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Bhagavad
Gita - April 09, 2010
Chapter
6, Verses: 13-15
Swami
Yogatmananda
Vedanta
Society of Providence
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VI.13:
Holding the body, head and neck erect and still, being steady, looking
at the tip of one's own nose -- and not looking around.
VI.14: He/she should remain seated with a placid mind free from fear,
firm in vow of a celibate, and with the mind fixed on Me by controlling
it through concetration, having Me as the supreme Goal.
VI.15: Concentrating the mind thus for ever, the yogi of controlled
mind achieves the Peace which culminates in Liberation and which abides
in Me.
The
above image is from Gita Darshan by courtesy of Sri
Ramakrishna Math, Hyderabad.
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Summary
of this lecture:
In the Gita, Sri Krishna lays out the path of living a meditative life
before explaining the specifics of practicing seated meditation. This
is because sitting for meditation is only one component of the spiritual
life; if we do not have all of the other pieces in place, practicing
meditation will not be of much help to us. In last week's class, we
heard about the external conditions which should be in place when we
meditate. In Verse 14, Sri Krishna explains what the internal state
should be like during meditation. We must remove all worries/fears from
our mind and feel profound calmness. When we breathe in, we can imagine
we are taking in a current of calmness and peace. As we exhale, we should
feel like we are pushing out doubts and fears. God should be considered
the highest achievement and one must try to put the whole mind in Him.
In addition to cultivating a sense of peace and calmness in the mind,
we must practice continence (i.e. avoidance of sensory enjoyments).
When we seek joy from the external world (food, company of friends,
music, sexual relations), we are going outside of ourselves, when joy
is actually within us. Becoming adept in meditation may take years of
practice, so we should not be discouraged and persevere when it is challenging!
Just the mere attempt too is rewarding! Striving thus the Yogi attains
the ultimate Peace of merging into the Divine.
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