Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 11

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

The Favourable Environment 10-11

1 Gita Sloka every day - Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 11

 Badrinath Perumal in meditation

Shuchau deshe pratishtapya sthiram asanam atmanah I

Na ati udshritam na ati nicham chaila ajina kusha uttaram II sloka 11

शुचौ देशे प्रतिष्ठाप्य स्थिरं आसनं आत्मनः ।

न अति उध्श्रितं  न अति नीचं चैल अजिन कुश उत्तरं ।। श्लोक ११

Having firmly fixed in a clean place,his seat, neither too hig nor too low, and having spread over it the kusa grass, a deer skin and a cloth, one over the other;

There is a close relationship between the environment and the cast of the mind of the person placed in it. Living in a dirty hovel naturally leads the dweller to baseness and depression of mind. Living in a clean place of natural beauty invigorates and elevates the mind.

Seats like a lounge, a swing, or a hammock are no good for meditation. A heap of grass or pebbles, a pile of logs - things such as these are also to avoided. A rock or a platform constructed about 2 feet above the ground is quite suitable for this purpose. One would feel dizzy if the pedestal was too high. A seat on the ground would provide no protection from creeping insects. The provision on the platform, of a sacred kusa grass mat, a deer skin, and a cloth one over the other would make an ideal seat for meditation.

The method of practicing meditation follows in the next few slokas