Chapter 6: Dhyān Yog – Path of Meditation

Verses

1. 6.1 — The Blessed Lord said: He who performs his prescribed duty without seeking the fruits of his actions is both…
2. 6.2 — Know that what is called renunciation is Yoga, O Arjuna; for no one becomes a Yogi who has not renounced all…
3. 6.3 — For one who is aspiring for yoga, work is said to be the means; for one who has already attained yoga,…
4. 6.4 — When a person is not attached to sense objects or to fruitive actions, and has renounced all material…
5. 6.5 — One should elevate oneself by one's own self; let not one degrade oneself. For the self is the friend of the…
6. 6.6 — For him who has conquered the self by the Self, the self is a friend; but for him who has not conquered it,…
7. 6.7 — For one who has conquered the mind and attained tranquility, the Supreme Self is already reached, as he…
8. 6.8 — The yogi who is satisfied with knowledge and wisdom, who is self-controlled, and to whom a lump of earth, a…
9. 6.9 — He who views with equal regard the well-wisher, the friend, the enemy, the indifferent, the neutral, the…
10. 6.10 — A yogi should constantly engage his mind in meditation, remaining in solitude, alone, with the body and mind…
11. 6.11 — Having set up a firm seat for himself in a clean place, neither too high nor too low, and covered with kusha…
12. 6.12 — Seated on that seat, making the mind one-pointed and controlling the activities of the mind and senses, one…
13. 6.13 — Holding the body, head, and neck erect and motionless, the practitioner should remain steady, gazing at the…
14. 6.14 — With a serene and fearless mind, steadfast in the vow of celibacy, having controlled the mind, the yogi…
15. 6.15 — Thus, by constantly keeping the mind balanced and under control, the yogi attains the supreme peace that…
16. 6.16 — Verily, Yoga is not for him who eats too much, nor for him who does not eat at all; it is not for him who…
17. 6.17 — Yoga becomes the destroyer of misery for one who is moderate in eating and recreation, regulated in working,…
18. 6.18 — When the mind, thoroughly disciplined, rests solely in the Self, having become indifferent to all objects of…
19. 6.19 — Just as a lamp in a windless place does not flicker, so the Yogi whose mind is controlled remains steady…
20. 6.20 — When the mind, restrained by the practice of yoga, becomes still and attains quietude, and when one beholds…
21. 6.21 — In that state of joy, which is transcendental, known only by the intuition, and beyond the reach of the…
22. 6.22 — Having gained which, one considers no other gain superior to it; established in which, one is not moved even…
23. 6.23 — Know that this state of detachment from the experience of suffering is called Yoga. One must practice this…
24. 6.24 — Abandoning without exception all desires born of mental projections, and bringing the senses under control…
25. 6.25 — Little by little, one should attain tranquility with the intellect firmly restrained; having established the…
26. 6.26 — From whatever cause the restless and unsteady mind wanders away, let him restrain it from those objects and…
27. 6.27 — Supreme happiness comes to the yogi whose mind is peaceful, whose passions are quieted, who is free from…
28. 6.28 — Thus, the self-controlled yogi, constantly engaging his mind in meditation, becomes free from all impurities…
29. 6.29 — A yogi whose mind is harmonized by meditation perceives the Self residing in all beings and all beings…
30. 6.30 — For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me.
31. 6.31 — He who, established in the unity of existence, worships Me as the indwelling soul in all beings, that yogi…
32. 6.32 — He who, through the likeness of the Self, O Arjuna, sees reality everywhere, whether in pleasure or in pain,…
33. 6.33 — Arjuna said: O Madhusudana, this Yoga of equanimity that You have described, I do not see how it can be…
34. 6.34 — For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krishna; to subdue it, I think, is more…
35. 6.35 — The Blessed Lord said: 'Undoubtedly, O mighty-armed Arjuna, the mind is restless and difficult to restrain,…
36. 6.36 — I believe that Yoga is difficult to attain for one whose mind is uncontrolled, but for one who has mastered…
37. 6.37 — Arjuna said: He who possesses faith but fails to control his mind, and whose mind wanders away from…
38. 6.38 — O Mighty-armed Krishna, does not a man who deviates from the path of Yoga, failing to achieve steady…
39. 6.39 — O Krishna, please dispel this doubt of mine completely, for there is no one else but You who can destroy…
40. 6.40 — The Blessed Lord said: O Arjuna, neither in this world nor in the next is there destruction for him; for no…
41. 6.41 — Having attained the worlds of the righteous and dwelt there for many years, he who fell from Yoga is reborn…
42. 6.42 — Or he is born into a family of wise yogis; such a birth is indeed very difficult to obtain in this world.
43. 6.43 — There he regains the knowledge acquired in his previous life, and he strives again for perfection, O son of…
44. 6.44 — By that very previous practice he is carried forward, even against his will. Indeed, even one who merely…
45. 6.45 — But the Yogi, striving with diligent effort, purified of all sins, and perfected through many births,…
46. 6.46 — The yogi is considered superior to the ascetics, superior to the men of knowledge, and superior to the men…
47. 6.47 — And of all yogis, the one who with great faith always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself, and renders…