May 23 – Bhagavadgita Chapter 6; Verses 6.41-6.42 (Day 144) Adhyatma Yoga, Yoga of Meditation

 May 23– Day 144

Verse 6.41-6.42

प्राप्य पुण्यकृतां लोकानुषित्वा शाश्वतीः समाः ।

शुचीनां श्रीमतां गेहे योगभ्रष्टोऽभिजायते ॥ ६-४१॥ 

prāpya puṇya-kṛitāṁ lokān uṣhitwā śhāśhwatīḥ samāḥ
śhuchīnāṁ śhrīmatāṁ gehe yoga-bhraṣhṭo ’bhijāyate (41) 

ப்¹ராப்¹ய பு¹ண்யக்ருதா¹ம் லோகானுஷித்¹வா ஶாஶ்வதீ¹: ஸமா: |
ஶுசீ¹னாம் ஶ்ரீமதா¹ம் கே³ஹே யோக³ப்⁴ரஷ்டோ¹‌பி⁴ஜாயதே¹ ||41|| 

41. Having attained to the worlds of the righteous and, having dwelt there for everlasting years, he who fell from Yoga is reborn in the house of the pure and wealthy. 

Commentary: Yogabhrashta: one who has fallen from Yoga, i.e., one who was not able to attain perfection in Yoga, or one who climbed a certain height on the ladder of Yoga but fell down on account of lack of dispassion or slackness in the practice (by becoming a victim to Maya or his turbulent senses).

The righteous:  Those who tread the path of truth, who do virtuous actions such as charity, Yajna, rituals, worship of the Lord, and who act in accordance with the prescribed rules of the scriptures.

Everlasting years means only a considerably long period but not absolutely everlasting.

The pure: those who lead a pure, moral life; those who have a pure heart (free from jealousy, hatred, pride, greed, etc). (Cf. IX. 20, 21)  

अथवा योगिनामेव कुले भवति धीमताम् ।

एतद्धि दुर्लभतरं लोके जन्म यदीदृशम् ॥ ६-४२॥ 

atha vā yoginām eva kule bhavati dhīmatām
etad dhi durlabhataraṁ loke janma yad īdṛiśham (42) 

அத²வா யோகி³னாமேவ கு¹லே ப⁴வதி¹ தீ⁴மதா¹ம் |
ஏத¹த்³தி⁴ து³ர்லப⁴த¹ரம் லோகே¹ ஜன்ம யதீ³த்³ருஶம் ||42|| 

42. Or he is born in a family of even the wise Yogis; verily a birth like this is very difficult to obtain in this world. 

Commentary: A birth in a family of wise Yogis is more difficult to obtain than the one mentioned in the preceding verse. 

Commentary by Swami Venkatesananda (verses 41-42): 

The theory of evolution is inextricably bound up with the theory of reincarnation. Self-purification which leads to the instantaneous, spontaneous and indescribable realisation of the ever-present self-luminous self, is not possible in a single life-span, though this need not necessarily involve taking birth after birth. You are trapped in this world in which you experience a succession of happiness and unhappiness, success and failure, pleasure and pain. Something is born in you, something dies in you. That itself is enough reincarnation. Each day you are born and you die a thousand times. Every hope is a new birth. Every frustration is a death. With faith you will recognise naturally, in and through these changes, something that is immutable. This is the key to self-realisation.

Even the ‘intervals’ of physical ‘death’ (which is only an unusually extended form of deep sleep) are an indispensable step in this delicate process of purification, meant to ensure that the overall effect of the accomplishments of each life-span is preserved and the cumbersome and distracting details are washed away. Thus, life-span after life-span, the individual soul is dyed deeper and deeper into the colour of God. That is what Jesus meant when he said: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect”. The perfection alluded to here is a perfection equal to the perfection of God.

Kṛṣṇa specifically mentions that the soul incarnates in worlds other than this; several recent incidents prove that it is possible for the soul to return to this very earth. Even the ‘recall’ of Lazarus by Jesus points to this possibility. However, that we assume a body suitable for further evolution towards divine perfection is certain.

Rightly understood, this doctrine will not cause despair or pessimism because of the ‘length of time’ this process of self-purification needs. ‘Time’ itself is relative and illusory: he who vigilantly strives to discover perfection lives in the eternal now. 

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