Verse 6.26
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
यतो यतो निश्चरति मनश्चञ्चलमस्थिरम्। ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वशं नयेत्॥
Transliteration (IAST)
yato yato niścarati manaś cañcalam asthiram tatas tato niyamyaitad ātmany eva vaśaṁ nayet
Word-by-Word Meanings
yataḥ yataḥ-wherever
niścarati-wanders
manaḥ-mind
cañcalam-restless
asthiram-unsteady
niyamya-restraining
ātmani-in the Self
vaśam nayet-bring under control
Translation
Wherever the restless and unsteady mind wanders, one should bring it back and fix it under the control of the Self alone.
Commentary
This is the essential meditation technique: non-judgmental redirection. The mind will wander - Krishna accepts this as natural (cañcalam asthiram). The practice is simply to notice the wandering and gently return attention to the Self, again and again.
Themes
yogaatman