Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya

6.10-32: From practice to perfection in yoga

  • 10-32 defines how one will achieve perfection when one is practicing yoga.
  • 10-15: Realization of brahman

Bg 6.10

yogī yuñjīta satatam
ātmānaṁ rahasi sthitaḥ
ekākī yata-cittātmā
nirāśīr aparigrahaḥ

Word for word: 

yogī — a transcendentalist; yuñjīta — must concentrate in Kṛṣṇa consciousness; satatam — constantly; ātmānam — himself (by body, mind and self); rahasi — in a secluded place; sthitaḥ — being situated; ekākī — alone; yata–citta–ātmā — always careful in mind; nirāśīḥ — without being attracted by anything else; aparigrahaḥ — free from the feeling of possessiveness.

Translation: 

A transcendentalist should always engage his body, mind and self in relationship with the Supreme; he should live alone in a secluded place and should always carefully control his mind. He should be free from desires and feelings of possessiveness.

 

So yogī yuñjīta satatam, yogī is the transcendentalist, yuñjītam engaged in, satatam, always. ātmānaṁ rahasi sthitaḥ, ātmānaṁ, oneself, oneself means the body, mind, soul everything, rahasi means secluded place, sthitaḥ, situated in transcendent secluded place
ekākī yata-cittātmā, so externally one is secluded and internally one is concentrated one is controlled and concentrated ekākī.

Rahasi means the place is secluded and sometimes in secluded place also 5-6 people are there who are chit chatting so Rahasi and ekākī, so the person can go out where there is not many crowd and there also person can sit alone ekākī so no distraction yata-cittātmā, controls the mind and then
nirāśīr aparigrahaḥ, nirāśīr, one gives the material desires, aparigrahaḥ, means one gives up material possessions, one sits like this and one can start practicing astang yoga 

Srila Prabhupada says: the impersonalist and the meditator are also indirectly Kṛṣṇa conscious

How is that, Srila Prabhupada has explained that impersonalist is meditating on Brahman and the meditator is meditating on parmatma, so in that sense they are also indirectly Krishna Conscious, if they become directly Krishna Conscious then it becomes easier and more fruitful process, that will give them greater joy and they will make quicker advancement but the point is they are also indirectly Krishna Conscious. 

And Prabhupada quotes about Aprigraha,

When one is not attached to anything, but at the same time accepts everything in relation to Kṛṣṇa, one is rightly situated above possessiveness. On the other hand, one who rejects everything without knowledge of its relationship to Kṛṣṇa is not as complete in his renunciation.” (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.255–256)

And Srila Prabhupada has explained how a devotee is a perfect yogi, a devotee doesn’t have any position for oneself but uses his position for Krishna’s service.

So now let us move forward and discuss the aspects of astang yoga

Astanga Yoga has two aspects:

  1. Physical aspect: Hatha Yoga. 
    1. Physical aspect means Yam, Niyam, Asan and Pranayam, these comprise the physical aspect they are the Hatha Yoga
  2. Psychological aspect: Dhyana Yoga 
    1. When one starts turning inward, Pratyahara, Dhan, Dharana and Samadhi.

This is not absolute water tight division even at the physical level also at some level of mind is also involved and Psychological aspect also body is involved. But we are talking about the focus.

Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur writes in Prema Pradipa that Yoga is harmonizable with but not essential to bhakti.

That means a devotee can practice yoga and also do bhakti which means main process is bhakti but along with that can do yoga also, may be for keeping health or keeping sense control but that is not essential it is not that every devotee has to practice yoga, now a days practice of yoga is widely embraced for health purposes, so Srila Prabhupada in these purports time and again said that authentic yoga practice means one has to give up sense gratification go to the forest and that way one can become true yogi otherwise one is living in a city engages in sense gratification and that is not actual yoga practice so Srila Prabhupada seems to be quite critical of the fact that there are yoga teachers who teach yoga and most people practice yoga for purely health benefits and not for anything else so yogasana, different people will do different asanas and often it becomes largely physical accomplishment some people lift weights and says I can lift more weight than you so like that it become physical competition, I can do a tougher asana so this sort of competition of trying to prove oneself is not actual yoga, far from the purpose of yoga so Srila Prabhupada in that senses are critical of misrepresentation of Yoga as physical exercise and there are many authentic yoga teachers who are displeased by these things and they see yoga as a means for transcendence, although it is not recommended in this age but it is a means for transcendence so when people practices this purely for exercise purposes that is misappropriation in the process of yoga. So it is true misappropriation, misrepresentation but Srila Prabhupada was also open to that short of usages if it is used to attract people to Krishna Consciousness. When Srila Prabhupada was in South Africa devotees informed him that several people are interested in Indian culture because they are interested in yoga so what can we do, Srila Prabhupada said it is OK but you tell them that yoga is not only about body but changing heart and mind and tell them that the best way to practice Yoga is chant Hare Krishna. So we should not be disapproving this culture and popularity of yoga but we have to elevate it to higher and deeper understanding, so there are many devotees who are yoga teacher and while teaching yoga they also teach Bhakti. Yoga is not necessarily connected with spirituality but if it open peoples mind toward the ancient wisdom then why not. Yoga is helping me to improve my health and it can help me more that way people can explore more to these things. Sometimes when we tell people to chant Hare Krishna they think it is religious activity but when we tell them Bhakti is Yoga and they can also do this then they are interested.

Many devotee can do yoga as exercise to that they can maintain health and that is also fine. The time spent in yoga can be considered as physical activity as some devotees do jogging, cycling, swimming other kind of workouts etc, if body requires to do some exercise and some devotees choose to do yoga that is fine. Only point is that which is physical should not be mistaken to be spiritual, if devotees are able to maintain health without doing yoga that is also fine we need not have to tell devotees to do yoga as it is vedic culture, yes yoga is vedic culture but there are so many other things in vedic culture also, it is not that every single devotee has to do yoga and our primary sadhana is chanting Hare Krishna and doing Bhakti but along with that Yoga can be used in supplement for those who want it, that is harmonizable way but not essential to Bhakti.

End of transcription.