6.1
Lord Krishna said:
The true renunciant in the world is he who performs his given duties without self-interest or desire for the fruits. He is one deserving to be called a mystic, not one who does nothing and has no fire.
6.2
True renunciation is the same as yoga. One cannot be called a yogi who has not renounced self-interest and desire.
6.3
When one begins the eightfold path of yoga, work and effort is the way. When one becomes firmly established in yoga, not-doing is the way.
6.4
A practitioner becomes established in yoga when his actions are no longer performed for self-interest or sense gratification, and he stakes no claim to the fruits of his actions.
6.5
A man must lift himself up by himself. In no way weaken or degrade the mind that must do the lifting. Though that mind is your enemy, it is also your only friend.
6.6
The mind becomes your servant when it is conquered. When allowed to run wild, it leads you astray.
6.7
To one who has conquered the mind, opposites like heat and cold, joy and sorrow, honor and dishonor, are not different. He lives in tranquility.
6.8
The true mystic is master of his senses and lord of his mind. His heart brims with wisdom. He has realized Self. To him, dirt, pebbles and gold are equally precious.
6.9
He looks upon friends, enemies, relatives, strangers, sinners, saints, kings, and outcasts with equal impartiality.
6.10
A yogi should live alone in seclusion. He should have few possessions and desire nothing more. He should spend his days in meditation and communion with Self.
6.11
To practice meditation, go to a quiet, peaceful place. Arrange a bed of long grass on the ground and cover it with deerskin and a soft blanket. The seat should neither be too high nor too low.
6.12
Sit straight and solid on that seat. Observe the workings of the mind and bring it gently into one-pointed focus on the breath, or a simple thought-sound. Thus disengaged, the mind will purify itself.
6.13
Hold your body, head and neck erect and still. Let your gaze come to rest in front of your nose. Do not look around.
6.14
With a serene and fearless heart, rejecting sexual reverie and ignoring useless thoughts, allow the mind to relax into communion with Self, with God.
6.15
With practice, the mind becomes absorbed in Self, and you will live in the Peace of God that leads to Liberation.
6.16
Do not eat too much or too little. Do not indulge in excessive sleep or deprive yourself of needed rest. Extremes are not conducive to meditation.
6.17
One who lives with moderation, who is balanced in the activities of eating, sleeping, working and playing, will find meditation to be the destroyer of all discontent.
6.18
When a practitioner, through meditation, transcends cravings and mental distractions, he is said to be established in yoga.
6.19
The mind of a yogi in meditation, like a flame sheltered from wind, does not move or flicker.
6.20
Thus stilled, the mind is positioned to see Self as Itself, and rejoice beyond all imagining.
6.21
When Self is realized, the yogi experiences the highest bliss accessible to consciousness. Truth becomes his only reality.
6.22
He cannot conceive of anything greater than This, and he becomes unshakable, even in the face of the heaviest sorrows.
6.23
To be thus rescued from the delusions and sufferings of life is the aim of yoga. It must be practiced with perseverance and unwavering conviction.
6.24
Through meditation, relinquish all desires and bring thoughts and senses under control.
6.25
With patient determination, let the mind gradually become more and more fixed upon God, until at last it can think of nothing else.
6.26
When the mind flits and wanders, as is its nature, gently bring it back to one-pointed stillness, where God resides.
6.27
The lot of the sage is contentment. Mind stilled, passions calmed, he abides in Self and acts without error.
6.28
Abiding in Self, he is untouched by good and evil, and walks in the light of the Absolute.
6.29
He sees Self in all beings, and all beings in Self.
6.30
Everywhere he looks he sees Me. He is never lost or separated from Me, nor am I ever separate from Him.
6.31
He lives in Me, and I live in Him. We are One.
6.32
He is a perfect saint. He has discovered his divinity as Self, and simultaneously seen all else to be Self. He regards the joys and sorrows of all beings as his own.
6.33
Arjuna said, “O Lord, I do not understand how this yoga you teach could work for me. I find no firm ground in myself and my mind is constantly restless.
6.34
My mind is fickle, obstinate, chaotic — as difficult to control as high wind.”
6.35
Lord Krishna said:
The restless mind is indeed difficult to control, but with meditation and sincere practice it can be done.
6.36
An undisciplined mind is incapable of the determination and focus necessary for yoga, but for one who succeeds in taming the mind, success is assured.
6.37
Arjuna said, “Lord Krishna, what is the fate of the unrealized soul who has not been able to control his mind and fails to achieve success in yoga?
6.38
Does he perish like a riven cloud, bereft of both earthly and spiritual reward?
6.39
Please dispel these doubts of mine, O Lord. None but you can do this.”
6.40
Lord Krishna said:
Dear friend, no one who has strived for goodness in himself ever comes to harm, in this world or the next. There is no punishment after death for failure, nor in this life will he fall back into grief and sinful ways.
6.41
After death, the yogi who falls short of the goal lives for an age in the realm of pure souls. Then he is born again on earth into a pure and prosperous family.
6.42
In rare instances, he may be born into a family endowed with divine wisdom, but such a birth is difficult to come by.
6.43
The experience of his former life will silently inform his new life, and without knowing why, he will be compelled to pursue a spiritual path, picking up more or less where he left off. No effort in the direction of righteousness is ever wasted.
6.44
The momentum of his previous life will inevitably draw him to the principles of yoga, even though he may not be seeking them, for his transcendental nature leapfrogs scriptural patterns.
6.45
Once he steps foot on the path, the earnest yogi is assured of realizing Self, though it take one or many lifetimes.
6.46
A yogi is superior to an ascetic, superior to a Vedic scholar, superior to performers of religious rituals. Therefore, Arjuna, become a yogi!
6.47
There are many types of yogis, but one whose thoughts are of Me, who renders loving service to Me, who is intimately united with Me — he is the most likely to succeed.
That is my opinion.