Those who cannot work on the mind, must work on the body || Acharya Prashant, on Bhagavad Gita(2020)

Acharya Prashant

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Transcript

00:00Verses 27 and 28, Chapter 5.

00:11Keeping the external objects outside, the eyes at the juncture of the eyebrows and making

00:18equal the outgoing and incoming breaths that move through the nostrils, the contemplative

00:27one who has control over his organs, mind and intellect should be fully intent on liberation

00:34and free from desire, fear and anger.

00:37He who is ever is verily free.

00:45So the question says, why is Shri Krishna recommending us to do physical acts of control

00:53such as fixing gaze between eyebrows or breathing in equilibrium, do such actions have any value

00:59in spirituality?

01:00Yes, they do have value in spirituality.

01:11The body and the mind are obviously related.

01:25One of the ways to bring the mind to stillness is to bring the body to stillness.

01:41Many a times, this is the only way, why?

01:47Because the body is gross and easy to perceive.

02:04The movement of the body is actions and actions cannot be disputed.

02:17You can easily detect your actions.

02:23Actions leave a trail behind them.

02:32Your actions can be recorded in a camera, whereas the movement of the mind is thoughts

02:51and thoughts are far more difficult to detect.

02:58They are subtle, not easily perceivable.

03:06The one who lives in a gross dimension will find it very difficult to detect something

03:15subtle.

03:18Unfortunately, most of us live in very gross dimensions.

03:28We will find it very difficult to catch hold of, see and witness thoughts, whereas it is

03:45far easier for us to do something with our actions.

03:55You can watch your palm, it is straightforward, but watching your thoughts is not so straightforward.

04:03So if you are to do something with your thoughts, it becomes difficult.

04:10It is possible only for someone who is living at a subtle level of life, which most of us

04:19aren't.

04:22Then comes the utility of methods like these.

04:34Bringing the body to stillness.

04:41And from that it is hoped that the mind will also come to a certain stillness.

04:55Better than this would have been to work on the mind, because the mind is more fundamental

05:02than the body.

05:04If you work on the mind, then the body would automatically be taken care of.

05:10But a vast majority of people are just incapable of working on the mind.

05:18To them it is advised that you work on the body.

05:23Because you have lived at a bodily level, that's what all your life has been, living

05:29at the level of the body.

05:35So work on your body.

05:42You do not know how to center the mind, fine.

05:47At least learn to concentrate on the body.

05:55You cannot watch your tendencies, alright.

05:58At least watch your breath as you inhale and as you exhale.

06:06In some way, watching the inhalation and exhalation of breath is parallel to watching the rise

06:24and fall of thoughts, though in a more gross way.

06:49So just as a cause brings about an effect, similarly, if you can somehow create an effect,

07:06the effect brings about the cause.

07:10When the mind is still, it shows up in the activity of the body.

07:23If you can regulate the activity of the body, it will bring about a certain stillness of

07:34the mind, though remember that is not really the best way to come to the mind stillness.

07:43And that is why all physical techniques are just a stepping stone to the world of the

08:00mind.

08:06All techniques in which you learn to concentrate in the middle of the eyebrows or you learn

08:13to watch the breath are just a form of preparation.

08:22They are a preparatory course after which you can step into the real world of yoga.

08:42So in case you are someone who is skilled enough and subtle enough to work directly

08:48on the mind, you do not need to bother about the body at all.

08:54But honestly, if you are not someone who is able to really be with the mind and watch

09:05it without attachment, without prejudice, then it is helpful to be a little humble and

09:23start with the body.

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