May 9 – Bhagavadgita Chapter 6; Verses 6.13-6.14 (Day 130) Adhyatma Yoga, Yoga of Meditation

 May 9 – Day 130

Verse 6.13-6.14

समं कायशिरोग्रीवं धारयन्नचलं स्थिरः ।

सम्प्रेक्ष्य नासिकाग्रं स्वं दिशश्चानवलोकयन् ॥ ६-१३॥ 

samaṁ kāya-śhiro-grīvaṁ dhārayann achalaṁ sthiraḥ
samprekṣhya nāsikāgraṁ svaṁ diśhaśh chānavalokayan (13) 

ஸமம் கா¹யஶிரோக்³ரீவம் தா⁴ரயன்னச¹லம் ஸ்தி²ர: |
ஸம்ப்ரேக்ஷ்ய நாஸிகா¹க்³ரம் ஸ்வம் தி³ஶஶ்சா¹னவலோக¹யன் ||13|| 

13. Let him firmly hold his body, head and neck erect and perfectly still, gazing at the tip of his nose, without looking around. 

Commentary: The Lord describes here the pose or Asana and the Drishti (gaze) in this verse.

You cannot practice meditation without a firm seat.  If the body is unsteady, the mind will also become unsteady.  There is an intimate connection between the body and the mind.

You should not shake the body even a bit.  You should attain mastery over the Asana (Asana-Jaya) by daily practice.  You should be as firm as a statue or a rock.  If you keep the body, head and neck erect, the spinal cord also will be erect and the Kundalini will rise up steadily through the subtle ‘nerve-channel’ (Nadi) called the Sushumna.  Sit in the ‘lotus pose’ or the ‘adept pose’.  This will help you in maintaining the nervous equilibrium and mental poise.  You should steadily direct your gaze towards the tip of your nose.  This is known as the Nasikagra Drishti.  The other gaze is the Bhrumadhya Drishti or gazing between the two eyes.  If you practice this with open eyes, it may produce headache.  Foreign particles or dust may fall into the eyes.  There may be distraction of the mind also.  Do not strain the eyes.  Practice gently.  When you practice concentration at the tip of the nose you will experience Divya-Gandha (various aromas).  When you concentrate your gaze at the Ajna Chakra you will experience Divya-Jyotis (perception of supra-phenomental lights).  This is an experience to give you encouragement, push you up in the spiritual path and convince you of the existence of transcendental or supra-physical things.   Do not stop your Sadhana.  Yogins and those Bhaktas who meditate on Lord Siva concentrate on the Ajna Chakra with the Bhrumadhya Drishti.  You can select whichever Drishti suits you best.

Though the gaze is directed towards the tip of the nose when the eyes are half-closed and the eyeballs are steady the mind should be fixed only on the Self.  Therefore you will have to gaze, as it were, at the tip of the nose.  In chapter VI, verse 25, the Lord says: ‘Having made the mind abide in the Self, let him not think of anything’.  Gazing at the tip of the nose will soon bring about concentration of the mind.

Whichever be the point selected, visualize your own tutelary deity there and feel His Living Presence. 

प्रशान्तात्मा विगतभीर्ब्रह्मचारिव्रते स्थितः ।

मनः संयम्य मच्चित्तो युक्त आसीत मत्परः ॥ ६-१४॥ 

praśhāntātmā vigata-bhīr brahmachāri-vrate sthitaḥ
manaḥ sanyamya mach-chitto yukta āsīta mat-paraḥ (14) 

ப்¹ரஶான்தா¹த்¹மா விக³த¹பீ⁴ர்ப்³ரஹ்மசா¹ரிவ்ரதே¹ ஸ்தி²த¹: |
மன: ஸந்யம்ய மச்¹சி¹த்¹தோ¹ யுக்¹த¹ ஆஸீத¹ மத்¹ப¹ர: ||14|| 

14. Serene-minded, fearless, firm in the vow of a Brahmachari, having controlled the mind, thinking of Me and balanced in mind, let him sit, having Me as his supreme goal. 

Commentary: The spiritual aspirant should possess serenity of mind.  The Divine Light can descent only in a serene mind.  Serenity is attained by the eradication of Vasanas or desires and cravings.  He should be fearless.  This is the most important qualification.  A timid man or a coward is very far from Self-realization.

A Brahmachari (celibate) should serve his Guru or the spiritual preceptor whole-heartedly and should live on alms.  This also constitutes the Brahmachari-Vrata.  The aspirant should control the modifications of the mind.  He should be balanced in pleasure and pain, heat and cold, honour and dishonor.  He should ever think of the Lord and take Him as the Supreme Goal.

Brahmacharya also means continence.  Semen or the vital fluid tones the nerves and the brain, and energises the whole system.  That Brahmachari who has preserved his vital force by the vow of celibacy and sublimated it into Ojas Sakti or radiant spiritual power can practice steady meditation for a long period.  Only he can ascend the ladder of Yoga.  Without Brahmacharya or celibacy not an iota of spiritual progress is possible.  Continence is the very foundation on which the superstructure of meditation and Samadhi can be built up.  Many persons waste this vital energy – a great spiritual treasure indeed – when they become blind ad lose their power of reason under sexual excitement.  Pitiable is their lot! They cannot make substantial progress in Yoga. 

Commentary by Swami Venkatesananda: 

The body and mind are interrelated. If the mind is unsteady, the body shakes too; as in anger. If the body is agitated, the mind is not steady. The body must be kept still in order that it may be forgotten and transcended.

The ‘erect’ posture is the natural one (though it is considered to be a special ‘yogi’s posture’ on account of the distortion of our normal posture). In it the vital force or prāṇa flows smoothly, especially along the spine, thus ensuring equilibrium both of the body and the mind, which the prāṇa links and enlivens.

‘Nāsikā-agra’ in the original text may mean ‘tip, root or front of the nose’. Sanskrit is a rich and flexible language. Certain yogī claim that special psychic merits accrue from gazing at the tip or the root of the nose (between the eyebrows). It is best to look directly in front of the nose at a symbol of God or the flame of a lamp. When you think of God and endeavour to visualise him within yourself, you will discover that the vision is ‘abstracted’ and therefore even the objects in front of you fade away. The important point is to sit ‘without looking around’.

Once the desired concentration of mind and internal visualisation of God have been achieved, then it matters little if the eyes are kept open or closed. The visualisation is imagination. Imagination has image in it. Looking at it enquiringly reveals the substance of which this in-image is made. If the visualisation is dull, the result is nil.

‘Brahmacārī’ is one whose mind ‘roams in God or Brahman’ (though in a restricted sense, it refers to continence). ‘Fearlessness’ is extolled because in deep contemplation, when one ‘forgets’ the body, one is apt to be afraid of ‘losing it’. One whose goal is God is fearless and is prepared to sacrifice anything to reach him. 

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