Bhagavad Gita 6.20

yatroparamate cittaṁ

niruddhaṁ yoga-sevayā

yatra caivātmanātmānaṁ

paśyann ātmani tuṣyati

 

“When the mind is stilled through yogic grace,

Withdrawn from all in a peaceful inner space,

The self beholds itself, with no impure trace,

And finds deep divine joy in its own place.”

 

My dear Lord, my mind is meant to act as a window to the outer world—helping me see through the senses.

Due to the impurities present within it, my mind also doubles as a TV screen, where suddenly, the perception of some external object can trigger a movie-like flow of images that captivate my consciousness. My dear Lord, this is how I remain spiritually lost, caught in the physical and mental levels of reality.

But you, my Lord, are so merciful that you provide me the path of yoga practice, which purifies my mind, transforming it into a mirror. And in that mirror of the mind, I can see myself—as a soul, as an indestructible spiritual particle, as a beloved part of you, the all-attractive supreme divinity.

My Lord, when the self sees itself in its full glory, everything else in this world becomes pale and stale in comparison.

Please, O Lord, I long for the day when my mind becomes pure and lets me see myself as you see me, in the spiritual glory that you have in store for me as my intrinsic destiny.

Bless me, my Lord, so that I do not get distracted by the illusory movies shown by my mind. Instead, help me, O Lord,  steadily progress toward the glorious eternal reality to which I belong and for which I, at my innermost level, long.

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06.20 In the stage of perfection called trance, or samādhi, one’s mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This perfection is characterized by one’s ability to see the Self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the Self.