Inner Journeys – Yoga of Meditation

Chapter six of the Gita, Yoga of Meditation, discusses a method of training and calming the mind which is central to inner journey and Yoga.

The New Gita and The Inner Journeys: Yoga of Meditation

by Isaac Bentwich, MD

 

 

You begin your inner quest, convinced that you are your intellect, emotions, and thoughts. Meditation opens the door for you to go beyond noisy thoughts and emotions, thereby experiencing, at least in part, the blissful quietude within – your true, Divine, Inner-Self. Meditation practice is simple, but since, as the Prince observes, the mind is wilder than the wind, it is a practice that requires patient perseverance. You initially turn to Meditation, simply to give your mind a much-needed rest; like the rest, Yoga gives your body. Over time though, Meditation practice leads to a profound Wisdom transformation which changes your experience of the world, and your functioning in it. You begin your journey seeking happiness outside; through the alchemy of Meditation, you find it where it always was, within. As this transformation settles in, you find you no longer depend on the external world for your happiness: “Having obtained it, one now knows — this treasure’s superior to all; Knowledge so certain cannot be shaken — though greatest of sorrows befall.”

A Yogi, a true Renunciate,

Does one’s Duty, fruits don’t expect;

A monk is not a Renunciate

If one’s vows cause Duty’s neglect.

 

Yoga, O Prince, do understand,

Is merely renunciation;

Fearing for future or results

Befit not Yoga of Action.

 

For the Yoga Seeker, at first,

Action’s good – it quiets the mind;

When the mind is stilled, firm in Yoga,

Now it’s quiescence – one would find.

 

When attachment, even in thought,

To sense-objects and action – is gone;

One is then considered to be

In Yoga – established, enthroned.

 

Lift yourself by your Self, O Prince,

And let not your Self flounder low;

You yourself are your only friend

As well as your very worst foe.

 

Your divine, Inner-Self is your friend,

Mind’s lower nature – your worst foe;

Bond with your pure, divine nature,

Mind, subdued – will follow in tow.

 

One who’s established in Inner-Self,

Mind serene, all cravings restrained;

Knows no disquiet, in heat or cold,

Shame or honor, pleasure, or pain.

 

When one experiences Wisdom-Divine,

Content, by sense-objects no more swayed

Divinely-United, while still in this flesh

One equally views – stone, gold, or clay.

 

Greatest is one who’s even-minded

To kind friends and vicious foes;

Righteous and rogues, haters and kin

And to them who are none of those.

 

Let the Yogi retreat, alone, secluded,

Over body and mind let one practice control;

Shedding all hopes, shedding worldly possessions,

Constant Inner-Self meditation is one’s goal.

 

Setting one’s seat, comfortable, firm,

In a place calm, quiet and clean;

Seated in a seat not too high or low,

With cloth and holy grass cushioned.

 

Seated there, patient, one practices control

Over one’s senses, emotions, and thought;

Meditating this way, mind single-pointed,

Gradually, but surely purifies one’s heart.

 

One’s posture is motionless, firm,

Body, head, and neck – still, upright;

Inner gaze – to the tip of the nose,

Mind steady not straying about.

 

Mind-controlled from its restless drift,

Fearless, in celibacy steadfast;

Let one sit; mind focused, serene,

Goal Supreme, Divine – reach last.

 

Thus, the Yogi strictly maintains

Mind balanced, controlled at all times;

Peace one attains, leading to Freedom,

Abiding in Me, the Divine.

 

Yoga is not possible, O Prince,

For one who overeats or fasts;

Not for one who’s oversleeping

Nor one who over-exerts oneself.

 

Let one ever be moderate,

Ever steady in all one’s ways;

In sleep, waking, eating, and exercise,

Yoga removes all one’s pains.

 

Resting, focused – in Inner Self,

With perfect control of the mind;

Freed from any desire, ‘is said,

One’s united in the Divine.

 

Like a lamp’s flame, which flickers not,

When it is in a windless place;

So is the Yogi’s mind, which is

Focused, steady, on Inner-Self.

 

When the mind, restrained by Yoga,

Within it-Self quietly rests;

‘Tis then one experiences one’s True Self,

Knows joyous content in one’s breast.

 

Then does such purified heart know

Bliss that’s beyond what senses can;

Established in this Reality

Never to wander again.

 

Having obtained it, one now knows

This treasure is superior to all;

Knowledge so certain cannot be shaken

Though greatest of sorrows befall.

 

Yoga parts us from pain, O Prince,

The pain we thought would always be there;

Practice it, therefore, determined,

Be joyful and never despair.

 

Utterly abandon desires, Prince,

Know they all arise from your thought;

The wild pack of senses – restrain,

Discerning what’s Real from what’s not.

 

Patiently, O Prince, bit by bit,

Let one gradually calm one’s mind;

On divine Inner-Self focus inwards,

Not letting the mind wander round.

 

Time after time – the mind will stray,

Outward, by senses – drawn away;

Time and again it is withdrawn,

Focused on Inner-Self alone.

 

Supreme Bliss one verily knows,

The Yogi whose mind is serene;

Who’s become at one with the Divine,

Desires all hushed, free from sin.

 

Free from vice, mind constantly trained,

Meditating deeply on the Divine;

Divinely touched, one’s path now clear,

Thus the Yogi knows Bliss Sublime.

 

Pure divine heart, sees but Divine,

In every creature large or small;

Knows one’s Inner-Self – in all beings,

And in Inner-Self – sees all.

 

One who sees Me, the Divine, in all, and

In Me sees all beings, every bird ‘n tree;

Never am I separated from such Yogi,

Nor such Yogi – separated from Me.

 

Established in Unity, with Me, Divine,

Worshipping Me devoutly, in all beings;

In Me, Divine, such Yogi safely abides,

Whatever be one’s conduct or what life brings.

 

Bearing each creature’s joy and pain

As though they were one’s very own;

Highest Yogi sees all around

But one’s Inner Self alone.

 

PRINCE:

Master, you describe this Yoga

As a constant union with the Divine;

How can such a state be constant?

Ever so, restless is the mind!

 

Roughened by worldly desires,

Restless, unyielding is man’s mind;

How shall I tame it, O Master,?

The wind itself does not seem as wild!

 

MASTER:

Yes, Prince, the mind is restless, no doubt,

Its control – is hard to maintain;

But it can be done if you persist

And all your desires – restrain.

 

One who reins not senses and mind

Will find this Yoga difficult;

But one self-restrained, persevering,

Using the right means – will master it.

 

PRINCE:

But what of one who strives not enough,

And though faithful – yet hasn’t stayed;

One who does not reach perfection

For one’s mind from Yoga has strayed?

 

Both life paths, of spirit and matter,

Doesn’t one miss by and by?

Isn’t one lost, unsupported,

An orphan cloud, lost in the sky?

 

This doubt, Master,

Has me distraught;

Only you can

Dispel this thought.

 

MASTER:

No, my son, such seeker’s not lost,

Not in this world nor in the next;

Know that one who seeks the Divine

Shall never succumb to ill fate.

 

One who has fallen from practice

Will still get to heaven for sure;

Then, in due time, would be born again

To parents successful and pure.

 

One may even be born, O Prince,

To wise Yogic parents to bear;

Though such birth is hard to come by

For in our world, these are rare.

 

One would then, assimilate anew

Wisdom acquired before;

And to reach the goal of perfection,

Would then strive for even more.

 

Through the practice of previous lives

To Union-Divine path one’s drawn;

Mere wishing it is loftier than

All religious rites one performs.

 

Through many births and tireless striving

All one’s shortcomings to cleanse;

This Yogi moves towards perfection

And reaches this goal in the end.

 

Be a Yogi, Prince! A Yogi’s best,

Who tirelessly seeks the Divine;

Greater than scholars and doers

Or ascetics who purge body ‘n mind.

 

One who thus faithfully merges

One’s Inner Self, in Me, Divine;

Such Yogi, above all others,

I ever consider as Mine.

Excerpt from Gita: A Timeless Guide For Our Time

You will also enjoy Gita – The Heart of Yoga

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About the Author

Isaac Bentwich M.D. is a longtime practitioner and teacher of Yoga and Meditation. Trained as a physician in Western and Ayurvedic medicine, he founded three life-science technology companies, leading revolutions in medicine, genomics, and environmental conservation. Bentwich has studied the Bhagavad Gita for thirty-four years. The purpose of his new translation is to make the Gita more accessible and relevant to contemporary readers. He presents the mesmerizing melodiousness, meter, and rhyme of the Sanskrit original, and this version is crafted for both men and women. For more information about Gita: A Timeless Guide for Our Time (June 21, 2019), please visit: NewGita.com