Bhagavad-gita As It Is Chapter 6 Verse 15

Chapter 6: Dhyāna-yoga

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 6.15

yuñjann evaḿ sadātmānaḿ

yogī niyata-mānasaḥ

śāntiḿ nirvāṇa-paramāḿ

mat-saḿsthām adhigacchati

SYNONYMS

yuñjan — practicing; evam — as mentioned above; sadā — constantly; ātmānam — body, mind and soul; yogī — the mystic transcendentalist; niyata-mānasaḥ — with a regulated mind; śāntim — peace; nirvāṇa-paramām — cessation of material existence; mat-saḿsthām — the spiritual sky (the kingdom of God); adhigacchati — does attain.

TRANSLATION

Thus practicing constant control of the body, mind and activities, the mystic transcendentalist, his mind regulated, attains to the kingdom of God [or the abode of Kṛṣṇa] by cessation of material existence.

PURPORT

The ultimate goal in practicing yoga is now clearly explained. Yoga practice is not meant for attaining any kind of material facility; it is to enable the cessation of all material existence. One who seeks an improvement in health or aspires after material perfection is no yogī according to Bhagavad-gītā. Nor does cessation of material existence entail one's entering into "the void," which is only a myth. There is no void anywhere within the creation of the Lord. Rather, the cessation of material existence enables one to enter into the spiritual sky, the abode of the Lord. The abode of the Lord is also clearly described in the Bhagavad-gītā as that place where there is no need of sun, moon or electricity. All the planets in the spiritual kingdom are self-illuminated like the sun in the material sky. The kingdom of God is everywhere, but the spiritual sky and the planets thereof are called paraḿ dhāma, or superior abodes.

A consummate yogī, who is perfect in understanding Lord Kṛṣṇa, as is clearly stated herein by the Lord Himself (mat-cittaḥ, mat-paraḥ, mat-sthānam), can attain real peace and can ultimately reach His supreme abode, Kṛṣṇaloka, known as Goloka Vṛndāvana. In the Brahma-saḿhitā (5.37) it is clearly stated, goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūtaḥ: the Lord, although residing always in His abode called Goloka, is the all-pervading Brahman and the localized Paramātmā as well by dint of His superior spiritual energies. No one can reach the spiritual sky (Vaikuṇṭha) or enter into the Lord's eternal abode (Goloka Vṛndāvana) without the proper understanding of Kṛṣṇa and His plenary expansion Viṣṇu. Therefore a person working in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the perfect yogī, because his mind is always absorbed in Kṛṣṇa's activities (sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-pādāravindayoḥ). In the Vedas also (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.8) we learn, tam eva viditvāti mṛtyum eti: "One can overcome the path of birth and death only by understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa." In other words, perfection of the yoga system is the attainment of freedom from material existence and not some magical jugglery or gymnastic feats to befool innocent people.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness