Those who fulfill their obligations and renounce its outcomes are true Sanyasis and Yogis. Not those who renounce all actions, including their duties (Verse 1)
Sanyasi’s are those who have renounced worldly pursuits with the intent of dedicating their life to spirituality
Yogis and Sanyasis are same in that they both renounce material goals (Verse 2)
To a beginner seeking wisdom, action without expectation is the way; To those who are already yogis, the path is meditation (Verse 3)
Those who are unattached to sense objects, to actions, and have renounced all desires for results of their actions; they are Yogis (Verse 4)
Control Your Mind – It can be Your Friend or Your Foe
Raise, not lower yourself through the power of your mind; for your mind can be your friend or your foe (Verse 5)
Your mind is your friend if you can control it. Otherwise, it is your enemy (Verse 6)
Those who have restrained their mind and are firmly dedicated to God, they are at peace in happiness and sadness, heat and cold, respect and disrespect (Verse 7)
Those who have gained knowledge and wisdom from within, are undisturbed and content, and have mastered their senses; for them a pebble, a stone and gold are all the same (Verse 8)
They regard equally their friends, their well-wishers, their enemies, their relatives, the mediators, the pious, the envious, the indifferent and the sinners (Verse 9)
They meditate constantly in private and alone, with their mind and body controlled, and free from desire for enjoyment and possessions (Verse 10)
Practice Moderation
They do not over or under indulge in food and sleep (Verse 16)
They are moderate in food, leisure, work, sleep and wakefulness (Verse 17)
They are free from cravings and yearnings of the senses (Verse 18)
Practice Meditation
They should sit in a clean seat that is not too high or too low and is comfortable (Verse 11)
With one pointed focus, controlling their mind, senses and activities, they should align their head, neck and body in an upright position. With a goal of purifying their mind, their eyes, without wondering, should focus solely on the tip of their nose (Verse 12 and 13)
With calm, fearless and restrained mind, they should meditate, with me being their ultimate goal (Verse 14)
Whenever their mind drifts, they should bring it back to focus on their Self (Verse 26)
With their disciplined mind constantly engaged in me, they will attain peace (Verse 15)
Just as a lamp does not flicker when there is no breeze, the mind of a yogi does not waver while meditating (Verse 19)
With desires abandoned and senses restrained, their intellect gradually and decisively begins to focus on God and nothing else (Verse 24 & 25)
With peaceful mind and muted passions, and being without sin, they realize God and attain the highest bliss (Verse 27)
Thus, they perceive their soul through their still and purified mind, and experience inner happiness (Verse 20)
This unlimited joy is beyond grasp of intellect and senses. Having reached this state, they never stray from it (Verse 21)
Considering this state to be greater than any other, they do not forsake it even in the midst of misery (Verse 22)
God Exists Within Us and Within Others
Thus experiencing God within themselves, they become purified; being in constant commune with God, they experience greatest happiness (Verse 28)
United with God in their consciousness, they see God and themselves in all beings and all beings in God and in themselves (Verse 29)
Those who see me everywhere and see everything in me, I am forever connected to them (Verse 30)
Those who are united with me and worship me as abiding in everything, they live in me, even when occupied with activities (Verse 31)
Those who know that its me that exists in them and in others, they perceive others happiness and grief as their own (Verse 32)
No Effort is in Vain. Your Future is shaped by your Current Actions
Though the mind is restless and difficult to restrain, it can be reigned in by practice and detachment (Verse 35)
Unfortunate things do not happen in this life or in the next, to those who strive to realize God (successfully or not) (Verse 40)
The virtuous, after dwelling for ages in heaven, are reborn on this earth in a pious and prosperous household. Those who had achieved wisdom, take birth in the house of wise and learned (Verse 41 & 42)
There, the wisdom they had acquired during their past lives, is reawakened, and they strive again for moksha (Verse 43)
Moksha is liberation from the cycle of birth and death
Because of their past practices, they find themselves helplessly inquisitive about God, and rise above the ritualistic mode of worship (Verse 44)
After making earnest effort, a yogi who has been purified from material desires after many many births, attains perfection and moksha (Verse 45)
A yogi is superior to an ascetic (tapasvi), to a learned (gyani), and to a ritualist (karmi). Therefore strive to be a Yogi (Verse 46)
Of all the yogis, highest are those who continuously contemplate on me and worship me with deep faith (Verse 47)
Total Verses in this Chapter: 47
Words of Import:
I, me, Absolute Truth, Supreme Being, God, Divine Realization, Universal Consciousness, Brahman, Divine, Shri Krishna – are all used interchangeably.
YAGNA
has a symbolic as well as a literal meaning. Literally it means a ritual where offerings are made to fire, hymns are chanted and deities are invoked for fulfillment of personal or community desires; or to thank God or to seek God’s blessings. Symbolically, Yagna signifies that we have to do our part (offering/action) in other to obtain something (blessing or fulfillment), with the latter not being guaranteed.
YOGA
The word “Yog” is derived from a Sanskrit word “Yuj” which means to join. In Hindu scriptures, yoga means joining or uniting the soul within the individual with that of the universal soul (God). The common usage of yoga as physical exercise is just a subset of the practice of Yoga, which includes disciplines of meditation and mode of conduct among others. It is believed that practice of all these disciplines make a person ready for unification with the Supreme Being.
DHARMA
refers to our duty as it does to the intent behind our actions. According to Hinduism, every living being has their own personal dharma which may or may not be the same as of others. This dharma is based on one’s situation or circumstance in life.
KARMA
is action as well as the result of the action. Its meaning depends on its context.
MOKSHA
is liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
Reference:
“Bhagavad Gita As It Is” by Swami Prabhupada
A Mothers Chronicle 