Yukta Chitta
(Talk By Dr. Jayadeva in Parisamvada)
The Bhagavad Gita was neglected till a British writer discovered it and announced that this is the text worth preserving as far as Indian Culture was concerned. At that time, the British ruled India and they did not allow any of these old writings to be known. But he discovered it. It is in this text that we find some of the Shlokas which are of great value.
The Shlokas that we are discussing now are from the sixth chapter and they start with a simile of a lamp kept in dark, without breeze and how the flame is steady without any flicker or movement. The Yogi is compared to that flame, totally devoted to his own Self, meditating on that. Subsequently it is said that when the Chitta is totally immersed; without desires, then it is called as Yukta, in the sense of a Yogi, totally getting fixed, not allowing himself to flicker just as the flame of a lamp does not flicker.
Importance is given to this steadiness. Naturally, breeze is there but this lamp has been put in a place where there is no breeze to disturb it and therefore the flame is steady and the comparison is with that steady flame. 'As the lamp in a windless place does not flicker' - this simile is used to describe the disciplined mind of Yogi; practicing meditation on the Self. It is further said that when the perfectly controlled mind is fixed on the Self. Atman alone, free from the desires for enjoyments, then the person is an achiever of yoga. That is the final remark.
Our mind does not remain steady; it keeps changing like the flickering of the flame of the lamp. If you have seen the illumination that is received, it is not continuous, it keeps flickering from side to side: it is only in a windless place where there is no disturbance, that the flame remains steady. And that steady state is what is discussed here - the state of meditation. We have to understand that meditation is a continuing concentration, continuing steadiness, no movement, no change, just one object decided upon in the beginning and then you remain on that object till the end.
It is a difficult exercise but when you call it meditation, it has to come to that stage. It can't be little while on this and little while on that. If we try it out, we will find the difficulties. Apparently, one can keep talking on this but to maintain the mind without any change on a given object for a long-long time is the catch. These ancient writings give us the methods, difficulties and the achievements.
Yukta Chitta
(Talk By Dr. Jayadeva in Parisamvada)
The Bhagavad Gita was neglected till a British writer discovered it and announced that this is the text worth preserving as far as Indian Culture was concerned. At that time, the British ruled India and they did not allow any of these old writings to be known. But he discovered it. It is in this text that we find some of the Shlokas which are of great value.
The Shlokas that we are discussing now are from the sixth chapter and they start with a simile of a lamp kept in dark, without breeze and how the flame is steady without any flicker or movement. The Yogi is compared to that flame, totally devoted to his own Self, meditating on that. Subsequently it is said that when the Chitta is totally immersed; without desires, then it is called as Yukta, in the sense of a Yogi, totally getting fixed, not allowing himself to flicker just as the flame of a lamp does not flicker.
Importance is given to this steadiness. Naturally, breeze is there but this lamp has been put in a place where there is no breeze to disturb it and therefore the flame is steady and the comparison is with that steady flame. 'As the lamp in a windless place does not flicker' - this simile is used to describe the disciplined mind of Yogi; practicing meditation on the Self. It is further said that when the perfectly controlled mind is fixed on the Self. Atman alone, free from the desires for enjoyments, then the person is an achiever of yoga. That is the final remark.
Our mind does not remain steady; it keeps changing like the flickering of the flame of the lamp. If you have seen the illumination that is received, it is not continuous, it keeps flickering from side to side: it is only in a windless place where there is no disturbance, that the flame remains steady. And that steady state is what is discussed here - the state of meditation. We have to understand that meditation is a continuing concentration, continuing steadiness, no movement, no change, just one object decided upon in the beginning and then you remain on that object till the end.
It is a difficult exercise but when you call it meditation, it has to come to that stage. It can't be little while on this and little while on that. If we try it out, we will find the difficulties. Apparently, one can keep talking on this but to maintain the mind without any change on a given object for a long-long time is the catch. These ancient writings give us the methods, difficulties and the achievements.