VERSE NUMBER 61 OF SAMKHYA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF KNOWLEDGE

THE HOLY GITA

CHAPTER TWO

SAMKHYA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF KNOWLEDGE

VERSE NUMBER 61

Text in Transliteration:

taani sarvaani samyamya yukta aaseeta matparah

vase hi yasye ‘ndriyaani tasya prajnaa pratishthitaa

Text in English:

   The yogi, having controlled them all, sits focussed on Me as the supreme goal. His wisdom is constant whose senses are under subjugation.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:

   Mind cannot occupy itself at the same time with two conflicting thoughts. In the auto-suggestion, “I shall efface sense pleasures,” the idea of those pleasures is involved. It gets deep-rooted in the mind. In a favourable future situation this hidden idea sprouts and puts forth branches. By nipping the tender branches of the surface, the stalk and the roots below are not destroyed. On the other hand, the stem gathers strength below. The unwanted idea thrives in the sub-conscious region of the mind; it is ngatively fostered. The process has therefore to be reversed by substituting a positive idea such as, “I shall delight in the glory of the Lord.” When the wholesome idea gains strength the other gets purged away. Healthy ideas wipe out the unhealthy ones. As devotion to the Lord increases, the wild vehemence of the mind gets tamed down.  

SRI RAMAKRISHNA AS QUOTED BY SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:

   No thought of any sense-indulgence crops up in the mind while noe is bitterly bereaved of a dearly loved relative. Similarly no vulgar thought crops up in the mind of the one devoted to the Divine. The turbulent senses in him become subdued soon.

COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:

matparah: another reading is tatparah.

Self-discipline is not a matter of intelligence. It is a matter of will and emotions. Self-discipline is easy when there is vision of the Higest. See XII, 5. The original yoga was theistic. Cp. Also Yoga Sastra I, 24. Klesakarmvipaakakshasyair aparaamrshtah purusavisesha isvarah.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIVANANDA:

   He should control the senses and sit focussed on Me as the Supreme, with a calm mind. The wisdom of the Yogi who thus seated has brought all his senses under subjugation is doubtless quite steady. He is established in the Self. Sri Sankaracharya explains Asita Marparah as “he shouls dit contemplating: ‘ i am no other than He’.”

Comments by the blogger:

This verse speaks about a kind of meditation. It is not for ordinary people without the guidance of a preceptor or Guru. Under the guidance of a proper preceptor or Guru we can indulge in this kind of sense control. Swami Vivekananda timely warns laymen not to indulge in meditation without the guidance of a Guru. He further says that if laymen try to perform meditation, even the exercise for building concentration power could lead to unforeseen consequences. Any form of yoga involving meditation should be done only under the strict guidance of an able Guru. These days Sri Jaggi Vasudhev of Velliyangiri and Sri Sri Ravishankar and Gurus like them conduct Yoga classes. Proper preceptors come to watch over the neophytes. They are taken in the art of Meditation step by step. This kind of mass classes are the timely thing for today. We cannot have individual Gurus like in the Upanishadic period. Anyhow, Swami Vivekananda advises us to be under the watchful Guru or Preceptor. So those who want to perform and practise Yogic Meditation are advised to join any of the institutions as mentioned above. Both Jugi Vasudhevji and Sri Sri Ravishankarji are doing a yoman service. There are any number of such Gurus. Laymen are advised to seek their help. Book yogis are bound to become a disaster and court mental derangement!

That apart, to get the unruely senses under control, Sri Bhagavan and meditating on him are the only means. There is no other way.

Some self-tutoring Yogis have been here, like Ramana Maharshi. He started with various vichara or inquiry in meditation and at last came to the conclusion to put the question, “Who Am I?” and succeeded greatly. But he is one of the exceptions. People around Thiruvannamalai can go to the Ashrama even today where such yogic inquiry is taught by proper preceptors.

So never try to become a book yogi and become deranged. Yoga is a great science when it refers to meditation, but proper Guru or Preceptor’s watchful guidance is necessary to the aspirants. Come let’s all perform and practise meditation under proper guidance!