Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5 - Sanyasa Yoga - Sloka 27 & 28

The entire content of this mail is from Swami Chidbhavananda's translation of The Bhagavad Gita, published by Ramakrishna Mission.

Bliss of Brahman Different from Sense Pleasure 20-29

1 Gita Sloka every day - Chapter 5 -Sanyasa Yoga - Sloka 27 & 28

Krishna & Kunti

Sparshan krutva vahih bahyan chakshuh cha eva antare bhruvoh I

Prana apanau samau krutva nasa abhyantara charinau II sloka 27

Yatindriya  mano buddhih munih moksha parayanah I

Vigat ichcha bhaya krodhah yah sada muktah eva sah II sloka 28

स्पर्शान कृत्वा वहिः बाह्यान चक्षुः च एव अन्तरे भृवोः ।

प्राण अपानौ समौ कृत्वा नासा अभ्यन्तर चारिणौ ।। श्लोक २७

यतीन्द्र मनो  बुद्धिः मुनिः मोक्ष परायणः ।

विगत इच्छा भय क्रोधः यः सदा मुक्तः एव सः ।। श्लोक २८

Shutting out external objects, fixing the gaze between the eyebrows, equalising the outward and inward breaths moving in the nostrils, the sage who has controlled the senses, mind and intellect, who is solely pursuing liberation, who has cast away desire,fear and anger, he verily is liberated.

When sound and other sense objects are excluded from the mind, they are said to have been shut out. The eyes remain half-closed in meditation; their gaze simply seems to be fixed between the eybrows while they are actually at rest. The breath exhaled is called prana  and that inhaled apana.  Regulating and harmonising the inward and outward flow of breath is called Pranayama. Stilling the mind and equalising the passage of breath either way through pranayama are interrelated. When the mind ceases to function, breath stops, and when breath stops mind ceases to function.

Mind gets disturbed  and depraved every time desire, fear and anger make their evil appearance in it. The reflaction of an object gets hazy and broken on the surface of disturbed water. Likewise the presence of atman is obscured in a disturbed mind. It should first of all gain quietude through the conquest of desire, fear and anger. Meditation then becomes easy and spontaneous.

Muni   is the original word for sage. He is a muni whose mind flows incessantly towards the Lord. He is liberated who is established in Pure consciousness.

The next chapter elaborates on the ideas contained in these 2 stanzas. The next sloka details how the muni beholds iswara  having directed the mind incessantly towards Him.