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In the chapter titled ‘Dhyana Yoga’, in the course of expounding on Dhyana or meditation, the Bhagavad Gita makes very profound observations, which, while directed towards those engaged in Yogic practice or Sadhana, also proffers advice to ordinary people in the realm of self improvement and emotional well being.
A verse in this chapter says that a Yogi engaged in the practice of meditation has to remain in solitude in a secluded place. This is easily understood since remaining distant from the din of the world is conducive to calm reflection and contemplation.
A more nuanced reading unravels the deeper meaning of the phrase Rahasi Stitha, which does not merely mean sitting in a cave or a forest, far away from the distractions of the world.
True, physical seclusion is undoubtedly important if one wants to meditate in peace. But what the Gita is talking of here is seclusion or distancing from the continuous inner agitation and churning of the mind.
Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi calls this the “ceaseless mental chatter”. What is this inner mental chatter? The Gita uses two eloquent words ‘Nirashi’ and ‘Aparigraha’ here.
Freeing oneself from the constant, never ending desire to attain and possess material things is ‘Nirashi’.
To get rid of the tendency to make things as ours, to hoard things, is Aparigraha. Though both these terms are very close to each other in meaning, there is a subtle difference between them.
Human life could be described as a river of wants and more wants, never ending, engendering greed and selfishness in accumulating material possessions and then anxiety to protect and conserve these.
When the mind is full of this turmoil, how can it be brought under control, to concentrate, asks the Gita. Meditation presupposes a mind that is free from the clutches of materialistic thoughts, at least temporarily.
If, for Yogis, it means a complete cessation from worldly engagements, for other lesser mortals, it means conditioning the mind to gradually move away from desires, wants, greed and the ensuing loop of fulfilment, more wants and so on.
This is real solitude, says the Gita, in which state the mind can integrate itself with higher virtues. Poet William Wordsworth evocatively calls this ‘the bliss of solitude”.
These two terms were a favourite of Mahatma Gandhi who marked them out in his personal copy of the Gita which can even today be seen in the Gandhi Sangrahalaya in New Delhi.