Bhagavad Gita – Chapter 6 – Dhyāna Yoga

Main Points of the Discourse:

1. Nishkama Karma, and the attributes of the sage eastablished in yoga. (1-4)
2. How to transform Yourself. (5-6)
3. The characteristics of the sage of self-conquest. (7-10)
4. The Method of Meditation (11-32)
5. Enquiry into Mind-control. (32-36)
6. The excellence of Dhyana Yoga and the future of the aspirant who fails to reach the ultimate goal in the life. (37-47)

Verses 1 to 47

• He who performs the prescribed duty without depending on the fruits of work is a sannyasi and a yogi, and not he who has merely ceased performing sacrifices such as Agnihotra yajna or abandoned bodily activities. (6.1)
• O Arjuna! That which is called sannyasa, know that to be yoga also; no one who has not given up desire can ever become a yogi. (6.2)
• For the sage aspiring to ascend to yoga, action is said to be the means; and for the same sage enthroned in yoga serenity is called the means. (6.3)
• When the sage feels no attachment for sense-objects and actions, renouncing the ego-centric will (samkalpa) then he is said to be enthroned in yoga. (6.4)
• Let a man be lifted up by his own self; let him not lower himself; for he himself is his friend, and he himself is his enemy. (6.5)
• For those who have conquered the mind, it is their friend. For those who have failed to do so, the mind works like an enemy. (6.6)
• The man who has subdued the mind and is full of peace experiences the Supreme Self under all conditions in heat and cold, pleasure and pain, honour and dishonour. (The mind of such a man experiences the Self under all conditions). (6.7)
• The yogi who is satisfied with the knowledge of the Sastras and experience of the Self, who is immovable, who has conquered the senses, who look with an equal eye on mud, stone and gold, is said to be united or harmonised in yoga. (6.8)
• He who is equal-minded towards the good-hearted, friends, enemies, the indifferent, neutrals, haters, relations, towards the righteous and also the wicked, excels. (6.9)
• Alone, stationed in a solitary place, self-controlled, free from desire, and not receiving anything from others, the yogi (Practising Dhyanayoga) should unite the mind with Atma. (6.10)
• In a clean spot, a firm seat should be made, neither too high nor too low, and it should be covered by cloth, skin, and holy grass one over the other. There, being seated, having made the mind one-pointed, controlling the actions of the mind and the senses, let him practice Dhyana Yoga for self-purification. (6.11-6.12)
• Let him firmly hold the body, head and neck erect, and gazing on the tip of his nose, without looking around, let him sit, serene and fearless, established in the vow of celibacy, self-controlled and balanced, thinking of Me as the Supreme goal. (6.13-6.14)
• Thus the self-controlled Yogi holding the mind in meditation on the Self, attains peace abiding in me which culminates in the highest bliss of liberation. (6.15)
• O Arjuna! Verily, yoga is not for one who eats too much or who does not eat at all, nor for him who sleeps too much or who does not sleep at all. (6.16)
• For him who is moderate in food and recreation, moderate in exertion in all actions, moderate in sleep and wakefulness, yoga destroys all pain and suffering (caused by birth and death). (6.17)
• When the perfectly controlled mind rests in the Self free from longing for all enjoyments, then one is said to have attained yoga. (6.18)
• Just as a lamp in a windless place does not flicker, so the disciplined mind of a yogi remains steady in meditation on the self. (6.19)
• Where the mind rests restrained by the practice of yoga, and where the self seeing the Self is delighted in the Self; and where established, the yogi knows that bliss which transcends the senses, which is understandable by the purified intellect only, and from the experience of Self does not even move; possessing which, he does not think any other gain greater than that; in which established he is not shaken even by great sorrow; that should be known by the term yoga, and that yoga which is free from sorrow should be attained by the undesponding and determined mind. (6.20-6.23)
• Having abandoned all desires born of the ego-centric will, having restrained the group of senses with mind from all sides, one should attain quietude slowly and slowly by the intellect held firmly. And then, fixing the mind in Atma, he should not think of anything else at all. (6.24-6.25)
• Whenever and wherever the restless and unsteady mind wanders, one should bring it back and continually focus it on God. (6.26)
• Supreme Bliss comes to the yogi whose mind is completely tranquil and whose passions are quieted, who is free from stain and who has become one with Brahman. (6.27)
• Thus the yogi free from evil, practising yoga (union with Atma) always, attains easily the highest bliss resulting from contact with Brahman. (6.28)
• The sage harmonised in yoga sees the Self in all beings, and all beings in the Self; he sees the same everywhere. (6.29)
• He who sees Me in all beings and all beings in me never becomes lost to me, nor do I become lost to him. (6.30)
• The Yogi who worships Me abiding in all beings and who is established in unity abides in me in whatever manner he is acting. (6.31)
• He who judges pleasure or pain everywhere, by the same standard as he applies to himself, that yogi is thought to be the highest. (6.32)
• Arjun said: The system of Yoga that you have described and attainable by equality of mind. O Madhusudana, appears impractical and unattainable to me, due to the restless mind. (6.33)
• The mind is very restless, turbulent, strong, and obstinate, O Krishna. It appears to me that it is more difficult to control than the wind. (6.34)
• The Lord said: Doubtless, O mighty Arjuna, the mind is restless and hard to control; but by practice and by detachment, O son of Kunti, it can be restrained. (6.35)
• Yoga is hard to attain by a man who cannot control his mind, but it can be attained by him who has controlled his mind and who strives earnestly by proper means. This is My opinion. (6.36)
• Arjun said: What is the fate of the unsuccessful yogi who begins the path with faith, but who does not endeavor sufficiently, due to unsteady mind, and is unable to reach the goal of Yog in this life? (6.37)
• Does not such a person who deviates from Yog get deprived of both material and spiritual success, O mighty-armed Krishna, and perish like a broken cloud with no position in either sphere? (6.38)
• You should completely dispel, O Krishna, this doubt of mine; for no one but You can destroy such a doubt. (6.39)
• The Lord said: O Pārtha, there is no destruction for him either in this world or the next: no evil, My son, befalls a man who does good. (6.40)
• The man who has fallen away from yoga goes to the worlds of the righteous. Having lived there for unnumbered years, he is reborn in the home of the pure and the prosperous. (6.41)
• Or he is born into a family of yogis rich in wisdom. Verily, such a birth is hard to gain in this world. (6.42)
• There he comes in touch with the knowledge acquired in his former body, O son of the Kurus, and strives still further for perfection. (6.43)
• Indeed, they feel drawn toward God, even against their will, on the strength of their past discipline. Such seekers naturally rise above the ritualistic principles of the scriptures. (6.44)
• Practising assiduously, the yogi having acquired perfection through many births attains the supreme state (Moksha) purified of all sins. (6.45)
• O Arjuna! The yogi is thought to be greater than the ascetic, greater than the learned, and greater than the man of action; therefore be a yogi. (6.46)
• Even among yogis, he who worships Me with mind fixed in Me, full of faith, is deemed by me to be the most devout. (6.47)