Bhagwad Gita - Post 76

Dear All,

From verse 10 onwards, few verses go on to prescribe the posture, the method, the seating etc.,  for meditation. Readers are advised to go through the verses with the literal translation for these verses.

And then, Sri Krishna goes on to describe the state of the one who has succeeded in the process of meditation in these verses.

Verse 19

Yathaa deepo nivaatastho 

Nengate sopamaa smritaa;

Yogino yatachittasya 

Yunjato yogamaatmanah.

As a lamp placed in a windless spot does not flicker—to such is compared the Yogi of controlled mind, practising Yoga in the Self (or absorbed in the Yoga of the Self).

Verse 20

Yatroparamate chittam 

Niruddham yogasevayaa;

Yatra chaivaatmanaa’tmaanam 

Pashyannaatmani tushyati.

When the mind, restrained by the practice of Yoga, attains to quietude, and when, seeing the Self by the Self, he is satisfied in his own Self.

Verse 21

Sukhamaatyantikam yattad

Buddhi graahyamateendriyam;

Vetti yatra na chaivaayam

Sthitashchalati tattwatah.

When he (the Yogi) feels that infinite bliss which can be grasped by the (pure) intellect and which transcends the senses, and, established wherein he never moves from the Reality,

Verse 22

Yam labdhwaa chaaparam

Laabham manyate naadhikam tatah;

Yasmin sthito na duhkhena

Gurunaapi vichaalyate.

Which, having obtained, he thinks there is no other gain superior to it; wherein established, he is not moved even by heavy sorrow.

These are some illustrations of the condition of intense concentration of the mind. It flickers not. The mind is not any more distracted, because the steadiness of the Atman is reflected here in this highly concentrated mind. Joy manifests itself from within. The mind ceases. 

We will contemplate on the above verses together in today’s post.

Verse 19

As a flame, say a candle flame, flickers not when it is burning in a windless place, so will be the mind concentrating, as it were, at the height of absorption in the Atman. Yathā dīpo nivātasthaḥ: That which is located in a windless place. Neṅgate: Does not flicker. Sopamā smṛtā: That is the illustration that is used here. Yuñjato yogam ātmanaḥ: The Atman reflects itself as an immense steadiness in the mind that is concentrating. The fickleness of the mind, which is otherwise a form of distraction, ceases on account of the entire Atman reflecting itself in this condition of intense concentration.

Verse 20

Uparamate cittaṁ: It melts into the Self, as it were. Niruddhaṁ yogasevayā: Because of the restraint continually exercised on the mind, it melts into the Atman itself. Yatra caivātmanātmānaṁ paśyannātmani tuṣyati: Where beholding the Self in the self, one delights within oneself. There is no delight that is equal to this delight.

Sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad: This happiness is absolute happiness. It is not a relative happiness that we gain by the contact of the mind with the objects of desire, because when the object of desire vanishes there is no happiness and, therefore, it is not actual happiness. It is a relatively tantalizing form of joy.

Buddhigrāhyam: This happiness can be experienced only by the higher purified reason, and not by the sense organs. The higher purified reason can reflect the highest reality within itself in the same way as it can infer the existence of God Almighty, though usually such a perception is not possible through the sense organs. 

We will not be able to arrive at God by an inductive logic of collecting particulars to arrive at generals. Any extent  of particulars that we collect in this world will not make God. Therefore, inductive logic does not help us here. The ancient masters took resort to an intuitive perception by which they started with the Universal first, and not with the particular first.

The existence of the Universal Reality is established by pure logic, and once this is established as the consequence of the work of the higher reason, everything follows. All creation can be explained in terms of this Universal Reality. It is infinite happiness. All other happiness in this world is relative. 

Verse 21

Sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad buddhigrāhyam atīndriyam, vetti yatra na caivāyaṁ sthitaś calati tattvataḥ: In that state, we will never be shaken even by the winds of the world. 

Verse 22

Yasmin sthito na duḥkhena guruṇāpi vicālyate: Even the heaviest sorrow cannot shake us from that happiness. Even if the earth cracks and the sun does fall  on our head, even if such a thing can be imagined, we will not be shaken at that time, because of our entry into the very substance of all things.

A monk writes, 

“In the material realm, no extent of attainment satiates a person totally. A poor person strives hard to become rich and feels satisfied if he or she is able to become a millionaire. 

But when that same millionaire looks at a billionaire, discontentment sets in again.

The billionaire is also discontented by looking at an even richer person. No matter what happiness we get, when we perceive a higher state of happiness, the feeling of non-fulfillment lingers.

But happiness achieved from the state of Yoga is the infinite bliss of God. Since there is nothing higher than that, on experiencing that infinite bliss, the soul naturally perceives that it has reached its goal.

God’s divine bliss is also eternal, and it can never be snatched away from the yogi who has attained it once. Such a God-realized soul, though residing in the material body, remains in the state of divine consciousness. 

Sometimes, externally, it seems that the Saint is facing tribulations in the form of illness, antagonistic people, and oppressive environment, but internally the Saint retains divine consciousness and continues to relish the bliss of God. 

Thus, even the biggest difficulty cannot shake such a Saint. Established in union with God, the Saint rises above bodily consciousness and is thus not affected by bodily harm.”

Love.