Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 6: The Yoga of Self-Restraint

All 47 verses of Chapter 6 of the Bhagavad Gita in Sanskrit, with English translation, per-word meanings, and Adi Shankara's commentary.

• Verse 6.1 — He who, without depending on the fruits of action, performs his bounden duty, he is a…
• Verse 6.2 — Do thou, O Pāṇḍava, know Yoga to be that which they call renunciation; no one, verily…
• Verse 6.3 — For a devotee who wishes to attain to Yoga, action is said to be the means. For the same…
• Verse 6.4 — When a man, renouncing all thoughts, is not attached to sense-objects and actions, then…
• Verse 6.5 — Let a man raise himself by himself, let him not lower himself; for, he alone is the…
• Verse 6.6 — To him who has conquered himself by himself, his own self is the friend of himself, but…
• Verse 6.7 — The self-controlled and serene man's Supreme Self is steadfast in cold and heat, in…
• Verse 6.8 — The Yogin whose self is satisfied with knowledge and wisdom, who remains unshaken, who…
• Verse 6.9 — He is esteemed, who is of the same mind to the good-hearted, friends, foes, the…
• Verse 6.10 — Let the Yogin try constantly to keep the mind steady, remaining in seclusion, alone, with…
• Verse 6.11 — Having in a cleanly spot established a firm seat, neither too high nor too low, with…
• Verse 6.12 — Making the mind one-pointed, with the actions of the mind and the senses controlled, let…
• Verse 6.13 — Holding erect and still the body, head, and neck, firm, gazing on the tip of his nose…
• Verse 6.14 — Serene-minded, fearless, firm in the vow of godly life, having restrained the mind…
• Verse 6.15 — Thus always keeping the mind balanced, the Yogin, with the mind controlled, attains to…
• Verse 6.16 — Yoga is not possible for him who eats too much, nor for him who does not eat at all, nor…
• Verse 6.17 — To him whose food and recreation are moderate, whose exertion in actions is moderate…
• Verse 6.18 — When the well-restrained thought is established in the Self only, without longing for any…
• Verse 6.19 — 'As a lamp in a sheltered spot does not flicker' — this has been thought as the simile of…
• Verse 6.20 — When thought is quiescent, restrained by the practice of Yoga; when, seeing the Self by…
• Verse 6.21 — When he knows that Infinite Joy which, transcending the senses, can be grasped by reason…
• Verse 6.22 — When, having obtained it, he thinks no other acquisition superior to it; when, therein…
• Verse 6.23 — This severance from union with pain, be it known, is called union (Yoga). That Yoga must…
• Verse 6.24 — Abandoning without reserve all fancy-born desires, well-restraining all the senses from…
• Verse 6.25 — Little by little let him withdraw, by reason (buddhi) held in firmness; keeping the mind…
• Verse 6.26 — By whatever cause the wavering and unsteady mind wanders away, from that let him restrain…
• Verse 6.27 — Supreme Bliss verily comes to this Yogin, whose mind is quite tranquil, whose passion is…
• Verse 6.28 — Thus always keeping the self steadfast, the Yogin, freed from sins, attains with ease to…
• Verse 6.29 — The Self abiding in all beings, and all beings (abiding) in the Self, sees he whose self…
• Verse 6.30 — He who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, to him I vanish not, nor to Me does…
• Verse 6.31 — Whoso, intent on unity, worships Me who abide in all beings, that Yogin dwells in Me…
• Verse 6.32 — Whoso, by comparison with himself, sees the same everywhere, O Arjuna, be it pleasure or…
• Verse 6.33 — This Yoga in equanimity, taught by Thee, O Destroyer of Madhu — I see not its steady…
• Verse 6.34 — The mind verily, is, O Kṛṣṇa, restless, turbulent, strong and obstinate. Thereof the…
• Verse 6.35 — Doubtless, O mighty-armed, the mind is hard to restrain and restless; but by practice, O…
• Verse 6.36 — Yoga, methinks, is hard to attain for a man of uncontrolled self; but by him who (often)…
• Verse 6.37 — He who strives not, but who is possessed of faith, whose mind wanders away from Yoga —…
• Verse 6.38 — Having failed in both, does he not perish like a riven cloud, supportless, O…
• Verse 6.39 — This doubt of mine, O Kṛṣṇa, do Thou dispel completely; for none other than Thyself can…
• Verse 6.40 — O Pārtha, neither in this world nor in the next is there destruction for him; none…
• Verse 6.41 — Having attained to the worlds of the righteous, and having dwelt there for eternal years…
• Verse 6.42 — Else, he is born in a family of wise Yogins only. This, verily, a birth like this, is…
• Verse 6.43 — There he gains touch with the knowledge that was acquired in the former body and strives…
• Verse 6.44 — By that very former practice is he borne on, though unwilling. Even he who merely wishes…
• Verse 6.45 — Verily, a Yogin who strives with assiduity, purified from sins and perfected in the…
• Verse 6.46 — A Yogin is deemed superior to men of austerity, and superior to even men of knowledge; he…
• Verse 6.47 — Of all Yogins, whoso, full of faith, worships Me with his inner self abiding in Me, he is…