One cannot be a yogi if one eats too much or not enough. Eating too much also means eating things like non-vegetarian foodstuff to maintain the body. This is not actually required. Nor can one be a yogi if one does not eat enough. This also means that one should not abstain from eating milk products by considering it as non-vegetarian. Milk is the most complete food possible. Milk products help to develop a strong bodily constitution and nourish our brain cells and thus our thinking capacity.
Yoga is something that has been practiced in India for thousands of years and from then until now, yogis have recommended taking milk and milk products like yogurt and cheese etc. Only in recent times have some people thought it bad to take milk products, but the masters of yoga have never recommended such abnegation.
Proper sitting posture, control of the senses and observing celibacy are also recommended in the above verses because without such practices no one can actually be a yogi. Gazing at the tip of the nose without casting one’s glance in other directions means being perfectly concentrated, as in dharana, and performing dhyana, or meditation on Krishna as the highest goal.
As far as possible, a yogi should try to live in a holy place to practice yoga. In India, yogis are fond of residing on the banks of the Ganges at Haridvara, Hrishikesha, Benares, or Mayapura, or on the banks of another sacred river like the Yamuna, Kaveri or Godavari. Some yogis prefer the sanctuary of the Himalayas, others prefer residence in the chara-dhama (Dvaraka, Badarinatha, Jagannatha Puri and Rameshvaram). In any case, the yogi must choose the proper place to practice yoga.
If one is unable to live in a holy place or on the banks of a sacred river, then one should try to live in an ashrama or yoga community. If one is unable to live in a yoga community then one should sanctify one’s home by creating a place where Krishna can be worshipped and mantra meditation can be performed. The home should have an atmosphere conducive for contemplation, study and controlling the senses. Such a home should be peaceful and free from acts of violence, animal killing, intoxication etc.
In this modern age (Kali-yuga) animal killing, intoxication and so many other unfavourable activities are to be found everywhere. Subsequently, it is very difficult to find the appropriate place for yoga practice, especially for the practice of ashtanga-yoga, raja-yoga, hatha-yoga and so on. Therefore, in Kali-yuga the recommended process is bhakti-yoga and meditation is performed through the chanting of the maha-mantra.
hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare
The chanting of the maha-mantra is so powerful and purifying that, wherever it is chanted, it makes that place purified. Thus the bhakti-yoga process can be practiced everywhere and anywhere. Bhakti-yoga is actually the only recommended process of yoga in Kali-yuga.
The yogi must always strive for self-satisfaction, knowledge and realisation. Such a yogi will always see everything in this world with equal vision and therefore will not become attached to anything of a temporary nature. Krishna says that the yogi sees gold and mere stones as the same. This is not to say that the yogi cannot distinguish the brilliance of gold from that of ordinary objects; this means that the yogi is not attracted to finding satisfaction in the accumulation of wealth.
It has been said that the desire for wealth is what makes the world go round. This may be true in the sense that the desire for wealth is what drives most people to act. Sadly we also see clearly where greed for wealth is taking the world today – political unrest culminating in war, death and destruction, economic instability and collapse as well as extreme instability in the environment. This results in natural disasters and the extinction of many species of life.
Control of the mind is quintessential for the practice of yoga. The problem arises due to the very nature of the mind itself. The nature of the mind is flickering and unsteady; it wants to wander here and there from one sense-object to the next. Even in sleep the wandering mind is active. But Shri Krishna says that the yogi must always endeavour to bring the mind under control of his higher conscious self. This is indeed the foremost challenge that a yogi faces.
There are many external practices within the yoga system such as fasting and living in a secluded place that help to control the mind. But owing to the nature of the mind being like the wind, these external methods frequently fall short of the mark. However, in the bhakti-yoga system it is recommended to control the mind by mantra. The word mantra originates from two Sanskrit words – mana (the mind) and trayate (to control). By engaging the mind in the process of hearing and chanting mantras – and especially the maha-mantra, the great mantra for delivering the mind – the wandering mind becomes steady in the self.