Chapter VI (Verse 23,6) & Chapter XII(Verse 8)
Dhyana Yoga – the Yoga of Meditation
Verse 23
तम् विद्यात् दुःख-संयोग-वियोगम् योग-संज्ञितम् ।
सः निश्चयेन योक्तव्यः योगः अनिर्विण्ण-चेतसा ॥ ६-२३॥
Let it be known: the severance from the union-with-pain is YOGA. This YOGA should be practised with determination and with a mind steady and un-despairing.(HYPERLINK THIS VERSE WITH ‘REWARD OF MEDITATION’VERSES 20, 21, 22, & 23)
Bhakti Yoga – The Yoga of Devotion
Chapter XII
Verse 8
मय्येव मन आधत्स्व मयि बुद्धिं निवेशय ।
निवसिष्यसि मय्येव अत ऊर्ध्वं न संशयः ॥ १२-८॥
Fix your mind on Me only, place your intellect in Me; then, (thereafter) you shall, no doubt, live in Me alone.
Meditation is not a physical act but it is a subtle art developed by the inner personality in man. Every seeker must be experiencing that what his intellect accepts, his heart does not appreciate; and what his heart craves for, the intellect laughs at. To bring both the head and the heart to the same Enchanting Form of thrilled satisfaction, would be the secret of harnessing the entire inner man to the spiritual effort. The technique of this art is beautifully explained in this stanza.
FIX THY MIND ON ME ALONE — The mind cannot contemplate on any theme that cannot be conditioned by the senses. Therefore, by meditation upon the enchanting form of the Immortal Flute-player, the human mind can readily be made to rest entirely at the feet of the form. The Lord, being all-pervading, is at once the Divine Grace behind all names and forms. The mind of a devotee cannot wander to any place where he is not reminded of the smile of the Crowned Cowherd-boy!
Merely to ruminate over a decorated marble symbol of the Eternal Child is not in itself sufficient food for the inner personality of man. The intellectual aspect in us is starved, although the heart nestles in satisfaction at the soft feet of the Lord. Any over-development will bring about an ugly situation; perfection is harmony and uniform growth. Therefore, technically, the Geeta rightly advises that the devotee must bring his discriminating intellect to pierce through the stony idol and contact the pulsating Truth it represents.
PLACE THE INTELLECT IN ME — To contact thereby the cosmic total-intellect which is the Lord’s equipment.Every one of us, at any given moment, is the sum-total of we think and what we feel. If our minds are resting on the Lord and our intellects have dived into the very depths of the Infinite, our individualities end and we merge to become one with the Infinite, the all-pervading. Therefore, the Lord says, “THEREAFTER YOU SHALL LIVE IN ME.”
This statement may look as an exaggeration for the finite mortal, who is standing agitated and shy at the gateway of the Temple-of-Truth. In this habitual concept that he is a finite mortal entity — pressed under a thousand limitations, suffering from a host of imperfections, and persecuted by an army of despairs — he fails to accept that he can rediscover himself to be Himself, the ever-Divine. Therefore, as a kindly teacher, Lord Krishna reassures him by affirming directly, “no doubt” (Nasamshayah).