12.188
Bhīṣma said.
O Pārtha, I will now explain to you the fourfold yoga of meditation, by knowing which the supreme sages attain eternal perfection.
Just as meditation is properly practiced, so do the yogis act; the great sages, satisfied with knowledge, have minds that have attained liberation.
O Pārtha, those who are liberated from the faults of saṃsāra do not return again; those whose faults of birth are exhausted remain established in their own true nature.
They are free from dualities, steadfast in eternal essence, liberated, always resorting to the eternal, unattached, free from disputes, and bring peace of mind.
There, the sage should sit like a log, having gathered the senses, and hold the mind one-pointed, joined with self-study.
One should not perceive sound with the ear, nor feel touch with the skin, nor know form with the eye, nor taste tastes with the tongue, in this way.
The yogi, through meditation, should renounce all desirable things; the strong-minded should not wish for these fivefold destroyers.
Then, the wise person, having gathered the group of five in the mind, should steady the restless mind along with the five senses.
The mind, which moves about without support and has five doors, both moving and unmoving, should be fixed within by the steadfast one on the former path of meditation.
When one gathers the senses and the mind together, I have already described this earlier path of meditation.
His mind, which had previously been restrained, will suddenly surge forth, agitated, just like lightning in a cloud.
Just as a water-drop, unsteady and moving in all directions on a leaf, so too does this person's mind become restless on the path of meditation.
For a moment, the mind remains somewhat collected on the path of meditation; but again, wandering on the path of the wind, it becomes like the wind.
One who is free from despondency, suffering, lethargy, and envy should again fix his mind in meditation, being skilled in the yoga of meditation.
At the beginning of the first meditation, deliberation, reflection, and discernment arise for the sage who is engaged in concentration.
Even if troubled in mind, one should seek resolution and not let the sage fall into despair; one should always act for one's own welfare.
Just as heaps of dust, ash, and dung, when suddenly soaked with water, do not dissolve, so too...
The powder should be made slightly unctuous, and if it is dry and not yet moistened, the moistening should be done gradually and slowly.
In this way, one should slowly and thoroughly restrain the group of senses; withdrawing them gradually, he will indeed attain complete tranquility.
O Bhārata, the mind and the five senses, by themselves, become tranquil through constant practice of yoga, having first attained the path of meditation.
Happiness does not come to a person merely by personal effort or by fate alone; it comes to him who is thus self-restrained.
He, united with happiness, delights in meditation. Thus, yogis indeed attain that liberation which is free from all affliction.
