38 The Perfection of Yoga

actually kills him. Similarly, the more we increase
material enjoyment, the more we become entangled
in this world and the more difficult it becomes to
get free from the material entrapment. All of the
systems of yoga are meant to disentangle the con-
ditioned soul from this entrapment, to transfer him
from the false enjoyment of material things to the
actual enjoyment of Krsna consciousness. Sri Krsna
says:
yatroparamate cittam
niruddham yoga-sevaya
yatra caivatmanatmanam
pasyann atmani tusyati

sukham atyantikam yat tad
buddhi-grahyam atindriyam
vetti yatra na caivayam
sthitas calati tattvatah

yam labdhva caparam labham
manyate nadhikam tatah
yasmin sthito na duhkhena
gurunapi vicalyate
tam vidydd duhkha-samyoga
viyogam yoga-samjnitam
sa niscayena yoktavyo
yogo ‘nirvinna-cetasa

“The stage of perfection is called trance, or samadhi,
when one’s mind is completely restrained from ma-
terial mental activities by practice of yoga. This is
characterized by one’s ability to see the self by the
pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In
