Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (49 page)

Bg 6.16

TEXT 16

TEXT

nāty-aśnatas 'tu yogo 'sti

na caikāntam anaśnataḥ

na cāti-svapna-śīlasya

jāgrato naiva cārjuna

SYNONYMS

na-
never;
ati-
too much;
aśnataḥ-
of one who eats so;
tu-
but;
yogaḥ-
linking with the Supreme;
asti-
there is;
na-
nor;
ca-
also;
ekāntam-
very low;
anaśnataḥ-
abstaining from eating;
na-
nor;
ca-
also;
ati-
too much;
svapna-śīlasya-
of one who sleeps too much;
jāgrataḥ-
or one who keeps night watch too much;
na-
not;
eva-
ever;
ca-
and;
arjuna-
O Arjuna.

TRANSLATION

There is no possibility of one's becoming a yogī, O Arjuna, if one eats too much, or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough.

PURPORT

Regulation of diet and sleep is recommended herein for the
yogīs.
Too much eating means eating more than is required to keep the body and soul together. There is no need for men to eat animals because there is an ample supply of grains, vegetables, fruits and milk. Such simple foodstuff is considered to be in the mode of goodness according to the
Bhagavad-gītā
. Animal food is for those in the mode of ignorance. Therefore, those who indulge in animal food, drinking, smoking and eating food which is not first offered to Kṛṣṇa will suffer sinful reactions because of eating only polluted things.
Bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ papa ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt.
Anyone who eats for sense pleasure, or cooks for himself, not offering his food to Kṛṣṇa, eats only sin. One who eats sin and eats more than is allotted to him cannot execute perfect
yoga.
It is best that one eat only the remnants of foodstuff offered to Kṛṣṇa. A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness does not eat anything which is not first offered to Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, only the Kṛṣṇa conscious person can attain perfection in
yoga
practice. Nor can one who artificially abstains from eating, manufacturing his own personal process of fasting, practice
yoga.
The Kṛṣṇa conscious person observes fasting as it is recommended in the scriptures. He does not fast or eat more than is required, and he is thus competent to perform
yoga
practice. One who eats more than required will dream very much while sleeping, and he must consequently sleep more than is required. One should not sleep more than six hours daily. One who sleeps more than six hours out of twenty-four is certainly influenced by the mode of ignorance. A person in the mode of ignorance is lazy and prone to sleep a great deal. Such a person cannot perform
yoga.

Bg 6.17

TEXT 17

TEXT

yuktāhāra-vihārasya

yukta-ceṣṭasya karmasu

yukta-svapnāvabodhasya

yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā

SYNONYMS

yukta-
regulated;
āhāra-
eating;
vihārasya-
recreation;
yukta-
regulated;
ceṣṭasya-
of one who works for maintenance;
karmasu-
in discharging duties;
yukta-
regulated;
svapna-avabodhasya-
regulated sleep and wakefulness;
yogaḥ-
practice of
yoga; bhavati-
becomes;
duḥkha-hā-
diminishing pains.

TRANSLATION

He who is temperate in his habits of eating, sleeping, working and recreation can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.

PURPORT

Extravagance in the matter of eating, sleeping, defending and mating-which are demands of the body-can block advancement in the practice of
yoga.
As far as eating is concerned, it can be regulated only when one is practiced to take and accept
prasādam,
sanctified food. Lord Kṛṣṇa is offered, according to the
Bhagavad-gītā
(Bg. 9.26), vegetables, flowers, fruits, grains, milk, etc. In this way, a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness becomes automatically trained not to accept food not meant for human consumption, or which is not in the category of goodness. As far as sleeping is concerned, a Kṛṣṇa conscious person is always alert in the discharge of his duties in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and therefore any unnecessary time spent sleeping is considered a great loss. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person cannot bear to pass a minute of his life without being engaged in the service of the Lord. Therefore, his sleeping is kept to a minimum. His ideal in this respect is Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, who was always engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa and who could not sleep more than two hours a day, and sometimes not even that. Ṭhākura Haridāsa would not even accept
prasādam
nor even sleep for a moment without finishing his daily routine of chanting with his beads three hundred thousand names. As far as work is concerned, a Kṛṣṇa conscious person does not do anything which is not connected with Kṛṣṇa's interest, and thus his work is always regulated and is untainted by sense gratification. Since there is no question of sense gratification, there is no material leisure for a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And because he is regulated in all his work, speech, sleep, wakefulness and all other bodily activities, there is no material misery for him.

Bg 6.18

TEXT 18

TEXT

yadā viniyataṁ cittam

ātmany evāvatiṣṭhate

nispṛhaḥ sarva-kāmebhyo

yukta ity ucyate tadā

SYNONYMS

yadā-
when;
viniyatam-
particularly disciplined;
cittam-
the mind and its activities;
ātmani-
in the Transcendence;
eva-
certainly;
avatiṣṭhate-
becomes situated;
nispṛhaḥ-
devoid of;
sarva-
all kinds of;
kāmebhyaḥ-
material desires;
yuktaḥ-
well situated in
yoga; iti-
thus;
ucyate-
is said to be;
tadā-
at that time.

TRANSLATION

When the yogī, by practice of yoga, disciplines his mental activities and becomes situated in Transcendence-devoid of all material desires-he is said to have attained yoga.

PURPORT

The activities of the
yogī
are distinguished from those of an ordinary person by his characteristic cessation from all kinds of material desires-of which sex is the chief. A perfect
yogī
is so well disciplined in the activities of the mind that he can no longer be disturbed by any kind of material desire. This perfectional stage can automatically be attained by persons in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, as is stated in the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
(9.4.18-20):

sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānavarṇane
karau harer mandira-mārjanādiṣu śrutiṁ cakārācyuta-sat-kathodaye
mukunda-liṅgālaya-darśane dṛśau tad-bhṛtyagātra-sparśe 'ṅga-saṅgamam
ghrāṇaṁ ca tat-pāda-saroja-saurabhe śrīmat tulasyā rasanāṁ tad-arpite
pādau hareḥ kṣetra-padānusarpaṇe śiro hṛṣīkeśa-padābhivandane
kāmaṁ ca dāsye na tu kāma-kāmyayā yathottama-śloka-janāśrayā ratiḥ

"King Ambarīṣa first of all engaged his mind on the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa; then, one after another, he engaged his words in describing the transcendental qualities of the Lord, his hands in mopping the temple of the Lord, his ears in hearing of the activities of the Lord, his eyes in seeing the transcendental forms of the Lord, his body in touching the bodies of the devotees, his sense of smell in smelling the scents of the lotus flower offered to the Lord, his tongue in tasting the
tulasī
leaf offered at the lotus feet of the Lord, his legs in going to places of pilgrimage and the temple of the Lord, his head in offering obeisances unto the Lord and his desires in executing the mission of the Lord. All these transcendental activities are quite befitting a pure devotee."

This transcendental stage may be inexpressible subjectively by the followers of the impersonalist path, but it becomes very easy and practical for a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, as is apparent in the above description of the engagements of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. Unless the mind is fixed on the lotus feet of the Lord by constant remembrance, such transcendental engagements are not practical. In the devotional service of the Lord, therefore, these prescribed activities are called
arcanā
, or engaging all the senses in the service of the Lord. The senses and the mind require engagements. Simple abnegation is not practical. Therefore, for people in general-especially those who are not in the renounced order of life-transcendental engagement of the senses and the mind as described above is the perfect process for transcendental achievement, which is called
yukta
in the
Bhagavad-gītā.

Bg 6.19

TEXT 19

TEXT

yathā dīpo nivāta-stho

neṅgate sopamā smṛtā

yogino yata-cittasya

yuñjato yogam ātmanaḥ

SYNONYMS

yathā
-as;
dīpaḥ-
a lamp;
nivātasthaḥ
-in a place without wind;
na
-does not;
iṅgate
-waver;
sā upamā
-compared to that;
smṛtā
-likened;
yoginaḥ
-of the
yogī
;
yata-cittasya
-whose mind is controlled;
yuñjataḥ
-constantly engaged in;
yogam
-meditation;
ātmanaḥ
-on Transcendence.

TRANSLATION

As a lamp in a windless place does not waver, so the transcendentalist, whose mind is controlled, remains always steady in his meditation on the transcendent Self.

PURPORT

A truly Kṛṣṇa conscious person, always absorbed in Transcendence, in constant undisturbed meditation on his worshipable Lord, is as steady as a lamp in a windless place.

Bg 6.20, Bg 6.21, Bg 6.22, Bg 6.23, Bg 6.20-23

TEXTS 20-23

TEXT

yatroparamate cittaṁ

niruddhaṁ yoga-sevayā

yatra caivātmanātmānaṁ

paśyann ātmani tuṣyati

buddhi-grāhyam atīndriyam

vetti yatra na caivāyaṁ

sthitaś calati tattvataḥ

manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ

yasmin sthito na duḥkhena

guruṇāpi vicālyate

viyogaṁ yoga-saṁjñitam

SYNONYMS

yatra-
in that state of affairs;
uparamate-
when one feels transcendental happiness;
cittam-
mental activities;
niruddham-
restrained from matter;
yoga-sevayā-
by performance of
yoga; yatra-
in that;
ca-
also;
eva-
certainly;
ātmanā-
by the pure mind;
ātmānam-
self;
paśyan-
realizing the position;
ātmani-
in the self;
tuṣyati-
becomes satisfied;
sukham-
happiness;
ātyantikam-
supreme;
yat-
in which;
tat-
that;
buddhi-
intelligence;
grāhyam-
acceptable;
atīndriyam-
transcendental;
vetti-
knows;
yatra-
wherein;
na-
never;
ca-
also;
eva
-certainly;
ayam
-in this;
sthitaḥ-
situated;
calati-
moves;
tattvataḥ-
from the truth;
yam-
that which;
labdhvā-
by attainment;
ca-
also;
aparam-
any other;
lābham-
gain;
manyate-
does not mind;
na-
never;
adhikam-
more than that;
tataḥ-
from that;
yasmin-
in which;
sthitaḥ-
being situated;
na-
never;
duḥkhena-
by miseries;
guruṇāpi
-even though very difficult;
vicālyate-
becomes shaken;
tam-
that;
vidyāt
-you must know;
duḥkha-saṁyoga-
miseries of material contact;
viyogam
-extermination;
yoga-samjñitam-
trance in
yoga.

TRANSLATION

The stage of perfection is called trance, or samādhi, when one's mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This is characterized by one's ability to see the self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness and enjoys himself through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact.

PURPORT

By practice of
yoga
one becomes gradually detached from material concepts. This is the primary characteristic of the
yoga
principle. And after this, one becomes situated in trance, or
samādhi
which means that the
yogī
realizes the Supersoul through transcendental mind and intelligence, without any of the misgivings of identifying the self with the Superself.
Yoga
practice is more or less based on the principles of the Patañjali system. Some unauthorized commentators try to identify the individual soul with the Supersoul, and the monists think this to be liberation, but they do not understand the real purpose of the Patañjali system of
yoga.
There is an acceptance of transcendental pleasure in the Patañjali system, but the monists do not accept this transcendental pleasure out of fear of jeopardizing the theory of oneness. The duality of knowledge and knower is not accepted by the nondualist, but in this verse transcendental pleasure-realized through transcendental senses-is accepted. And this is corroborated by the Patañjali Muni, the famous exponent of the
yoga
system. The great sage declares in his
Yoga-sūtras: puruṣārtha-śūnyānāṁ guṇānāṁ pratiprasavaḥ kaivalyaṁ svarūpa-pratiṣṭhā vā citi-śaktir iti.