Chapter 6: Meditation

ध्यानयोग · 47 verses. Lord Shri Krishna said: He who acts out of duty, without considering the consequences, is truly spiritual and a true ascetic; not he who merely observes rituals or shuns all action.

6.1 Lord Shri Krishna said: He who acts out of duty, without considering the consequences, is truly spiritual and a true ascetic; not he who merely observes rituals or shuns …
6.2 O Arjuna, renunciation is indeed what is known as right action. No one can become spiritually enlightened who has not renounced all desires.
6.3 For the sage who seeks the heights of spiritual meditation, practice is the only method, and when they have attained it, they must maintain themselves there through conti…
6.4 When a man renounces even the thought of initiating action, and is not interested in sense objects or any results that may flow from his acts, then he truly understands s…
6.5 Let him seek liberation with the help of his Highest Self, and never disgrace his own Self. For that Self is his only friend; yet it can also be his enemy.
6.6 To one who has conquered their lower nature with its help, the Self is a friend; but to one who has not done so, it is an enemy.
6.7 The Self of one who is self-controlled and has attained peace is equally unmoved by heat or cold, pleasure or pain, honor or dishonor.
6.8 He who desires nothing but wisdom and spiritual insight, who has conquered his senses, and who looks upon a lump of earth, a stone, and fine gold with the same eye, is a …
6.9 He looks impartially on all—lovers, friends, or foes; indifferent, hostile, alien, or relative; virtuous or sinful.
6.10 Let the student of spirituality try unceasingly to concentrate his mind; let him live in seclusion, absolutely alone, with his mind and personality controlled, free from …
6.11 Having chosen a holy place, let him sit in a firm posture on a seat that is neither too high nor too low, and cover it with a grass mat, a deer skin, and a cloth.
6.12 Seated thus, with his mind concentrated, his functions controlled, and his senses governed, let him practice meditation for the purification of his lower nature.
6.13 Let him hold his body, head, and neck erect, motionless and steady; let him look fixedly at the tip of his nose, turning neither to the right nor to the left.
6.14 With peace in his heart and no fear, observing the vow of celibacy, with his mind controlled and fixed on Me, let the student lose himself in contemplation of Me.
6.15 Thus, keeping his mind always in communion with Me and subduing his thoughts, he shall attain that Peace which is Mine and will lead him to liberation at last.
6.16 Meditation is not for him who eats too much, nor for him who eats not at all; not for him who is overly addicted to sleep, nor for him who is always awake.
6.17 But for him who regulates his food and recreation, who is balanced in action, in sleep, and in waking, it shall dispel all unhappiness.
6.18 When the mind is completely controlled, centered in the Self, and free from all earthly desires, then the man is truly spiritual.
6.19 The wise man who has conquered his mind and is absorbed in the Self is like a lamp that does not flicker, as it stands sheltered from every wind.
6.20 There, where the whole of nature is seen in the light of the Self, where the person abides within their Self and is satisfied there, their functions restrained by their u…
6.21 When he enjoys the bliss that surpasses the senses and can only be grasped by the pure intellect, when he comes to rest within his highest self, he will never again stray…
6.22 Finding That, he will realize that there is no possession so precious. And once established there, no calamity can disturb him.
6.23 This inner severance from the affliction of misery is spirituality. It should be practiced with determination and with a heart that refuses to be depressed.
6.24 Renouncing every desire that can be imagined, controlling the senses at every point through the power of the mind;
6.25 Little by little, with the help of his reason controlled by fortitude, let him attain peace; and, fixing his mind on the Self, let him not think of anything else.
6.26 When the volatile and wavering mind wanders, let him restrain it and bring it back to its allegiance to the Self.
6.27 Supreme bliss is the lot of the sage whose mind attains peace, whose passions subside, who is without sin, and who becomes one with the Absolute.
6.28 Thus, free from sin, abiding always in the Eternal, the saint enjoys, without effort, the bliss that flows from the realization of the Infinite.
6.29 He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks upon everything with an impartial eye.
6.30 He who sees Me in everything and everything in Me, I shall never forsake him, nor shall he lose Me.
6.31 The sage who realizes the unity of life and who worships Me in all beings, lives in Me, no matter what their lot may be.
6.32 O Arjuna! He is the perfect saint who, having been taught by the likeness within himself, sees the same Self everywhere, regardless of whether the outer form be pleasurab…
6.33 Arjuna said: I do not see how I can attain this state of equanimity which You have revealed, owing to the restlessness of my mind.
6.34 My Lord! Verily, the mind is fickle and turbulent, obstinate, and strong; indeed, it is extremely difficult to control, like the wind.
6.35 Lord Shri Krishna replied: Doubtless, O Mighty One, the mind is fickle and exceedingly difficult to restrain; however, O Son of Kunti, with practice and renunciation, it …
6.36 It is not possible to attain Self-Realization unless one knows how to control oneself; however, for one who, striving by the proper means, learns such control, it is poss…
6.37 Arjuna asked: What of him who fails to control himself, whose mind falls from spiritual contemplation, yet retains his faith and does not attain perfection?
6.38 Having failed in both, my Lord, is he without hope, like a riven cloud with no support, lost on the spiritual path?
6.39 My Lord! You are worthy to solve this doubt once and for all; there is no one else competent to do so, save Yourself.
6.40 Lord Shri Krishna replied: My beloved child! There is no destruction for him, either in this world or the next.
6.41 Having reached the worlds where the righteous dwell, and having remained there for many years, he who has strayed from the path of spirituality will be born again into th…
6.42 Or, he may be born in the family of wise sages, though such a birth is indeed very difficult to obtain.
6.43 Then, the experience acquired in his former life will revive, and with it, he will more eagerly strive for perfection than before.
6.44 Unconsciously, he will return to the practices of his old life; thus, one who strives to attain spiritual consciousness is certainly superior to one who merely talks abou…
6.45 Then, after many lives of earnest striving and absolution of sins, the student of spirituality attains perfection and reaches the Supreme.
6.46 The wise person is superior to the ascetic, the scholar, and the man of action; therefore, be thou a wise person, O Arjuna!
6.47 I look upon him as the best of mystics, who, full of faith, worships Me and abides in Me.

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