How should we meditate upon Krishna as per the Bhagavad Gita?

We have five knowledge acquiring senses plus the mind, and five senses of action, they should all be engaged in connection with Krishna and then naturally our mind will be fixed on Him.

See the world as belonging to Krishna, taste Krishna prasadam, hear bhajan, kirtan and Krishna katha, smell incense that is offered to Krishna, touch the deity form of the Lord while bathing and dressing it.

The concept that Krishna gives is total absorption while continuing with daily duties and activities. He does discuss solitary meditation, but Arjuna is nonplussed with the idea saying:

Bg. 6.33 - Arjuna said: O Madhusudana, the system of yoga which You have summarized appears impractical and unendurable to me, for the mind is restless and unsteady.

Krishna agrees that it is hard to do and later He will give alternatives, but the principles of yoga must be kept. Controlling the mind and focusing it on Krishna are non-negotiable, and the highest yogi is the one who serves Krishna with love.

Bg. 6.47 - And of all yogis, the one with great faith who always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself, and renders transcendental loving service to Me-he is the most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all. That is My opinion.

This aspect of loving Krishna is very evident throughout Bhagavad Gita.

When there is love for a person then the mind is automatically drawn to them. When there is intense love then a person can think of nothing but their beloved. The world is chockablock full of love songs, love poems. romantic stories, dramas, books, films based around love; any way an emotion can be expressed serves as a vehicle for the emotion of love.

Bhagavad Gita teaches us to love Krishna. Love means activity. If you love someone you are active to express that love, you want to do loving things, you want to perform some service for your beloved, you want to make them happy, you have devotion for them, you care about them, these are what are important to you when you love someone. These activities are what make you happy. It is very natural once there is love, nothing is forced even if it may be a bit clumsy at times. Krishna repeatedly mentions this throughout Bhagavad Gita, again and again He stresses to love Him, to develop attachment for Him, to perform devotional service to Him.

Thus the self-controlled yogi, constantly engaged in yoga practice, becomes free from all material contamination and achieves the highest stage of perfect happiness in transcendental loving service to the Lord. Bg 6.28

And of all yogis, the one with great faith who always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself, and renders transcendental loving service to Me -- he is the most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all. That is My opinion. Bg 6.47

Those who are not faithful in this devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of enemies. Therefore they return to the path of birth and death in this material world. Bg 9.3

O son of Prtha, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth -- women, vaisyas [merchants] and sudras [workers] -- can attain the supreme destination. How much more this is so of the righteous brahmanas, the devotees and the saintly kings. Therefore, having come to this temporary, miserable world, engage in loving service unto Me. Bg 9.33

The Personality of Godhead replied: The renunciation of work and work in devotion are both good for liberation. But, of the two, work in devotional service is better than renunciation of work. Bg 5.2

One who works in devotion, who is a pure soul, and who controls his mind and senses is dear to everyone, and everyone is dear to him. Though always working, such a man is never entangled. Bg 5.7

One who, at the time of death, fixes his life air between the eyebrows and, by the strength of yoga, with an undeviating mind, engages himself in remembering the Supreme Lord in full devotion, will certainly attain to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bg 8.10

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than all, is attainable by unalloyed devotion. Although He is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him. Bg 8.22

Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion. Bg 9.14

But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form -- to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have. Bg 9.22

I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him. Bg 9.29

One who is factually convinced of this opulence and mystic power of Mine engages in unalloyed devotional service; of this there is no doubt. Bg 10.7

I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts. Bg 10.8

My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding. Bg 11.54

One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God. Bg 18.55

So Bhagavad Gita is pretty clear. We should meditate on Krishna by performing service to Him with love and devotion. Meditate means to fix the mind on one point. So the recommendation is to fix the mind on Krishna lovingly, and perform activities for His pleasure with devotion.

If you feel you have no love for Krishna or not much devotion then chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra under proper guidance and love for Krishna will manifest in your heart.

"The result of chanting is that one awakens his love for Krsna and tastes transcendental bliss. Ultimately, one attains the association of Krsna and engages in His devotional service, as if immersing himself in a great ocean of love." Chaitanya Charitamrita Antya lila 20.14

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What does Lord Krishna says about death in the Bhagavad Gita?

Lord Krishna says death both exists and doesn’t exist. Bhagavad Gita straddles the two worlds of the absolute and the relative. Krishna speaks transcendent truths but applies them in the temporal, mundane world. This is the role of a guru. He must reveal what is beyond sense perception but through the medium of sense perception. He must explain what reality is, using what is not reality. Krishna says that for the soul there is neither birth nor death. (BG. 2.20) Obviously, for matter, there is no death because it’s not alive. So the soul doesn’t die, and matter doesn’t die, and there are only these two energies in the material world (BG 7.4–5), so what is death?
Read more

What is the Meaning of Life? As per Bhagavad Gita

The meaning of life is to enjoy unbounded, eternal happiness. We are spiritual by nature, and spirit is eternal. We belong in the spiritual world where everything is spiritual. In the spiritual world we have an eternal loving relationship with Krishna without any of the problems of this material world. There is no birth, death, disease and old age. There is no time that causes the decay and destruction of everything. There is no lust, anger or greed; no envy, jealously or hatred. That is where we belong, and that is from where we came. Why we left is another question, but we are here now as the result of a bad choice and are stuck here with many undesirable qualities that we would like to be free from, and many desires that we would like to indulge.
Read more

Action in Inaction and Inaction in Action as per Bhagavad Gita

Under the laws of karma, every action carries a reaction. Only by having zero personal attachments and desires can one avoid reactions Theoretically, if we don’t perform any action there won’t be any reaction which is what we want right? But it’s not possible to live in this world and not perform any activity. People may sit silently in meditation trying to control and empty the mind, but this is still activity. They must eat something, breath, move around a little, so even though they may appear to be inactive, there are still reactions being chalked up, so they are not ‘inactive’ because reactions are accumulating. So actually they are performing actions even though aiming for inaction. This is the meaning of seeing action in inaction. Another person may be active, but their consciousness is completely devoid of any personal desires or interest in their activity so there will be no reaction. It’s as if they were inactive.
Read more

Difference between Shrimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita

Bhagavad Gita is mainly philosophical. It was spoken by Krishna Himself and is the conclusion of all the Upanisadas. In this unparalleled dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna everything that is important in life is mentioned. In itself it is complete but it is very concise and Krishna deals with one point after another without elaborating. It serves to orient a person so that they know who they are and what they should be doing. While Bhagavad Gita is only 700 verses, Srimad Bhagavatam is 18,000 verses, but the conclusion is the same. The difference between Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita is in the detail. For example, in Bhagavad Gita Krishna says: This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kunti, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again. Bg 9.10
Read more