Shloka 26
Adhyāya 240: Indriya–Manas–Buddhi–Ātman — The Inner Hierarchy and Restraint (इन्द्रिय-मनस्-बुद्धि-आत्म-क्रमः)
आत्मनो व्यापिनस्तात ज्ञानमेतदनुत्तमम् । अब योगसम्बन्धी सम्पूर्ण कृत्योंका वर्णन आरम्भ करता हूँ, सुनो। तात! इन्द्रिय, मन और बुद्धिकी वृत्तियोंको सब ओरसे रोककर सर्वव्यापी आत्माके साथ उनकी एकता स्थापित करना ही योगशास्त्रियोंके मतमें सर्वोत्तम ज्ञान है,सत्त्वसंसेवनाद धीरो निद्रामुच्छेत्तुमरहति । विद्वानोंने योगके जो काम, क्रोध, लोभ, भय और पाँचवाँ स्वप्र--ये पाँच दोष बताये हैं उनका पूर्णतया उच्छेद करे। इनमेंसे क्रोधको शम (मनोनिग्रह) के द्वारा जीते, कामको संकल्पके त्यागद्वारा पराजित करे तथा धीर पुरुष सत्वगुणका सेवन करनेसे निद्राका उच्छेद कर सकता है नित्य-नियमसे रहकर योगी मुनि किसी पर्वतके शिखरपर किसी देववृक्षके समीप या एकान्त मन्दिरमें अथवा वृक्षोंके सम्मुख बैठकर तीन समय (सबेरे तथा रातके पहले और पिछले पहरोंमें) योगका अभ्यास करे ।। संनियम्येन्द्रियग्रामं कोछ्ठे भाण्डमना इव । एकाग्रं चिन्तयेन्नित्यं योगान्नोद्वेजयेन्मन: द्रव्य चाहनेवाले मनुष्य जैसे सदा द्रव्यसमुदायको कोठेमें बाँध करके रखता है, उसी तरह योगका साधक भी इन्द्रिय-समुदायको संयममें रखकर हृदयकमलमें स्थित नित्य आत्माका एकाग्रभावसे चिन्तन करे। मनको योगसे उद्विग्न न होने दे
ātmāno vyāpinastāta jñānam etad anuttamam | atha yogasambandhī sampūrṇa-kṛtyānāṃ varṇanam ārabhye, śṛṇu | tāta! indriya-mano-buddhi-vṛttīḥ sarvataḥ saṃyamya sarvavyāpinā ātmanā saha tāsāṃ ekatā-sthāpanam eva yogāśāstrīyāṇāṃ mate sarvottamaṃ jñānam | sattva-saṃsevanād dhīro nidrām ucchettum arhati | vidvadbhiḥ yogasya ye kāma-krodha-lobha-bhayaṃ pañcamaṃ ca svapna iti pañca doṣāḥ proktāḥ, tān samūlam ucchedayet | teṣu krodhaṃ śamena jayet, kāmaṃ saṅkalpa-tyāgena parājayet, tathā dhīraḥ sattva-guṇa-sevanena nidrāṃ nirākartuṃ śaknoti | nitya-niyama-stho yogī muniḥ parvata-śikhare deva-vṛkṣa-samīpe vā ekānta-mandire vā vṛkṣāṇāṃ sammukhe vā niṣaṇṇaḥ tri-kālaṃ (prātaḥ, rātrau pūrva-prahare ca paścima-prahare ca) yogābhyāsaṃ kuryāt || saṃniyamya indriya-grāmaṃ koṣṭhe bhāṇḍam iva | ekāgraṃ cintayen nityaṃ yogān nodvijayet manaḥ ||
Vyāsa said: “Dear one, this is the unsurpassed knowledge concerning the all-pervading Self. Now I shall begin the account of the complete discipline connected with Yoga—listen. To restrain from every side the movements of the senses, mind, and intellect, and to establish their unity with the all-pervading Self—this, in the view of the teachers of Yoga, is the highest knowledge. By cultivating sattva, a steadfast person becomes fit to cut off sleep. The learned declare five faults that obstruct Yoga: desire, anger, greed, fear, and, as the fifth, dreaming. One should uproot them completely. Among these, anger is conquered by calm self-restraint; desire is defeated by abandoning mental resolve and craving; and the steady person, by fostering the sattva-quality, can overcome sleep. Living by constant observances, the yogic sage should practice Yoga three times a day—seated on a mountain peak, near a divine tree, in a secluded shrine, or facing trees in a lonely place. Having restrained the ‘village’ of the senses as one locks up goods in a storehouse, he should daily contemplate with one-pointedness the eternal Self abiding in the lotus of the heart, and should not let the mind be agitated away from Yoga.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The highest knowledge is to restrain the senses, mind, and intellect and establish their unity with the all-pervading Self. Yoga requires disciplined practice, removal of key inner faults (desire, anger, greed, fear, and dream/sleep-based distraction), and steady contemplation of the Self with one-pointed attention.
Vyāsa instructs a listener in the Shānti Parva on practical yogic discipline: where and when to practice, how to restrain the senses, which psychological obstacles must be uprooted, and how sattva and calm self-restraint support sustained meditation on the Self in the heart.