तस्मात् योगी भव, अर्जुन!

We are just past the 1st week of the New Year …. the time by which more than half of the resolutions made, must have been broken 😊

After having spent more than 4 decades now on Earth, I have had my share of run-ins with resolutions –

• you make lofty ones, only to break them too soon,

• you then go easy and make them so modest, that meeting them is just a formality and that gives you no sense of achievement

• and then, you don’t make any but end up feeling you are not striving towards anything!

Well, there’s no right way to go about it!!

I now consider this gift of human life as an opportunity towards becoming one with the Brahman (The Supreme Consciousness)… Each new day, new season or new year, I ask myself, am I becoming a better योगी / Yogi than I was earlier? And all my other life goals be it material - success, health, happiness or non-material – spiritual progress, control over senses – they all get subsumed in that one goal.

Lord Krishna had also advised Arjuna “तस्माद्योगीभवार्जुन”! (6.46 – Therefore, strive to be a Yogi, O Arjuna!)

The term “योगी / Yogi” does not mean a सन्यासी / Sanyasin – a person who has taken renunciation from the world.

It means a person who has gained the Ultimate Realization. These may be difficult terms to digest or understand – the meaning is profound that can be understood only after a lot of अभ्यासः (abhyasa/study) which most of us have not yet achieved.

But fortunately, संस्कृत वाङ्गमय / Samksrita Vangmaya has so many shlokas and subhashitani to choose from wherein the कविः / Kavis (“learned men”, not “poets” as is meant by that term in Marathi or Hindi) have beautifully given directions to lay-persons to follow.

One such subhashitam explaining who is a Yogi is as follows –

धैर्य यस्य पिता क्षमा च जननी शान्ति: चिरं गेहिनी सत्यं सूनु: अयं दया च भगिनी भ्राता मन:संयम: । शय्या भूमितलं दिश: अपि वसनं ज्ञानामृतं भोजनम् ह्येते यस्य कुटुम्बिन: वद सखे कस्माद् भयं योगिन: ।।

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It states that –

धैर्य यस्य पिता            - For him whom “Courage” is the Father

क्षमा च जननी               - and “Forgiveness” is the Mother

शान्ति: चिरं गेहिनी    -     “Undisturbed Calmness” is the Spouse

सत्यं सूनु: अयं          - “Truth” is the Son

दया च भगिनी - And “Compassion” is the Sister

भ्राता मन:संयम:       -     “Mind Control” is the Brother शय्या भूमितलं             - "Earth” is the Bed (he can sleep peacefully anywhere)

दिश: अपि वसनं          - “Directions” are the Clothes  (he can roam anywhere and is welcome everywhere)

ज्ञानामृतं भोजनम्     - "Knowledge” is his Diet  (he is always hungry for gaining wisdom)

हि एते यस्य कुटुम्बिन:* - For the one who has these as his family

वद सखे कस्मात् भयं योगिन:* -  Tell me O friend, what fear will such a Yogi have? (indeed, such a Yogi has no worry in the world)

The term “योग /Yoga” is deep and profound, difficult to understand and even more difficult to attain. 

But by enlisting the qualities of a Yogi – Courage, Forgiveness, Calmness, Truth, Compassion, Mind Control, Acceptance and Thirst for Knowledge – this shloka makes it easier for lay-people to get on the path.

Thus, this shloka gives you a formula for self-evaluation.

At the end of the day, you can ask yourself, "Was I compassionate today?" "Am I becoming more courageous?" "Achieving more control over the mind?" "What new things did I learn this month?" And so on…

If you measure yourself against your own earlier self on each of these metrics periodically, you will find that you are becoming a healthier, happier, wealthier (in all aspects) and more content version of yourself.

And this could be a resolution worth striving for!

Wishing you all the very best in 2024 and always!