Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6

POWERFUL COGNITION

This text was machine-transcribed from the printed book and may contain errors. Select the words and choose “Report a mistake”.

Bring integrity to control the senses

६.११

शुचौ देशे प्रतिष्ठाप्य स्थिरमासनमात्मनः ।
नात्युच्छ्रितं नातिनीचं चैलाजिनकुशोत्तरम्
॥६-११॥

śucau deśe pratiṣṭhāpya sthiram āsanam
ātmanaḥ nātyucchritaṁ nātinīcaṁ
cailājina-kuśottaram

On a clean and pure place, one should establish his seat by laying kuśa grass, a deer skin and a cloth, one over another, neither too high nor too low

POWERFUL COGNITION

The most important thing to be aware of in any meditation is to be relaxed.

६.१२

तत्रैकाग्रं मनः कृत्वा यतचित्तेन्द्रियक्रियः ।
उपविश्यासने युञ्ज्याद्योगमात्मविशुद्धये
॥ ६=१२॥

tatraikāgraṁ manaḥ kṛtvā yata-
cittendriya-kriyaḥ upaviśyāsane yuñjyād
yogamātmaviśuddhaye

Sitting firmly on that pure seat, the yogi should practice the purification of the self by controlling the activities of mind and the senses

POWERFUL COGNITION

When we are not attached or attracted to external objects, when we are not led by our senses, we have steadied the mind and senses

6.13

समं कायशिरोग्रीवं धारयन्नचलं स्थिरः ।
सम्प्रेक्ष्य नासिकाग्रं स्वं दिशश्चानवलोकयन्
॥६-१३॥

samaṁ kāyaśirogrīvaṁ dhārayannacalaṁ
sthirah samprekṣya nāsikāgraṁ svaṁ
diśaścānavalokayan

Holding the body, head and neck
steady, look at the tip of your nose
without looking in any other direction

POWERFUL COGNITION

By fixing our eyes on the tip of the nose our awareness will settle on the third eye

6.14

प्रशान्तात्मा विगतभीर्ब्रह्मचारिव्रते स्थितः ।
मनः संयम्य मच्चित्तो युक्त आसीत मत्परः
॥ ६-१४॥

praśāntātmā vigatabhīr brahmacārivrate
sthitaḥ manaḥ saṃyamya maccitto yukta
āsī ta matparaḥ

Sit with an unagitated mind, free from
fear and in tune with Existence,
controlling the mind, focusing it on Me
and make Me the supreme goa

POWERFUL COGNITION

Meditate on the formless energy of Kṛṣṇa that is beyond the form

INTRODUCTION

Kṛṣṇa gives directions for the practitioner of Yoga, the Yogī. These are general and practical guidelines given to help us with how we should sit and meditate. Senses are our doors to the external world. As long as they are open and uncontrolled, we are immersed only in the external world.

Controlling the senses requires controlling the mind. Controlling the mind requires control of thoughts. Controlling the thoughts requires integrity. When we continuously live integrity, we will become aware of the thoughts and processes happening in our inner space.

A line drawing of a yogi sitting in meditation posture

Constantly listening to our own
inner space is the beginning of
integrity. If our inner space says
that there is nothing more to listen,
if only silence is there, then that is
the end of integrity. We have
achieved integrity. When we start
listening to our inner space, we
start integrity and when we listen
to only silence from our inner
space, we have achieved integrity

Go on listening. Even
while you are sitting,
driving, talking or
walking, listen to you.
Also listen to you, when
you are talking! It is
listening to you that is
going to bring integrity
to you! Listen! You will
see that by their very
nature our thoughts are
illogical, unconnected
and irrational.

We need to do two things
to control our thoughts.
First, we need to stay in
the present moment.
Second, we need to
disconnect thoughts. This
is called Unclutching. It is
not staying without
thoughts. That is not
possible; just witness
thoughts. Understand that
thoughts are
unconnected. Detach
yourself from the
emotional baggage of the
thoughts.

If we detach ourselves
from the regrets of the
past and the speculations
about the future we will
automatically rise into the
present.

Unclutching is not like switching off the electricity to your house. It is like cleaning, sweeping and wiping your house. It is not like electricity that you will just switch off and be unclutched. No! It is like cleaning, sweeping and wiping. First, listen to your inner space! That is the first step to meditation, to life. Listen!! We should go to a secluded place. Why? Whatever said and done, in the house, the phone may ring, somebody may knock or some salesperson may call. A secluded place is really just a means to move us away from these disturbances.

Illustration of Lord Krishna playing the flute

The kuṣa, deerskin and all those things are like insulation, so that the earth will not absorb the energy we create. But now we don't have to bother about that, since we usually sit in a chair. The seat should neither be too high nor too low and it should be comfortable. That's all.

The most important thing to be aware of in any meditation is to be relaxed. We cannot meditate in discomfort. Keeping the head, neck and spine, all in one line, helps in two ways. Firstly, it prevents us from dropping off to sleep. Secondly, as long as the head, neck and spine remain steady and vertical, the flow of pranic energy, the life-giving energy, through the energy pathways will be unblocked and smooth.