‘Buddhi Yoga ‘ as defined in the Geeta is the yoga of right attitude . The right understanding, motive and the spirit of the action determines whether the action could be termed as Buddhi Yoga.karma yoga as understood by Arjuna in Vedic terms , largely meant rituals . So Krishna coins Buddhi Yoga as a phrase meaning right action performed selflessly for the benefit of others.
We all seek something or the other in life. Good grades ,admission to a reputed university, a permanent source of income, a house , a life partner, anything. “Why do we desire what we desire.?” We desire what we possess not. We struggle to free ourselves from our limitations, and we seek permanence from an impermanent world! We seek completeness from the incomplete. The irony is that one more possession is one more chain! Unclasp your mental hold and the icy grip of sense objects on you unclasps automatically. Renunciation as advised by the Geeta is commonly misunderstood. A devotee asked Shri Ramana whether he should surrender whatever he possessed. Ramana replied, “Surrender the possessor.” This is true Yoga.
Single pointed selfless effort for the good of others, with no insistence on any particular result, but smiling acceptance , becomes Buddhi Yoga. We cannot call yoga mere skill in action. A smuggler also is highly skilled. Skilled action with a noble motive is Yoga.
This art of right contact with the world, purifies the mind to a peace and tranquillity which is the mind’s true nature, which frees us from all want because it completes us.Thought storms whipped up by desire lash us no more as they settle down to a ripple less ocean that engulfs one in a nameless joy. That is the culmination of Yoga, the abidance in the self (swasthya) perfect health, as promised by Yoga.
Prarthna Saran, President Chinmaya Mission Delhi.
Email: prarthnasaran@gmail.com