9. suhrnmitraryudãsina-
madhyashadveyabandhusu
sadhusv api ca papesu
samabuddhir visisyate
(9) He who is equal-minded among friends, companions and foes, among those who are neutral and impartial, among those who are hateful and related, among saints and sinners, he excels
Another reading for visisyate is vimucyate. S.B.G. How is one to attain to this yoga?
Eternal Vigilance over Bady and Mind is Essential
10. yogi yunjita satatam
attains rahasi sthitah
ekaki yatacittatma
nirasir aparigrahah
(10) Let the yogin try constantly to concentrate his mind (on the Supreme Self) remaining in solitude and alone, self-controlled, free from desires and (longing for) possessions
Here the teacher develops the technique of mental discipline on the lines of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra. Its main purpose is to raise our consciousness from its ordinary waking condition to higher levels until it attains union with the Supreme. The human mind is ordinarily turned outwards. Absorption in the mechanical and material sides of life leads to a disbalanced condition of consciousness. Yoga attempts to explore the inner world of consciousness and helps to integrate the conscious and the sub-conscious.
We must divest our minds of all sensual desires, abstract our attention from all external objects and absorb it in the object of meditation.[1] See B G., XVIII, 72, where the teacher asks Arjuna whether he heard his teaching with his mind fixed to one point, ek agrena cetase. As the aim is the attainment of purity of vision, it exacts of the mind fineness and steadiness. Our present dimensions are not the ultimate limits of our being. By summoning all the energies of the mind and fixing them on one point, we raise the level of reference from the empirical to the real, from observation to vision and let the spirit take possession of our whole being. In the Book of Proverbs, it is said that "the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord." There is something in the inmost being of man which can be struck into flame by God.
satatam: constantly. The practice must be constant. It is no use taking to meditation by fits and starts. A continuous creative effort is necessary for developing the higher, the intenser form of consciousness
rahcisi: in solitude. The aspirant must select a quiet place with soothing natural surroundings such as the banks of rivers or tops of hills which lift our hearts and exalt our minds. In a world which is daily growing noisier, the duty of the civilized man is to have moments of thoughtful stillness. Cp. "Thou, when thou grayest, enter into thy closet—and shut the door. "[2] We should retire into a quiet place and keep off external distractions. Cp. Origen's description of the first hermits : "They dwelt in the desert where the air was more pure and the heaven more open and God more familiar."
ekaki: alone. The teacher insists that the seeker should be alone to feel the gentle pressure, to hear the quiet voice. yatacitte tma: self-controlled. He must not be excited, strained or anxious. To learn to be quiet before God means a life of control and discipline. atma is used in the sense of deha or body, according to S. and Sridhara. It is no use entering the closet with the daily paper and the business file. Even if we leave them outside and shut the doors and windows, we may have an unquiet time with all our worries and preoccupations. There should be no restlessness or turbulence. Through thoughts we appeal to the intellect; through silence we touch the deeperlayers of being. The heart must become clean if it is to reflect God who is to be seen and known only by the pure in heart. We must centre down into that deep stillness and wait on the Light. "Commune with your Father which is in secret." The Living Presence of God is revealed in silence to each soul according to his capacity, and need.[3]
