Dialogue between Suta and Shaunaka on the Commencement of Ganesha Gita
1. Brahmaji said - Thus, in ancient times, when the great sage Shaunaka asked, Suta Ji described the Gita he had heard from the mouth of Vyasa Ji at that time.
2-3. Suta Ji said - O Lord! You have made me drink the
nectar which is the essence of the eighteen Puranas, but now I desire to drink
an even more delicious and supreme nectar. By drinking which nectar, humans
become one with Brahman, O fortunate one! Kindly narrate that nectar of Yoga to
me.
4. Vyasa Ji said - O Suta Ji! I will now describe to you the
Gita which illuminates the path of Yoga, which was narrated by Ganesha Ji upon
the inquiry of King Varenya.
5. King Varenya said - O Lord of Obstacles! O mighty-armed
one! O scholar of all knowledge! O knower of the essence of all scriptures!
Please describe to me the path of Yoga.
6-7. Lord Gajanana said - O King! By my grace, your intellect
has become pure and stable. Listen, I tell you the Gita filled with the nectar
of Yoga. The term "Yoga" does not mean just yoga; it is not the
attainment of wealth, nor the enjoyment of sensory pleasures, nor is it the
perfection of the senses.
8-9. O King! The union of mother and father is not called
Yoga. The eight types of siddhis, the attainment of relatives and sons, are not
Yoga. Attaining an extremely beautiful woman is not Yoga, nor is the attainment
of a kingdom or elephants and horses.
10-11. Attaining the position of Indra is not Yoga, nor do I
consider the desire for beloved perfections through Yoga or the attainment of
Satyaloka as Yoga. O King! Attaining the positions of Shiva, Vishnu, the Sun,
the Moon, or Kubera is not called Yoga.
12. Attaining the forms of air, fire, gods, time, water, or
the lord of death, or ruling over the entire earth, is not Yoga.
13. O King! Yoga is of many kinds, but true Yoga is that by
achieving which, the wise conquer the sensory objects, live in celibacy, and
become detached from the world.
14—16. The wise, by their magnanimity, subdue the three
worlds, purify the entire universe, their hearts are filled with compassion,
and they impart knowledge to the worthy. They live as liberated beings,
immersed in the lake of supreme bliss, closing their eyes, they behold the
Supreme Brahman within their hearts. With their mind subdued by Yoga,
meditating upon the Supreme Brahman in their consciousness, they see all beings
as equal to themselves.
17-18. Sometimes hiding themselves, sometimes oppressed by
others, sometimes summoned by others, and sometimes living dependent on others,
with a compassionate heart, conquering anger, controlling their senses, these
yogis wander the earth only to grace the worlds.
19–20. Dear King! Those who bear only the body, viewing
clay, stone, and gold with equality, such great fortunate men, through which
Yoga they become visible, I now tell you of that superior Yoga; listen, by
hearing which one becomes free from sins and the cycle of birth and death.
21. O King! The Yoga which is the non-distinguishing
consciousness in Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Sun, and myself (Ganesha), that alone I
consider true Yoga.
22. I, by my divine play, take on many forms and carry out
the creation, preservation, and destruction of this world.
23. O dear one! I am the great Vishnu, I am Sadashiva, I am
the great Shakti, and I am the Sun.
24. I alone am the lord of humans, [Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti,
Sun, and Ganesha—] in these five forms, I have existed since ancient times, I
am the cause of the cause of the universe, those who are ignorant do not know
me.
25—27. Fire, water, earth, sky, air, Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra,
guardians of the world, and the ten directions, the eight Vasus, sages, cows,
Manus, animals, rivers, oceans, Yakshas, trees, flocks of birds, twenty-one
heavens, serpents, seven forests, humans, mountains, Sadhyas, Siddhas, demons,
etc., all have originated from me.
28-29. I am the witness of all, the eye of the entire world,
detached from all actions, unchangeable, immeasurable, unmanifest, pervasive in
the whole world, and indestructible. O King! I am the imperishable, the essence
of supreme bliss, my Maya deludes the entire world and even the best of men.
30-32. That Maya always entangles these beings in the six
passions such as desire, anger, etc. Through Yoga, when gradually over many
births the doors of Maya are removed, then this being, awakening from the
sensory objects and becoming detached from them, knows this Brahman, which
cannot be cut by weapons, cannot be burned by fire, cannot be melted by water,
cannot be dried by wind, and O King! which does not perish even when this body
is destroyed.
33. Those foolish ones who have faith in the three Vedas and
only perform actions as prescribed, they praise only the fruits of actions
described in the scriptures, and do not accept anything else.
34-35. For this reason, they continually perform actions
that yield the fruits of birth and death, they remain engrossed in the
enjoyment of the luxuries of heaven, and the consciousness of these
pleasure-seeking individuals gets destroyed. O King! They themselves create
their own bondage, these fools, devoted to actions out of attachment, remain
trapped in the cycle of the world.
36. One should offer all prescribed actions to me, only then
can the great sprouts of the seeds of actions of these beings be destroyed.
37-38. The purification of the mind is the primary means to
attain wisdom, through wisdom the sages have known the Supreme Brahman. O King!
Therefore, whatever action one performs, it should be done with intellect. No
one should abandon their duty and their own dharma.
39-40. If anyone abandons action, they will not achieve
success. The first right to knowledge also comes from action. By performing
actions with a pure heart, one attains non-distinguishing consciousness; this
is what is called Yoga, through which a being becomes immortal.
41-42. O King! I tell you of another excellent Yoga, listen
to it. One should view animals, friends, sons, enemies, relatives, and loved
ones with equal regard, maintaining an equal vision inside and out, in joy and
sorrow, anger, happiness, fear—these should all be met with equanimity.
43. Whether one encounters disease or enjoyment, victory or
defeat, gain or loss of wealth, profit or loss, birth or death—in all these, it
is proper to keep the mind balanced.
44-46. Knowing me to be present equally within and without
in all things, the sun, moon, water, fire, Shiva, Shakti, wind, Brahmins,
lakes, great rivers that wash away sins, holy places, fields, Vishnu, all
deities, Yakshas, serpents, Gandharvas, humans, and birds—whosoever sees me in
all these with an equal eye, that one is known as the knower of Yoga.
47-49. O King! He who withdraws his senses from the objects
through knowledge and maintains an equal mind everywhere, he is the yogi in my
view. The being whose mind is attached to his duty, by the will of fate,
develops the intellect to discern between the self and non-self; this intellect
in Yoga is named Yoga, and without this intellect, this being gives up both
dharma and adharma, thus it is proper to engage the intellect in Yoga;
proficiency in obligatory actions is Yoga.
50. The person who has conquered his senses and is wise,
relinquishing the fruits of both dharma and adharma, becomes free from the
bonds of birth and attains the unblemished supreme state.
51-52. When this being's intellect is free from the darkness
of ignorance, from avidya, then gradually this being develops dispassion
towards the Vedic injunctions promoting desires. When the intellect,
dispassionate from the actions described in the three Vedas, fully and
unwaveringly engages in the Supreme Self, then the being attains Yoga.
53. O dear one, when this wise individual relinquishes all
desires of the mind and is satisfied within himself in his own self, then he is
said to have a steady intellect.
54. He who has no craving for worldly pleasures, is
undisturbed in sorrow, devoid of fear, anger, and attachment, is known as one
with a steady intellect.
55. Just as a tortoise withdraws its limbs from all sides,
it is proper for the yogi to withdraw his senses from the objects of sense.
56. For the ascetic who renounces food, the objects of
senses indeed disappear, but the taste for them remains; upon attaining
Brahman, even that taste is destroyed.
57-58. O King, even the scholar striving for liberation, his
mind is forcibly taken by the senses. Therefore, the intelligent man should
strive to control the senses. Controlling the senses, the yogi should always be
devoted to me. He whose senses are under control is known as one with steady
wisdom.
59. The man who contemplates the objects of sense develops
attachment for them, from attachment comes desire, and from desire arises
anger.
60. From anger comes delusion, from delusion comes loss of
memory, from loss of memory the intellect is destroyed, and with the
destruction of intellect, that being perishes.
61-62. Yet he who moves among the sense objects with senses
under control, free from attachment and aversion, and keeps his mind under
control, such a great soul attains contentment and peace. With the attainment
of contentment, all three types of suffering are destroyed, thus the mind of
such a yogi with steady wisdom remains joyful.
63-64. O King! Without a cheerful mind, intellect cannot be
attained, without intellect there is no faith, without faith there is no peace,
and without peace there is no happiness. Just as the wind submerges a boat in
water, so does the mind, following behind the senses like uncontrollable horses
wandering in the sense objects, take away one's wisdom.
65. O King! For all creatures covered by ignorance, the
knowledge of the self is like night; in it, the restrained yogis who control
their senses are awake, while that in which all beings are awake, the pursuit
of sensory objects, is like night for the wise.
66-67. Just as all waters enter the ocean yet it does not
get fulfilled, similarly, the individual intent on fulfilling all desires does
not find peace. Therefore, it is proper for one to control the senses running
towards sense objects in every way, then his intellect becomes steady.
68-69. The one who relinquishes possessiveness, ego, and all
desires, and remains engrossed in constant knowledge, attains liberation
through that knowledge. O King! Even in old age, one who attains this intellect
imbued with knowledge of Brahman through divine destiny, he becomes liberated
while living.
Thus ends the one hundred and thirty-eighth chapter of the
'Description of the Essence of Yoga' named 'Sankhya Sagar' in the Krida Khanda
of the glorious Ganesha Purana.