TEXTS 11-12

शुचौ देशे प्रतिष्ठाप्य स्थिरमासनमात्मनः ।

नात्युच्छ्रितं नातिनीचं चैलाजिनकुशोत्तरम् ॥ ६-११॥

तत्रैकाग्रं मनः कृत्वा यतचित्तेन्द्रियक्रियः ।

उपविश्यासने युञ्ज्याद्योगमात्मविशुद्धये ॥ ६-१२॥

śucau deśe pratiṣṭhāpya sthiram āsanam ātmanaḥ

nāty-ucchritaṁ nāti-nīcaṁ cailājina-kuśottaram

tatraikāgraṁ manaḥ kṛtvā yata-cittendriya-kriyaḥ

upaviśyāsane yuñjyād yogam ātma-viśuddhaye

SYNONYMS

śucau—in sanctified; deśe—in the land; pratiṣṭhāpya—placing; sthiram—firm; āsanam—seat; ātmanaḥ—self-dependant; na—not; ati—too; ucchritam—high; na—nor; ati—too; nīcam—low; caila-ajna—soft cloth and deerskin; kuśottaram-kuśa grass; tatra—thereupon; ekāgram—one attention; manaḥ—mind; kṛtvā—doing so; yata-citta—controlling the mind; indriya—senses; kriyaḥ—activities; upaviśya—sitting on; āsane—on the seat; yuñjyāt—execute; yogam—yoga practice; ātma—heart; viśuddhaye—for clarifying.

TRANSLATION

To practice yoga, one should go to a secluded place and should lay kuśa-grass on the ground and then cover it with a deerskin and a soft cloth. The seat should neither be too high nor too low and should be situated in a sacred place. The yogī should then sit on it very firmly and should practice yoga by controlling the mind and the senses, purifying the heart and fixing the mind on one point.

PURPORT

"Sacred place" refers to places of pilgrimage. In India the yogīs, the transcendentalists or the devotees all leave home and reside in sacred places such as Prayāg, Mathurā, Vṛndāvana, Hṛṣīkeśa, and Hardwar and in solitude practice yoga where the sacred rivers like the Yamunā and the Ganges flow. But often this is not possible, especially for Westerners. The so-called yoga societies in big cities may be successful in earning material benefit, but they are not at all suitable for the actual practice of yoga. One who is not self-controlled and whose mind is not undisturbed cannot practice meditation. Therefore, in the Bṛhan-Nāradīya Purāṇa it is said that in the Kali-yuga (the present yuga or age) when people in general are short-lived, slow in spiritual realization and always disturbed by various anxieties, the best means of spiritual realization is chanting the holy name of the Lord.

harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam

kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā.

"In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the only means of deliverance is chanting the holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way."

Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/bg/6/11-12

TEXTS 13-14

समं कायशिरोग्रीवं धारयन्नचलं स्थिरः ।

सम्प्रेक्ष्य नासिकाग्रं स्वं दिशश्चानवलोकयन् ॥ ६-१३॥

प्रशान्तात्मा विगतभीर्ब्रह्मचारिव्रते स्थितः ।

मनः संयम्य मच्चित्तो युक्त आसीत मत्परः ॥ ६-१४॥

samaṁ kāya-śiro-grīvaṁ dhārayann acalaṁ sthiraḥ

samprekṣya nāsikāgraṁ svaṁ diśaś cānavalokayan

praśāntātmā vigata-bhīr brahmacāri-vrate sthitaḥ

manaḥ saṁyamya mac-citto yukta āsīta mat-paraḥ

SYNONYMS

samam—straight; kāya-śiraḥ—body and head; grīvam—neck; dhārayan—holding; acalam—unmoved; sthiraḥ—still; samprekṣya—looking; nāsikā—nose; agram—tip; svam—own; diśaḥ—all sides; ca—also; anavalokayan—not seeing; praśānta—unagitated; ātmā—mind; vigata-bhīḥ—devoid of fear; brahmacāri-vrate—in the vow of celibacy; sthitaḥ—situated; manaḥ—mind; saṁyamya—completely subdued; mat—unto Me (Kṛṣṇa); cittaḥ—concentrated; yuktaḥ—actual yogī; āsīta—being so; mat—unto Me; paraḥ—ultimate goal.

TRANSLATION

One should hold one's body, neck and head erect in a straight line and stare steadily at the tip of the nose. Thus with an unagitated, subdued mind, devoid of fear, completely free from sex life, one should meditate upon Me within the heart and make Me the ultimate goal of life.

PURPORT

The goal of life is to know Kṛṣṇa, who is situated within the heart of every living being as Paramātmā, the four-handed Viṣṇu form. The yoga process is practiced in order to discover and see this localized form of Viṣṇu, and not for any other purpose. The localized Viṣṇu-mūrti is the plenary representation of Kṛṣṇa dwelling within one's heart. One who has no program to realize this Viṣṇu-murti is uselessly engaged in mock-yoga practice and is certainly wasting his time. Kṛṣṇā is the ultimate goal of life, and the Viṣṇu-murti situated in one's heart is the object of yoga practice. To realize this Viṣṇu-murti within the heart, one has to observe complete abstinence from sex life; therefore one has to leave home and live alone in a secluded place, remaining seated as mentioned above. One cannot enjoy sex life daily at home or elsewhere and attend a so-called yoga class and thus become a yogī. One has to practice controlling the mind and avoiding all kinds of sense gratification, of which sex life is the chief. In the rules of celibacy written by the great sage Yājñavalkya it is said:

karmaṇā manasā vācā sarvāvasthāsu sarvadā

sarvatra maithuṇa-tyāgo brahmacaryaṁ pracakṣate.

"The vow of brahmacarya is meant to help one completely abstain from sex indulgence in work, words and mind—at all times, under all circumstances, and in all places." No one can perform correct yoga practice through sex indulgence. Brahmacarya is taught, therefore, from childhood when one has no knowledge of sex life. Children at the age of five are sent to the guru-kula, or the place of the spiritual master, and the master trains the young boys in the strict discipline of becoming brahmacārīs. Without such practice, no one can make advancement in any yoga, whether it be dhyāna, jñāna or bhakti. One who, however, follows the rules and regulations of married life, having sexual relationship only with his wife (and that also under regulation), is also called brahmacārī. Such a restrained householder brahmacārī may be accepted in the bhakti school, but the jñāna and dhyāna schools do not admit even householder brahmacārīs. They require complete abstinence without compromise. In the bhakti school, a householder brahmacārī is allowed controlled sex life because the cult of bhakti-yoga is so powerful that one automatically loses sexual attraction, being engaged in the superior service of the Lord. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said:

viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ

rasa-varjaṁ raso 'py asya paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate

Whereas others are forced to restrain themselves from sense gratification, a devotee of the Lord automatically refrains because of superior taste. Other than the devotee, no one has any information of that superior taste.

Vigatabhīḥ. One cannot be fearless unless one is fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A conditioned soul is fearful due to his perverted memory, his forgetfulness of his eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. The Bhāgavatam says, bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syād īśād apetasya viparyayo 'smṛtiḥ: Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the only basis for fearlessness. Therefore, perfect practice is possible for a person who is Kṛṣṇa conscious. And since the ultimate goal of yoga practice is to see the Lord within, a Kṛṣṇa conscious person is already the best of all yogīs. The principles of the yoga system mentioned herein are different from those of the popular so-called yoga societies.

Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/bg/6/13-14