Bhagavad-gītā As it Is
<< 6 - Dhyāna-yoga >>

<< VERSE 26 >>

यतॊ यतॊ निश्चरति मनश चञ्चलम अस्थिरम
ततस ततॊ नियम्यैतद आत्मन्य एव वशं नयेत

yato yato niścalati
manaś cañcalam asthiram
tatas tato niyamyaitad
ātmany eva vaśaṁ nayet

WORD BY WORD

yataḥ yataḥ — wherever; niścalati — becomes verily agitated; manaḥ — the mind; cañcalam — flickering; asthiram — unsteady; tataḥ tataḥ — from there; niyamya — regulating; etat — this; ātmani — in the Self; eva — certainly; vaśam — control; nayet — must bring under;

TRANSLATION

From wherever the mind wanders due to its flickering and unsteady nature, one must certainly withdraw it and bring it back under the control of the Self.

PURPORT

The nature of the mind is flickering and unsteady. But a self-realized yogī has to control the mind; the mind should not control him. One who controls the mind (and therefore the senses as well) is called gosvāmī, or svāmī, and one who is controlled by the mind is called go-dāsa, or the servant of the senses. A gosvāmī knows the standard of sense happiness. In transcendental sense happiness, the senses are engaged in the service of Hṛṣīkeśa, or the supreme owner of the senses – Kṛṣṇa. Serving Kṛṣṇa with purified senses is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the way of bringing the senses under full control. What is more, that is the highest perfection of yoga practice.

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