असंयतात्मना योगो दुष्प्राप इति मे मति: |
वश्यात्मना तु यतता शक्योऽवाप्तुमुपायत: || 36||
asaṅyatātmanā yogo duṣhprāpa iti me matiḥ
vaśhyātmanā tu yatatā śhakyo ’vāptum upāyataḥ
asanyata-ātmanā—one whose mind is unbridled; yogaḥ—Yog; duṣhprāpaḥ—difficult to attain; iti—thus; me—my; matiḥ—opinion; vaśhya-ātmanā—by one whose mind is controlled; tu—but; yatatā—one who strives; śhakyaḥ—possible; avāptum—to achieve; upāyataḥ—by right means
Translation:
Yoga is hard to attain by a man who cannot control his mind, but it can be attained by him who has controlled his mind and who strives earnestly by proper means. This is My opinion.
Commentary:
The Lord makes it clear that without self-control union with Atma is impossible. Only the sage of controlled mind can attain the Supreme Being. Whoever desires the highest should control the mind by every means available to him according to his mental predisposition. The mind should let go the fatal embrace in which man is held by the objective world. The bonds should be loosened. Whether it is by discrimination or devotion, by study of the sastras, by the teaching of the Guru, by personal experience, by observation of other people’s lives, in some way or other, the mind should detach itself from the kind of bondage to the external world. Only then, will it be able to turn inwards to look into its own source, the Atma, and yoga becomes possible.
The Lord has already declared that by practice and dispassion the mind could be controlled. Here again, by using the word ‘striving’ (yatata), he is emphasising the need for practice. The weak, the dull, the idle, the negligent can never hope to achieve anything even in worldly matters, much less in spiritual life. Sincere and steady practice is absolutely necessary. The Lord here gives another important idea – ‘skilful proceeding’ (Upayatah). One should be clever and skillful in dealing with the mind. The mere dry disciple may not yield good results. Firmness may not always succeed, and so skill becomes necessary in dealing with a powerful enemy. One should be a good strategist in spiritual life also. The great commanders advance or withdraw their forces for strategical reasons, and gain ultimate victory. So one should deal with the mind as a deadly foe who should be conquered by firm action or by force or skill. The seeker should have only one aim and that is to understand the peculiar propensity of his own mind and get it to a state of restfulness in whatever way he considers best.
Let people have faith in the words of the Lord. Let there be no doubt about the success in the attempt, as the Lord is with the aspirant in this holy attempt. By His Grace, discrimination and dispassion will certainly be attained by the Sadhaka and self-realisation will be rendered possible for every seeker even in this life.
Sri Ramakrishna Says —
A MARWARI DEVOTEE: “Sir, what is the way?”
MASTER: “There are two ways. One is the path of discrimination, the other is that of love. Discrimination means to know the distinction between the Real and the unreal. God alone is the real and permanent Substance; all else is illusory and impermanent. The magician alone is real; his magic is illusory. This is discrimination.
“Discrimination and renunciation. Discrimination means to know the distinction between the Real and the unreal. Renunciation means to have dispassion for the things of the world. One cannot acquire them all of a sudden. They must be practised every day. One should renounce ‘woman and gold’ mentally at first. Then, by the will of God, one can renounce it both mentally and outwardly. It is impossible to ask the people of Calcutta to renounce all for the sake of God. One has to tell them to renounce mentally.
“Through the discipline of constant practice one is able to give up attachment to ‘woman and gold’. That is what the Gita says. By practice one acquires uncommon power of mind. Then one doesn’t find it difficult to subdue the sense-organs and to bring anger, lust, and the like under control. Such a man behaves like a tortoise, which, once it has tucked in its limbs, never puts them out. You cannot make the tortoise put its limbs out again, though you chop it to pieces with an axe.” (See also: BG 2.58, BG 6.35)
MARWARI DEVOTEE: “Revered sir, you just mentioned two paths. What is the other path?”
MASTER: “The path of bhakti, or zealous love of God. Weep for God in solitude, with a restless soul, and ask Him to reveal Himself to you.
Cry to your Mother Syama with a real cry, O mind!
And how can She hold Herself from you?”
MARWARI DEVOTEE: “Sir, what is the meaning of the worship of the Personal God? And what is the meaning of God without form or attribute?”
MASTER: “As you recall your father by his photograph, so likewise the worship of the image reveals in a flash the nature of Reality.
“Do you know what God with form is like? Like bubbles rising on an expanse of water, various divine forms are seen to rise out of the Great Akasa of Consciousness. The Incarnation of God is one of these forms. The Primal Energy sports, as it were, through the activities of a Divine Incarnation. …..
“One ultimately discovers God by trying to know who this ‘I’ is. Is this ‘I’ the flesh, the bones, the blood, or the marrow? Is it the mind or the buddhi? Analysing thus, you realise at last that you are none of these. This is called the process of ‘Neti, neti’, ‘Not this, not this’. One can neither comprehend nor touch the Atman. It is without qualities or attributes.
“But, according to the path of devotion, God has attributes. To a devotee Krishna is Spirit, His Abode is Spirit, and everything about Him is Spirit.”
Question: Who can attain yoga?
Answer: The man of self-control who strives skilfully attains yoga. For others, it is not possible.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 6 
(47 Verses)
