Vyāsadeva has given us this literature. The history of this literature is being described:
- tasmin sva āśrame vyāso
- badarī-ṣaṇḍa-maṇḍite
- āsīno 'pa upaspṛśya
- praṇidadhyau manaḥ svayam
- (SB 1.7.3)
Now Nārada Muni instructed him . . . Nārada Muni is Vyāsadeva's guru. So Vyāsadeva presented before Nārada Muni that, "I have written so many books—Mahābhārata, Purāṇas, Vedānta-sūtra and Upaniṣads, and so many things—but I am not feeling very much happy." So Nārada Muni instructed him that, "You have done so many things, that is all right, but you have not described very elaborately about the activities of the Supreme Lord. Therefore you are unhappy. So I advise you that you take up this business in writing. Then you will feel happy." So under his instruction he sat for meditation. He says—it is there—āsīnaḥ apaḥ upaspṛśya. Before meditation, this is the process: you take water, ācamana:
- oṁ apavitraḥ pavitro vā
- sarvāvasthāṁ gato 'pi vā
- yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ
- sa bāhyābhyantara-śuciḥ
- śrī viṣṇu śrī viṣṇu śrī viṣṇu
Three times you have to take water and taste it. That is called upaspṛśya. So he did it. Āsīnaḥ apaḥ upaspṛśya praṇidadhyau manaḥ: then he began to concentrate his mind, meditation.
So that is called yoga. This meditation means bhakti-yoga. Meditation, that is the real meaning. Nowadays meditation has become a fashion, but meditation is described in the Vedic literature, dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ (SB 12.13.1). The yogīs, they meditate, dhyānāvasthita. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā: the mind becomes fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, tad-gatena. Tat means transcendental Absolute Truth, oṁ tat sat. So tad-gatena manasā, mind being . . . our mind is very restless, so it is very difficult