THE HOLY GITA
CHAPTER NUMBER 12
VERSE NUMBER 09
BHAKTI YOGA OR THE YOGA OF DEVOTION:
TEXT IN TRANSLITERATION:
atha chittam samaadhaatum na saknosi mayi sthiram
abhyaasa yogena tato maam icchaa ‘ptum dhanmjaya
SANSKRIT WORDS AND PHRASES AND THEIR MEANING IN ENGLISH:
atha = if: chittam = the mind: samaa dhaatum = to fix: na = not: saknoshi = (thou) art able: mayi = in me: sthiram = steadily: abhyaasa yogena = by the yoga of constant practice: tatah = then: maam = me: iccha = wish: aaptum = to reach: dhanamjaya = O Dhananjaya.
TEXT IN ENGLISH:
If you are not able to fix your mind steadily on Me, O Dhananjaya, then seek to reach Me by Abhyasa-yoga.
COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:
Staunch is that devotion of the sadhaka which does not deviate from the Lord. Wavering is that devotion which oscillates between God and the world. Through constant practice, the mind has to be weaned away from the world. It is Abhyaasa-yoga which is practised ceaselessly until the mind is permanently reclaimed from baseness. The impossible can be made possible through constant practice. Nature can be changed by nurture, it being the most effective means.
SRIMAT SWAMI RAMAKRISHNA PARAMAHAMSA AS QUOTED BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:
A man was rearing a pet dog allowing it an undue indulgence. One day when he was conversing with a learnd visitor the dog, as was its wont, jumped on to the lap of its master and licked his face. “That is no good,” observed the newcomer. The remark produced a salutary effect on the man who decided then and there to train the dog properly. Thenceforth, he gave a knock every time the dog jumped up to lick his face. The sagacious animal was not slow to find out that the master did not approve of that act. It changed its habit accordingly. Similarly the unwanted desire is a wretched dog that man has fondly reared. It dominates over him and depraves him woefully. Repeated blows in the form of counter-thoughts and ideas are the only way to rectify it.
COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:
If this spiritual condition does not arise spontaneously, we must take up the practice of concentration, so that we may gradually fit ourselves for the steadiast directing of the spirit to God. By this practice, the Divine takes gradual possession of our nature.
COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI SIVANANDA:
Abhyasa Yoga: Abhyasa is constant practice to steady the mind and fix it on one point; the practice of repeatedly withdrawing the mind from all sorts of sensual objects and fixing it again and again on one particular object or the Self. The constant effort to separate or detach oneself from the illusory five sheaths and identify oneself with the Atman is also Abhyasa. If you are not able to fix your mind and intellect wholly on the Lord all the time, then do it for some time at least. If your mind wanders much, try to fix it on the Lord through the continuous practice of remembrance. Resort to the worship of the images of God, feeling His Living Presence in them. This will also help you.
Why did Lord Krishna address Arjuna by the name Dhananjaya here? Surely there is some significance. Arjuna conquered many people and brought immense wealth for the Rajasuya Yajna performed by Yudhishthira. For such a man of great powers and splendour, it is not difficult to conquer this mind and obtain the spiritual wealth of knowledge of the Self. This is what Lord Krishna meant when He addressed Arjuna by the name Dhananjaya.
Comments by the blogger:
“Fix your mind on Me alone, let your thoughts dwell in Me”, says the Great Lord to Arjuna. Well, this is a form of meditation. Seated in the Lotus pose on a place which is not very high or very low and having prepared the place somewhat on a raised level than the adjoining land contiguous to the raised platform, we must fix our mind on the Lord with either closed eyes or with the eyes fixed on the space between our two eye-brows. This is the posture suitable for practising Yoga every day for a long time. Why the Lotus pose? Because the Lotus pose makes our whole body relax and thus suitable for performing the practice of meditation for any length of time. In this posture the backbone, our neck and the head form one straight line. This is important. This is how the dormant serpent power or the spiritual power behind the testicles or vagina, in the system of Yoga known as Raja Yoga, is raised slowly and steadily stage by stage. Like a coiled-up snake in a state of hibernation, this power usually remains asleep. A coil is called Kundala in Sanskrit. Kundalini, according to Srimat Swami Bhaskarananda belonging to Sri Ramakrishna Math, America, means something which is coiled up, such as a snake. Raja Yoga helps one to awaken one’s Kundalini power through meditation and other spiritual practices. There are several stages starting from behind the testicles or vagina. The consciousness and the serpent power which is dormant behind the private parts is known as Moolaadhaara. From this stage, the consciousness and serpent power must be raised to the next stage, by name, Svaadhishthaana. We should know that the serpent power is raised up along the straight backbone. From Svaadhishthaana the power and consciousness is raised up to Manipura. From Manipura the power is raised through Sushumna Nadi or Channel, then is the stage which is known as Anaahata. Then there is a channel known as Idaa Channel and on the right is Pingala Channel. Then our spiritual power is raised to the stage known as Vishudda. It is behind our throat. Between our eyebrows is Aajnaa chakra and the last stage is Sahasraara which is in the centre of our head.
When the spiritual power is raised to Sahasraara there is complete enlightenment and emancipation is simultaneous.
The Lord calls Arjuna as Dhanajaya or O, the winner of wealth. Its significance is explained by Srimat Swami Sivananda.
This is how the embodied one prepares oneself for the attainment of the plenitude.
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