The Path of Meditation

This chapter contains forty-seven verses. Five verses are spoken by Arjuna and forty-two by Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The chapter begins with Kṛṣṇa affirming the superiority of karma-yoga (motiveless action) over jñāna-yoga (the abandonment of action). This is just to ensure that Arjuna is clear about his path. After this, Kṛṣṇa begins an elaboration on dhyāna-yoga (the path of meditation). This is a separate path, but if accommodated within the three yogas of karma, jñāna, and bhakti, it would be subsumed within jñāna-yoga.
In the first verse, Śrī Kṛṣṇa equates a person who acts without any desire for the fruits of his actions to a sannyāsī and a yogī. He advises using one’s mind for spiritual upliftment and not for degradation. The uncontrolled mind is like an enemy, while the controlled mind is like a friend (6). A yogī whose mind and senses are under control regards a piece of stone, clay, and gold equally (8). He does not discriminate between a relative, a friend, an enemy, an indifferent person, a mediator, a detestable person, and the virtuous (9).
Śrī Kṛṣṇa describes the process of regulating the mind (10–18) and outlines the characteristics of an accomplished yogī (20–25). He emphasizes the need to abandon material desires and slowly bring one’s mind under control (26–29). Thus, one attains peace and freedom from passion and lethargy. He declares that a person who sees Him everywhere is never invisible to Him (30). Śrī Kṛṣṇa personally becomes aware of such a yogī (devotee). He concludes by stating that a supreme yogī who views the world with equanimity does not discriminate between favorable and unfavorable circumstances (31–32).
To this, Arjuna responds that such yoga is very difficult to attain, because the mind is exceedingly restless (33–34). Śrī Kṛṣṇa agrees and advises Arjuna to practice control of the mind and dispassion (35). He says that without control of the mind, one cannot achieve success in yoga and adds, “But it is attainable by one whose mind is under control and who strives through the proper means” (36).
Arjuna asks, “For one who has entered upon the path of yoga with faith, yet who does not strive sufficiently and whose mind strays from the path of yoga, perfection in yoga remains unattainable. What destination is attained by such a person” (37–39)? Kṛṣṇa responds that nothing adverse can occur to a yogī, even if he falls down from yogic practice. He will attain an auspicious birth that will enable him to revive the consciousness of yoga cultivated in the previous life. After many births, he will achieve perfection (40–45). Śrī Kṛṣṇa declares that a yogī is better than an ascetic, a jñānī, and a karmī, and He therefore advises Arjuna to become a yogī (46). Additionally, He further concludes that one who devotedly worships Him is the best of all yogīs (47).

All Verses

  1. Verse 1Śrī Bhagavān said: One who performs the work for which he is meant without expecting the fruits of action is both a sannyāsī* and a yogī, but not the person who renounces the sacred fire nor one who merely desists from action.
  2. Verse 2O Arjuna, what is called sannyāsa [renunciation of the desire for the fruits of action], know that to be yoga. Indeed, no one becomes a yogī without abandoning volition for the fruits of action.
  3. Verse 3For the sage who aspires to ascend the path of yoga, action (karma-yoga) is said to be the means, and for one in particular who has already ascended to the completion stage of yoga, fixity of the mind in meditation (śama) is said to be the means.
  4. Verse 4When indeed a person is without attachment for the objects of the senses and for the actions that lead to their enjoyment, having given up all volition in this regard, then he is said to have ascended to the completion stage of yoga.
  5. Verse 5The self is to be uplifted through the mind and never to be degraded, because the mind is indeed the friend of the self as well as its enemy*.
  6. Verse 6The mind is a friend specifically to that self by whom the mind is conquered, but for a person whose mind is not under the control of the self, his mind itself behaves adversely, like an enemy.
  7. Verse 7The mind of the yogī who has conquered his mind and who is perfectly serene, remains intently fixed in meditation on the Supreme Self, whether in heat or cold, in happiness or misery, or in honor or dishonor.
  8. Verse 8The person whose heart is satisfied through knowledge and immediate realization, who is steady under all circumstances, whose senses are under control, and who regards with equal vision a lump of earth, a stone, and a piece of gold — such a person who is united [with the Supreme] through yoga ( yukta*) is called a yogī.
  9. Verse 9One who looks equally on a well-wisher, a friend, an enemy, an indifferent person, a mediator, a detestable person, a relative, the virtuous, and even the sinners is highly accomplished in yoga.
  10. Verse 10The yogī, while residing constantly alone in a secluded place, having regulated his mind and body, being free from desire and devoid of possessiveness, should engage his mind in meditational absorption.
  11. Verse 11-12In a clean and sanctified place, the yogī should establish his own stable seat, which is neither too high nor too low, and which is made of kuśa grass covered with a deerskin and a soft cloth. While sitting on that seat, having regulated his mental and sensual functions by concentrating his mind on one point, he should practice yoga to purify his heart.
  12. Verse 13-14Holding the body, head, and neck straight and steady, remaining firm, fixing one’s gaze in front of the nose without looking in any other direction, being tranquil in mind, devoid of fear, firmly established in the vow of celibacy, having regulated the mind and fixed it on Me, and being intent exclusively on Me, the yogī should sit remaining fully absorbed in meditation on Me.
  13. Verse 15Fixing his mind constantly in this way in meditation on Me, the yogī, whose mind is regulated, attains peace in the form of supreme liberation (brahma-nirvāṇa) and reaches to My abode.
  14. Verse 16O Arjuna, there is no question of yoga for one who overeats or who abstains from eating to an extreme, nor for one who sleeps excessively or who remains awake to an extreme.
  15. Verse 17For one who is moderate in diet and recreation, methodical in the performance of actions, and regulated in sleep and wakefulness, the practice of yoga dispels all misery.
  16. Verse 18When the disciplined mind remains fixed in the self alone and one is free from hankering for all types of sense enjoyment, then one is called yukta, a person firmly established in yoga.
  17. Verse 19Just as an oil lamp situated in a windless place does not flicker, so too the yogī whose mind is controlled remains unwaveringly engaged in meditation on the self. Such is the analogy cited in this regard.
  18. Verse 20In that state of meditational absorption, the mind, disciplined through the practice of meditation, becomes utterly still. In that condition, while directly witnessing the self through the purified mind, one rejoices in the self alone.
  19. Verse 21In such a state, the yogī tastes the eternal bliss that is beyond the reach of the external senses and perceptible only through the intellect [that is imprinted with the ātmā’s form]. Being established in that condition, he does not waiver at all from the Absolute Truth.
  20. Verse 22Having attained that state, one does not consider any other gain as superior to that, and being established in it, one is not perturbed even by tremendous hardship.
  21. Verse 23This state, which is devoid of any contact with pain, you should know as yoga. This yoga should be practiced with resolute determination and free from mental despondency.
  22. Verse 24Abandoning completely all desires born of volition, one should fully restrain all the senses from all sides by the mind alone.
  23. Verse 25Fixing the mind on the self through the intellect, which has been made firmly resolute through meditative concentration [dhāraṇā], one should gradually quiet the mind without thinking of anything else.
  24. Verse 26The flickering and unsteady mind should be withdrawn from wherever it wanders and brought back under the control of the self alone.
  25. Verse 27Supreme bliss attends that yogī in particular whose mind is tranquil, who is sinless, whose passion is subdued, and who is situated in Brahman.
  26. Verse 28In this way, being completely freed from sin and constantly engaged in regulating his mind, the yogī easily enjoys eternal bliss in the form of the immediate perception of the Absolute (Brahman).
  27. Verse 29The yogī, whose mind is absorbed in the Absolute through yoga and who sees the Absolute everywhere, directly perceives the Self as present in all beings and all beings as existing in the Self.
  28. Verse 30For one who sees Me present everywhere and who sees that all things exist in Me, I am never invisible to him, and he is never unseen to Me.
  29. Verse 31The yogī who, being established in the vision of oneness, worships Me as residing in all beings, abides in Me under all circumstances whatsoever.
  30. Verse 32O Arjuna, in My opinion, the person who, by comparison to his own self, sees the happiness and distress of all living beings as identical to his own, that yogī is considered the topmost.
  31. Verse 33Arjuna said: O Kṛṣṇa, this yoga has been described by You as a state of equanimity, yet I do not perceive it as a stable state, owing to the flickering nature [of the mind].
  32. Verse 34O Kṛṣṇa, because the mind is naturally unsteady, turbulent, vehement, and obstinate, I consider it exceedingly difficult to control, just like the wind.
  33. Verse 35Śrī Bhagavān said: There is no doubt, O mighty-armed, that the mind is difficult to curb and restless. And yet, O son of Kuntī, it is subjugated by practice and dispassion.
  34. Verse 36In My opinion, yoga is difficult to attain for a person of uncontrolled mind. But it is attainable by one whose mind is under control and who strives through the proper means.
  35. Verse 37Arjuna said: O Kṛṣṇa, for one who has entered upon the path of yoga with faith, yet who does not strive sufficiently and whose mind strays from the path of yoga, perfection in yoga remains unattainable. What destination is attained by such a person?
  36. Verse 38O Mighty-Armed, is it not the case that a person who has fallen from both yoga and karma, who is without any support and deluded on the path of Brahman, perishes like a scattered cloud?
  37. Verse 39It behooves You, O Kṛṣṇa, to dispel this doubt of mine completely, for there is no one else but You who can dispel it.
  38. Verse 40Śrī Bhagavān said: O Pārtha, there is no loss to such a person, either in this life or the next, because, My dear, anyone who strives for the ultimate good never meets with calamity.
  39. Verse 41Having attained the planets achieved by those of meritorious deeds and having resided there for many years, the person who has strayed from the path of yoga takes birth in the home of those who are virtuous and prosperous.
  40. Verse 42Alternatively, [if the yogī fails in his attempt after long practice of yoga] he is born in the home specifically of those firmly established in yoga and endowed with wisdom. Such a birth is very rare indeed in this world.
  41. Verse 43O descendant of Kuru, in either of those two births, he regains the connection with the wisdom of transcendence acquired in the previous birth and thereafter strives with renewed vigor to attain perfection.
  42. Verse 44Indeed, he is again drawn [to yoga], even unintentionally, by virtue of the practice undertaken in his previous life. Even a practitioner who is merely inquisitive about yoga transcends the path of ritualistic action described in the Vedas.
  43. Verse 45But the yogī, who practices diligently, being purified of all sins, becomes perfect after many births* and thereafter attains the supreme goal.
  44. Verse 46The yogī [who meditates on the Supreme Self] is superior to the ascetics, superior even to the jñānīs [those who realize the scriptural teachings on the Absolute as unqualified Brahman], and superior to those who engage in karma [with a material motive]. This indeed is My opinion. Therefore, Arjuna, be a yogī.
  45. Verse 47Even among all yogīs whatsoever, the one who is endowed with faith and who worships Me with his mind fully absorbed in Me, I consider to be the greatest of those who are united through yoga.