Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 12, Verse 9

अथ चित्तं समाधातुं न शक्नोषि मयि स्थिरम् । अभ्यासयोगेन ततो मामिच्छाप्तुं धनञ्जय

atha cittaṃ samādhātuṃ na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram | abhyāsayogena tato māmicchāptuṃ dhanañjaya

Translation

If thou art unable to fix thy thought steadily on Me, then by Yoga of constant practice do thou seek to reach Me, O Dhanañjaya.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

atha

now

cittam

the mind

samādhātum

to fix

na

not

śaknoṣi

canst

mayi

in me

sthiram

firmly

abhyāsayogena

of practice, by the yoga

tataḥ

then

mām

me

icchā

wish

āptum

to obtain

dhanañjaya

O Dhanañjaya

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

If you cannot fix your thought on Me steadily in the manner I have mentioned, then seek thou to reach Me in the Universal Form, by yoga of constant practice (abhyāsa-yoga). Practice (abhyāsa) consists in withdrawing thought from all quarters and fixing it again and again on one particular object. 'Abhyāsa-yoga' means samādhāna or steadfastness of mind acquired by such practice.