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Chapter 8: Attaining the Supreme

Bg 8.12
TEXT 12
sarva-dvarani samyamya
mano hrdi nirudhya ca
murdhny adhayatmanah pranam
asthito yoga-dharanam
SYNONYMS
sarva-dvarani—all the doors of the body; samyamya—controlling; manah—mind; hrdi—in the heart; nirudhya—confined; ca—also; murdhni—on the head; adhaya—fixed; atmanah—soul; pranam—the life air; asthitah—situated; yoga-dharanam—the yogic situation.
TRANSLATION
The yogic situation is that of detachment from all sensual engagements. Closing all the doors of the senses and fixing the mind on the heart and the life air at the top of the head, one establishes himself in yoga.
PURPORT
To practice yoga, as suggested here, one first has to close the door of all sense enjoyment. This practice is called pratyahara, or withdrawing the senses from the sense objects. Sense organs for acquiring knowledge, such as the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and touch, should be fully controlled and should not be allowed to engage in self-gratification. In this way the mind focuses on the Supersoul in the heart and the life force is raised to the top of the head. In the Sixth Chapter this process is described in detail. But as mentioned before, this practice is not practical in this age. The best process is Krsna consciousness. If one is always able to fix his mind on Krsna in devotional service, it is very easy for him to remain in an undisturbed transcendental trance, or in samadhi.

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Copyright (c) 1972 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada