18
The Perfection of Yoga
“In this age of quarrel and disagreement [Kali-yuga], there is no other way of spiritual realization but this chanting of the names. There is no other way, there is no other way, there is no other way.”
It is generally thought, at least in the Western world, that the  yoga  system involves meditating on the void. But the Vedic literatures do not recommend meditating on any void. Rather, the  Vedas  maintain that  yoga  means meditation on Viṣṇu, and this is also maintained in  Bhagavad-gītā . In many  yoga  societies we find that people sit cross-legged and very straight, then close their eyes to meditate, and so fifty percent of them go to sleep because when we close our eyes and have no subject matter for contemplation, we simply go to sleep. Of course this is not recommended by Śrī Kṛṣṇa in  Bhagavad-gītā . One must sit very straight, and the eyes be only half-closed, gazing at the tip of one's nose. If one does not follow the instructions, the result will be sleep and nothing more. Sometimes, of course, meditation goes on when one is sleeping, but this is not the recommended process for the execution of  yoga . Thus to keep oneself awake Kṛṣṇa advises that one always keep the tip of the nose visible. In addition, one must be always undisturbed. If the mind is agitated, or if there is a great deal of activity going on, one will not be able to concentrate. In meditational  yoga  one must also be devoid of fear. There is no question of fear when one enters spiritual life. And one must also be  brahmacārī , completely free from sex life. Nor can there be any demands on one meditating in this way. When there are no demands,