354
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 2, Ch. 7]
TRANSLATION
The Lord appeared as the son of Sudevī, the wife of King Nābhi, and was known as Rṣabhadeva. He performed materialistic yoga to equibalance the mind. This stage is also accepted as the highest perfectional situation of liberation, wherein one is situated in one's self and is completely satisfied.
PURPORT
Out of many types of mystic performances for self-realization, the process of  jaḍa-yoga  is also one accepted by authorities. This  jaḍa-yoga  involves practicing becoming like a dumb stone without being affected by material reactions. Just as a stone is indifferent to all kinds of attacks and reattacks of external situations, similarly one practices  jaḍa-yoga  by tolerating voluntary infliction of pain upon the material body. Such  yogīs , out of many self-infliction methods, practice plucking out the hairs on their head, without shaving and without any instrumental help. But the real purpose of such  jaḍa-yoga  practice is to get free from all material affection and to be completely situated in the self. At the last stage of his life, Emperor Rṣabhadeva wandered like a dumb madman without being affected by all kinds of bodily mistreatment. Seeing him like a madman, wandering naked with long hair and a long beard, less intelligent children and men in the street used to spit on him and urinate on his body. He used to lie in his own stool and never move. But the stool of his body was flavored like the smell of fragrant flowers, and a saintly person would recognize him as a  paramahamisa , one in the highest state of human perfection. One who is not able to make his stool fragrant should not, however, imitate Emperor Rṣabhadeva. The practice of  jaḍa-yoga  was possible by Rṣabhadeva and others on the same level of perfection, but such an uncommon practice is impossible for an ordinary man.
The real purpose of  jaḍa-yoga , as mentioned here in this verse, is  praśānta-karaṇaḥ , or subduing the senses. The whole process of  yoga , under whatever heading it may be, is to control the unbridled material senses and thus prepare oneself for self-realization. In this age specifically, this  jaḍa-yoga  cannot be of any practical value, but on the other hand the practice of  bhakti-yoga  is feasible because it is just suitable for this age. The simple method of hearing from the rightful source of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam will lead one to the highest perfectional stage of  yoga . Rṣabhadeva was the son of King Nābhi and the grandson of King Āgnīdhra, and he was the