly as one who abstains from sex altogether. To be a celibate is not to deaden the senses and deny the heart.

The qualities demanded for the practice of Yoga may be compared the three Evangelical counsels of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience by which we overcome the world, the flesh and the devil.

The negative process of bringing all thoughts to a standstill has for its positive side, concentration on the Self. Isvara pranidhaana is a recognized way in yoga discipline. The mind becomes still but not vacant, for it is fixed on the Supreme maccittah matparah.

Only the single-visioned see the Real. Spiritual life is not prayer or petition. It is profound devoutness, silent meditation, the opening of the consciousness to the innermost depths of the soul, which connect the individual self directly with the Divine Principle. Those who learn this art do not require any external assistance, any belief in dogma or participation in ritual. They acquire the creative vision since they combine absorption with detachment. They act in the world, but the passionless tranquillity of the spirit remains undisturbed. They are compared to the lotus on the lake which is unruffled by the tide.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIVANANDA:

The spiritual aspirant should possess serenity of mind. The Divine Light can descend only in a serene mind. Serenity is attained by the eradication of Vasanas or desires and cravings. He should be fearless. This is the most important qualification. A timid man or a coward is very far from Self-realisation.

A Brahmachari (celibate ) should serve his Guru or the spiritual preceptor whole-heartedly and should live on alms. This also constitutes the Brahmachari-Vrata. The aspirant should control the modifiations of the mind. He should be balanced in pleasure and pain, heat and cold, honour and dishonour. He should ever think of the Lord and take Him as the Supreme Goal.

Brahmacharya also means continence. Semen or the vital fluid tones the nerves and the brain, and energises the whole system. That Brahmachari who has preserved this vital force by the vow of celibacy and sublimated it into Ojas Sakti or radiant spiritual power can practise steady meditation for a long period. Only he can ascend the ladder of Yoga. Without Brahmacharya or celibacy not an iota of spiritual progress is possible. Continence is the very foundation on which the superstructure of meditation and Samadhi can be built up. Many persons waste this vital energy –a great spiritual treasure indeed—when they become blind and lose their power of reason under sexual excitement. Pitiable is their lot! They cannot make substantial progress in Yoga.

Comments by the blogger:

Continence is contemplation and not a desisting from; the devout is not so in the way we ascribe to the word our own watered down meaning. When someone asked Sri Ramakrishna when he could see God the great sage replied by asking what he would do if someone immerses his head in water; the person naturally replied that he would try his best to get out of the water and breathe. The sage said that is the kind of craving one should develop for God and if one could develop that kind of craving he could see God! So continence happens directly and automatically when one is filled to the full with the serene contemplation of the Self or God! Continence is one of the things that goes into what we call Spiritual Culture. All Old Spiritual Cultures like the Ancient Greek have gone out of date. But Indian culture has endured because of the Upanishadic Saints and Seers who were great Bramachariyas. This kind of spiritual culture is an undying contribution by India to the world.