Meditation and Asana in the Gita

Stable and comfortable

- Shri Murarilal Dhanuka

Sutra forty-six of chapter two of Patanjal Yogadarsana states, "Sthira-Sukham-Asana steady and comfortable is an Asana." Asana (posture) should be stable (Sthira) and comfortable (Sukha). Sukha means easy, comfortable, pleasant, willingly joyful.

In verse ten of chapter six of Gita, a Dhyana Yogi should constantly engage in meditation, living alone in seclusion, having subdued his mind and body, and having got rid of bonds of desires and positions for enjoyment.

In verse eleven of chapter six, the Lord describes the seat of meditation, "Having well-arranged his seat (Asana) in a clean and unpolluted place covered by Kusa grass, a deer skin and a cloth, one over the other, neither too high, nor too low." We can further explain this - the place of meditation should be pure in two ways - (1) a naturally pure place such as a bank of a river, a forest, etc. (2) the place should be cleaned by the practitioner.

The seat of the plank-bed should neither be too high, nor too low.