सर्वद्वाराणि संयम्य मनो हृदि निरुध्य च |
मूर्ध्न्याधायात्मन: प्राणमास्थितो योगधारणाम् || 12||
ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन्मामनुस्मरन् |
य: प्रयाति त्यजन्देहं स याति परमां गतिम् || 13||
sarva-dvārāṇi sanyamya mano hṛidi nirudhya cha
mūrdhnyādhāyātmanaḥ prāṇam āsthito yoga-dhāraṇām
oṁ ityekākṣharaṁ brahma vyāharan mām anusmaran
yaḥ prayāti tyajan dehaṁ sa yāti paramāṁ gatim
sarva-dvārāṇi—all gates; sanyamya—restraining; manaḥ—the mind; hṛidi—in the heart region; nirudhya—confining; cha—and; mūrdhni—in the head; ādhāya—establish; ātmanaḥ—of the self; prāṇam—the life breath; āsthitaḥ—situated (in); yoga-dhāraṇām—the yogic concentration; om—sacred syllable representing the formless aspect of God; iti—thus; eka-akṣharam—one-syllabled; brahma—the Absolute Truth; vyāharan—chanting; mām—Me (Shree Krishna); anusmaran—remembering; yaḥ—who; prayāti—departs; tyajan—quitting; deham—the body; saḥ—he; yāti—attains; paramām—the supreme; gatim—goal
Translation:
He who closes all the doors of the senses, confines the mind within the heart, draws the prāna into the head, and engages in the practice of yoga, uttering Om, the single syllable denoting Brahman, and meditates on Me— he who so departs, leaving the body, attains the Supreme Goal.
Commentary:
The process of meditating on OM and attaining final liberation is explained here. It does not mean that one should follow it only at the time of death. It means that one should practise this method throughout life and remain in that state even at the time of death.
Without closing the gateways of the senses, the mind cannot be turned inwards to concentrate on Atma. The frame of knowledge may easily be put out by the winds of sense-attractions if the gateways are kept open. Here it is said that ‘all’ the senses should be restrained. The restraint should be complete and perfect. It should be understood that without sense-restraint, no other sadhana is possible.
Already the Lord has declared “First restrain the senses.” As the tortoise withdraws – all its organs into its shell, so should the yogi withdraw all the senses from their usual external activities in the objective world.
Then the mind should be centred in the heart, in Atma. The heart, Atma, is the source from which the mind arises. So the mind should be turned back to its own source. When the senses are controlled, the mind naturally loses its roving nature and sinks into its own source.
The mind should think of Paramatma in a continuous stream of unbroken consciousness.
What is the ‘mantra’ for meditation? The one-syllable OM, which is Brahman. OM is Pranava. It is the essence of the Vedas. It is not enough merely to utter the word OM but one should think of the Lord. It means that the idea symbolised by the word OM should be thought of. Mere verbal repetition of a ‘mantra’ without thinking of its meaning, will not yield the best results. If a cannon is filled with powder without the shell, it will cause a noisy explosion only, but the target is not reached because there is no shell. Similarly, when Pranava is uttered with its meaning in mind, it will lead to the goal. Ceaseless thought of the Lord is the way to Atmajnana.
The following points are revealed through these two verses.
- Repetition of a mantra’ (Japa) is not enough. There should be concentration on the thought of the formula.
- Among all the mantras, pranava is the highest. It leads to Brahman.
- It is not enough to think of the Lord now and then. Continuous memory is essential.
- All the senses should be restrained, not merely one are two.
- The heart is the source of the mind. The mind rises from the heart (Atma) and sinks into the heart.
- Anyone without distinction of race, caste or creed can attain Moksha by the above-mentioned method of repeating Pranava.
Question: What is the highest state?
Answer: Paramatma – the state of Brahman.
Question: Who can attain it?
Answer: He who can restrain the senses, fix the mind in Atma hold Prana in the Brahmarandhra by yogadharana, repeat Pranava understanding its significance, attains Brahman.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 8 🔻 (28 Verses)
