|
Chapter 6. Sankhya-yoga
TEXT 13-14
samam kaya-siro-grivam
dharayann acalam sthirah
sampreksya nasikagram svam
disas canavalokayan
prasantatma vigata-bhir
brahmacari-vrate sthitah
manah samyamya mac-citto
yukta asita mat-parah
SYNONYMS
 samam--straight;
kaya-sirah--body and head; grivam--neck; dharayan--holding;
acalam--unmoved; sthirah--still; sampreksya--looking;
nasika--nose; agram--tip; svam--own; disah--all
sides; ca--also; anavalokayan--not seeing; prasanta--unagitated;
atma--mind; vigata-bhih--devoid of fear; brahmacari-vrate--in
the vow of celibacy; sthitah--situated; manah--mind; samyamya--completely
subduing; mat--upon Me (Krsna); cittah--concentrated; yuktah--the
actual yogi; asita--being so; mat--unto Me; parah--the
ultimate goal.
TRANSLATION
One should
hold one's body, neck and head erect in a straight line and stare steadily
at the tip of the nose. Thus, with an unagitated, subdued mind, devoid
of fear, completely free from sex life, one should meditate upon Me within
the heart and make Me the ultimate goal of life.
PURPORT
The goal of
life is to know Krsna, who is situated within the heart of every living
being as Paramatma, the four-handed Visnu form. The yoga process
is practiced in order to discover and see this localized form of Visnu,
and not for any other purpose. The localized visnu-murti is the
plenary representation of Krsna dwelling within one's heart. One who has
no program to realize this visnu-murti is uselessly engaged in mock-yoga
practice and is certainly wasting his time. Krsna is the ultimate goal
of life, and the visnu-murti situated in one's heart is the object
of yoga practice. To realize this visnu-murti within the
heart, one has to observe complete abstinence from sex life; therefore
one has to leave home and live alone in a secluded place, remaining seated
as mentioned above. One cannot enjoy sex life daily at home or elsewhere
and attend a so-called yoga class and thus become a yogi.
One has to practice controlling the mind and avoiding all kinds of sense
gratification, of which sex life is the chief. In the rules of celibacy
written by the great sage Yajnavalkya it is said:
karmana manasa vaca sarvavasthasu sarvada
sarvatra maithuna-tyago brahmacaryam pracaksate
"The vow
of brahmacarya is meant to help one completely abstain from sex
indulgence in work, words and mind--at all times, under all circumstances,
and in all places." No one can perform correct yoga practice through
sex indulgence. Brahmacarya is taught, therefore, from childhood
when one has no knowledge of sex life. Children at the age of five are
sent to the guru-kula, or the place of the spiritual master, and
the master trains the young boys in the strict discipline of becoming brahmacaris.
Without such practice, no one can make advancement in any yoga,
whether it be dhyana, jnana or bhakti. One who, however,
follows the rules and regulations of married life, having sexual relationship
only with his wife (and that also under regulation), is also called brahmacari.
Such a restrained householder brahmacari may be accepted in the
bhakti school, but the jnana and dhyana schools do
not admit even householder brahmacaris. They require complete abstinence
without compromise. In the bhakti school, a householder brahmacari
is allowed controlled sex life because the cult of bhakti-yoga is
so powerful that one automatically loses sexual attraction, being engaged
in the superior service of the Lord. In the Bhagavad-gita it is
said:
visaya vinivartante niraharasya dehinah
rasa-varjam raso 'py asya param drstva nivartate
Whereas others
are forced to restrain themselves from sense gratification, a devotee of
the Lord automatically refrains because of superior taste. Other than the
devotee, no one has any information of that superior taste.
Vigata-bhih.
One cannot be fearless unless one is fully in Krsna consciousness. A conditioned
soul is fearful due to his perverted memory, his forgetfulness of his eternal
relationship with Krsna. The Bhagavatam says, bhayam dvitiyabhinivesatah
syad isad apetasya viparyayo 'smrtih: Krsna consciousness is the only
basis for fearlessness. Therefore, perfect practice is possible for a person
who is Krsna conscious. And since the ultimate goal of yoga practice
is to see the Lord within, a Krsna conscious person is already the best
of all yogis. The principles of the yoga system mentioned
herein are different from those of the popular so-called yoga societies.
  
|
