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| Yoga and the Gita
A lecture by Giriraj Swami The Bhagavad-gita was spoken about five thousand years ago by Lord Krsna, who is accepted by Vedic authorities as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When Krsna speaks, He does not speak in ordinary prose; He speaks in poetry and with melody. Thus His words have been recorded as the Bhagavad-gita, "The Song of God." God is a person, just as we are persons, but He is not a conditioned soul like we are. He is not limited like we are, but still He is an individual. The Bible says, "Man is created in the image of God." Even logically, whatever faculties we have, whatever qualities we have, God must also have--and more. We have the faculty to think; we have the faculty to speak; we have the faculty to will; we have the faculty to feel; we have the faculty to perceive; we have the faculty to work, to act. So God has the same faculties that we have. The Vedanta-sutra says, janmady asya yatah: the Absolute Truth is He from whom everything emanates. Whatever exists in the creation of God must also exist in God, the creator. So God has all the same faculties that we have, but in Him they exist in perfection. He thinks, but His thinking is perfect; He wills, and His willing is perfect; He speaks, and His speaking is perfect. Everything about Him is perfect. So the Bhagavad-gita is the record of God's spoken words, or God's song: the Bhagavad-gita. As conditioned souls, we tend to think of individuality as a conditioned state. When people hear that God is a person, they often retort, "How can you say that God is a person? You are limiting God. If you give God a form . . ." Of course, we don't give God a form, but they say, "If you give God a form, you are limiting God." And when we view things from the material perspective, or the conditioned state, it makes sense that if we give God a name we are limiting Him, or that if we give God a form we are limiting Him. But when we do make such judgements, we are actually applying our limited experience of personality in the material world and extending it with material reasoning to reach a false conclusion: If we have form and we are limited, then if God has form He must also be limited. Actually, God is beyond material duality. We cannot understand what God is by concluding that He must be the opposite of us. So yes, we have form and we are limited: If I am sitting here in Imperial Beach I cannot be at the same time in Pacific Beach or in Los Angeles or Santa Barbara or London or Bombay. But God has form and He is unlimited. God is here, and He is also in New York, He is also in Nairobi, and He is also in Shanghai. He is in this room; He is in the next room; He is in the wall; He is in the ceiling. He is within every atom, and He is in the spaces between the atoms. So He has form, but His form is not like ours. It is not material; it is not limited. His form is spiritual and unlimited. We are conditioned. Within the body of any conditioned being is a spiritual soul, and it is the presence of the soul that gives life to the body. Actually, the body is just a vehicle, like a car, and the soul is the person within the vehicle who makes it function. As soon as the driver leaves the car, the car cannot function properly. Similarly, when the soul leaves the body, the body can no longer act. We, the living being, are the spiritual soul, and we reside within the body and utilize the body, but we are distinct from it. The Bhagavad-gita explains that God has two principal energies: the material energy and the spiritual energy. The soul is composed of spiritual energy, and the body and all the material elements are composed of material energy. Solids, liquids, and gases are made of material energy. The material energy is dead, inert matter, whereas the soul, the spiritual energy, is alive and conscious. In our case, there is a distinction between the physical body and the spiritual soul that animates it. But in the case of Krsna, or God, His body is completely spiritual. In God, there is no duality; He is completely spiritual, and thus His form is spiritual--and unlimited. As spirit souls, we are tiny fragments of God, of the Supreme Soul. In the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krsna says, mamaivamso jiva-loke jiva-bhutah sanatanah: "The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts." (Bg 15.7) So we, as individual souls, are parts and parcels of the Supreme Soul, Krsna, and we are fragmental parts eternally. There is a school of thought that is sort of material but sort of spiritual too, that says that in the conditioned state we are individual but that when we are liberated we lose our individual identity and become one with God. Our teacher, Srila Prabhupada, calls this merging "spiritual suicide." The psychology of the impersonalists, who want to merge and become one with God or with God's light, is based on the same type of relative, dualistic thinking that we just discussed. Their logic is "I am an individual and I am suffering in the material world, so if I want to become free from suffering, I have to give up my individuality." But the fact is that we conditioned souls in the material world are in a diseased condition, forgetful of God, and because we are diseased we suffer. When we are cured of our disease, we will no longer suffer; we will enjoy. Now, if we take an ordinary person suffering from some disease, and if we say, "You are suffering, and I have a solution for your suffering: I will kill you," no normal person will agree. He will say, "That is not a solution. The solution is to cure me, not to kill me." So spiritually, the impersonalists, or Mayavadis, say in effect, "You are suffering, and we have the solution: Commit spiritual suicide. Just merge and become one with God, and then you won't exist as an individual anymore, and so you won't feel any more pain." But that is not a true solution. The real solution is to be cured of the disease, and when you are healthy you can enjoy life. We agree that when you are diseased all of your activities are painful; but we go further and say that when you are cured, the same activities that were painful when you were diseased, forgetful of God, can be pleasurable--in Krsna consciousness. Forgetfulness of God results in a diseased state called "illusion," or maya. The cure for this disease is a procedure by which we can remember God, by which we can become God conscious or Krsna conscious, a process called yoga. The Sanskrit term yoga literally means to link or to connect. The English word yoke, as "to yoke two oxen together," is derived from the Sanskrit word yoga. So the process of yoga really means to reconnect with God, and in the Pantanjali system there are eight stages of practice called astanga-yoga, beginning with yama and niyama. Yama and niyama mean rules and regulations. No one can practice yoga--no one can make spiritual advancement--unless he or she follows some discipline. And the disciplines that we follow in bhakti-yoga are common to all practices of yoga. After yama and niyama, the prohibitions and positive injunctions, comes asana, which has been popularized in the West--yoga-asanas, yogic postures. Then comes pranayama, breathing exercises. All these physical practices are actually meant to enable the yogi to meditate on God for long periods without being disturbed by bodily discomfort. Good health is not an end in itself in yoga. The physical practices are really a means to help the yogi attain the end of prolonged meditation on God--without bodily distractions. And the proficient yogi can meditate for hours, for days, without being disturbed by bodily ailments or even natural bodily demands to eat or to sleep. So the real goal is to go further, to progress to pratyahara, withdrawing the senses; to dharana, concentrating for on God some time; to dhyana, deep, extended meditation on God; and ultimately to samadhi, complete, continuous absorption in God--actual realization of God. In samadhi, although the yogi is in the body, he does not identify with it. He is fully absorbed in his internal relationship with God and completely detached from matter. That is the goal of yoga, and that is the purpose for which we have taken birth as human beings--to realize God and become detached from matter, liberated from the repetition of birth and death, samsara. The stage of samadhi is described in the Bhagavad-gita (6.20-23): yatroparamate cittam niruddham yoga-sevaya sukham atyantikam yat tad buddhi-grahyam atindriyam yam labdhva caparam labham manyate nadhikam tatah tam vidyad duhkha-samyoga-viyogam yoga-samjnitam "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. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness, realized through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact." Such yoga must be performed in a solitary, sanctified place, as prescribed in the Bhagavad-gita (6.11-12): sucau dese pratisthapya sthiram asanam atmanah tatraikagram manah krtva yata-cittendriya-kriyah "To practice yoga, one should go to a secluded place and should lay kusa 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. The yogi should then sit on it very firmly and practice yoga to purify the heart by controlling his mind, senses and activities and fixing the mind on one point." Sucau dese indicates that one must find a sanctified place, preferably near a sacred body of water. The yoga-sutras say that the place should be far from where two roads meet. In other words, it should be a secluded, sacred place. Now, can ordinary people like us really fulfill the conditions for the proper execution of the astanga-yoga system? What hope is there for us? Well, there is hope. Later, the Bhagavad-gita says, satatam kirtayanto mam: we should always engage in kirtana, or glorification, of Krsna. Satatam means "always," kirtana means chanting, and mam means "about Me"--about Krsna. (Because Krsna is the speaker of the Bhagavad-gita, when He says "mam" He means "Me"--Krsna.) We may chant the name of Krsna, as we chanted the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, or we may glorify the form of Krsna, the qualities of Krsna, or the pastimes of Krsna. That is kirtana. God, as mentioned earlier, is unlimited, and He has unlimited forms. Krsna is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, and some of His prominent expansions are Rama, Nrsimha, and Visnu. Generally, it is the form of Visnu within the heart that is the goal of the yogi's meditation. Dhyanavasthita-tad gatena manasa pasyanti yam yoginah: It is He whom the yogis see when they fix their minds in meditative trance. He is the goal of yoga, and that same goal can be achieved by chanting. Chanting is especially recommended for the present age. The Vedic system is very elaborate, and it recommends different processes for self-realization to be performed in different ages and in different circumstances. In the present age the recommended process is the chanting of the holy names: harer nama harer nama "One should chant the holy names, chant the holy names, chant the holy names of Lord Hari [Krsna]. There is no other way, no other way, no other way for success in the present age." Nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva, "no other way, no other way, no other way," refers to the different processes that were practicable in the three previous ages but not in the present one. Now, this phrase, "the only way," could conjure up some sort of fearful associations with phrases such as, but not limited to, "Jesus is the only way." Therefore I wish to clarify what the Vedas mean when they say that hari-nama is the only way. Again, "Krsna" is just a name for God, and Krsna consciousness, or God consciousness, is not sectarian. God is unlimited, and He has unlimited names in different languages and cultures. In practically every major religious tradition we find that practitioners chant God's name. And historically, the practice has been quite prominent, especially in the mystical sections within the different communities. Practitioners would chant God's names incessantly. We find it in the Christian tradition, in the Muslim tradition, in the Buddhist tradition, and others. So we are not sectarian. We do not say, "You should chant only 'Krsna.' Don't chant 'Jesus.' Don't chant 'Allah.'" It is not like that. God is absolute, and on the absolute platform any name that describes God is as good as any other. In one sense, God has no name, because He is transcendental. But because He has forms and qualities and pastimes and associates, He can be referred to by His attributes and relationships. In Sanskrit there is a text called Visnu-sahasra-nama: "A Thousand Names of Visnu." In Pakistan I found a book about the ninety-nine names of Allah. Very similar. One of the names of Allah, just to take one example, is Habib. Habib means "friend," and in Sanskrit we have the same word, bandhu--dina-bandhu, loka-bandhu--because God is the friend of the distressed and of every living being. So words that describe God's forms, His qualities, His activities, and His relationships with His devotees can be accepted as names of God. And again, because God is absolute, His names, His forms, His qualities, and His pastimes are all the same on the Absolute platform. In the material, or relative world, if we are hungry and chant, "Mango, mango, mango!" just chanting "mango, mango" will not satisfy our hunger, because the word "mango" and the object mango are different. But in the spiritual, or absolute realm, the name of the thing and the thing are the same. So when we chant, "Krsna Krsna, Hare Krsna," Krsna is personally present, dancing on our tongues. Therefore devotees feel bliss when they chant Hare Krsna, because they are associating with Krsna. nama cintamanih krsnas "The holy name of Krsna is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Krsna Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Krsna's name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Krsna Himself. Since Krsna's name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with maya. Krsna's name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Krsna and Krsna Himself are identical." (Padma Purana, Cc Madhya 17.133) Krsna is all-blissful, and when we associate with Him we also feel blissful. And that is the recommended process for the present age: to continuously chant (kirtaniyah sada harih). Thus devotees chant whenever they get the chance. Great devotees and scholars have actually described how different stages in the practice of chanting correspond to the different stages in astanga-yoga. The physical process of chanting is easy. Anyone with a tongue can articulate the transcendental sounds of the holy names: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. But there is also a question of quality. Someone can chant and his mind may be in Hollywood or out on the waves. Advaita was saying that there are some huge waves off the reef here and that surfers paddle out a mile to be able to catch one of those special waves. Anyway, our minds could be anywhere. We may be chanting with our mouths--with our lips and with our tongues--but our minds may be anywhere. Still, the chanting is effective. The mantra is so powerful that even if we are unable to chant with concentration, the transcendental sound vibration will purify our minds, and as our minds becomes purified, it will be easier for us to chant with attention. But that is a serious practice--to chant with attention. The Bhagavad-gita advises that whenever and wherever the mind wanders due to its flickering nature, you should bring it back to the self. In the beginning when we chant, our minds are bound to wander. In any process of meditation, until one is very advanced, one's mind will wander. And when it wanders, one must bring it back. But again, the beauty of chanting is that even if your mind wanders, the chanting itself purifies your consciousness--whereas in silent meditation if your mind wanders there is no meditation; it is gone. But with chanting, even if your mind strays--of course, this is not an excuse to allow our minds to wander--but even if your mind strays there is benefit, because you are vibrating the mantra and the transcendental sound is entering your heart and purifying it. So there is great spiritual benefit to the chanting, and there is great pleasure to be had in it. At least for now, we are not able to chant twenty-four hours a day--although that is the goal. We are not like yogis who can sit in meditation for eight or ten or twenty or thirty hours. We need other engagements, and all the engagements of the bhakti-yogi, of the devotee in Krsna consciousness, are related to God. We hear about God, we talk about God, and we think about God. We worship God and pray to God; we even cook for God--we prepare vegetarian food and actually offer it to God in a transcendental process. And we tell others about God. Thus the same activities that are the cause of bondage for ordinary persons become the cause of liberation for devotees in Krsna consciousness. Even activities required just to keep the body and soul together--earning, spending, bathing, dressing--become part of the same process when our lives are dedicated to Krsna consciousness. So the difference between being spiritually diseased and spiritually healthy, between spiritual and material activities, is very subtle. The activities may be the same; only the consciousness is different. In material consciousness, we act for our own sense gratification, limited or extended, without reference to God. And in spiritual consciousness, we engage in the same activities, but for the pleasure of God, in the service of God. Our spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, gave the example of a person on an airplane who will be seated and then will read or talk to the next passenger and might feel like nothing is happening. But as soon as the person looks out the window, he will see, "Oh, we have gone a long way. We used to be way down there, and now we are above the clouds. We are flying." So it is subtle. We are sitting here and talking, and later we will be eating, and they may appear to be the same things we always do, that everyone always does: They get together, they talk, they may sing songs, they may dance, and then they eat. But because we are doing them all in relation to God, as parts of the process of bhakti-yoga, the same activities that are the cause of bondage and misery in ordinary life--the same activities become the cause of liberation and eternal pleasure in Krsna consciousness. This is the great science of the Bhagavad-gita, the science of yoga. And in the course of His instructions in the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krsna concludes: yoginam api sarvesam "And of all yogis, the one with great faith who always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself, and renders transcendental loving service to Me--he is the most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all. That is My opinion." (Bg 6.47) After describing various types of yoga--karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, dhyana-yoga, astanga-yoga--Lord Krsna declares, "Of all yogis, the one who worships Me with love is the highest of all." Such love for Krsna can be awaked by the practices of bhakti-yoga--especially by chanting, kirtana. So we thank you for coming and joining us, for adding to our pleasure in chanting and hearing. |
