Bhagavad-Gita 6th Chapter Glimpse

In this chapter, Krishna explains to Arjuna about rigorous meditation practice. Arjuna doubts that he will be able to engage in such meditation and says that the mind is more difficult to control than the wind. Krishna agrees that it's difficult but says it's possible with detachment and practice. The trick is to contemplate the folly of shallowness until you reach a sense of detachment from meaningless entertainment.

Transcript

Hello Yogi,

Welcome to my podcast.

I'm Aiko and on this show we explore ways to put spiritual theory into sustainable practice.

Hello,

Welcome again,

Shamm,

To my show.

Thank you very much,

Aiko.

So where did we left last time?

So last time things had started happening,

Like Krishna has been sowing seeds of wisdom and now they are starting to bear fruit.

In chapter 5 of the Bhagavad Gita.

So now we are walking into chapter 6 and you had given a very short trailer last time about this chapter.

Would you like to present it in general,

Like what kind of yoga we are talking about?

Yes,

So this chapter is usually called Dihana yoga,

The yoga of meditation.

So it's about kind of rigorous meditation,

The kind of meditation that's practiced in Ashtanga yoga.

Yeah,

This is a chapter very much referred to those who follow Ashtanga yoga,

Right?

Yes.

Can you say something more about it?

Yes,

I was just thinking about it now before we sat down here,

I was kind of identifying some topics in the chapter,

Just kind of from memory.

So I would say that it's kind of presenting the rigorous meditation practice and then comes Arjuna's doubts,

Because this seems to be a very difficult practice.

And then comes Krishna's response to that.

Then comes Arjuna's doubt again,

Like what if I fail?

And then at the end,

And of course here we have Krishna's reassurance.

And then at the end Krishna goes kind of deeper into the ultimate meaning of yoga.

Okay,

So why is this called the yoga of meditation?

Among the limbs of Ashtanga yoga there is Dihana meditation.

So it's kind of one important step on the ladder of yoga.

And it is the kind of meditation that comes after,

Do you know the sequence?

Just not now by chance?

Yes,

We have the Yama,

Niyama,

Asana,

Pranayama,

Pratyahara,

Dharana,

Dhyana and Samadhi.

Oh yes,

So kind of like you can say that the previous chapters have been dealing with the first two,

The Yama and Niyama.

It's kind of brought up a bit in the first five chapters,

Actually in depth you can say.

So now we come to kind of the rest,

Not so much about Asana here,

It's simply like Asana simply means to sit down in a way that is comfortable for doing this practice.

But here the focus is more on like in these kind of later steps of Ashtanga yoga,

Like to kind of focus the mind to meditate and to attain the complete absorption Samadhi.

So how is presented in the Bhagavad Gita?

What Arjuna is doing?

What is fearful?

Yeah,

So Krishna explains this,

Like how this meditation is done.

And it's,

Like I said,

It's pretty rigorous.

You're supposed to go out in the forest,

Like make a seat that is not too high and not too low,

Because if it's too low,

Then you're close to kind of snakes and dangerous things in the forest.

But if it's too high,

Then you might be kind of nervous that you will fall down from your seat,

So you have to kind of find an appropriate height of your seat.

A safe.

Yeah,

A safe in all respects,

Not too high,

Not too low.

So that you can focus without worrying about,

So that you can simply relax and go inward and control the mind in a rigorous way.

And Arjuna,

He's kind of having doubts about this.

He's saying like,

The mind is more difficult to control than the wind.

Very true.

Yes.

And also Krishna says that it's true.

Like he confirms like,

Yes,

You're right,

Arjuna.

But he says,

It is possible through detachment and practice.

This is an interesting point here.

To explain a little bit how detachment works,

You kind of need some theory,

Because detachment won't last.

When we are talking about like this level where we are still like,

Doubting our own ability to do such meditation,

The level of detachment we can do there is like,

Is to kind of have some theory of how you say,

The sort of dangers and pitfalls of like not controlling your mind so that you come kind of detached from the kind of allurements that try to like lure you away from doing this like serious practice.

So one example that has been given is like,

You have a glass of water in front of you,

And you're thirsty,

Then you're very attracted to this glass of water.

But if someone tells you,

There is poison in that water,

Then you immediately develop detachment for that particular glass of water.

Like you're not feeling anymore like,

Oh,

I want to drink this glass of water,

Because there is poison in it,

But still,

Still you're thirsty.

So you will still need to find a good source of water and drink from there.

So in the same way,

You have desire to absorb your mind in something.

And you want to absorb it in things that are kind of temporary and mundane.

And then someone tells you,

Well,

Like that's,

That's poisonous.

Even if you can,

Like with a glass of water,

Like you can see that it's poison.

It just looks like water to you.

And in the same way,

Like mundane things in this world.

Yeah,

Just kind of mindless entertainment,

For example,

Like,

Like you may not see how it's how it's bad for you.

But if you simply,

If you kind of take,

If there is someone you trust and you take their word for it,

Then you say,

Okay,

But,

But you're still like,

You still need something.

You're still like with watery,

Like you're thirsty.

So you need something,

You need some kind of like joy.

Like let's say that it's joy that you're,

You're like thirsty for.

And you think that joy is in these mundane entertainments,

But you are told that it's,

That that's poisonous and you can't see that,

But you trust it.

So you try to find like a,

Like a more healthy source of joy.

Very nice analogy.

We can say also be something like,

I don't know,

Some people actually really like the pursuit of happiness.

It's one of the most common amongst people and also self love,

Self care.

But often we don't know like that actually we are searching for that.

So we might end up like watching Netflix series all evening or,

Um,

Even,

You know,

Drinks,

Alcohol,

Drink alcohol,

Or taking drugs,

Because we actually,

We are not really aware of what we are searching for and we don't know where to search it.

Yes.

This is the exact point of the,

Of the thirst and the glass of water analogy.

Very beautiful.

So what does it mean really to meditate?

I heard a definition that meditation is the stealing of the mind,

But what exactly are we doing during the meditation?

Yes.

So like the example,

Like given here in the sixth chapter is to,

Is to kind of focus your gaze in between the eyes.

I guess you can say like,

You know,

Like try to focus on the third eye as it's done in yoga,

But it's kind of saying to like do that for like long,

For long periods,

Which can be difficult to kind of try to like not deviate or like get distracted from your kind of effort and to like be mindful and kind of bring back the focus when you lose the focus and things like this.

So it's,

It's to,

To kind of be able to like look inward because we're always like our attention is always drawn outward.

Yes.

So what's the main goal of this meditation?

It's to abide in one's own self,

To kind of actually experience your own.

It's actually to experience yourself,

Which is interesting.

Like we have so many layers covering ourself and what we think is ourself,

It's not really ourself.

Here we can,

For example,

Think about the teachings of the Buddha.

Because some people think that he was teaching that there is no self,

But that is not exactly what he,

What he was teaching.

If you study more,

More in depth,

Like,

You know,

Often kind of wisdom teachings get kind of diluted when they are talked about a lot in just like general society.

Like if you kind of go to the scholars and those who are like,

You know,

Practicing deeply and studying deeply also,

You will get a better understanding.

So what's the Buddha was teaching?

Yes.

So he was teaching,

Like he was saying not self.

And it's like a practice.

You kind of look at something that you think is yourself and then you ask,

Is this myself?

And then the conclusion is now this is not myself.

And his point is that whatever you ask that about,

You will come to the conclusion,

No,

This is not myself.

Because whatever you can experience as,

How you say,

As something,

As an object,

It cannot be the subject,

Like the self that is experiencing that object.

So this goes also for deep things like thoughts and the mind itself and the intelligence and ideas and kind of things that we are identifying with.

So what he means is that whatever you identify with is not you.

He means that you have to kind of continue doing that till you come to a point where you can't ask the question anymore.

Like there is no question to ask because you're already there.

So it's nothing that can be pointed out like that is like myself or like this is myself.

Oh,

This is me.

Because like whatever you can have like language to explain that can't be it because the self is beyond language.

That's very beautiful.

That reminds me of our dear friend.

There is actually a podcast episode with her and she got when in her twenties,

She got her feet amputated because she had some deformation.

And she was saying that the doctor asked her if she had any identifying issue,

Like if she couldn't identify into her body anymore.

And for her it was like almost shocking because she said like,

I'm not my feet.

With or without,

I'm still myself.

And it's so beautiful.

Yes.

Yes.

Like this is a,

You know,

Like a very perfect example.

Cause he has like,

Of course,

Like the body is the first thing we identify with.

I guess the mind is,

But like we don't really think about it.

Yeah.

Also our jobs,

I believe many people identify in that or like our,

In our strongest relationship,

Like for example,

Mothers they identify to be,

It's a mother.

They are mother in that specific time,

But this is not what they are like ultimately.

Yes,

Exactly.

You know,

Like when you identify yourself with something that could change,

Then like,

What are you when that thing changes?

Like,

Let's say you're a husband,

But when you then like divorce,

If you,

If you really identified as a husband and you think that's you,

Then what are you?

Now that you're not,

You know?

Yeah.

So anyway,

Like this,

This kind of rigorous and strong practice to kind of focus on this Arjuna had,

Had like a doubt,

Like this seems impossible.

It seems like to try to control the wind.

And like I said,

Krishna said,

It's,

It's possible through practice and detachment.

So when I made this point about detachment,

Like there is like a,

Like a higher stage of like,

When you're kind of more accomplished in your practice,

Then you will have this detachment naturally.

But here Krishna is talking about like a,

Like a practice of detachment.

So like I said,

Like when you actually kind of remind yourself by,

For example,

Analogies,

Like,

Like the,

The glass,

The poisoned glass of water,

But he says by detachment and practice.

So like when you come into like an,

Like an aha moment like that of,

Of that kind of inspires detachment,

Like that is like not going to last,

But you kind of get into that just mind state of detachment temporarily.

And then you take the chance.

It's like a window of opportunity for the moment.

So then you take that opportunity and you practice for as long as you can,

Like that time,

Like meditation.

And Krishna is also emphasizing here that it's like when you don't have detachment as a natural state of mind,

Like permanently,

Then you kind of need to see your whole life as your practice and not just,

Not just when you're sitting down to practice.

Yeah,

Yoga is one of these things that it's more the journey than the goal.

So yoga is more the journey and goal.

Yes.

So Krishna is stressing in one text there that you need to be balanced in your eating,

Your sleeping,

Your direct practicing and in your recreation.

So he's kind of like here,

Like the practice is a part of those aspects,

But what he means there is that it all has to be encompassed within.

You have to kind of center the eating and sleeping and the recreation around the practice.

And in that way it all becomes the practice.

And in the end it will be all just practice.

I mean,

It's a little funny.

It becomes like a play of words,

But.

Yeah,

It's very beautiful.

It's very much centered on my next course I'm gonna launch in a month or something.

Exciting.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I think it's very important to understand that,

That it's,

It's really yoga,

It's a method and that you can use anything you do during the day in order to accomplish your final goal.

And then this becomes the journey,

You know.

It's very deep and beautiful.

Yes,

It is.

But still Arjuna has doubts.

Yeah,

Exactly.

What are his doubts again?

Yeah.

So he's,

He's worried now that if he makes this commitment to kind of center everything in his life around his,

His practice.

I mean like,

Like this means to still have,

You know,

Like you have your eating and sleeping and recreation and social things,

But you,

You put like,

You make your,

Your practice,

The main kind of guiding principle in your life.

And like other things only have meaning in relation to that.

So here Arjuna is worried that if he,

If he fails in the practice,

Then like everything will lose its meaning.

And he will be like,

Like he will not have any,

Any standing anywhere.

Like he will not have any standing in,

In any like deep realization.

And he will also not have meaningful relationships or like he won't find like life meaningful because he had kind of sworn off any like separate meaning than like the meaning that his practice is giving,

Even though you have the other aspects in your life.

It's a deep,

It's a deep concern,

Like a deep,

A kind of subtle worry.

It can be hard to like relate to if you haven't been like trying to like make that commitment yourself.

Yes.

And what Krishna has to say in this regard.

He's saying,

Do not worry.

He's saying that sincerity can never fail.

It's a,

He,

He speaks very affectionately to Arjuna there.

He says that for someone who is sincere,

They can never be overcome by,

By evil.

There may come so many obstacles,

But,

And you may even stray away from the path,

But like it's like whatever,

As he has mentioned in earlier chapters,

Like whatever progress you have made,

Like it won't go away.

And if you kind of lose your way,

You can just pick up where you left off when you find your way back to it.

Very,

Very beautiful.

So maybe you can give a very short trailer for chapter seven.

Yes.

So in this chapter six itself,

That there is kind of a trailer in the last verse of the chapter,

Verse 47,

Because he says there that those who become,

Like Krishna is saying,

Those who become my,

My devotees are the best of all yogis.

And the reason for this is that like,

When you come in touch with yourself,

Like let's first look at a,

At like a mundane example,

Because that's,

That's going to make it easier to relate that if you really do like soul searching,

Like find out who you are as a person in this world,

You will find that like you are not in like an isolated entity.

You are,

You know,

A combination of influences from,

From your parents,

From society.

And of course you also have your own personality,

But it's not something isolated.

It's not an island.

It's your,

Your kind of personalities shaped around all your relations.

And in the same way,

When you practice yoga,

Like we said,

It's about finding the self,

Abiding in the self.

And there it's the same way.

Like when you really find yourself,

Your inner self,

You also find its source because your inner self is also not an isolated entity.

It's it's a part of like,

Of like a bigger soul,

You can say called the Paramatma,

Who is the source of all souls.

So you like on that plane,

You become connected with everything that lives,

But on a soul level and with your source,

With your common source and,

And you kind of experience your like natural love for that source.

So that is like the fullness of yoga is to get to know yourself so deeply that you also simultaneously get to know your source.

Very beautiful union within and without.

Yes.

And this kind of opens up for the coming six chapters,

Which is all about this actually,

About the soul relating with the super soul atma with paramatma.

Yeah,

Because there is a kind of section like the first six chapters and the last six.

No,

And this,

The second six and then the last six,

Right?

Yeah.

So it's like the middle six chapters is kind of like,

You know,

Embedded in between the first six and the last six.

So I say it's kind of the essence of the book couched in between the chapters.

It's like the,

I would say the core.

Okay.

So looking forward for the next time.

Thank you.

Thank you too.

I hope this episode fulfilled its purpose of inspiring you.

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Namaste.