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THE PATH OF PERECTION
yoga  system if he partakes in sense gratification and then sits down to try to meditate. This is just a colossal hoax. Such contradictory activity has no meaning. First of all,  yoga  means controlling the senses— yama-niyama . There are eight stages of  yoga — yama ,  niyama ,  āsana ,  dhyāna ,  dhāraṇā ,  prāṇāyāma ,  pratyāhāra , and  samādhi .
In this Sixth Chapter, in which the Lord speaks of the  sānkhya-yoga  system, He states from the very beginning that one cannot become a  yogī  unless one renounces the desire for sense gratification. Therefore, if one indulges his senses, he cannot be accepted as a  yogī .  Yoga  demands strict celibacy. In the  yoga  system, there is no sex life. If one indulges in sex, he cannot be a  yogī . Many so-called  yogīs  come from India to America and say, "Yes, you can do whatever you like. You can have as much sex as you like. Just meditate. I will give you some  mantra , and you will give me some money." This is all nonsense. According to the authoritative statements of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, one cannot become a  yogī  unless he renounces the desire for sense gratification. This is explicitly stated as the first condition for  yoga  practice.
ārurukṣor muner yogaṁ karma kāraṇam ucyate yogārūḍhasya tasyaiva śamaḥ kāraṇam ucyate
“For one who is a neophyte in the eightfold  yoga  system, work is said to be the means; and for one who has already attained to  yoga , cessation of all material activities is said to be the means.” (Bg. 6.3) According to this verse, there are those who are attempting to reach the perfectional stage and those who have already attained that stage. As long as one is not situated on the perfectional platform, he must engage in so many works. In the West, there are many  yoga  societies attempting to practice the  āsana  system, and therefore they practice sitting in different postures. That may help, but it is only a process by which one can attain the real platform. The real  yoga  system, in its perfectional stage, is far different from these bodily gymnastics.
Mastering the Mind and Senses
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It is important to understand, however, that from the beginning, a Krṣṇa conscious person is situated on the platform of meditation because he is always thinking of Krṣṇa. Being constantly engaged in the service of Krṣṇa, he is considered to have ceased all material activities.
yadā hi nendriyārtheṣu na karmasv anuṣajjate sarva-saṅkalpa-sannyāsī yogārūdhas tadocyate
“A person is said to have attained to  yoga  when, having renounced all material desires, he neither acts for sense gratification nor engages in fruitive activities.” (Bg. 6.4)
This is actually the perfectional stage of  yoga , and one who has attained this stage is said to have attained to  yoga . This is to say that he has connected, joined, or linked himself with the supreme whole. If a part is disconnected from a machine, it serves no function, but as soon as it is properly attached to the machine, it works properly and carries out its different functions. That is the meaning of  yoga —joining with the supreme whole, serving in conjunction with the total machine. Presently we are disconnected, and our material fruitive activities are simply a waste of time. One who engages in such activity is described in  Bhagavad-gītā  as a  mūḍha —that is, a rascal. Although one may earn thousands of dollars daily and be an important businessman, he is described in  Bhagavad-gītā  as a  mūḍha , rascal, because he is just wasting his time in eating, sleeping, defending, and mating.
People do not stop to consider that they are actually working very hard for nothing. One who earns millions of dollars cannot really eat much more than a man who makes ten dollars. A man who earns millions of dollars cannot mate with millions of women. That is not within his power. His mating power is the same as one who earns ten dollars, just as his power of eating is the same. This is to say that our power of enjoyment is limited. One should therefore think, "My enjoyment is the same as that of the man who is earning ten dollars daily. So why am I working so hard to