"That Yogi is steadfast, who is content with knowledge and realisation, who remains unshaken, who has subdued his senses and to whom a lump of earth, stone and gold are equal" (8-VI)
There are two kinds of knowledge. The first one pertains to the knowledge acquired through the study of scriptures and the second to intuitive perception of the reality or direct experience of the truth. Whatever a man has learned from scriptural texts has to be realised by him in his own self and he should make that a part of himself. He has to taste, experience and enjoy the essence of the scriptures in his own self. This is what is called ëVijnanaí or realisation and the knowledge that is derived from the scriptural texts is called as ëJnanaí, that is, knowledge.
The man who is content with Jnana and Vijnana secures a thorough control over his sense organs. Such a man who has kept all his sense organs under effective control is called ëVijitendriyaí. As he remains unshaken under all circumstances, he is also called ëKutasthaí. Ordinary people cannot be at peace with themselves when they meet with adversities in life. But he who is self-controlled and steadfast in the knowledge and realisation of god sees the one absolute existence in the midst of relative existence. As such he remains unaffected by the dualities belonging to the earthly existence like pain and pleasure, heat and cold, honour and dishonour etc. To such a Yogi a log of wood, a piece of stone and a lump of gold are all alike.
"He excels, who has equal regard for the good-hearted, friends, enemies, the indifferent, the neutral, the hateful, the relatives, the saints and the sinners". (9-VI)
An ordinary man likes his friends and hates his enemies. It is due to his sense of ego that he behaves differently with different types of people. But the man who has transcended his ego-sense and realised the self sees the divine being dwelling under the appearance of so many different characters. As such he sees the sameness in all those varieties. In fact, all people and all beings are of the nature of Brahman having Brahman for their essence. When a yogi is able to perceive Brahman present in all he becomes possessed of evenness of perception. And so he is equal-minded towards all.
"The Yogi ought to concentrate his mind always (on his self) living in solitude, alone, with the mind and the body controlled, free from desires and possessions" (10-VI).
ëThe Yogií in this context means the man who strives after perfection and not the Yogi who has attained it. In order to gain the evenness of perception or to realise Brahman present I all a man should select for himself a secluded spot. He should remain alone so that his mind is not distracted by the hustle and bustle of worldly life. He should also be free from all desires as it is impossible for anyone whose mind is full of desires to live alone in seclusion.
He should not care for any possessions as well. A man who has possessions will always be worried about their safety and consequently his mind will be restless and will lack concentration. The Yogi voluntarily gives up all his possessions knowing fully well that worldly things are transitory and that they cannot make him really happy. He also does not receive any gift from others. He is the man who has realised the sameness between a lump of earth and a piece of gold.
From the use of the qualifying words ëin solitudeí and ëaloneí, it follows that the seeker after Truth has to undertake all these after taking to monasticism. And even after accepting the monastic order he should concentrate his mind on his Self and lead a contemplative life by desisting from all acquisitions. This is the idea.