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Chapter 2: Contents of the Gétä Summarized

Bg 2.61
TEXT 61
tani sarvani samyamya
yukta asita mat-parah
vase hi yasyendriyani
tasya prajna pratisthita
SYNONYMS
täni—those senses; sarväëi—all; saàyamya—keeping under control; yuktaù—being engaged; äséta—being so situated; mat-paraù—in relationship with Me; vaçe—in full subjugation; hi—certainly; yasya—one whose; indriyäëi—senses; tasya—his; prajïä—consciousness; pratiñöhitä—fixed.
TRANSLATION
One who restrains his senses and fixes his consciousness upon Me is known as a man of steady intelligence.
PURPORT
That the highest conception of yoga perfection is Kåñëa consciousness is clearly explained in this verse. And, unless one is Kåñëa conscious, it is not at all possible to control the senses. As cited above, the great sage Durväsä Muni picked a quarrel with Mahäräja Ambaréña, and Durväsä Muni unnecessarily became angry out of pride and therefore could not check his senses. On the other hand, the King, although not as powerful a yogé as the sage, but a devotee of the Lord, silently tolerated all the sage's injustices and thereby emerged victorious. The King was able to control his senses because of the following qualifications, as mentioned in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam:
sa vai manaù kåñëa-padäravindayor
vacäàsi vaikuëöha-guëänavarëane
karau harer mandira-märjanädiñu
çrutià cakäräcyuta-sat-kathodaye
mukunda-liìgälaya-darçane dåçau
tad-bhåtya-gätra-sparçe'ìga-saìgamam
ghräëaà ca tat-päda-saroja-saurabhe
çrémat-tulasyä rasanäà tad-arpite
pädau hareù kñetra-padänusarpaëe
çiro håñékeça-padäbhivandane
kämaà ca däsye na tu käma-kämyayä
yathottamaçloka-janäçrayä ratiù
"King Ambaréña fixed his mind on the lotus feet of Lord Kåñëa, engaged his words in describing the abode of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the temple of the Lord, his ears in hearing the pastimes of the Lord, his eyes in seeing the form of the Lord, his body in touching the body of the devotee, his nostrils in smelling the flavor of the flowers offered to the lotus feet of the Lord, his tongue in tasting the tulasé leaves offered to Him, his legs in traveling to the holy place where His temple is situated, his head in offering obeisances unto the Lord, and his desires in fulfilling the desires of the Lord...and all these qualifications made him fit to become a mat-paraù devotee of the Lord." (Bhäg. 9.4.18-20)
The word mat-paraù is most significant in this connection. How one can become a mat-paraù is described in the life of Mahäräja Ambaréña. Çréla Baladeva Vidyäbhüñaëa, a great scholar and äcärya in the line of the mat-paraù, remarks: "mad-bhakti-prabhävena sarvendriya-vijaya-pürvikä svätma dåñöiù sulabheti bhävaù." "The senses can be completely controlled only by the strength of devotional service to Kåñëa." Also the example of fire is sometimes given: "As the small flames within burn everything within the room, similarly Lord Viñëu, situated in the heart of the yogé, burns up all kinds of impurities." The Yoga-sütra also prescribes meditation on Viñëu, and not meditation on the void. The so-called yogés who meditate on something which is not the Viñëu form simply waste their time in a vain search after some phantasmagoria. We have to be Kåñëa conscious—devoted to the Personality of Godhead. This is the aim of the real yoga.

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