THE HOLY GITA , CHAPTER NUMBER 06, DHYANA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF MEDITATION, VERSE NUMBER 19

THE HOLY YOGA

CHAPTER NUMBER 06

DHYANA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF MEDITATION:

VERSE NUMBER 19

Text in Transliteration:

Yathaa deepo nivaatastho ne ‘ngate so ‘pamaa smrtaa

Yogino yatacittasya yinjato yogam aatmanah

Text in English:

‘As a lamp in a windless place does not flicker’—this is the simile used for the disciplined mind of a yogi practising concentration on the Self.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIDBHAVANANDA:

The flame of a lamp in a place perfectly sheltered against wind, is as steady as the flame of a lamp in a picture. When the mind of the yogi is completely sheltered against the wind of desire, the Self in him shines in its original splendour. He is to identify himself with that unbroken consciousness.

SRI RAMAKRISHNA AS QUOTED BY SWMI SIDBHAVANANDA:

‘Mukti(emancipation) is easy of access to the one deep and strong in mediation’—so goes the saying. Do you know when one is said to be perfect in meditation? When he sits in meditation, divine effulgence engulfs him. His little self merges into the Cosmic Self.

COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:

The yogi’s thought is absorbed in the Atman. Fleeting glimpses or passing visions should not be confused with the insight into Atman which is the one safeguard against all delusions.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIVANANDA:

This is a beautiful simile. Yogins quote this simile very often when they talk of concentration or steadiness or one-pointedness of the mind. A steady mind will serve as a powerful searchlight to find out the hidden spiritual treasures of the Self.

Comments by the blogger:

All that is worldly must be seen not as a bane but as a distraction. The lord is sporting. This is the only plausible explanation. And this is the only explanation by the Hindu Seers and Saints when asked why should God send us into the world full of distractions and sinful cravings and then ask us to think only of Him and not be swayed by the sensualities of the world. A year’s complete sadhana or practice in utmost privacy is shot to hell when an angel like person looks upon us and smiles. They say every man has a price. If a man is not swayed by one lakh rupees he is swept off his yogic feet by one crore rupees! The heart melts at a beautiful form’s interest in us. Money and land have a power like the kick in the ass. All the worldly things seem the utmost and ultimate at the moment. The change of moment is taken up by a change of “man, pen and pon” ( land, woman and gold respectively). The strong pull for the land, woman and gold lasts till the last breath is sucked out by our fate and even as we are being reduced to a corpse. Eswar or the Lord is said to be sporting. We have to transcend not transact with the five senses. We should crave for the Lord and not hate the five senses which are just a matter of evolution. We should pray to the Lord, beg him going down our knees and cring-beg him to please fill us with thoughts and feeling about Him to the level that without hating the senses or sense objects, we may concentrate on Him and Him only like the picture perfect pure flame of a lamp placed in a windless spot! We should always remember that the Lord is sporting.