The Characteristics of a Perfected Person
Yogayukto
visuddhatma vijitatma jitendriyah, sarvabhutatmabhutatma kurvannapi na lipyate
(5.7). In this verse, the characteristics of a yogi, a perfected person, are
described. A person who is united in yoga is yogayukta. Such a
person is also visuddhatma – his lower self has
been purified in order to reflect the higher self in itself. He is also vijitatma – a person who is
perfectly under control of himself; jitendriya –
whose sense organs have been restrained; sarvabhutatmabhutatma
– whose self has pervaded all beings, and the self of all beings are in his own
self. These are the qualities of a sage which are mentioned in this interesting
yoga.
In the beginning, the effort
is to restrain the senses; and when the senses are restrained, the person
becomes a jitendriya. When a person is jitendriya on account of the
restraint exercised over the senses, he becomes a vijitatma
– one who has conquered himself. The conquest of one’s own self is actually the
conquest over the sense organs, because it is due to the activity of the sense
organs that one’s own self moves in the direction of a not-self. We find that
our interest is in outside things; the world seems to be more interesting than
our own selves. This happens on account of the self moving away from itself,
through the avenues of the senses, towards the direction of the world of
objects; but a person who has restrained the senses does not allow the
consciousness to pervade and penetrate through the senses towards the direction
of things outside. Such a person has also restrained himself. It is an exercise
for restraining the self. It is a restraint over the sense organs; and
incidentally, it is at the same time a restraint exercised on the self itself –
the lower self. A jitendriya is
also a vijitatma.
Such a person is a visuddhatma – whose self is pure sattva, free from rajas and tamas. The entire reality is
reflected through the sattva guna, as a
mirror can clearly reflect the face of a person. Turbid or shaky waters do not
reflect anything adequately. Turbidity is tamas, and
shakiness is rajas. The sun is reflected on the
waters of a lake or a river. If the lake is muddy, and it is thick and turbid
on account of dirt in the water, there will be no reflection of the sun in that
water; but even if the dirt is not there, even if it is clean water but it is
shaking violently, then also there will not be a correct and wholesome
reflection of the sun. Similarly, we may be disturbed and find ourselves
incapable of reflecting the higher self in our own personality either because
of the tamas that is prevailing in us or
due to the rajas prevailing in us. Either we
are tamasic – lethargic and dark – in
our mental operations; or the mind is distracted in a hundred ways, so then
also there is no reflection. Free from both these defects of the mind is a visuddhatma who is purely sattvic, untarnished by rajas and tamas. Such a person is united with
all things at the same time; he is a yogayukta. The
words used in this verse are in a descending order, whereas I have explained it
in an ascending order. Yogayukta is the
highest state, which is attained by the visuddhatma,
which is attained again by the vijitatma, which
state also is attained by the jitendriya. Such
a person becomes a wonder in this world.
He will find himself reflected
in the self of all beings in the universe, and he will find the selves of all
beings reflected in his own self. Sarvabhutatmabhutatma
means one who has become the self of all beings, and also one in whom all the
selves of all beings find their abode. This is a grand description of the
highest state of perfection achieved by union through yoga.
The high and low look equal to
the harmonized vision of the sage. If he sees a learned person or sees a fool,
it makes no difference to him. He sees the same underlying reality, just as a
goldsmith sees only the quality and the weight of gold in an ornament. Just as
the ironsmith sees only iron and the goldsmith sees only gold, the great sage
sees only consciousness everywhere. Those who are learned in spiritual lore,
who are endowed with the insight into the reality of things, see oneness
everywhere.
Excerpts from:
The Characteristics of a Perfected Person - Commentary on
the Bhagavadgita by Swami KrishnanandaArchives - Blog
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit:
http://www.dlshq.org/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?
http://www.dlshq.org/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?
If you would
like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact
the General Secretary at:
No comments:
Post a Comment