यं लब्ध्वा चापरं लाभं मन्यते नाधिकं ततः ।
यस्मिन्स्थितो न दुःखेन गुरुणापि विचाल्यते ।। ६.२२ ।।

yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ |
yasmin-sthito na duḥkhena guruṇāpi vicālyate || 6.22 ||

Audio-BG-6.22

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Firm and Unswerving Intelligence is Yoga

The Right Understanding of Sadhana

Sadhana relates to mind, intelligence and senses. It is a process of discipline, refinement and purification, ridding the mind of all its cravings, undue indulgences and fascinations. There is no place for any abnormal expressions in true spiritual life and pursuit.

Can this kind of mental and intelligential steadiness or composure have the most delightful and fulfilling note? Krishna categorically answers this point:

Having gained which, one considers nothing else as superior to it; established in which, one is not perturbed by even the most severe affliction.

This inward poise and stability is such a fulfilling attainment that it leaves no room for aspiring anything further. No other gain, external or internal, can match the fullness and excellence it breathes. On getting to this state, the seeker’s mind will be so full that nothing else will allure it. All desires for external objects, all allurements, lose their charm and significance. What further?

Krishna adds: “On achieving this inner poise, even the worst of afflictions or adversities will not shake the mind. The yogi will not be ruffled by anything whatsoever.”

Imagine Krishna himself instrumenting the destruction of his own race, the Vrshni-kula, and as a concluding note of it, ending his own life hit by a dart discharged by a hunter. He was waiting for this fateful moment, sitting upon a tree. What was the extent of self-denial and self-infliction in Sri Rama’s life? Not to be afflicted or affected by any such plight, says Krishna, is the gift of true yogic enrichment.

What constitutes true spiritual attainment has the best and final answer with abundant clarity in this verse. Seekers should learn this verse, ruminate over its content and remind others about it as effectively as possible, so that their sadhana is rightly guided and safeguarded at every stage. Yoga does not denote anything mystic or astral. It is truly related to the character and behaviour of the mind, involving its regular interactions.