Chapter 6

1. The Blessed One said:
   He who acts according to what must be done, without being drawn into lust of result, he is a Sannyasin and a mystic. Not so, he who does no work and thus no devotion either.
2. What they call Sannyas (renunciation), you must know as uniting (yoga), son of Pandu. Certainly, no mystic can become anything without giving up the divided desires of the self.
3. For the beginner at yoga, practicing a discipline is said to be the means. For one who has attained in yoga, the cessation of all such activities is said to be the means.
4. When one does not involve himself in the senses or in activities, renouncing all desires, at that time one is said to have reached the height of yoga.
5. One must free the soul from the mind, never allowing the soul to be clouded. The mind can be the great friend of the soul, but the great enemy as well.
6. For the soul that is in control of the mind, the mind is certainly the friend. But for the soul who has failed to be in control of the mind, due to dividedness, the mind is the greatest enemy.
7. One who has triumphed over the mind has obtained peace. He has completely entered the supersoul. He will be the same in heat, cold, happiness, sadness, honour, and dishonour.
8. By awareness and experience, a soul is focused in his senses, centered, and fulfilled. It is said such a mystic is greatly advanced. He will see that pebbles, great stones, and pure gold are all the same.
9. One who is highly advanced will be able to see enlightenment in allies, patrons, enemies, neutral parties, messengers, those who envy him, his relatives, those said to be saintly, and those said to be sinners.
10. A mystic must constantly be meditative, his entire soul in a place of aloneness. Alone, always watching the mind, not drawn toward anything, free of possessiveness.
11. On holy ground, his soul seated firmly. Neither too high nor too low, on sacred grass covered with soft cloth and deerskin.
12. Thus, with the mind focused on a single point, regulating the mind, senses and activities, sitting in a fixed position, one should practice yoga techniques to clear the soul.
13. Keep the head, neck and body straight and unmoving, still. Looking only at the tip of your own nose and not in other directions.
14. The soul will be at peace, free of fear, innocent. Totally overcoming the mind, focusing it on me, the practitioner being situated in me is the ultimate goal.
15. Constantly practicing with the entire soul in this way, the mystic will attain peace, the great Nirvana, the endless sky.
16. One who eats too much is not united, neither is one who fasts too much. Nor one who sleeps too much, or one who stays awake, Arjuna.
17. Practice the work of balanced eating, playing, and working to maintain yourself. The one who is balanced in sleep and wakefulness through yoga will see less and less suffering.
18. When the mind is particularly focused, it certainly becomes centered in the soul. Freed of the desire for all kinds of things, at that time it is said to be united.
19. Just as a lamp does not flicker when there is no wind, so is a mystic whose mind is focused remain constant in the unity of the soul.
20. In that state where mental activities cease, being distinguished from the essential through yoga, a pure soul aware of the soul becomes fulfilled by the soul.
21. The supreme bliss that can be attained by transcendent enlightenment is such that one in it will never again move from it.
22. What is gained by this attainment is nothing more than that state, whereby even the greatest misery will not move you from it.
23. You must know this: all of the suffering of the world can be overcome by the trance of yoga.
24. The practice of yoga must be done firmly, without deviation. You must completely give up all the turmoils of the mind, born of desires. Focusing the mind and all the senses, all the time.
25. Gradually, step by step, one should concentrate the mind by awareness and with determination. When you are centered in the soul, thoughts will no longer trouble you.
26. All kinds of things can disturb the mind, making it flicker from one thing to another with no center. One must release attention from all of these distractions, returning into the centeredness of the soul.
27. The mystic whose mind is in great peace will attain the highest bliss. His passions made peaceful, liberated by Brahma, he is beyond all his past errors.
28. Thus engaged in his eternal soul, the mystic is beyond all impurities. In bliss, constantly connected to Brahma, he obtains the greatest joy.
29. The soul that exists in all beings is also in your soul. One who has united the self by yoga will see everything with the same eyes.
30. Whoever sees me in all things and all things in me is not far from me, nor am I far from him.
31. He who is devoted to me is in the oneness that is in the heart of all beings. He is entirely in that oneness, in spite of himself; the mystic remains in me.
32. He who sees that his soul is everywhere and the same, Arjuna, whether in happiness or misery, such a man is considered a perfect mystic.
33. Arjuna said:
    This system you have broadly described, great warrior, seems impossible for me. I know I am too restless and unsteady.
34. Krishna, the mind is an unstable thing, constantly in strong turmoil and uncontrollable. I think that to focus it would be as difficult as trying to catch the wind.
35. The Blessed One said:
    Great warrior, there is no doubt that the mind is unstable, and difficult to focus. But through practice, son of Kunti, and detachment, it can be focused.
36. In my opinion, unity is extremely difficult to obtain without disciplining the mind. But a centered soul is a realistic goal that can be achieved, if you know the right means.
37. Arjuna said: 
    What of one who had the trust, but could not achieve unity due to a troubled mind, and thus fails in mysticism? Krishna, what is the fate of such a person, who has failed to reach the highest?
38. Krishna, mighty warrior, being thus unsuccessful in both material and spiritual ambitions, such a person could belong to neither realm. Lost from the path of the divine, will he not perish like a scattered cloud?
39. This is my doubt, Krishna. I ask you to satisfy my doubts. Other than you, I am sure no one else could do this.
40. The Blessed One said:
    Son of Partha, nothing is destroyed in this world or the other. Thus no one is truly lost who had started on this path.
41. One who has done this work but not completed it will reach higher realms, and after dwelling there for many years will again take birth in a wealthy or spiritual household.
42. He might take birth in a family of mystics, who are wise. But this type of birth is very rare.
43. He will be able to regain the level of enlightenment that he had in his previous form, and after that may continue on the way of perfection, son of Kuru.
44. Due to his past work, he will be drawn automatically to this practice. He will be curious about yoga, and will see past the dogmas of ritualistic religion.
45. Working in discipline, such a mystic is cleansed of wrongdoing. After many births, having achieved the great power, he attains the highest.
46. The mystic is greater than the ascetic, and also greater than the wise. He is considered greater than those who succeed in the material world. Thus, Arjuna, simply become a mystic.
47. And of all the mystics, those who are within me, within themselves, in total trust, giving devotional service, they are considered by me to be the finest.

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