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TEXT 20-23 yatroparamate cittam
sukham atyantikam yat tad
yam labdhva caparam labham
tam vidyad duhkha-samyoga-
SYNONYMS  yatra--in
that state of affairs; uparamate--when one feels transcendental
happiness; cittam--mental activities; niruddham--restrained
from matter; yoga-sevaya--by performance of yoga; yatra--in
that; ca--also; eva--certainly; atmana--by the pure
mind; atmanam--the self; pasyan--realizing the position;
atmani--in the self; tusyati--becomes satisfied; sukham--happiness;
atyantikam--supreme; yat--in which; tat--that; buddhi--intelligence;
grahyam--accessible; atindriyam--transcendental; vetti--knows;
yatra--wherein; na--never; ca--also; eva--certainly;
ayam--in this; sthitah--situated; calati--moves; tattvatah--from
the truth; yam--that which; labdhva--by attainment; ca--also;
aparam--any other; labham--gain; manyate--does not
mind; na--never; adhikam--more than that; tatah--from
that; yasmin--in which; sthitah--being situated; na--never;
duhkhena--by miseries; guruna api--even though very difficult;
vicalyate--becomes shaken; tam--that; vidyat--you
must know; duhkha-samyoga--miseries of material contact; viyogam--extermination;
yoga-samjnitam--trance in yoga.
TRANSLATION The stage
of perfection is called trance, or samadhi, when one's mind is completely
restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This is
characterized by one's ability to see the self by the pure mind and to
relish and rejoice in the self. In that joyous state, one is situated in
boundless transcendental happiness and enjoys himself through transcendental
senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth and upon gaining
this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position,
one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed
is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact.
PURPORT By practice
of yoga one becomes gradually detached from material concepts. This
is the primary characteristic of the yoga principle. And after this,
one becomes situated in trance, or samadhi, which means that the
yogi realizes the Supersoul through transcendental mind and intelligence,
without any of the misgivings of identifying the self with the Superself.
Yoga practice is more or less based on the principles of the Patanjali
system. Some unauthorized commentators try to identify the individual soul
with the Supersoul, and the monists think this to be liberation, but they
do not understand the real purpose of the Patanjali system of yoga.
There is an acceptance of transcendental pleasure in the Patanjali system,
but the monists do not accept this transcendental pleasure, out of fear
of jeopardizing the theory of oneness. The duality of knowledge and knower
is not accepted by the nondualist, but in this verse transcendental pleasure--realized
through transcendental senses--is accepted. And this is corroborated by
the Patanjali Muni, the famous exponent of the yoga system. The
great sage declares in his Yoga-sutras: purusartha-sunyanam gunanam
pratiprasavah kaivalyam svarupa-pratistha va citi-saktir iti.
This citi-sakti,
or internal potency, is transcendental. Purusartha means material
religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and, at the end,
the attempt to become one with the Supreme. This "oneness with the Supreme"
is called kaivalyam by the monist. But according to Patanjali, this
kaivalyam is an internal, or transcendental, potency by which the
living entity becomes aware of his constitutional position. In the words
of Lord Caitanya, this state of affairs is called ceto-darpana-marjanam,
or clearance of the impure mirror of the mind. This "clearance" is actually
liberation, or bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam. The theory of nirvana--also
preliminary--corresponds with this principle. In the Bhagavatam
this is called svarupena vyavasthitih. The Bhagavad-gita
also confirms this situation in this verse.
After nirvana,
or material cessation, there is the manifestation of spiritual activities,
or devotional service of the Lord, known as Krsna consciousness. In the
words of the Bhagavatam, svarupena vyavasthitih: this is
the "real life of the living entity." Maya, or illusion, is the
condition of spiritual life contaminated by material infection. Liberation
from this material infection does not mean destruction of the original
eternal position of the living entity. Patanjali also accepts this by his
words kaivalyam svarupa-pratistha va citi-saktir iti. This citi-sakti,
or transcendental pleasure, is real life. This is confirmed in the Vedanta-sutras
as ananda-mayo 'bhyasat. This natural transcendental pleasure is
the ultimate goal of yoga and is easily achieved by execution of
devotional service, or bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yoga will be vividly
described in the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita.
In the yoga
system, as described in this chapter, there are two kinds of samadhi,
called samprajnata-samadhi and asamprajnata-samadhi. When
one becomes situated in the transcendental position by various philosophical
researches, it is called samprajnata-samadhi. In the asamprajnata-samadhi
there is no longer any connection with mundane pleasure, for one is then
transcendental to all sorts of happiness derived from the senses. When
the yogi is once situated in that transcendental position, he is
never shaken from it. Unless the yogi is able to reach this position,
he is unsuccessful. Today's so-called yoga practice, which involves
various sense pleasures, is contradictory. A yogi indulging in sex
and intoxication is a mockery. Even those yogis who are attracted
by the siddhis (perfections) in the process of yoga are not
perfectly situated. If the yogis are attracted by the by-products
of yoga, then they cannot attain the stage of perfection, as is
stated in this verse. Persons, therefore, indulging in the make-show practice
of gymnastic feats or siddhis should know that the aim of yoga
is lost in that way.
The best
practice of yoga in this age is Krsna consciousness, which is not
baffling. A Krsna conscious person is so happy in his occupation that he
does not aspire after any other happiness. There are many impediments,
especially in this age of hypocrisy, to practicing hatha-yoga, dhyana-yoga
and jnana-yoga, but there is no such problem in executing karma-yoga
or bhakti-yoga.
As long
as the material body exists, one has to meet the demands of the body, namely
eating, sleeping, defending and mating. But a person who is in pure bhakti-yoga
or in Krsna consciousness does not arouse the senses while meeting the
demands of the body. Rather, he accepts the bare necessities of life, making
the best use of a bad bargain, and enjoys transcendental happiness in Krsna
consciousness. He is callous toward incidental occurrences--such as accidents,
disease, scarcity and even the death of a most dear relative--but he is
always alert to execute his duties in Krsna consciousness or bhakti-yoga.
Accidents never deviate him from his duty. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita,
agamapayino 'nityas tams titiksasva bharata. He endures all such
incidental occurrences because he knows that they come and go and do not
affect his duties. In this way he achieves the highest perfection in yoga
practice.
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