INTRODUCTION
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If you are not able to fix your mind upon Me, then O Dhanañjaya (Arjuna), with the constant practice of yoga you try to attain Me. If you are not able to practice even this yoga, then performing your duties and surrendering all your actions to Me, you will attain perfection. Here Kṛṣṇa talks about Abhyāsa Yoga. What is Abhyāsa Yoga? Abhyāsa Yoga is the practice or method of yoga of holding the mind constantly in a state of union with Divinity. It is the state of complete immersion in the consciousness of Kṛṣṇa. Why does Kṛṣṇa speak about Abhyāsa Yoga? In the last chapter, Kṛṣṇa gives Arjuna a glimpse of the universal consciousness, Viśvarūpa darśan. However, Arjuna is unable to stay in that state permanently.
Arjuna comes out of the experience
because of fear or old saṁskāras, root
thought patterns of past desires. He
slips from that state of consciousness.
Therefore, Kṛṣṇa speaks about
Abhyāsa Yoga, how to establish
oneself in that consciousness. That's
why He speaks about abhyāsa, which
means practice. He gives a solid path,
or a solid solution to take care of our
whole life, to establish ourselves in
that consciousness. Continuously,
again and again, in our daily life, let
us receive these ideas, intranalyze
these ideas in our consciousness and
let our inner space be filled with these
ideas. Let us not waste a few
moments.
Let our whole inner space be filled with these great thoughts. That is the way to establish us in that super consciousness. Kṛṣṇa continues to give more tips for establishing ourselves in that consciousness and radiating devotion. Kṛṣṇa instructs continuously over the next four verses. He gives various options, step-by-step.
He says: If we can't do this, do that. If we can't do that, do this. The first thing He says is, ‘Oh Dhanañjaya (winner of wealth), fix your mind upon Me. With constant practice, try to attain Me. If you are not able to practice, then perform actions for Me. In this way, develop the desire to attain Me.’
Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahamsa had advised
a lady to meditate upon the form of
goddess Kālī. She said that however
much she tried she was unable to
meditate on Kālī; she was always
distracted. She came back to
Rāmakṛṣṇa upset that she could make
no spiritual progress. Rāmakṛṣṇa
enquired whether the lady’s attention
was diverted to someone or something
else. The lady confessed that she was
thinking of a young nephew, a child,
whom she was fond of. Immediately,
Rāmakṛṣṇa advised her, ‘Focus your
attention on this child whom you
love. Meditate upon him.’ The lady
came back after a few weeks satisfied.
Having started her meditation upon
the child whom she loved, she could
meditate. And once she could
meditate, she could transfer her focus
to goddess Kālī!
The mind can be trained. What is important is concentration. Once we learn to focus our attention completely on something, single-pointedly, we can train the mind to be like a laser beam.
That laser beam can then be transferred to any object with equal facility and success. Vivekananda has said, ‘Once you learn all that there is to be known about a handful of clay by focusing your complete attention on it, you will know about all the clay everywhere in the world.’ Kṛṣṇa refers to completing with the mind through constant practice of meditation, which is part of the yogic path. Meditation is not about sitting down with eyes closed for half an hour every day or every other day or when we get time. Meditation is an incessant and obsessive focus upon the Divine. Meditation is a way of life.