Text 28]
Gajendra's Prayers of Surrender
111
karmāṇaḥ . As long as one is covered by material nature's modes of ignorance and passion, there is no possibility of understanding the Supreme Lord.  Tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye . When one is freed from the modes of ignorance and passion, one becomes free from the lowest qualities— kāma  and  lobha , lust and greed.
Nowadays there are so many  yoga  schools to encourage people in developing their lusty desires and greed through the practice of  yoga . People are therefore very much fond of so-called  yoga  practice. The actual practice of  yoga , however, is described here. As authoritatively stated in the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  (12.13.1),  dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ : a  yogī  is one who always meditates on the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is also confirmed in the  Brahma-saṁhitā  (5.38):
premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti yaṁ śyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is Śyāmasundara, Kṛṣṇa Himself, with inconceivable innumerable attributes, whom the pure devotees see in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love.” The  bhakti-yogī  constantly sees Śyāmasundara—beautiful Lord Kṛṣṇa with His blackish bodily hue. Because the King of the elephants, Gajendra, thought himself an ordinary animal, he thought himself unfit to see the Lord. In his humility, he thought that he could not practice  yoga . In other words, how can those who are like animals in the bodily concept of life, and who have no purity of consciousness, practice  yoga ? In the present day, people who have no control over their senses, who have no understanding of philosophy and who do not follow religious principles or rules and regulations are nonetheless pretending to be  yogīs . This is the greatest anomaly in the practice of mystic  yoga .
TEXT 28
नमो
नमस्तुभ्यमस्त्यवेग-
शक्तित्रयायाखिलधीगुणाय
|