Who Is Ready for Meditation? | Essence of the Geeta | Episode 79

You all are listening to the essence of the Gita. In this episode, Swamiji explains that Karma Yoga is essential to discipline the restless mind. But once inner calm and detachment are attained, the seeker naturally becomes fit for meditation. So when the mind is active, wild, till you have mastered the mind, you have to act. But act how? With the senses under your mastery and mind, your organs of action being used in performance of Karma Yoga. With what attitude? Without attachment. All this was said already in the second chapter. So till you have mounted the horse, you have to act. But now that you have mounted the horse, you still keep running. It is like this man. You know how this Indian railway, how the trains come so quickly and you are generally late. You have to run to catch the train. And once you are in the train, once I was in the train and saw this man running in the train. So I said, why are you running in the train? He says, so that I can reach my destination faster. Once you got into the train, now the train is moving, what do you do? You relax. Just as when you try to get on to a bicycle, first you have to run with the bicycle, if you are Indian style, run with the bicycle, put your one leg on the pedal, then you go on the other side of the pedal and then when you pedal and when the bicycle is moving, after that what you have to do? You just sit there and only you have to do is a little bit of balancing. The bicycle that has got the momentum will work. This is what Bhagawan means. Aaru rukshomunir yogam karmakarana mucchate. He says that till the man of knowledge reflection has not mounted the steed of the mind. So aaru rukshomunir yogam karmakarana mucchate. Action is pointed out as a means. But which action? Karma yoga. But yoga rudasya tasyaiva. Shama karan mucchate. But one who has now mounted the steed of the mind for such a person, quietitude has been recommended. Now don't do too many activities unnecessarily. It's not necessary. You withdraw in quietitude. You withdraw in meditation. Shama karanam mucchate. But till your mind is still wild, have you noticed? Who are fit for meditation and those who are not yet fit for meditation? But both are on the path. For those whose minds are still active, do some work. But do it with equi poise. Do it with calmness. Don't let even others hear that you are doing it. Yoga karmasu kaushalam. Example is here only. Those who are active, they will be impatient if they have to sit for too long. That's why you see after one and a half hour, immediately. Not even shanti pa. And immediately, do you take your notes? What's that for the kitchen? Come there, go for the seva immediately. You have to do karma yoga. There are others. They make so much noise, condescent quietly. You do dhyana yoga. Meditation. It is not what we should do. It's at what stage we are. Yoga means samatvam equi poise. To attain that equi poise, you work unaffected by the pairs of opposites. Without anxiety, mind becomes quiet as you taste the quietness of the mind. No longer there is any desires, the extrovertedness is curtailed. And then such a person is then ready for meditation, knowledge and meditation. See how beautifully, how scientifically Bhagawan desex and explains who should act and who should then sit in calmness. And when you say sit in calmness, means meditating on the truth. Not without any fire of knowledge, not without thought. Thought, but thoughts exclusively directed towards the self, towards the truth. But how do I know that I have mounted the seed of my mind? How do I know that I have attained to yoga? Means through karma I have gained yoga. Means equi poise of mind, integration of mind and intellect. All this is pointed out as yoga. So Bhagawan says, yadahi when indeed indriyaar theshu nakkarmasu anushajyate. Anushajyate is not attached to sense objects, indriyaarthaha, one who is not attached to sense object, nor attached to action. So far it's been always said that attachment to sense object should be given up. But attachment to action is there who through action have gained some pleasure as a result of action. One who has now detached from the fruits of action, really speaking, there's no need to be also attached to action. Therefore people are like that. Now if I don't do all these things, then what would I do? We get so attached to action. Do action when it is necessary. I mean it's not necessarily don't do any unnecessary action. So therefore yadahi indriyaar theshu nakkarmasu anushajyate. Sarvasankalpa sannyasi, yoga roodh tada uchchate. One who has thus been able to renounce his thoughts. Now this also is of two types. One thing to understand is renounced his thoughts means one who is no longer dwelling in these wasteful thoughts. See when you do your duty there is no confusion. There's not also imagining what I should do, what I should not do. Again your duty comes from your nature so it's spontaneous. You've done it over a period of time and therefore it is spontaneous. So there is no planning, there is no scheming. Can you imagine how much mental energy you conserve? I'm telling you a simple thing also. There's a big debate in schools nowadays. Like college should we have no uniform or should we have uniform? People ask also, Swamiji why do you have to wear the same orange every day? Some variety. People try to make different shades also for us. At least some variety. Now what difference does it make when I wear that I have to wear clothes for wearing but you have to see it. Therefore let us see different shades. See what happens is that when we do actions, we do it when we do it with some desire the mind will keep on being active. Now see you have a uniform and you wear clothes just to cover your body and that's the purpose of clothes. Now if there is one uniform do I have to stand in front of that cupboard and think that day I wore this. They have seen me in these clothes. Now I have to save these clothes for the special function. So I should keep it quite be there. Now this one I have to wear it tomorrow. So I have to get it washed. And if it does get ready tomorrow this Dhobi doesn't bring it on time. Can you see how much wasteful thought is there? While when you do your duty and that too also without what will be the result? There is no anxiety. There is no such wasteful thoughts. You have learned to not waste your energy to waste your thoughts. And such a person indeed is a sannyasi because he has learnt not to give into thought. Another thing we were already seeing who is a nitya sannyasi who is an observer of all the functioning of the body, senses, mind, and the thoughts of the intellect who has no identification and therefore is not the perceiver, feeler, thinker. Until and unless you have renounced that this is my thought, my idea, my desire, you cannot renounce your desires or your actions. Even though Krishna is talking in term of karma yoga, but don't forget that Krishna has already pointed out who is a sannyasi who does not think that I am the body, mind and intellect and therefore has renounced what? The thought of I am the doer. Can you become a sannyasi without renouncing thought? These verses I tell you, it looks like one summary like this and then people think that oh, without renouncing the attachment how can you become a sannyasi? But without renouncing thought how can you be a sannyasi? So therefore, sarvasankalpa sannyasi who has become master of yoga means attained to yoga which means attained to the supreme, the supreme shanti, the supreme brahma has attained unity with brahma is only one who has renounced not just fruits of action, not just the action but very thought in the action or in the non-performance of the action that I am doing or I am not doing. Therefore great masters have pointed out don't only renounce the world, renounce even this body, mind and intellect and even the thought that I have renounced should be renounced. The realization is only in this. Drop it, drop it, drop it. Drop your attachment to sense object, drop your attachment to your action, equipments and the thought also that I dropped it should be dropped. That is what is called here as sarvasankalpa sannyasi yoga rudha tada uchchate. Then a person has attained to the union, attained to yoga. Beautiful, isn't it? Even in Bhagawan's summary there is something more to be realized. So therefore drop it. Such a person then is ready for shama karana uchchate for quiet meditation. So when should we act? When should we meditate? In short, who is ready or fit adhikara for meditation? And for meditation you have to renounce your preoccupation with the fascination of the world and also your fanciful imagination or thinking, your planning and screaming and your actions. Then only you can meditate. Therefore such a sannyasi only can meditate. But who is a sannyasi? Not one who is given up action, not one who is without fire or knowledge. Not one who is not dynamic and sattvic, but one who is calm, who has performed all his actions and duties. But now that he is calm, there is no need for any more activity. And in the seat of meditation, when you are meditating, you may be a family member, you may be a person with great social responsibility, you may be a husband, you may be a wife, you might be a student, you may be a doctor, you may be an engineer. Drop all those identification. In the seat of meditation, when you are sitting at home or in the ashram, at that moment drop it, drop it so that you can drop it. At that moment there should be no activity, at that moment there should be no anxiety for any activity whatsoever because there you are only the seeker of truth and even that anxiety has to be dropped. That is called as surrender. So who is a fit? Who is Yoga Ruda? One who has been able to calm his mind. One whose mind is no longer extrovert and whose mind has now calmed down and is resting only in the knowledge which has been gained from the teacher with devotion that that and that alone I seek and that too also without anxiety. Such a person is fit for meditation. I don't look around and say, Swamiji, I am nowhere there. Yes, but you can at least practice to be there. That's why I've already started giving you the sadhana yesterday while walking, observe, while speaking, observe, while eating, observe. This is called what today, cliche, mindfulness. So whatever you do, be an observer and see it happen. Then you'll observe how many actions are unnecessary, how many conversations are unnecessary and how many thoughts are so wasteful. The moment you start observing it, all this excessive talking, excessive activity, excessive eating all will slowly, slowly be eliminated. And as you begin to find that quietitude of mind, you will want to withdraw from all the noise, not get irritated with others who make the noise, but withdraw from all the noise. Find a secluded spot so that you can remain in calmness. You'll find that naturally. To start, drop it, drop it. That might, when you start meditating, if you've not learned to drop the outer preoccupation and the preoccupation with your equipments, how can you drop your preoccupation with the I thought? Drop it, drop it, drop it. But what do I do to drop it? When you stop doing it falls. When you stop holding it falls. Therefore dropping it is not an action. If you've understood this, you are now ready for Dhyana Yoga or Meditation.