6 Gems from 6th Chapter of Bhagavad Gita

The sixth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is best known as a manual for meditation. 

It describes:

• The pre-requisites for meditation.
• The preparations to be made for meditation.
• The practice of meditation.
• The results of meditation

And more.

The sixth chapter also contains several gems that don’t necessarily pertain to meditation.

Here are 6 gems from the sixth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita:

1. A Person Who Performs his Duties Without Expecting Any Results is a Sanyasi. And a Yogi

अनाश्रित: कर्मफलं कार्यं कर्म करोति य: |
स संन्यासी च योगी च न निरग्निर्न चाक्रिय: || 1 ||

anāśhritaḥ karma-phalaṁ kāryaṁ karma karoti yaḥ
sa sannyāsī cha yogī cha na niragnir na chākriyaḥ

The person who performs their duties without expecting any results — they are the true sanyasi. And a yogi to boot. Not necessarily one who has renounced the world.

We have pre-conceived notions of who a sanyasi is. A person who wears an ochre robe. A person who owns no possessions. A person who doesn’t laugh or cry. If a person doesn’t fit these definitions, we are quick to judge.

Krishna debunks our flawed definitions. 

In the 5th chapter, Krishna gave a simple definition of a sanyasi: one who doesn’t hate anyone and doesn’t desire anything. That’s all. Furthermore, Krishna calls such a person a Nitya-sanyasi – an eternal sanyasi!

Krishna further defines a sanyasi in this chapter: A person who performs his duties without expecting any results from the actions – such a person is a sanyasi. And a yogi. 

2. Self-Effort is the Answer to Life’s Questions

उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् |
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मन: || 5||

uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ nātmānam avasādayet
ātmaiva hyātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ

Uplift yourself with your own efforts. The mind is your best friend. The mind is your worst enemy.

बन्धुरात्मात्मनस्तस्य येनात्मैवात्मना जित: |
अनात्मनस्तु शत्रुत्वे वर्ते तात्मैव शत्रुवत् || 6 ||

bandhur ātmātmanas tasya yenātmaivātmanā jitaḥ
anātmanas tu śhatrutve vartetātmaiva śhatru-vat

If a person has conquered their mind, it is their best friend. Else, it is their worst enemy.

In the final session of the Self-purification course, Swamiji gives a mantra.

Be Self-reliant.

Nearly every self-help book gives this advice. Jack Canfield starts Success Principles by saying Take 100% Responsibility for your life.

No book would say any of the following:

• Go back and blame your parents.
• Your spouse ruined your life.
• How could he do this to you?

Nope. 

Krishna gives the same message. You are solely responsible for this precious life.

Step one is to work on sharpening and purifying the mind. Step two is enlisting this new mind to help with spiritual progress.

3. The Middle Path is Important

युक्ताहारविहारस्य युक्तचेष्टस्य कर्मसु |
युक्तस्वप्नावबोधस्य योगो भवति दु:खहा || 17||

yuktāhāra-vihārasya yukta-cheṣhṭasya karmasu
yukta-svapnāvabodhasya yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā

A person who is balanced in eating, recreation, work, and sleep is eligible to pursue spirituality, and will overcome sorrow in time.

The middle path advocated by Buddha is echoed by Krishna here.

Moderation is key in life. Excess in one key area means deficiency in another, you rob Peter to pay Paul.

Doing things in a balanced way allows mindfulness and awareness to come to the forefront, and these two qualities are all important to pursue spirituality. 

4. When You Fail, You Must Get Back Up, Dust Yourself and Try Again

यतो यतो निश्चरति मनश्चञ्चलमस्थिरम् |
ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वशं नयेत् || 6.26||

yato yato niśhcharati manaśh chañchalam asthiram
tatas tato niyamyaitad ātmanyeva vaśhaṁ nayet

Whenever the mind wanders, bring it back and focus again.

Krishna gives a meditation pointer here. When the mind wanders in meditation, simply bring it back to the object of your focus. 

I believe this is a life lesson, as well. When you fail, you dust yourself and get back up. Quitting should not be an option. 

Too many people quit because they are uncomfortable with failure. I ranked high on this list. I can attest from personal experience – it is not worth it.

Failure could be a feedback mechanism, or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whatever be the reason, there is only one thing to do. 

Refuse to quit.

Come back and play the game.

5. Keys to Mind Control: Practice and Dispassion

असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम् |
अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते || 6.35||

asamśhayaṁ mahā-bāho mano durnigrahaṁ chalam
abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa ca gṛihyate

Arjuna, the mind indeed is unsteady. However, with repeated practice and dispassion, the mind can be brought under control. 

After Krishna finishes His treatise on meditation, Arjuna ventures a thought: All of this is fine in theory. In reality, however, the mind is faster than the wind.

Reminder: This is the same Arjuna who displayed single-pointed concentration. And successfully pierced his arrow through the eye of the fish. And showed mastery with his bow and arrow time and again. He was the undisputed #1 marksman of his time.

If Arjuna can have such a doubt, the rest of humankind can be forgiven for wondering if it is possible to control the mind.

Krishna gives a beautiful reply. His answer to Arjuna applies to all of us. “Your objections are well-founded, Arjuna. The mind is indeed difficult to control, and is unstable by nature”, He concedes.  

“However, with practice and dispassion, mind can be controlled.” 

Giving Arjuna hope. Giving us great hope

6. Effort Never Goes Wasted. Ever.

पार्थ नैवेह नामुत्र विनाशस्तस्य विद्यते |
न हि कल्याणकृत्कश्चिद्दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति || 6.40||

pārtha naiveha nāmutra vināśhas tasya vidyate
na hi kalyāṇa-kṛit kaśhchid durgatiṁ tāta gachchhati

Oh Partha, any person who pursues the spiritual path does not encounter destruction in this world or the next. 

Arjuna now comes up with a new doubt. If a person carries on in their material journey, they will make the requisite progress. 

If they give up material pursuits to pursue the spiritual path and don’t reach the destination – are they a failure? Would they have been better off pursuing the material path and attaining mastery? Have they faltered in both pursuits – the material pursuit and the spiritual pursuit?

This is a fair question.

The spiritual path requires sterner stuff – The Kathopanishad refers to it as walking on a razor’s edge – self-doubt is not unnatural.

Krishna, however, assures Arjuna that his efforts will not be wasted. In upcoming verses, Krishna mentions that if a person dies before he Self-Realises, he picks up in the next birth where he left off here. 

While Krishna specifically referred to spiritual pursuits, the message “effort is never wasted” applies everywhere.

• A failed startup does not translate to wasted effort – the experience gained can help future startups succeed.
• IIT graduates in chemical engineering (for example) are hired by software companies. These companies don’t say “You wasted 4 years”, they believe the efforts put into chemical engineering can transfer in any pursuit the talented candidate engages in.
• Learning Mandarin Chinese may give you the muscles to pick up a new skill in your chosen field. The learning may be “transferable”.

Which of these 6 takeaways resonated with you? Are there any other takeaways from the 6th chapter that you like? Let me know in the comments!

Image Credit: Manik Roy on Unsplash