7
The Fate Of
The Unsuccessful Yogi
Itis not that Bhagavad-gita rejects the meditational
yoga process; it recognizes it as a bona fide method,
but it further indicates that it is not possible in this
age. Thus the subject in the Sixth Chapter of
Bhagavad-gita is quickly dropped by Sri Krsna and
Arjuna. Arjuna next asks:
ayatih graddhayopeto
yogac calita-manasah
aprapya yoga-samsiddhim

kam gatim krsna gacchati
‘‘What is the destination of the man of faith who
does not persevere, who in the beginning takes to
the process of self-realization but who later desists
due to worldly-mindedness and thus does not attain
perfection in mysticism?” (Bg. 6.37) In other words,
he is asking what becomes of the unsuccessful yogt,
or the person who attempts to perform yoga but
somehow desists and does not succeed. It is some-
thing like a student who does not get his degree
because he drops out of school. Elsewhere in the
Gita, SriKrsna points out to Arjuna that out of many
men few strive for perfection, and out of those who
strive for perfection, only a few succeed. So Arjuna
is inquiring after the vast number of failures. Even
if a man has faith and strives for perfection in the
yoga system, Arjuna points out that he may not
attain this perfection due to “‘worldly-mindedness.”

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