Chapter VI (Verses 24,25)
Dhyana Yoga – The Yoga of Meditation
(Verses 24)
सङ्कल्पप्रभवान्कामांस्त्यक्त्वा सर्वानशेषतः ।
मनसैवेन्द्रियग्रामं विनियम्य समन्ततः ॥ ६-२४॥
Abandoning without reserve all desires born of SANKALPA, and completely restraining the whole group of senses by the mind from all sides.
(Verses 25)
शनैः शनैरुपरमेद् बुद्ध्या धृतिगृहीतया ।
आत्मसंस्थं मनः कृत्वा न किञ्चिदपि चिन्तयेत् ॥ ६-२५॥
Little by little, let him attain quietude by his intellect, held firm; having made the mind established in the Self, let him not think of anything.
In the previous section the entire goal of Yoga was indicated as that state “WHEREIN THE MIND, THROUGH THE PRACTICE OF CONCENTRATION, COMES TO GET ITSELF ABSOLUTELY RESTRAINED.” Later on, we have been given a glorious word-picture of the state of enjoyment and perfection that one will get introduced into, in this state of meditation. This theoretical exposition has no practical value unless exhaustive instructions are given, as to how a diligent seeker can bring about this total mental poise, consciously, in a deliberate spiritual act of perfect self-control.
In these two brilliant stanzas the subtle art of meditation has been explained. The secrets of how to bring the mind to single-pointedness, and what to do thereafter with that mind in concentration and how to approach the Truth and ultimately realise It in an act of deliberate and conscious becoming — are all exhaustively indicated in these two significant stanzas.
Renouncing ‘all’ (Sarvan) desires ‘fully’ (Asheshatah) by the mind, control all the sense-organs from their entire world of sense-objects. Herein, every word demands a commentary, since every phrase leaves a hint which is so important in ultimately assuring the seeker a complete success. It is not only sufficient that ALL desires are renounced, but each desire must be TOTALLY eradicated. By these two terms (Sarvan and Asheshatah), no trace of doubt is left in the mind of the seekers, as to the condition of their mental equipoise, during moments of higher meditation. The term Asheshatah means that even the desire for this perfection in “Yoga” is to be, in the end, totally renounced!
“Renunciation of desire” is advised here as a very necessary and important qualification; but unfortunately, the unintelligent ignored this significant qualification, and perverted our sacred religion by acting and behaving as though it recommended a life of indolence with neither any ambition to achieve, nor any desire to accomplish. The term “BORN OF SANKALPA” is a very significant term qualifying the desires that are to be renounced totally and fully. The term ‘Sankalpa’ has already been explained earlier (VI-2) — so here the terms used mean that it is “the renunciation of all agitation-breeding desires.”
When once this renunciation of disturbing desires has been accomplished, the individual’s mind gains strength and stamina to assert itself, at first to make the wild horses of the sense-organs tame so that they run under greater control and then to restrain all the sense-organs from all sense-objects from all sides.
It is scientifically very true that our mind is not able to control our sense-organs, for it has been rendered weak and thoroughly impotent due to the permanent agitations caused by its own false desires. Once the mind gets strong, as a result of its conquest over desires, it discovers in itself all the strength and capacity to control the Indriyas from all sides. This process of quietening the mind can never be accomplished by any hasty action or by any imagination, or by any strange and mysterious method. It is clearly
indicated by the very insistence that the Geeta makes in this stanza, that the seeker should “ATTAIN QUIETUDE AS A RESULT OF HIS WITHDRAWAL FROM THE WORLD OF SENSE-OBJECTS, BY DEGREES.” Slowly, slowly (Shanaih-Shanaih), the mind gains more and more quietude.
No doubt, when the sense-organs have stopped their mad onrush to their respective sense-objects, a certain amount of mental quietude is gained. The methods of intensifying this inner peace have been indicated in this stanza.
“PATIENTLY, WITH THE INTELLECT THE MIND IS TO BE CONTROLLED, AND RESTED IN THE CONTEMPLATION OF THE SELF.” This advice is extremely important to every seeker as it gives the next item of the programme for a meditator, when he has accomplished, through the exertion of the mind during his meditation, a total withdrawal of himself from the senseworld. A total rejection of the sense-world is possible only during meditation.
The mind that is thus brought to a relative quietude is next to be controlled by the still subtler personality layer in the meditator, which is his intellect. Just as the sense organs are controlled and restrained by the mind, the mind is now treated by the discriminating intellect and brought under complete restraint. The mind cannot be restrained except by fixing its entire attention on one idea to the total exclusion of all other ideas. The mind is “THOUGHT-FLOW” and as such, the constant thought of the Nature of the Self, is to be the exercise by which the mind should be restrained by the intellect. A mind that has merged in the steady contemplation of the Self becomes still, and a divine quietude comes to pervade its very substance. This is the last lap of the journey to which deliberate and conscious action (Purushartha) can take any seeker.
Krishna’s exhaustive theory, which can be practised by any sincere devotee, concludes in these two stanzas with a warning as to what the seeker should avoid at his moment of inward silence and peace; the Lord does not instruct the seeker here on what he should positively do. The Divine Flute-player says, “LET HIM NOT THINK OF ANYTHING,” when he has once reached this state of peace within.
After the “halt-moment” there is nothing more for the seeker to act and achieve. All that he has to do is to avoid starting any new line of imagination. “UNDISTURBED BY ANY NEW THOUGHT WAVE, LET HIM MAINTAIN HIS INNER SILENCE AND COME TO LIVE IT MORE AND MORE DEEPLY,” is all the instruction that the technique of meditation gives to the meditator. “Knock and thou shalt enter” is the promise; you have ‘knocked,’ and into the Supreme Presence, thou shalt enter… ere long (Achirena).
No two simple looking stanzas, anywhere in the spiritual literature of the world, including the sacred books in Hinduism, can claim to have given such an exhaustive wealth of useful instructions to a seeker, as these two stanzas in the Geeta. Even in the entire bulk of the Divine Song (Geeta) itself, there is no other similar couple of stanzas which can, in their pregnant import, stand a favourable comparison with this perfect pair.
Verse 26
From whatever cause the restless and the unsteady mind wanders away, from that let him restrain it, and bring it back under the control of the Self alone.
Every student who tries to understand the above two verses and tries to put them into practice will despair at his own incapacity to control the mind and fix it constantly in the contemplation of the Self. In utter despair, every seeker will realise that the mind irresistibly wanders away from its point-of-concentration because the mind is, by its very nature, “restless” (Chanchala) and “unsteady” (A-sthira). It can neither constantly think of one object nor consistently think of different objects. By these two terms qualifying the mind — restlessness and unsteadiness — Krishna has brought out a vivid and a very realistic picture of the mind, as it is experienced by all true seekers striving on the path of Meditation. These two phrases are so impressive that later on Arjuna himself, while crystallising his doubts into language, uses them quite naturally.
Thus, during practice, even though the seeker has brought his sense-organs to a large extent under his control, still the mind, disturbed by the memories of its past experiences, will shoot out in search of sense-objects. These are the moments of dejection and despair for the seekers. These wanderings of the mind may be due to very many reasons: the memory of the past, the vicinity of some tempting objects, the association of ideas, some attachment or aversion, or maybe, even the very spiritual aspiration of the seeker. Lord Krishna’s instruction here is very categorical and all-embracing. He says “WHATEVER
BE THE REASON BECAUSE OF WHICH THE RESTLESS AND THE UNSTEADY MIND WANDERS AWAY,” the seeker is not to despair, but should understand that it is the nature of the mind to wander, and that the very process of meditation is only a technique to stop this wandering.
LET HIM BRING IT BACK — The seeker is advised to bring back the mind that has rushed out into dissimilar channels of thinking. This withdrawal of the mind by sheer will-power may be successful to a degree, but as soon as it is brought back, it will, and it should, rush out again into another fanciful line of thinking. Very rarely do the Sadhakas realise that the mind means “the flow-of-thought.” A steady, motionless mind is no mind at all! Therefore, in the technique of meditation, when the mind is withdrawn from the sense-objects, this very process of withdrawal is to be completed by a conscious effort on the part of the meditator, in applying the same mind, at once, in the contemplation of the Self. This idea has been remarkably well brought out when the Lord complements his instruction by the term “BRINGING IT UNDER THE SWAY OF THE SELF ALONE.”