Only determined effort can take you ahead

In the previous post, we saw how one can attain the ultimate goal of Yoga which is par excellence. But is it easy to attain that state?

“Our mind is flimsy. It is quite stubborn and adamant. Is so strong that controlling it is almost like stopping a blowing wind. More you try it, the more the wind slips from your control.

But without a control on the mind, it is difficult to attain the ultimate state of meditation. One who has no control over the mind cannot make any progress in Yoga. But there is hope.

There are two weapons to bring the mind under control.

The first one is abhyasa or repeated effort. Don’t give up if you fail. Keep trying and eventually you will succeed.

Equally important second weapon is vairagya or detachment to worldly things. As long as one continues to be attached to worldly things; keeps accumulating wealth beyond basic needs; keeps thinking about sense pleasures; there is no way one can calm down the mind.

So a person who develops detachment and puts in determined effort can sooner or later attain the ultimate state of meditation.”

Observe almost one to one correspondence between the words of Geetha and the words of Patanjali in his Yoga Sutra. Patanjali also uses the same two words with identical meaning when he talks about prerequisites of attaining the goal of Yoga.

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Based on verses 6.34, 6.35, 6.36 of Bhagavad Geetha, one of the most quoted and widely translated of the ancient Indian scriptures, believed to have been composed by Vyasa as part of the great Indian Epic Mahabharata, 5000 years ago. The interpretation of the verses and audio recital are by Dr.King (Copyright © 2018 Dr. King)