22. In the material realm, no extent of attainment satiates a person totally. A poor person strives hard to become rich, and feels satisfied if he or she is able to become a millionaire. But when that same millionaire looks at a billionaire, discontentment sets in again. The billionaire is also discontented by looking at an even richer person. No matter what happiness we get, when we perceive a higher state of happiness, the feeling of unfulfillment lingers. But happiness achieved from the state of Yog is the infinite bliss of God. Since there is nothing higher than that, on experiencing that infinite bliss, the soul naturally perceives that it has reached its goal.
God's divine bliss is also eternal, and it can never be snatched away from the yogi who has attained it once. Such a God-realized soul, though residing in the material body, remains in the state of divine consciousness. Sometimes, externally, it seems that the Saint is facing tribulations in the form of illness, antagonistic people, and oppressive environment, but internally the Saint retains divine consciousness and continues to relish the bliss of God. Thus, even the biggest difficulty cannot shake such a Saint. Established in union with God, the Saint rises above bodily consciousness and is thus not affected by bodily harm. Accordingly, we hear from the Puranas how Prahlad was put in a pit of snakes, tortured with weapons, placed in the fire, thrown off a cliff, etc. but none of these difficulties could break Prahlad's devotional union with God.
23. The material world is the realm of Maya, and it has been termed by Shree Krishna in verse 8.15 as duḥkhālayam aśhāśhvatam, or temporary and full of misery. Thus, the material energy Maya is compared to darkness. It has put us in the darkness of ignorance and is making us suffer in the world. However, the darkness of Maya naturally gets dispelled when we bring the light of God into our heart. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu states this very beautifully:
"God is like the light and Maya is like darkness. Just as darkness does not have the power to engulf light, similarly Maya can never overcome God." Now, the nature of God is divine bliss while the consequence of Maya is misery. Thus, one who attains the divine bliss of God can never be overcome by the misery of Maya again.
Thus, the state of Yog implies both 1) attainment of bliss, and 2) freedom from misery. Shree Krishna emphasizes both successively. In the previous verse, the attainment of bliss was highlighted as the result of Yog; in this verse, freedom from misery is being emphasized.
In the second line of this verse Shree Krishna states that the stage of perfection has to be reached through determined practice. He then goes on to explain how we must practice meditation.
24-25. Meditation requires the dual process of removing the mind from the world and fixing it on God. Here, Shree Krishna begins by describing the first part of the process—taking the mind away from the world.
Thoughts of worldly things, people, events, etc. come to the mind when it is attached to the world. Initially, the thoughts are in the form of sphurṇā (flashes of feelings and ideas). When we insist on the implementation of sphurṇā, it becomes saṅkalp. Thus, thoughts lead to saṅkalp (pursuit of these objects) and vikalp (revulsion from them), depending upon whether the attachment is positive or negative. The seed of pursuit and revulsion grows into the plant of desire, "This should happen. This should not happen." Both saṅkalp and vikalp immediately create impressions on the mind, like the film of a camera exposed to the light. Thus, they directly impede meditation upon God. They also have a natural tendency to flare up, and a desire that is a seed today can become an inferno tomorrow. Thus, one who desires success in meditation should renounce the affinity for material objects.
Having described the first part of the process of meditation—removing the mind from the world—Shree Krishna then talks of the second part. The mind should be made to reside upon God. He says this will not happen automatically, but with determined effort, success will come slowly.
Determination of resolve that is in accordance with the scriptures is called dhṛiti. This determination comes with conviction of the intellect. Many people acquire academic knowledge of the scriptures about the nature of the self and the futility of worldly pursuits. But their daily life is at variance with their knowledge, and they are seen to indulge in sin, sex, and intoxication. This happens because their intellect is not convinced about that knowledge. The power of discrimination comes with the conviction of the intellect about the impermanence of the world and the eternality of one's relationship with God. Thus utilizing the intellect, one must gradually cease sensual indulgence. This is called pratyāhār, or control of the mind and senses from running toward the objects of the senses. Success in pratyāhār will not come immediately. It will be achieved through gradual and repeated exercise. Shree Krishna explains next what that exercise involves.
26. Success in meditation is not achieved in a day; the path to perfection is long and arduous. When we sit for meditation with the resolve to focus our mind upon God, we will find that ever so often it wanders off in worldly saṅkalp and vikalp. It is thus important to understand the three steps involved in the process of meditation:
With the intellect's power of discrimination we decide that the world is not our goal. Hence, we forcefully remove the mind from the world. This requires effort.
Again, with the power of discrimination we understand that God alone is ours, and God-realization is our goal. Hence, we bring the mind to focus upon God. This also requires effort.
The mind comes away from God, and wanders back into the world. This does not require effort, it happens automatically.
When the third step happens by itself, sādhaks often become disappointed, "I tried so hard to focus upon God, but the mind went back into the world." Shree Krishna asks us not to feel disappointed. He says the mind is fickle and we should be prepared that it will wander off in the direction of its infatuation, despite our best efforts to control it. However, when it does wander off, we should once again repeat steps 1 and 2—take the mind away from the world and bring it back to God. Once again, we will experience that step 3 takes place by itself. We should not lose heart, and again repeat steps 1 and 2.
We will have to do this repeatedly. Then slowly, the mind's attachment toward God will start increasing. And simultaneously, its detachment from the world will also increase. As this happens, it will become easier and easier to meditate. But in the beginning, we must be prepared for the battle involved in disciplining the mind.