Atma Samyama Yoga

अनाश्रितः कर्मफलं कार्यं कर्म करोति यः |

One who performs prescribed duty without depending on the fruits of action is both a sannyasi and a yogi — not one who has merely given up ritual fire, nor one who has ceased from action.

यं संन्यासमिति प्राहुर्योगं तं विद्धि पाण्डव |

Know that what is called renunciation is the same as yoga, O Pandava; for no one becomes a yogi without renouncing selfish purpose.

आरुरुक्षोर्मुनेर्योगं कर्म कारणमुच्यते |

For a sage who wishes to ascend to yoga, action is said to be the means; for one who has already ascended to yoga, tranquility is said to be the means.

यदा हि नेन्द्रियार्थेषु न कर्मस्वनुषज्जते |

When one neither clings to sense objects nor to actions, having renounced all purposeful intention — that one is said to have ascended to yoga.

उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् |

One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.

बन्धुरात्मात्मनस्तस्य येनात्मैवात्मना जितः |

For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.

जितात्मनः प्रशान्तस्य परमात्मा समाहितः |

For one who has conquered the mind and attained tranquility, the Supreme Self is already realized. For such a person, cold and heat, pleasure and pain, honor and dishonor are all the same.

ज्ञानविज्ञानतृप्तात्मा कूटस्थो विजितेन्द्रियः |

A person is said to be established in self-realization and is called a yogi — or mystic — when he is fully satisfied by virtue of acquired knowledge and realization. Such a person is situated in transcendence and is self-controlled. He sees everything — whether it be pebbles, stones, or gold — as the same.

सुहृन्मित्रार्युदासीनमध्यस्थद्वेष्यबन्धुषु |

When a man treats equally the honest well-wishers, affectionate benefactors, the neutral, the mediators, the envious, the friends, the pious and the sinners — he is considered to be even more advanced.

योगी युञ्जीत सततमात्मानं रहसि स्थितः |

A yogi should constantly engage his body, mind, and soul in relationship with the Supreme. He should live in seclusion, alone, always carefully controlling his mind, free from desires and the sense of possessiveness.

शुचौ देशे प्रतिष्ठाप्य स्थिरमासनमात्मनः |

To practice yoga, one should go to a secluded place and should lay kusha grass on the ground and then cover it with a deerskin and a soft cloth. The seat should be neither too high nor too low and should be situated in a sacred place.

तत्रैकाग्रं मनः कृत्वा यतचित्तेन्द्रियक्रियः |

Having set up a firm seat in a sacred place, the yogi should sit and practice yoga to purify the heart — controlling the mind and senses, making the mind one-pointed, with all mental and sensory activities held in check.

समं कायशिरोग्रीवं धारयन्नचलं स्थिरः |

The yogi should hold his body, neck, and head erect in a straight line and stare steadily at the tip of the nose. Thus, with an unagitated, subdued mind, devoid of fear, completely free from sex life, one should meditate upon Me within the heart and make Me the ultimate goal of life.

प्रशान्तात्मा विगतभीर्ब्रह्मचारिव्रते स्थितः |

Thus, with an unagitated, subdued mind, devoid of fear, completely free from sex life, one should meditate upon Me within the heart and make Me the ultimate goal of life.

युञ्जन्नेवं सदात्मानं योगी नियतमानसः |

Thus practicing control of the body, mind, and activities, the mystic transcendentalist, with a regulated mind, attains the kingdom of God — the peace of cessation of material existence — by ceasing all material activities.

नात्यश्नतस्तु योगोऽस्ति न चैकान्तमनश्नतः |

There is no possibility of one's becoming a yogi, O Arjuna, if one eats too much or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough.

युक्ताहारविहारस्य युक्तचेष्टस्य कर्मसु |

He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.

यदा विनियतं चित्तमात्मन्येवावतिष्ठते |

When the yogi, by practice of yoga, disciplines his mental activities and becomes situated in transcendence — devoid of all material desires — he is said to be well established in yoga.

यथा दीपो निवातस्थो नेङ्गते सोपमा स्मृता |

As a lamp in a windless place does not waver, so the yogi whose mind is controlled remains always steady in his meditation on the transcendent Self.

यत्रोपरमते चित्तं निरुद्धं योग सेवया |

In the stage of perfection called trance, or samadhi, one's mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This perfection is characterized by one's ability to see the Self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the Self.

सुखमात्यन्तिकं यत्तद्बुद्धिग्राह्यमतीन्द्रियम् |

In the stage of perfection, one experiences boundless transcendental happiness realized through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this, one thinks there is no greater gain.

यं लब्ध्वा चापरं लाभं मन्यते नाधिकं ततः |

Upon gaining this, one thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of the greatest difficulty.

तं विद्याद्दुःखसंयोगवियोगं योगसंज्ञितम् ||२३||

One should know that the severance of union with suffering is called yoga. This yoga is to be practiced with determination and with a mind free from despondency.

स निश्चयेन योक्तव्यो योगोऽनिर्विण्णचेतसा |

One should practice yoga with determination and without despondency. One should abandon, without exception, all desires born of mental scheming and should, by the mind alone, draw the senses from all directions away from their objects.

शनैः शनैरुपरमेद्बुद्ध्या धृतिगृहीतया |

Gradually, step by step, one should become situated in trance by means of intelligence sustained by full conviction, and thus the mind should be fixed in the Self alone and should think of nothing else.

यतो यतो निश्चलति मनश्चञ्चलमस्थिरम् |

From wherever the mind wanders due to its flickering and unsteady nature, one must certainly withdraw it and bring it back under the control of the Self.

प्रशान्तमनसं होनं योगिनं सुखमुत्तमम् |

The yogi whose mind is fixed on Me attains the highest happiness. By virtue of his identity with Brahman, he is liberated; his mind is peaceful, his passions are quieted, and he is freed from sin.

युञ्जन्नेवं सदात्मानं योगी विगतकल्मषः |

Thus the self-controlled yogi, always engaging the self in yoga practice, becomes free of all material contamination and achieves the highest stage of perfect happiness in transcendental loving service to the Lord.

सर्वभूतस्थमात्मानं सर्वभूतानि चात्मनि |

A person united in yoga sees the Self dwelling in all beings, and all beings dwelling in the Self. Such a yogi sees equally everywhere.

यो मां पश्यति सर्वत्र सर्वं च मयि पश्यति |

For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, and such a person is never lost to Me.

सर्वभूतस्थितं यो मां भजत्येकत्वमास्थितः |

The yogi who worships Me as dwelling in all beings, established in oneness — that yogi, whatever his manner of living, abides always in Me.

आत्मौपम्येन सर्वत्र समं पश्यति योऽर्जुन |

O Arjuna, that yogi is considered the highest who, by comparison with himself, sees equally everywhere — whether in pleasure or in pain.

अर्जुन उवाच

Arjuna said: O Madhusudana, the yoga of equanimity you have described — I do not see how it can be steady, given the restlessness of the mind.

चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद्दृढम् |

For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krishna, and to subdue it, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind.

श्रीभगवानुवाच |

Lord Sri Krishna said: O mighty-armed son of Kunti, it is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind, but it is possible by suitable practice and by detachment.

असंयतात्मना योगो दुष्प्राप इति मे मतिः |

For one whose mind is uncontrolled, yoga is difficult to attain — this is My opinion. But for one whose mind is controlled and who strives by proper means, it is possible to achieve.

अर्जुन उवाच

Arjuna said: O Krishna, what is the fate of the unsuccessful yogi who begins with faith but whose mind strays from yoga and who fails to attain the highest perfection of yoga?

कच्चिन्नोभयविभ्रष्टश्छिन्नाभ्रमिव नश्यति |

O mighty-armed Krishna, does not such a person — fallen from both paths, without any support, bewildered on the path to Brahman — perish like a torn cloud with no place to stand?

एतन्मे संशयं कृष्ण छेत्तुमर्हस्यशेषतः |

O Krishna, please dispel this doubt of mine completely. There is no one other than You who can destroy this doubt.

श्रीभगवानुवाच

The Supreme Lord said: O Partha, neither in this world nor in the next is there destruction for such a person. My dear friend, one who performs good deeds never comes to an evil end.

प्राप्य पुण्यकृतां लोकानुषित्वा शाश्वतीः समाः |

Having attained the worlds of the pious and dwelling there for many long years, the one who has fallen from yoga is then reborn in the home of the righteous and prosperous.

अथवा योगिनामेव कुले भवति धीमताम् |

Or, if the fallen yogi had practised for a long time, he is born into a family of wise yogis. Such a birth in this world is most rare and precious.

तत्र तं बुद्धिसंयोगं लभते पौर्वदेहिकम् |

O Arjuna, in that new birth the yogi regains the divine consciousness of the previous life and strives further toward complete perfection.

पूर्वाभ्यासेन तेनैव ह्रियते ह्यवशोऽपि सः |

By the force of his previous practice he is drawn toward yoga irresistibly, even without his will. Such a sincere inquirer into yoga transcends the mere ritualism of the Vedas.

प्रयत्नाद्यतमानस्तु योगी संशुद्धकिल्बिषः |

But the yogi who strives diligently with sincere effort, purified of all impurities, and who achieves perfection through many lifetimes, then attains the supreme destination.

तपस्विभ्योऽधिको योगी ज्ञानिभ्योऽपि मतोऽधिकः |

A yogi is superior to ascetics, greater even than those of knowledge, and greater than those who perform rituals. Therefore, O Arjuna, become a yogi.

योगिनामपि सर्वेषां मद्गतेनान्तरात्मना |

Of all yogis, the one who worships Me with faith, their inner self absorbed in Me — I consider that devotee to be the most united with Me.