Gita 06.14 – Use material dispassion to establish spiritual connection
praśāntātmā vigata-bhīr
brahmacāri-vrate sthitaḥ
manaḥ saṁyamya mac-citto
yukta āsīta mat-paraḥ
Word-to-word
praśānta — unagitated; ātmā — mind; vigata-bhīḥ — devoid of fear; brahmacāri-vrate — in the vow of celibacy; sthitaḥ — situated; manaḥ — mind; saṁyamya — completely subduing; mat — upon Me (Kṛṣṇa); cittaḥ — concentrating the mind; yuktaḥ — the actual yogī; āsīta — should sit; mat — Me; paraḥ — the ultimate goal.
Translation
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.
Explanation
Krishna explains that once the external postures are in place, one must also cultivate the right inner disposition. This verse contains many profound insights.
The Ātma should be praśānta — deeply peaceful. Śānta means peaceful, but praśānta signifies a still deeper, more enduring peace. Yogis traditionally chose secluded, sacred places — hermitage-like settings — where the externals were calm and conducive to inner control. Their minds remained steady because most agitating desires were either subdued or purified. Thus, there is praśānta — deep peace — which continues to deepen as one progresses on the path.
Another important quality Krishna highlights is vigata-bhīḥ — freedom from fear. Our anxieties usually arise from our attachments. For instance, one may sit in a temple listening to a discourse but still worry, “What if someone steals my chappals kept outside?” Such thoughts make concentration impossible. Practical arrangements, like secure places for footwear, can help, but the real point is this — attachment breeds anxiety, and when attachment departs, fear too departs. A yogi free from attachment is also free from fear.
Then Krishna says: brahmacāri-vrate sthitaḥ — the yogi is firmly situated in the vow of Brahmacharya. The word vrata indicates a solemn vow, something to be held with utmost seriousness.
Brahmacharya itself has two aspects — affirmative and regulative. The affirmative aspect is expressed in the phrase brahma charati iti brahmachārī — one who dwells in, or moves toward, the spirit. Charati means “to live” or “to walk.” Thus, brahma-charati can be understood as “one who lives in spirit” or “one who walks toward the spirit.” This defines the positive, affirmative essence of Brahmacharya — living at the spiritual level, aligned with the pursuit of the Divine.
The purpose of Brahmacharya is to enable one to live in and pursue spiritual truth — the truth of one’s spiritual identity, and one’s spiritual relationship with the Supreme Spiritual Reality, whom the yogi ultimately realizes to be Krishna.
The regulative aspect recognizes that the opposite of spirit is matter, and attachment to matter manifests in many ways. The strongest of these attachments is sexual attraction. The Brahmachari-vrata involves renouncing sexual pleasure, for it is through sexual indulgence that the most powerful form of material attachment — entanglement with matter — arises. Thus, by observing Brahmacharya, one cuts off this deepest bond with material existence.
Brahmacharya is also an Āśrama, the first among the four stages of life, and at the same time, it is a vrata, or vow. Normally, one who belongs to the Brahmachari Āśrama takes this vow formally. However, even those in other stages of life may undertake the Brahmacharya-vrata temporarily — for example, during a sacred month or a specific spiritual observance. Yet, for a yogi serious about inner realization, remaining firmly situated in the Brahmachari-vrata is essential.
Few forces drive the consciousness outward as powerfully and irresistibly as sexual infatuation and indulgence. Sexual pleasure strongly binds the soul to the body — much like a rivet fastening two pieces of metal together. Once riveted, separation requires effort and deliberate process. Similarly, through sexual indulgence, the soul becomes deeply identified with the body and develops powerful attachment to another’s body as well, in pursuit of pleasure.
For one seeking to turn inward — toward the indwelling spirit — this outward propulsion of consciousness must be restrained and redirected. The Brahmachari-vrata serves precisely this purpose: it helps the yogi withdraw consciousness from the external, material level and orient it steadily toward the inner, spiritual reality.
manaḥ saṁyamya mac-citto — “One brings the mind under control and fixes the consciousness on Me.”
In this sixth chapter, this is the first verse where Krishna directly refers to Himself as the object of meditation — “Fix the consciousness on Me.” He then adds: “In this way, be engaged in yoga, be situated in yoga — yukta āsīta mat-paraḥ.”
The word yukta is related to yoga, and āsīta means “be situated.” Mat-paraḥ means “having Me as the supreme goal.” Thus, Krishna is saying, “Be steadfast in yoga, with your consciousness fixed on Me as your ultimate purpose.”
This phrase, yukta āsīta mat-paraḥ, first appeared earlier in Bhagavad-gītā 2.61, where Krishna introduced His supreme position — not merely as the teacher of yoga, but as the ultimate goal toward which the controlled senses should be directed.
Here, Krishna describes how yogis fix their minds upon Him. There can be different ways in which this happens, depending on their realization. Some yogis are bhaktas — devotees — who practice yoga to gain better control over their minds and bodies so that they can serve and remember Krishna more effectively.
Others may meditate on Krishna as the indwelling Vishnu, using His form as a means to turn inward. At this stage, they may not yet recognize Him as the Supreme Person but as a tool or object of meditation — much like how, in the previous verse, the instruction was to fix one’s gaze on the tip of the nose. As the yogi becomes calmer and more focused, this concentration naturally deepens and turns inward — eventually fixing itself upon Krishna.
In doing so, Krishna subtly hints that He Himself is the ultimate goal of yoga — a truth He will state explicitly later in 6.47, where He declares that the topmost yogi is the one who fixes his consciousness upon Him alone.
In this verse, Krishna emphasizes the inner aspect of yoga: cultivating deep peace by being free from fear, taking a vow of restraint, especially from sexual desire, and thereby regulating the mind. Through this purification and focus, one learns to fix the consciousness on Krishna, becoming fully engaged in yoga — with Krishna as both the means and the ultimate end.
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