THE HOLY GITA, CHAPTER NUMBER 06, DHYANA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF MEDITATION, VERSE NUMBER 35

THE HOLY GITA

CHAPTER NUMBER 06

DHYANA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF MEDITATION:

VERSE NUMBER 35

Text in Transliteration:

                           sree bhagavaan uvaacha

asamsayam mahaabaaho mano durnigraham chalam

abhyaasena tu kaunteya vairaagyena cha grhate

                            The Blessed Lord said:

Doubtless, O mighty-armed, the mind i s restless and hard to control; but by practice and non-attachment, O son of Kunti, it can be controlled.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIDBHAVANANDA:

 The sum total of the habits of a man is h is nature. It has come about as a result of his giving himself over to the bent of his mind. Unwillingly he has become the creature of his own mind, wonted to restlessness. But the old habits can be eradicated through new ones. In other words nature can be changed through nurture. An earnest and persistent attempt at the change of nature is abhyaasa or practice. The uncontrollable and restless mind can be controlled and made calm. Practice is the sure means to this end. To wean the mind from its wonted ways and direct it on the ideal is practice. Mind becomes pacified as it gets drawn to the Self.

On analysis it may be found that mind runs after those objects to which it has been attached. The evils of such attachments have to be repeatedly and timely presented to the passionate mind. As the force of passion gets put down, mind comes under control. when all the base attachments are wiped out through discrimination, min blooms into serenity. Practice of non-attachement is therefore auxiliary to the practice of meditation.

SRI RAMAKRISHNA AS QUOTED BY SWAMI SIDBHAVANANDA:

 He who wants to learn swimming has to be at it repeatedly. It cannot be learnt with one or two attempts. One dares not swim in the boisterous sea just after a day[s practice. Similarly one has to train oneself much to swim in the sea of Sat-chit-ananda. Failure in the first attempt is but natural. Sporting in it becomes possible only through persistent practice.

There is a poisonous variety of spider the effect of the bite of which cannot easily be cured. A spell has to be cast first over the patient with the root of turmeric; otherwise no medicine will have any effect on the poison. The worldly man is bitten by the spider of lust and greed. Unless the spell of non-attachment be invoked on him, no spiritual practice of his will ever bear fruit.

COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:

Yoga Saatra, I, 12.  Abhyaasavairaagyaabhyaam tan nirodhah. The teacher points out that the restless mind, accustomed to act on impulse, can be controlled only by non-attachment and practice.

Arjuna realizes that there is so much of obstinacy and violence, waywardness and self-will in human nature. We are inclined to shut our eyes to the defects of our nature and harden our hearts against the Light. Tapasya is what is needed.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIVANANDA:

The constant or repeated effort to keep the wandering mind steady by constant meditation on the Lakshya (centre, ideal, goal or object of meditation) is Abhyasa or practice. The same idea or thought of the Self or God is constantly repeated. The same idea or thought of the Self or God is constantly repeated. This constant repetition destroys Vikshepa or the vacillation of the mind and desires, and makes it steady and one-pointed.

Vairagya is dispassion or indifference to sense-objects in this world or in the other, here or hereafter, seen or unseen, heard or unheard, achieved, achieved through constantly looking into the evil in them (Dosha-Drishti). You will have to train the mind by constant reflection on the immortal, all-blissful Self. You must make the mind reaise the transitory nature of worldly enjoyments. You must suggest to the mind to look for its enjoyment not in the perishable and changing external objects but in the immortal, changeless self within. Gradually the mind will be withdrawn from the external objects.

Comments by the blogger:

The appellations used by the Lord in reference to Arjuna, namely, “O mighty-armed” and “O son of Kunti” assumes much importance in the context of the verse. Arjuna comes up with two posits and refers them to his Lord and friend, and Arjuna says controlling the restless, turbulent and obstinate mind is very hard and he might as well be called upon to have a sway over the passing wind, and the Lord calls him as mighty-armed literally meaning someone having large and long hands and figuratively meaning man of mighty actions denied to ordinary average men. The Lord agrees with Arjuna that the mind is hard to control. But Arjuna is called O mighty-armed bringing in an inference that may the mind be ever so uncontrollable but the extraordinary men like Arjuna can with practice control the same. The second appellation is “O son of Kunty” and thereby the Lord infers any son and daughter born of the womb of a woman can control the restless mind with Practice and non-attachment. Here there is much room for hope even for ordinary average men and women.