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The Bhagavad Gita1430
of Action; Action itself; or the objects of the sense-world—then hath he
reached the highest stage of Right Action.
“Let each raise up his soul by the knowledge of the Real Self. And let not
the soul be depressed nor cast down, for truly hath it been said that the
Real Self is the lover of the soul, and its true friend, notwithstanding the fact
that the ignorant soul may feel that the Real Self is its enemy, inasmuch as it
tends to annihilate its sense of separate personality.
“The Real Self is the friend of him in whom the Personality hath yielded
mastery; but to him whose personality is defiant, the Real Self appeareth as
his bitterest foe. Whereas, in truth, the Real Self is seeking but to liberate the
soul from its own bondage of illusion and error—seeking to add to its riches,
rather than to rob and despoil it of things of worth. Thus, through the smoke
of illusion and error, the True Friend is seen as the Bitter Enemy.
“The soul of him who hath perceived the Real Self within him is peaceful
and calm, in heat and cold, in pleasure and pain, in that which the world
calleth honor and dishonor. The wise man is content with the knowledge
and wisdom which hath been unfolded to him, as earth’s rarest treasures. His
senses are harmonized by Self-Mastery, and Wisdom hath taken the place
of Desire.
“Such an one excelleth in wisdom, to such an extent that he regardeth
both friends and enemies, aliens and countrymen, saints and sinners, the
righteous and unrighteous—with equal love and sense of brotherhood.
“The Yogi sitteth in his secret place, engaged in meditation and deep
thought. With mind and body mastered by the Real Self, he is divorced
from greed and desire of reward. He sitteth in a clean place, neither too
high or too low; his seat made of a cloth, a black antelope skin, and kusha
grass, arranged as his teachers have well taught him, in accordance with the
traditions of his kind. Sitting thus, he mastereth his mind, and directeth it
to one point of concentration—holding at the same time his senses and
wandering thoughts firmly in hand. Sitting thus steady and at rest, he doth