Prabhupada, New York, September 4, 1966: […] Yogi yunjita satatam atmanam rahasi sthitah. Now, now here is the beginning of the yoga system, how one should perform yoga. Now, you will understand from the description of Bhagavad-gita that what is yoga system. In your city, New York City, the yoga is very popular. Everyone is performing yoga.
There are so many groups of yoga schools, but just see what the yoga system is. You just, you can understand from Bhagavad-gita. What is that? The first is yogi yunjita satatam atmanam rahasi sthitah. The yogi’s business is always to remain alone in a secluded place. Alone and secluded place. Yoga cannot be performed in assembly.
Just like we are in assembly. Here you are performing yoga, I am performing yoga in the yoga class, and somebody is teaching, “Do like this. Do like that. Do like that.” That is not yoga system. At least, according to Bhagavad-gita.
Here it is clearly said that yogi yunjita satatam atmanam rahasi sthitah. He should always be engaged in his, I mean to say, focusing his mind towards the Paramatma. And that is possible, rahasi. Rahasi means in a secluded place. In a secluded place. It is not… I cannot concentrate my mind in the hubble-bubble of this society or in a big city.
The yoga system, you will find that all the yogis formerly… Still in India there are many yogis. They come at Kumbhamela. We have seen some of them. They are some of them are 700 years old, and you’ll see him just like a boy of 25 years. They are doing something, yoga. So they, rarely they come when there is some special function.
In India there are four places. Just like in the modern days there are conferences of different parties, similarly, in India there are still about thirty hundred thousands of saintly persons.
Not one, two. And they, not all, but at least, major portion of them, they meet together after twelve years in some particular places. There are four places. One at Prayaga. You have heard the name of Allahabad city. That is called Prayaga. And one at Hardwar, and at Kanchi.
In this way they have got four places. That means every four years they have meeting. So in that meeting many yogis come. And when… Not in my this renounced order, when I was living for some time at Allahabad… Not some time. I lived there for thirteen years, at Allahabad. So I was seeing this Mela.
Although it was taking at at least 12 years, I have seen twice or thrice. So these yogis, they are so calm and quiet and looking… Of course, I do not know. Somebody said this man is 700 years old, this man is 300 years old, but they look like young boys.
So they, such yogis, as it is recommended here, yogi yunjita satatam atmanam. One who is actually ascendent on the yogic principles, his first function is that he remains alone. He has no society. He cannot remain in society.
Yogi yunjita satatam rahasi sthitah, ekaki. Ekaki means alone. Or more clearly it is stated. Ekaki yata-cittatma nirasir aparigrahah. Nirasih, there is no expectation that “By functioning yoga, I shall achieve this power.” And aparigraha, and he does not take anything from anybody.
Who is going to give him? He is ekaki, he is alone in a secluded place, in, sometimes in jungle, in forest, in mountain. And who is going to give him anything? He doesn’t expect because he is firmly convinced that “For whom I have become yogi…I am not alone. My Paramatma is always with me.” He’s a yogi of… Unless…, what kind of yogi he is?
He is… Although he remains superficially alone, but he knows that “Wherever I go, my Paramatma friend, who is sitting with me on my heart, He is with me. So I have nothing to fear. So I have nothing to fear.” Yata-cittatma. Ekaki yata-cittatma nirasir aparigrahah. He does not accept anything for anyone.
Now, just see the yogi, yogic principle, for this age, how much it is difficult for us. If we want to perform real yoga system, then it is very difficult. Nobody… We are sitting here, so many ladies and gentlemen, is it possible for us to live alone in a secluded place in a mountain?
You have got in your, outside your New York City there are so many mountains and jungles. Can you live there alone? Oh, no. Full Lecture
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