May 11 – Bhagavadgita Chapter 6; Verses 6.16-6.17 (Day 132) Adhyatma Yoga, Yoga of Meditation

 May 11 – Day 132

Verse 6.16-6.17

नात्यश्नतस्तु योगोऽस्ति न चैकान्तमनश्नतः ।

न चातिस्वप्नशीलस्य जाग्रतो नैव चार्जुन ॥ ६-१६॥ 

nātyaśhnatastu yogo ’sti na chaikāntam anaśhnataḥ
na chāti-swapna-śhīlasya jāgrato naiva chārjuna (16) 

நாத்¹யஶ்னத¹ஸ்து¹ யோகோ‌³ஸ்தி¹ ந சை¹கா¹ன்த¹மனஶ்னத¹: |
ந சா¹தி¹ஸ்வப்¹னஶீலஸ்ய ஜாக்³ரதோ¹ நைவ சா¹ர்ஜுன ||16|| 

16. Verily Yoga is not possible for him who eats too much, nor for him who does not eat at all; nor for him who sleeps too much, nor for him who is (always) awake, O Arjuna! 

Commentary: In this verse the Lord prescribes the diet for the students of Yoga.  You must observe moderation in eating and sleeping.  If you eat too much you will feel drowsy, and sleep will overpower you.  You will get indigestion, flatulence, diseases of the bowels and the liver. If you eat too little you will get weakness and you will not be able to sit for a long time in meditation.  You should eat neither more or nor less than what is actually necessary for maintaining the body in a healthy and strong state.

It may mean also that success in Yoga is not possible for him who eats more than the quantity prescribed in the test books on Yoga.  They prescribe: “Half the stomach must be filled with food; a quarter with water and the remaining fourth must be empty for the free movement of air.” This is the Mitahara or moderate diet for a student of Yoga.

If you sleep too much you will become lethargic.  The mind will be dull and the body will be heavy.  You cannot meditate.  If you sleep too little you will experience drowsiness.  You will sleep during meditation.  Keep the golden medium.  You will have rapid progress in Yoga. 

युक्ताहारविहारस्य  युक्तचेष्टस्य कर्मसु ।

युक्तस्वप्नावबोधस्य योगो भवति दुःखहा ॥ ६-१७॥ 

yuktāhāra-vihārasya yukta-cheṣhṭasya karmasu
yukta-swapnāvabodhasya yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā (17) 

யுக்¹தா¹ஹாரவிஹாரஸ்ய யுக்¹தசே¹ஷ்ட¹ஸ்ய க¹ர்மஸு |
யுக்¹த¹ஸ்வப்¹னாவபோ³த¹ஸ்ய யோகோ³ ப⁴வதி¹ து³:க²ஹா ||17|| 

17. Yoga becomes the destroyer of pain for him who is always moderate in eating and recreation (such as walking, etc.), who is moderate in exertion in actions, who is moderate in sleep and wakefulness. 

Commentary: In this verse the Lord prescribes for the student of Yoga, diet, recreation and the like.  The student of Yoga should always adopt the happy medium or the middle course.  Lord Buddha went to the extremes in the beginning in matters of food, drink, etc. he was vry abstemious and became extremely weak.  He tortured his body very much.  Therefore he was not able to attain success in Yoga.  Too much of austerity is not necessary for Self-realization. This is condemned by the Lord in chapter XVII, verses 5 and 6.  Austerity should not mean self-torture.  Then it becomes diabolical.  The Buddhi Yoga of Krishna is a wise approach to austerity.  Some aspirants take asceticism as the goal; it is only the means but not an end. The nervous system is extremely sensitive.  It responds even to very light changes and causes distraction of the mind.  It is, therefore, vry necessary that you should lead a very regulated and disciplined life and should be moderate in food, sleep and recreation.  Take measured food.  Sleep and wake up at the prescribed time.  Sleep at 9 or 10 p.m. and get up at 3 or 4 a.m. only then will you attain to success in Yoga which will kill all sorts of pains and sorrows of this life. 

Commentary by Swami Venkatesananda: 

Yoga is not a physical, mental or psychic feat. It is life itself; not the kind of restless life swinging constantly between the two extremes of exhilaration and depression, indulgence and denial, sensuousness and asceticism, but the harmonious flow of the divine will along the wise middle path. The Kaṭhopaniṣad characterises the spiritual path as ‘the razor’s edge’, difficult to tread. The razor’s edge is difficult to tread, not on account of the fear that it may injure our feet, but because it is so sharp that it is invisible.

On both sides of this subtle middle path there is danger, pain and suffering. Both of them (extremes) imply a strong identification of the body, mind and the personal ego with the self. Yoga aims precisely at the removal of this false identification, and the consequent private desire and ‘seeking’ under whatever label it appears.

The man who loves eating is a glutton; but the man who refuses to eat is an egoist. The former identifies the self (ātmā) with the body; the latter, with the vain personality or egoism which swells with pride at its ability to go without food. Both of them are confusing the self with the not-self. The yogi, however, dissociates the body, mind and ego from the real self, while allowing God’s nature to reveal itself through all these.

In gluttony there is pain, as also in abstention. Pleasure is invariably followed by pain. Vanity is accompanied by fear or injured pride. The yogi who pursues the middle path is blissfully free from all these. Only he lives; others drag on in miserable existence. 

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