CHAPTER VI: THE YOGA OF SELF CONTROL
Our lord Sri Krishna starts by conveying that the jivatma is both a samnyasi ( Sankhyayogi ) and also a yogi (Karmayogi) who practices the yoga of karma and gets the benefits of both yogas for he truly has surrendered his soul at the lotus feet of his creator Lord Sri Krishna and hence each one of us practising Karmayoga will be blessed with the dual payback of both the fruits of Karmayoga and Sankhyayoga. When a man ceases to be attached to sense objects, with one pointed focus concentrates on the lotus feet of our Sriman Naryana giving up all worldly pleasures, is forever contented, is in the highest state of meditation and that too while performing all the duties as prescribed in the scriptures is said to have reached the position of gyani/ saint.
Many times, because of our constant contact with sense objects despite our great fervour and dedication, we get entangled with worldly pursuits and hence our self works antagonistically like an enemy because our mind is still tainted and is unable to break lose of the material possessions, but we need not worry at all, with further practice we can elevate ourselves and conquer our self. Please let each one of us understand , that we need to be very patient in our spiritual pursuit for we cannot attain everything overnight, we have to meticulously with full faith in our lord Sriman Narayana/ Sri Krishna keep following each of his instructions correctly , read our scriptures in the very right perspective , fall and rise every time and always aim to be a mere servant of the lord be content, by being subservient to him, in due course by the divine blessings of our most beloved Lord Sri Krishna, every jivatma will reach where our lord wants us , so no point in feeling frustrated, lost and depressed. Maybe during this life time even with all our sincere efforts we may not be able to even reach a step closer to Lord Sri Krishna so be it, let us know for sure when the right time comes our lord knows and does the very best for each of us, all we need to do is keep performing all our actions surrendering them at the lotus feet of our lord and leave every other thing unto his divine discretion and benediction. Rome was not built in a day; we need to wait for our turn. Our lower self needs to be conquered and this is possible only by the anugraha ( blessings and grace) of our lord and this has to be earned by drawing our lord closer to us and the more close we pull him towards us the more fast he will rush to our rescue. If we look up to him from a great distance and with lots of protocol then maybe we will never attain him for how can we love our near and dear ones keeping them at a very great space and remoteness. The art of gently pulling our lord closest to us has to be mastered, rest will follow quickly in a lightening speed much earlier than we expected or desired. PLEASE NOTE PATIENCE AND PERSEVERANCE IS THE KEY WORD FOR ATTAINING THE ETERNAL LOVE OF OUR LORD SRI KRISHNA FOR HE PUTS US TO NUMEROUS TESTS AND ENSURES THAT WE PASS THE EXAMS AND ONLY HE CAN CLEAR US WITH FLYING COLOURS AND NONE ELSE SO LET US WAIT WITH BOWED HEAD FOR HIM TO ASSESS US.
Our lord conveys to us the wonderful traits of a yogi who looks at everything with the same equanimity, self control and level headedness, the gold and the stone, friends, well wishers, foes etc with absolute poise and grace and is never perturbed by the pair of opposites because this balanced nature which is at perfect equilibrium is that of our lord Sri Krishna’s and hence we being a part of his glory too possess the very qualities which can illumine us. The yogi prefers to be silent, does not unnecessarily crowd his mind with thoughts that are of no use nor does he like to be seen with many people and idle his time speaking and discussing topics which are mundane and hold no value add, he is forever in a position of meditation, self introspection and the highest analysis of all the matters of attaining parmaatma and finding every single means to elevate his soul and redeem it to enable it to reach the abode of Sriman Narayana to permanently serve him lovingly and make our creator happiest. What a fantastic position when the jivatma surrenders and every action of it pleases our creator Lord Sri Krishna and the soul never returns to the transient world ever for it has gained permanent liberation and has become one with our lord Sri Krishna , the true yogi like all our most revered saints of India have practised and attained this state reaches the same state of pure bliss. A true Karmayogi will ensure that every of his thought and action revolves around lord Sri Krishna and in this process he strictly adheres to the Dinacharya (day to day routine) as prescribed in our most revered scriptures, he neither over eats nor does he starve, he neither over sleeps or keeps awake all the time, every of his action strikes a moderation, neither in excess nor in complete deprivation. What this means is the food we cook has to be first offered to our Lord Sri Krishna and the moment he partakes of it , our food becomes anna prasadam very pure and sublime, our earnings which has to be ethical has to be surrendered unto the lotus feet of lord Sri Krishna as a very humble offering and by doing so we will never be subject to poverty or penury for anything offered to Lord Sri Krishna keeps multiplying in abundance beyond our expectations for he is our master who can compound our happiness in a way we can never ever think. Our lord Sri Krishna in this chapter, in full detail, enumerates the principles of yoga in its entirety, the uses, the purpose and the result of yoga on a jivatma. Yoga when practised rightly is the most nectarine form of existence which can flood our body and soul with abundance of peace, bliss and fulfilment. It can cure us of every ailment no matter how deadly, can balance our mind and transport it to the highest arena of calm and hence has to be implemented by each one of us, more so in this highly complex commercial stress filled world that we inhabit. Yoga does not mean retreat to the mountains but in the midst of cacophony and tumultuous noise we need to find peace and serenity, it is a highest form of art which needs to be unceasingly mastered to reach our beloved Lord Sri Krishna. It is compared to the state and focus of an un-flickering lamp of light which does not sway at all , our mind should reach that illumined state, efforts put will surely be rewarded for yoga is not difficult but requires a consistent ongoing approach and one must strictly follow the routine and not flout the discipline and highly regulated ways of life as conveyed by our Lord Sri Krishna otherwise it would be very tough to implement and we would be permanently lost in the puddle of material activities and its contamination.
Arjuna is confused and conveys to our Lord it is so difficult to control our self and wants to know that despite our best efforts if we are unable to control our self then what would be our fate, will it not be that of a torn cloud which is moving aimlessly, all the efforts totally lost in vain. Our lord Sri Krishna reassures Arjuna that the soul which is at all times taking every efforts to rise itself will never meet failure, even if fails to achieve complete accuracy in its fulfilment, yet it will not fall, for on departure such jivatmas who tried their level best but could not succeed entirely in their endeavour , will reach heavenly abode where only the most righteous have resided and having stayed there for countless years and enjoying the very best come back to the home of the most pious people or saints and by the efforts of the previous birth once again, this time with lesser labour reach the ultimate destination of our Lord Sri Krishna for in the previous birth the mammoth effort put is carried forward in this birth ( the principle that our soul is immortal and never subject to destruction ) and that as a life boat carries the jivatma more smoothly and speedily this time , so in essence our dearest and most beloved Lord SriKrishna wants to clearly convey in no uncertain terms that the soul which tries its very level best to reach him, will never fall, will eventually at the most appropriate time be carried away by our lord Sri Krishna in his loving arms if not today , tomorrow or the day after but surely one day it will reach parmapadam. As mentioned earlier, one should keep practising and practising unendingly with no dejection but the highest hope, conviction and faith that he would surely be redeemed if not for his own efforts but 100% on the love , grace and immense compassion of our Lord Sri Krishna and pray our creator to be with us at all times to ensure that we pass in all his tests put by him and reach him as early as can be for if we plead with him with joined raised arms with immense love that we cannot live without him for even a single billionth of a second and beg him to carry us, will our Lord Sri Krishna make us wait..He would break all the rules and regulations set by him and lovingly lift us to his abode for he is more impatient to redeem us and wants us to serve him lovingly and does not expect anything from us for there is nothing on this earth we can offer for everything belongs to Sriman Narayana/ lord Sri Krishna but surely what he is in ever need of is our loving caring service for he thrives only on our love, love and love and nothing else. As all our revered saints have showered their purest love on him and attained his lotus feet forever, let us also follow them and reach him for he is very eagerly and impatiently waiting for us to plead him to take us to his abode, once having appealed to him that we cannot be separated with him and yet survive please believe he will rush and then none can stop him. Here please note to clearly demarcate the worldly love which we feel and the transcendental love of Lord Sri Krishna, the emotion of love here and there is as different as cheese and chalk , here every love is tainted and selfish and the transcendental love of Sri Krishna is the purest of pure. CAN WE IMPLORE HIM TO LOVE US FOREVER……..YES, JUST NOW WE WILL FOR WE CANNOT WAIT FOR EVEN A SINGLE SECOND SEPARATION FROM OUR LORD SRI KRISHNA AND BELIEVE ME, THAT OUR LORD SRI KRISHNA ADORES US THE MOST WHO ARE AT THE LOWEST STATE OF DEVOTION FOR HE KNOWS THAT WE ARE IN VERY URGENT NEED OF HIS HELP RATHER THAN THE MOST EVOLVED SOULS SO HE IS EVER READY TO PROTECT US AS A MOTHER WOULD FOR HER NEW BORN BABY WHO IS ENTIRELY DEPENDENT ON HER , ARE WE NOT SO JUST LIKE THE BABY WHO FOREVER WANTS OUR MOST BELOVED LORD SRI KRISHNA TO BE WITH US , COMFORT, CONSOLE AND FOREVER BIND AND FASTEN US TO HIM?
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE HARE RAAMA HARE RAAMA RAAMA RAAMA HARE HARE…………….
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