Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 42

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

The Fate of the Imperfect Yogi 37-45

1 Gita Sloka every day - Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 42

Athava yoginam eva kule bhavati dhimatam I

Etat hi durlabha taram loke janma yat idrisham II sloka 42

अथवा योगिनं एव कुले भवति धीमतां ।

एतत् हि दुर्लभ तरं लोके जन्म यत् ईदृशं ।। श्लोक ४२

Or he is born in a family of wise yogis only; a birth like this is verily very difficult to obtain in this world.

Yoga continues to be practised birth after birth until perfection is reached. The environment of the parentage obtained for this purpose is necessarily congenial. Of the two types of favourable families, that of the wise yogi is superior to that of the pure and prosperous. The how of it is explained in the next sloka.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 41

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

The Fate of the Imperfect Yogi 37-45

1 Gita Sloka every day - Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 41

Jadabharathar's death

Prapya punya krutam lokan ushitva shashvatih samah I

Shuchinam shrimatam gehe yoga bhrashtah abhijayate II sloka 41

प्राप्य पुण्य कृतां लोकान् उषित्वा शाश्वतीः समाः ।

शुचीनां श्रीमतां गेहे योग भ्रष्टः अभिजायते ।। श्लोक ४१

Having attained the worlds of the righteous and having lived there for countless years, he who falls from yoga is reborn in the house of the pure and prosperous.

Bhoga - enjoyment and yoga are exclusive of each other. Where one is, the other is not. He falls from yoga, who covets bhoga. Such a fallen yogi goes to heaven and enjoys celestial pleasures for a very long time. He then takes his birth again on earth in the house of the pure and prosperous; it being conducive to secular requirements and sacred pursuits. according to the law of karma, souls reincarnate in the environments befitting their attainments.

There is another type among those who fall from yoga. His destiny is explained in the next sloka

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 40

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

The Fate of the Imperfect Yogi 37-45

1 Gita Sloka every day - Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 40

Sri Bhagavan uvacha

Partha na eva iha na amutra vinashah tasya vidhyate I

Na hi kalyana krut kah chit durgatim tata gacchati II sloka 40

श्री भगवान उवाच

पार्थ न एव इह न अमुत्र विनाशः तस्य विद्यते ।

न हि कल्याण कृत कः चित् दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति ।। श्लोक ४०

The Blessed Lord said

O Partha, neither in this world nor in the next is there destruction for him; for, the doer of good, O my son, never comes to grief.

The word tata  means father. It is father who has become the son. Therefore a junior or a son is addressed as tata  indicating affection. The disciple is to the guru what the son is to the father. Therefore it is customary for the guru to address the disciple as son or tata.  The Lord addressing Arjuna this way is a mark of the flow of grace.

It is open to people to inquire whether this world is intrinsically good or bad. God it is that is revealing himself as the phenomenon. The world therefore cannot be anything but good. Viewing it as filled with evil is a misnomer. One of the profoundest pronouncements of the Lord is ,"THE DOER OF GOOD NEVER COMES TO GRIEF". And the devotees of the Lord are ever the standing testimony to this fact. A sadhaka who slips from yoga never falls to a state inferior to what he has already attained. This fact is clarified thus:

A man gets his dessert in tune with his mental make up. The Lord is the kalpataru  the fabled desire fulfilling tree to the devotees

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 39

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

The Fate of the Imperfect Yogi 37-45

1 Gita Sloka every day - Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 39

 Lakshmi Narayana

Etat me sanshayam krishna chet tum arhasi asheshatah I

Tvat anyah samshayasya asya chetta nahi upapadyate II sloka 39

एतत् मे संशयं कृष्ण छेत् तुम अर्हसि अशेषतः ।

त्वत अन्यः संशयस्य अस्य छेत्ता नहि उपपद्यते ।। श्लोक ३९ 

Deign to dispel completely this doubt of mine, O Krishna; for there is none but yourself who can destroy this doubt.

Even the devas and rishis come nowhere near you in dispelling darkness; for you are the omniscient Iswara. All the intricacies of yoga are best known to none but you.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 38

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

The Fate of the Imperfect Yogi 37-45

1 Gita Sloka every day - Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 38

 Hari charanam

Kacchit na ubhaya vibhrashtah chidta abhram iva nashyati I

Apratishtah mahabaho vimudho brahmanah pathi II sloka 38

कच्चित् न उभय विभ्रष्टः छिद् त अभ्रं इव नश्यति ।

अप्रतिष्टः महाबाहो विमूढो ब्रह्मणः पथि ।। श्लोक ३८

Fallen from both, does he not perish like a rent cloud, without any bold, O might armed one, deluded in the path of the Brahman?

 The rent cloud does not descend on earth as rainfall; it loses its distinctiveness in the firmament. Even such is the fate of the one fallen in yoga. He has neither the here nor the hereafter. Having renounced the sense-pleasures which are all of the earth, he happens to be one who has lost the here; and in not having obtained the perfection in yoga, he is bereft of the hereafter, the path of the Brahman. This is how he becomes fallen from both. Can there be a plight more painful than this?

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 37

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

The Fate of the Imperfect Yogi 37-45

1 Gita Sloka every day - Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 37

Arjuna Uvacha

Ayatih shraddhaya upa itah yogat chalati manasah I 

Aprapya yoga samsidhatim kam gitam krishna gacchati II Sloka 37

अर्जुन उवाच

अयतिः श्रद्धया उप इतः योगात् चलति मानसः ।

अप्राप्य योग संसिद्धतिं कां गतिं कृष्ण गच्छति ।। श्लोक ३७

A doubt now arises in the mind of Arjuna, with regard to the aspirant who falls short of perfection in yoga. He raises his question as follows:

Arjuna said

He who is unable to control himself, though possessed of faith, whose mind deviates from yoga, what end does he meet with, O Krishna, having failed to attain perfection in yoga?

The sadhaka is imbued with the faith that yoga leads to perfection. But he has not got the required firmness of mind. He has not therefore attained  the goal of yoga. What becomes of him who dies foiled in the attempt?

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 36

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

The Restive Mind has to be Resisted 33-36
1 Gita Sloka every day - Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 36

Desikan - Srirangapatanan

Asamyatatmana yogah dual tush prapah iti me matih I

Vashyatmana tu yatata shakyah avaptum upayatah II sloka 36

असंयंत आत्मना योगः दुष् प्रापः इति मे मतिः ।

वश्यात्मना तु यतता शक्यः अवाप्तुं उपायतः ।। श्लोक ३६

Yoga is hard to attain, I concede, by a man who cannot control himself; but it can be attained by him who has controlled himself and who strives by right means.

The man of self control is he who either thinks wholesome thoughts or does not allow mentation of any kind taking place in himself. He strives by right means who applies himself steadily to practise and non-attachment.

"In those days when I took to spiritual practises I would first cleanse the mind of all earthly thoughts, make it as pure as purity itself and then involve the presence of the Lord in it . May you also do the same

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 35

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

The Restive Mind has to be Resisted 33-36

1 Gita Sloka every day - Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 35

Adi Sankaracharya finding the Badrinarayana  swami

Shri Bhagavan Uvacha

Asanshaya mahabaho mano duni gruham chalam I

Abhyasena tu kaunteya vairagyena cha gruhyate II sloka 35

श्री  भगवान  उवाच 

असन्शय महाबाहो मनो दुनिः गृहं चलं ।

अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते ।। श्लोक ३५

The Blessed Lord said

Doubtless, O mighty armed, the mind is restless and hard to control; but by practice and non-attachment, O son of Kunti, it can be controlled

The sum total of habits of a man is his nature. It has come about as a result of his giving himself ever to the bent of his mind. Unwillingly he has become the creature of his own mind,wonted to restlessness. But the old habits can be eradicated through  new ones. In other words nature can be changed through nurture.An earnest and persistent attempt at the change of nature is abhyasa  or practice.The uncontrollable and restless mind can be controlled and made calm. Practice is the sure means to this end. To wean the mind from its wonted ways and direct it on the ideal is practice. Mind becomes pacified as it gets drawn to the self.

On analysis it maybe found that mind runs after objects to which it has been attached. The evils of such attachments have to be repeatedly and timely presented to the passionate mind. As the force of passion gets put down, mind comes under control. When all the base attachments are wiped out through discrimination, mind blooms into serenity. Practice of non-attachment is therefore auxillary to the practice of meditation.

He who who wants to learn swimming has to be at it repeatedly. It cannot be learnt with one or two attempts. One dares not swim in the boisterous sea just after a day's session. Similarly one has to train oneself to swim in the sea of satchitananda.  Failure in the 1st attempt   is but natural. Sporting it becomes possible only trough persistent practice.

There is a poisonous variety of spider the effect of the bite of which cannot be easily cured. A spell has to be cast first over the patient with the root of turmeric; otherwise no medicine will have any effect on the poison. The worldly man is bitten by the  spider of lust and greed. Unless of the spell of non-attachment is invoked on him, no spiritual practice of his will ever bear fruit. 

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 34

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

The Restive Mind has to be Resisted 33-36

1 Gita Sloka every day - Chapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga - Sloka 34

Trivikrama Avatar

Because of the dispersed and restless nature of mind, its being collected in equanimity is not possible. The wavy ocean of the mind cannot be made waveless; this is the objection raised.

Chanchalam hi manah krishna pramathi balavad dradham I

Tasyaham nigraham manye vayor iva suduskaram II sloka 34

चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद् द्रढं ।

तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोर इव सुदुष्करं ।। श्लोक ३४

The mind verily is, O Krishna,  restless, turbulent, strong and obstinate. I deem it as hard to control as the wind. 

All the unwholesome characteristics of the mind are contained in the question raised by Arjuna. Mind is labelled as restless due to its constant shifting its interest from object to object. It is as fickle as the deer. But this animal causes harm to no one. Whereas the way of the mind is different; like the tiger it hurts its victims. It is therefore as dangerous to the people as the tiger. It is possible to weaken a tiger by subjecting him to starvation; but the case of the mind is otherwise. In the manner in which it is starved out leech develops toughness of its skin and resists being cleft, the mind put to privation develops obstinacy. If what it wants to be is not provided for, it turns petulant and scheming. Further experience makes it plain that mind is as uncontrollable as the wind. But modern man has found out the ways and means of controlling the wind to a great extent. Whereas control of the mind it is, that ever baffles man's understanding. 

Krishna alone is capable  of taming the formidable mind. His name itself indicates his capacity to do this. The first part of his name  'Krish'  means to 'to plough and process'; the latter part of his name  'na'   means the 'Lord of '. He is the Lord of the act of ploughing and processing the mind.

The way of culturing the mind is shown by the Lord in the next sloka.