योगी युञ्जीत सततमात्मानं रहसि स्थित: | एकाकी यतचित्तात्मा निराशीरपरिग्रह: || 10 || |
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“Free from desires and longing for possessions, in seclusion and in full control of the heart and mind, the yogi should unite with his soul.”
Commentary : Lord Krishna gives few guidelines to practice yoga in this and next few verses. Choosing a quiet place, the devotee should practice yoga and make constant efforts to unite with his soul. By closing the eyes and practicing Guru-given technique with devotion, the devotee must continuously try to withdraw into the depths of silence.
Seclusion is not only a quiet place outwardly but also the inner ashram of consciousness that is established after quieting the constant generation of thoughts and sensations. Thoughts can be related to the churning of memories from past impressions, sensations or they can be imaginations of doing something in the future. Sensations can arise from the perceptions of senses in the current physical place, experiences of the senses from the past or feelings that arise from expectations of some future events.
The devotee first calms the breath, then constantly withdraws thoughts, sensations, and internal desires to convert them into feelings of devotion to God in the heart. These feelings in the heart are churned intensely to generate actual movement of life forces in the sensory and motor nerves, just like a happy thought that generates happy feelings that in turn generates actual tears of joy. These movements of life forces or pranas are understood intuitively and then controlled to uplift the consciousness to unite with the soul, whose essence is light and is a reflection of the Source of all light of pranic consciousness.
Without intense internal effort, sitting in silence may give some peace but it is not sustainable because of the constant attacks of external thoughts and internal desires that agitate sensory and motor nerves. It is best to meditate on God early morning before sunrise and in the night, about three hours after dinner. These timings are conducive to practicing yoga and making such efforts to unite with the soul.