Chapter VII
Self-Control
This chapter describes Karmayaoga or the yoga of disinterested action and it also describes the marks of a person who has attained it. It also tells about the symptoms of the God realised soul and urging one to uplift the self. It dwells in detail about Dharmayoga ( meditation) and discusses the question of mind control and the fate of a person who falls from it and describes its glory. Sri Bhagwan says that he who does his duty without expecting the fruit of actions is a Sanyasi ( Sankhyayogi) and a Karmayogi both. He is no sanyasi who has merely renounced the sacred fire, even so he is no yogi who has merely given up all activity. Arjuna you must know that what they call Sanyasa is no other than Yoga; for none becomes a yogi who has not given up thoughts of the world. Disinterested action is considered a stepping stone to ascend the heights of Karmayoga for a contemplative soul. For the same person who is established in Yoga, absence of all thoughts of the world is said to be way to blessedness. When a person ceases to have any attachment either for the objects of senses or for actions, and has renounced all thoughts of the world is said to have climbed the heights of Yoga. One should life oneself by one’s own efforts and shall not degrade oneself, for one’s own self is one’s foe. One’s own self is the friend of the soul by whom the lower self ( consisting of the mind,senses and body)has been controlled and conquered in the same way as in an enlightened human being reason rules over passion and senses and the very self of him who has failed to conquer the lower self behaves antagonistically like an enemy. The supreme spirit is rooted in the knowledge of the self controlled man whose mind is perfectly serene in the midst of the pair of opposites, such as cold and heat, joy and sorrow, and honour and ignominy. The yogi whose mind is sated with Jnana (knowledge of Nirguna Brahma) and Vijnana( knowledge of manifest divinity) , who is unmoved under all circumstances, whose senses are completely mastered, and to whom earth, stone and gold are all alike is considered as God realised soul. He who looks upon well wishers and neutrals as well as mediators, friends and foes, relatives and objects of hatred, the virtuous and the sinful with the same eye stands supreme. Living in seclusion all by himself, the yogi who has controlled his mind and body, and is free from desires and void of possessions should constantly engage his mind in meditation. Having firmly placed his seat in a spot that is free from dust and other impurities with the sacred Kush ( Grass), a deer skin and a cloth spread thereon one below another, occupying that seat, concentrating the mind and controlling the functions of the mind and senses, he should practice Yoga for self purification. Holding the trunk, head and neck straight and steady, remaining firm and fixing the gaze on the tip of the nose without looking in any other direction. Firm in the vow of complete chastity and fearless, keeping himself perfectly calm and with mind held in restraint and fixed on Him, the vigilant Yogi should sit absorbed in Him. Arjuna this yoga is neither for him who overeats, nor for him who observes complete fast; it is neither for him who is given to too much sleep nor even for him who is continuously awake. Yoga which rids one of woe, is accomplished only by him who is regulated in diet and recreation, regulated in performing actions and regulated in sleep and wakefulness. When the mind which is thoroughly disciplined and gets riveted on God alone, then the person who is free from yearning for all enjoyments is said to be established in Yoga. As a light does not flicker in a windless place such is stated to be the picture of a disciplined mind of the Yogi practising meditation on God. The state in which curbed through the practice of Yoga, the mind gets still, and in which realising God through the subtle reason (purified by meditation on God) the soul rejoices only in God. Nay in which the soul experiences the eternal and super sensuous joy that can be apprehended only through the subtle and purified intellect, and wherein established the said Yogi moves not from Truth on any account. That state called Yoga which is free from contact of sorrow( in the form of transmigration) should be known. May this Yoga should be resolutely practised with an unwavering mind. Completely renouncing all desires arising from the thoughts of the world and fully restraining the whole pack of senses from all sides by the mind. A person should through gradual practice attain tranquility ; and fixing the mind on God through reason controlled by steadfastness and he should not think of anything else. Drawing back the restless and fidgety mind from all those objects which it runs,he should repeatedly fixed on God. For to the Yogi whose mind is perfectly serene who is sinless, whose passion is subdued, and who is identified with Brahma, the embodiment of Truth ,Knowledge and Bliss, supreme happiness comes as a matter of course. The sinless Yogi, thus uniting himself constantly with God easily enjoys the eternal bliss of oneness with Brahma. The Yogi who is united in identity with all pervading infinite consciousness,and sees unity everywhere beholds the self present in all beings and all beings as assumed in the self. He who sees Him (Universal Self) present in all beings, and all beings existing within Him (God), never loses sight of Him and Almighty never loses sight of him. Thus Yogi, who is established in union with God and worships Him with as residing in all beings ( as their very self ) abides in Him, no matter what he does. Arjuna, he who looks on all as one,on the analogy of his own self and looks upon the joy and sorrows of all with a similar eye. Such a Yogi is deemed to the highest of all. Arjuna queried that owing to the restlessness of mind he does not perceive the stability of this Yoga in the form of equanimity that Krishna has just spoken of because Krishna the mind is very unsteady, turbulent, tenacious, and powerful, so I consider it as difficult to control as the wind. Sri Bhagwan replying to Pandava Prince’s query says that no doubt the mind is restless and difficult to control, but it can be brought under control by repeated practice ( of mediation) and by the exercise of dispassion. Yoga is difficult to be achieved by those whose mind is not subdued by him, however one who has the mind under control and is ceaselessly striving it can be easily attained through practise such is His belief. Arjuna further asks Krishna that what becomes of the soul who, though endowed with faith, has not been able to subdue passions, and whose mind is diverted from Yoga at the time of death,and who thus fails to reach perfection in Yoga ( God realisation) strayed from the path leading to God Realisation and without anything to stand on, is he not lost like a torn cloud, deprived both of God realisation and heavenly enjoyments. Only you Krishna can slash this doubt of mine completely, for none other than you can be found who can clear this doubt. Shri Bhagwan said that there is no fall from him either here or hereafter. For none who strives for Self Redemption ( God Realisation) ever meets with evil destiny. He, who has fallen from Yoga, obtains the higher worlds ( heaven) to which men of meritorious deeds alone are entitled, and having resided there for countless years takes birth in the house of pious and wealthy men, or ( if he is possessed of dispassion) born in the family of enlightened Yogis; but such a birth in this world is very difficult to obtain. He automatically regains in that birth the spiritual insight of his previous birth and through that he strives harder than ever for perfection ( in the form of God Realisation) The other one, who takes birth in a rich family though under the sway of his senses, feels drawn towards God by force of the habit acquired in his previous birth nay even a seeker of enlightenment of Yoga, in the form of even mindedness, transcends the fruits of actions performed with some interested motive as laid down in Vedas. The Yogi, who diligently takes up the practice attains perfection in this very life with the help of latencies of many births, and being thoroughly purged of sin forthwith reaches the supreme state. The Yogi is superior to ascetics, he is considered as superior even to those versed in sacred lore. He is also superior to those who perform action with some interested motive. So Arjuna do become a Yogi. Of all Yogis, he who devoutly worships god with his mind focussed on Him, is considered by Him to be the best Yogi.
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