Gita summaries - chp 6

The essence of the Gita and the essence of the Vedas is the same.  And the essential teaching of the Vedas is moksha alone. No doubt the Vedas do talk about artha-purusharatha, which is the goal of prosperity. They talk about kama-purushartha which is comforts and happiness. Then there is dharma-purushartha – acquisition of punya but these are all secondary goals of Veda. The primary goal of Vedas is moksha-purushartha only. Therefore Gita is moksha pradhana only.

            Vedas uniformly prescribe jnana as the sadhana for moksha. If that is so, the Bhagavad Gita cannot deviate from the Vedic teaching and therefore the essence of Gita is also jnanadvara moksha praptih.

            We have to consider the circumstances in which the Gita teaching took place. In the Mahabharata battlefield, Arjuna faces the problem of samsara which is in the form of Ragah-- Dukha—Moha. Raga is dependence or attachment on external factors to be happy. Sorrow arises when the external factors are not favourable. And that is grief. When mind is overpowered by attachment and greed, it does not know how to judge situations properly. The intellect is clouded and it sees dharma as adharma and vice versa. This utter conflict and confusion is called moha. Attachment- grief- conflict is a vicious cycle.

One must understand clearly that material acquisitions do not solve the problem; wasn’t Arjuna wealthy, skilled, and possessed everything that a person can aspire?  Inspite of having all these worldly achievements, he is not able to overcome sorrow and even contemplates suicide. Jivathena va kim prayojanam. If life itself becomes a burden then where is the question of accomplishing the goal of life? Throughout the first chapter of Gita it is clearly seen that worldly accomplishments do not solve the problem of grief.

When Arjuna fails to find any solution; he does the most intelligent thing of surrendering at the feet of Krishna. kārpaṇya-doṣopahata-svabhāvaḥ pṛcchāmi tvāṁ dharma-sammūḍha-cetāḥ yac chreyaḥ syān niścitaṁ brūhi tan me śiṣyas te ’haṁ śādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam. Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of miserly weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me for certain what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me. So Bhagavad Gita emphasizes that moksha can be gained only through jnanam and jnanam can be gained only through guru-sishya parampara. Krishna Himself makes this point (IV-34): tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ. Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth. Therefore Gita teaching begins from the second chapter onwards. We soon realize that bondage is never there; it is only self-hypnosis, self-deception, self-disowning. Moksha is not an event that has to take place in space and time or a process through effort. Moksha is a discovery; it is like waking up from the dream state. Remove the delusion and claim; I was free, I am free, I will ever be free.

Now we will enter the sixth chapter which deals in meditation. We should not take dhyana or meditation in an isolated way and try to practice it exclusively. There are many people who do not want to study the previous chapters and plunge directly into meditation. If only the sixth chapter alone one can get liberation then why should Krishna unnecessarily teach the rest of the chapters? If there is a short-cut for moksha in the form of meditation and instant liberation, Krishna would have applied that method in the battlefield. Instead Krishna gives all other disciplines; the main one is guru-sishya samvada which is technically called as sravanam and mananam. In this chapter the Lord deals with meditation exclusively here. We can divide the chapter into 6 topics:

a) Qualifications for meditation

b) Preparation for meditation

c) Process of meditation

d) Object of meditation

e) Obstacles in meditation and their remedies and finally

f) Benefits of meditation

a) Qualifications: Even though there are many qualifications Krishna mentions 3 qualifications: a) Tranquility/Equanimity in day-to- day transactions which is samatvam. Equanimity, poise, tranquility, mental balance should be maintained in daily transactions. The mind must not be either too elated or depressed otherwise it cannot remain quiet during meditation. Imagine the excitement of a player winning Wimbledon; he will be too excited to sleep that night. One cannot ask him to meditate then!!

How is equanimity attained in daily transactions? Equanimity can be maintained only by reducing ragah and dvesha. As long as strong and powerful likes and dislikes are there, they will make the mind turbulent. How to reduce ragah and dvesha?  By learning to accept all situations, especially the adverse situations, as the will of the Lord for my own growth. Why should HE will in that manner? It is for my growth only, just as a doctor gives different types of medicines for the health of a person. Sometimes the medicines are sweet like cough syrup, most times the medicines are bitter. The doctor has only one aim and that is to help a person to recover health. No doctor wants to give pleasure or pain. So also the Lord gives pain for the sake of my inner growth only. Implicit faith in the Lord and His will and trust will reduce raga-dvesha. I must develop that implicit faith and trust. Therefore by surrendering to the Lord and ragah and dvesha are neutralized and samatvam maintained. Whatever comes, I must have to attitude to welcome them. Every experience is given to me for my growth only.

b) Vairagyyam is the second qualification. There is this maxim: whatever you give top priority that will occupy the mind automatically. Example, a chess player whatever he does, he will always be thinking of the game or the lover would always be absorbed in her love despite doing so many things outside. If the top priority is Bhagawan/Ishwara/Moksha/Brahman, mind will automatically go there. Ex. Gopis!!! Whatever they were doing their minds were in Krishna. This is called mumukshitvam where mokha becomes the primary goal of life. Then other purusharthas will become secondary. Vairagyam is the maturity of an aspirant who clearly understands the priorities of life. Money is required, entertainment is required, everything is required but the main goal must be moksha. That is why Sankaracharya says in the Bhajagovindam, Govinda is the top priority.

c) The third qualification that Krishna emphasizes is Self-confidence: Never look down about yourself. This inferiority complex is the biggest obstacle coming from oneself as though there are no enough external obstacles to tackle. Even God cannot help such a person; even if He offers to help you, you will say,” O! God! You do not know who I am. I do not think I can!”

There is a difference between arrogance and self-confidence. In arrogance I think I can achieve on my own efforts. While self-confidence is that I can achieve the goal through the grace of god and guru. The courage and confidence comes not because of my arrogance but because of my devotion to Ishwara. No doubt, spiritual growth is an uphill task; you be the engine in front to pull and the lord will be the engine in the back to push.

b) Preparation of meditation: Physical preparation and Mental preparation.

First choose a quieter or secluded place; that which is associated with spirituality. If you meditate in the dining room you will always have thoughts of food! Fix the asanam neither too high nor too low; neither too hard nor soft. The idea is that breathing must not be disturbed. The mind and prana are interconnected. Therefore keep the breathing normal and harmonious. Body should be relaxed and straight. Observe the breathing for a few moment and feel its smoothness and evenness. We need not do special pranayama with appropriate proportion etc then our mind will concentrate solely on inhalation and exhalation and dhyana will be missed. Do not concentrate on the breathing except making sure it is smooth and even. Then the sense-organs need to be taken care of; concentrate on the tip of the nose or in the middle of the eyebrows; the essence is that the eyes should be closed or half closed and withdrawn from the external world.

Mental preparation: Even when the sense-organs are withdrawn the mind is capable of projecting its own world and then worry about the mental wife, mental children, mental house, mental factory etc. So Krishna says withdraw the mind from all external objects – tyathva sarvanasheshatah. Our greatest worry is about our yogakeshma – who will look after us in the future? If we depart, who will look after our children? Whenever the mind is quiet, these future worries will occupy the mind. And as we grow older, these worries increase. So instead of dhyanam the mind is worrying about past mistakes or future insecurities. The only thing we do efficiently all the time is worry, chitta!!! These twin rakshasas – past regrets and future anxiety – hijack our mind. The only remedy is “Surrender to the Lord”; Please forgive me for my past mistakes and Please give me strength to face the future. Now let me dwell on the present and meditate!!

c) Process of meditation: Meditation can be defined as a constant flow of similar thoughts centred on an object of meditation. We do not insist upon one particular thought. The thoughts can change but they must be centered on the object of meditation; unobstructed by dissimilar thoughts is called Dhyanam. Meditation is definitely not blankness or empty or shunyam; meditation is a mental activity. Krishna talks about three stages of meditation which closely follow the yoga sastras. These are: a) Dharana means focusing the mind on the object of meditation. I am using the word “focusing” because the mind is out of focus. Just as a cameraman goes behind, forward, or even lies down we should bring our mind to focus.  b) Once the mind is focused the next aim is maintenance or retention of the mind on the object of meditation. In taking pictures also, it is not enough if you focus. Until you click, the hands should be steady and unshaken.  This is called dhyana. and c) Samadhi: Through continuous and steady effort the mind gets absorbed on the object of meditation. Once that absorption comes, effort is not required; the mind can be withdrawn from the present activity and without will the mind dwells on the object. Samadhi is not a mysterious state; we are all the time in samadhi; job worry, children’s worry, business worries etc. When you read an interesting novel or watch a movie your mind instantly goes into Samadhi! In meditation we are only determining the object of Samadhi. Krishna gives an example of a mind in Samadhi (an absorbed mind). yathā dīpo nivāta-stho neṅgate sopamā smṛtā yogino yata-cittasya yuñjato yogam ātmanaḥ. The flame of a lamp from the wind does not flicker. This is the comparison used to describe a yogi’s mind that is well under control and united with the athman. An absorbed mind is like the glass cover placed on a flame; it protects it from the wind. The fluttering flame becomes steady!!

d) Object of Meditation: Meditation can be on any chosen object. It can either be Saguna Ishwara; meditate on the Lord’s attributes and this is called Upasana Dhyanam. And if you are exposed to Sravanam and Mananam then meditate on Nirguna Brahman. Then a mysterious thing happens: the object becomes the subject itself. The subject-object division goes away. This is Brahman meditation or Nidhi dyasanam. So these are the two possible types of meditation. In this chapter Krishna talks about nirguna ishwara dhyanam = advaitha dhyanam = atma dhyanam. Remember this fact: Atma dhyanam can only be done by a person who has understood atma swarupam as discussed in chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5. If not exposed to vedantic teaching then the meditator can meditate of saguna ishwara – there are so many Krishnas (guruvayurappan, kutti Krishnan, Radhakrishna, Parthasarathy Krishnan) or Lakshmi or Venkatachalapathy, Ayappa, Rama etc.

e) Obstacles to Meditation: Dozing off/Nidra.

Remedies for overcoming sleep during dhyana or meditation: give sufficient rest to the body; don’t meditate after a meal nor when physically exhausted or mentally overwrought. That is why early morning is better for meditation because the day’s work has not yet started.

The mind must be given time to develop a taste and habit for meditation; it should not confuse with its old patterns; I close the eyes only to sleep!!! I must keep telling the mind; this is not the time for sleep. Constant auto-suggestion is required in the initial stages.

            The second obstacle is Vikshapah (wandering mind). The mind must not swing between two extremes: sleep (tamo guna) or overactive ness (rajo guna). It must come to Sattva. At first Krishna says,” Do not feel guilty if your mind is wandering.” Spirituality should not create guilt because we are already suffering from guilt and we are trying to come out of it. If religion and spirituality add to the guilt, what is the use of spirituality? But once we know that a wandering mind is common to all people then there is a relaxation! I am not the only one! So first be free from guilt; understand that the problem is there. The mind is let loose all the time and suddenly I am forcing it to concentrate. It is not going to be easy. Krishna prescribes two methods – sheer practice and auto-suggestion. It is always better to meditate for 15, 20, or 25 minutes in the beginning. Instead of increasing the length of meditation, it is better to have quality in meditation. I tell my mind,” that for the next 30 minutes I do not want to think of anything”. Let God take care of everything during these 30 minutes and afterwards I will take over! Hence practice this auto-suggestion.

The second is vairagya – your mind wanders in the field where it has attachment. The mind naturally runs towards those things to which it is attached. So if the attachment is shifted from jagat to Ishwara, from world to God, naturally the mind will run towards Ishwara because the mind has got a value. Therefore know the value and greatness of Ishwara as the top priority of life. Everything else is perishable and insecure. I am not going to find security and fullness by holding on to an insecure world, and therefore let me hold on to the ever secure and ever full Ishwara or Brahman. So shifting the attachment from anatma to atma, dvaita to advaita, world to god, is called vairagya. Once vairagya is there the mind naturally gets out of the world and gets absorbed in Ishwara. 

f) Benefits of meditation: Suguna Ishwara dhyana converts my mind into a temple; and because of repeated dhyana the Lord occupies my heart all the time. And if Ishwara is there all the time in the heart, the greatest advantage is, I feel the strength and I am not worried about anything. The diffidence, the fear, the insecurity goes.

Nirguna Ishwara Dyanam, the phalam is purnatva - I am ever full and complete, nothing in the world can add to my purnatva. Therefore the presence or absence of anything will not affect me as I do not lean on anything. I do not have any psychological crutches around. I enjoy independence which is called jnana nistha = atmanishtha = brahmanishtha. It is also called jivanmukti.

In the end, Arjuna asks a query: What happens if a meditator does not attain moksha and dies in between. Then what will happen? Krishna says,” In spiritual sadhana there is no loss or going back. In the next birth, he will be born a spiritual genius and learn what is left over”. There is no room for pessimism at all. There may be stagnation, or slow progress but there is no question of going back. In the next birth you will be born a spiritual genius from a very early age. You will pursue knowledge and attain liberation. With this Krishna concludes the beautiful sixth chapter called dhyanayoga or atma-samyama yoga.