-6th chapter: verses 3, 4, 5
-The lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda on October 2, 2020.
-3rd verse: “For ārurukṣhoḥ - a spiritual seeker who is still evolving - duties become the path that will take him to a stage that transcends duties. For Yoga-ārūḍha - the sage who has attained the highest state of Yoga - inaction becomes natural; he withdraws himself from worldly pursuits and bondages.”
-4th verse: “When a seeker has given up all sankalpas, and he has absolutely no attachment to sense objects or to actions, then he reaches the highest state of Yoga.”
-When we identify ourselves as the doer or enjoyer of our actions, we walk into a trap and worry about the consequences of our actions. This worry can manifest itself as anxiety, negativity, complaints and concerns – it is called Sankalpa.
-Work will naturally produce a result – sometimes favorable and sometimes not favorable. Sankalpa does not affect the outcome – it is unnecessary, and just a play of the mind.
-A Yoga-ārūḍha, has renounced his ego, desires, and all his sankalpas. He has given up all kinds of identification with actions and their results. The three characteristics of a Yoga-ārūḍha are: (1) he is not attached to sense objects (2) he has no interest in external activities and (3) he is free from all sankalpas.
-To reach the stage of Yoga-ārūḍha, one has to first start his spiritual journey as ārurukṣhoḥ. At this stage, the mind will present obstacles due to past negative samskaras. To counter this, one should increase the storage of positive samskaras.
-Mind tends to look in the external world, what it has already stored within itself. When the storehouse of positive samskaras is increased, mind will seek spiritual objects and holy company. This helps one progress from ārurukṣhoḥ to Yoga-ārūḍha.
-5th verse: “A seeker should lift himself through his own self and never let it weaken himself. When mind, senses and ego are conquered, he will be able to raise himself to the highest spiritual state – his mind is then his friend. On the other hand, his mind will act as an enemy, if it is guided by the senses.”
-Shankaracharya uses examples from the animal kingdom to explain how one reaches destruction when guided by the senses - Deer (sense of hearing), Elephant (sense of touch). Moth (sense of seeing), Fish (sense of taste), Bee (sense of smell). Each of these creatures reaches death as they are guided by one of their senses. What to speak of humans who have five senses active all the time.
-A real Yogi focuses his mind exclusively on the task at hand. His senses are perfectly under control. His mind is in perfect harmony with Buddhi, which is linked to Atman.
-When a seeker practices self-restraint by withdrawing from external objects, there is a risk of him becoming careless and inactive. To prevent this, he should provide a counter focus by increasing his spiritual practices such as practicing karma-yoga, offering prayers, reading spiritual literature, and associating with holy company. Then his self-restraint becomes effective.
-Saints and mystics, such as Swami Vivekananda, demonstrated great self-effort and self-confidence to raise themselves in their spiritual life. They were very humble, but behind their humility was great Atma-balam – the inner strength of Atman.
-Lord Krishna mentions strong determination as one of the essential characteristics of a true devotee. The other two characteristics are that such a devotee is fully content and has full control over his senses.
-A strong will is essential to help us raise ourselves and to face obstacles from the external world and from our own mind. Once we make our own effort to lift ourselves, God also comes to assist us. We then become graceworthy.