 |
 |
|
|
|
|
TEXT 9 atha cittam samadhatum
SYNONYMS  atha--if,
therefore; cittam--mind; samadhatum--fixing; na--not;
saknosi--able; mayi--upon Me; sthiram--fixed; abhyasa--practice;
yogena--by devotional service; tatah--therefore; mam--Me;
iccha--desire; aptum--to get; dhanam-jaya--O Arjuna.
TRANSLATION My dear Arjuna,
O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation,
then follow the regulated principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way you will
develop a desire to attain to Me.
PURPORT In this verse,
two different processes of bhakti-yoga are indicated. The first
applies to one who has actually developed an attachment for Krsna, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, by transcendental love. And the other is
for one who has not developed an attachment for the Supreme Person by transcendental
love. For this second class there are different prescribed rules and regulations
one can follow to be ultimately elevated to the stage of attachment to
Krsna.
Bhakti-yoga
is the purification of the senses. At the present moment in material existence
the senses are always impure, being engaged in sense gratification. But,
by the practice of bhakti-yoga these senses can become purified,
and in the purified state they come directly in contact with the Supreme
Lord. In this material existence, I may be engaged in some service to some
master, but I don't really lovingly serve my master. I simply serve to
get some money. And the master also is not in love; he takes service from
me and pays me. So there is no question of love. But for spiritual life,
one must be elevated to the pure stage of love. That stage of love can
be achieved by practice of devotional service, performed with the present
senses.
This love
of God is now in a dormant state in everyone's heart. And, there, love
of God is manifested in different ways, but it is contaminated by the material
association. Now the material association has to be purified, and that
dormant, natural love for Krsna has to be revived. That is the whole process.
To practice
the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga one should, under the guidance
of an expert spiritual master, follow certain principles: one should rise
early in the morning, take bath, enter the temple and offer prayers and
chant Hare Krsna, then collect flowers to offer to the Deity, cook foodstuffs
to offer to the Deity, take prasadam, and so on. There are various
rules and regulations which one should follow. And one should constantly
hear Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam from pure devotees.
This practice can help anyone to rise to the level of love of God, and
then he is sure of his progress into the spiritual kingdom of God. This
practice of bhakti-yoga, under the rules and regulations, with the
direction of a spiritual master, will surely bring one to the stage of
love of God.
|
