Bhagavad Gita – Synopsis 18 Chapters:CHAPTER SIX

The Bhagavad Gita : Chapter SIX. [compiled by Kamini Khanna. Mombasa, Kenya. Africa]

The sixth chapter reveals the secret of meditation. Slowly, having removed itself from the distractions of the world, the mind learns to establish itself in its own svarupa or nature. Here Sri Krishna prepares us for meditation and shows us how to meditate. The state of meditation is different from the waking, dream or dream-sleep states, and far subtler than them all. It is the turiya or the fourth state, of which we know very little. This fourth state is one’s own nature but one is not aware of it. He asks us to shift our attention from the world outside and sit in within ourself. By becoming established in this state, one becomes free of all sorrow. Even mountain like sorrows, fail to shake the equilibrium of such an individual. The Lord advises us to remain in the Self. Established in this, the whole world is experienced as oneself.

One is immersed in sukh (bliss and contentment) and is automatically free of all worries and anxieties. Arjun asks Bhagavan, “My mind is restless. How can I make it quiet?” In reply, Sri Krishna deals exhaustively with the preparation for meditation, the method to follow and the benefits that accrue. He transports us from restlessness and confusion to the state of meditation. Sri Bhagavan said: He, who does his duty without expecting the fruit of actions, is both, a sannyasi (sankhyayogi) and a yogi (karma yogi). He, who has not given up thoughts of the world, cannot become a yogi. When a man ceases to have any attachment either for the objects of senses, or for actions, and has renounced all thoughts of the world, he is said to have attained yoga.

Bhagavan said: Arjuna, one should lift oneself up by one’s own efforts and should not degrade oneself, for one’s own self is one’s friend and one’s own self is also one’s own enemy. One’s own self is the friend of the soul by whom the lower self (viz., the mind, the senses and the body) has been conquered. On the other hand, he who has not conquered his lower self, i.e. one’s mind, senses and one’s body, behaves inimically, like one’s own enemy.

The supreme spirit is firmly established in the knowledge of the self–controlled man whose mind is perfectly calm in the midst of cold-heat; joy-sorrow; and honor and dishonor. The yogi, whose mind is unchangeable under any circumstance, whose senses are thoroughly subdued, and to whom, a clod, a stone and a piece of gold make no difference, is spoken of as a God – Realized soul. Bhagavan says:he who regards well-wishers, friends, foes, mediators, the objects of hatred, relatives, the virtuous and the sinful alike – stands supreme. The yogi who has subdued his mind and body, and who is free from desires and bereft of possessions – living in seclusion all by himself alone, should constantly engage in meditation.
Krishna offers instructions on meditation:

In clean spot, having comfortably placed himself, concentrate, by controlling the functions of the mind and the senses.
Keep the trunk, head and neck straight and steady, remaining firm and looking at the tip of the nose, without looking in any other direction.
Keeping himself perfectly calm and the mind thoroughly brought under control and fixed on Me, the vigilant yogi should sit, totally absorbed in Me.
Thus constantly applying his mind to Me, the yogi of subdued mind attains lasting peace, consisting of supreme bliss.
This yoga is not for him who eats too much, nor for him, who does not eat at all. Nor for him who sleeps too much and neither for him, who is ceaselessly awake.
Yoga, which rids one of woe, is accomplished only by him, who is regulated in diet and recreation, regulated in performing actions, and regulated in sleeping and waking.
When the mind brought under complete control, gets focused on God alone, who is free from yearning for all enjoyments, one is said to be established in Yoga.
He should, through gradual practice, attain tranquility by restraining the restless mind from all objects after which it runs, and should repeatedly concentrate on Me.
For the Yogi, whose mind is perfectly calm, who is sinless, whose passion is subdued, and who is identified with Brahman, supreme happiness sets in, gradually.
The sinless Yogi thus, uniting his self constantly with Me (God), easily enjoys the eternal bliss of oneness with Brahman.
He who sees Me (the Universal Self) present in all beings, and sees all beings existing in Me, I am never out of sight of him, nor he.
He, who established in unity, worships Me as residing in all beings, that Yogi, though engaged in all forms of activities, dwells in me.

Arjuna says: Krishna, this yoga which you have taught, to keep the restless mind calm and steady, is very difficult to practice, for the mind is very unsteady, turbulent, tenacious and powerful. Therefore, it’s difficult to control as the wind.

Bhagavan: The mind is, without doubt, unsteady and difficult to curb Arjuna. But it can be controlled through constant practice of meditation.

Chapter 6 is the Lord’s generative organs. It helps us to get established in our own nature. This technique reveals to us not only our identity, but the world as well.