यथा दीपो निवातस्थो नेङ्गते सोपमा स्मृता | योगिनो यतचित्तस्य युञ्जतो योगमात्मनः ||१९||
yathā dīpo nivātastho neṅgate sopamā smṛtā | yogino yatacittasya yuñjato yogam ātmanaḥ || 19 ||
As a lamp in a windless place does not flicker — so is the mind of the yogi who practises the yoga of the Self.
Word by word (3)
- yathā dīpaḥ nivāta-sthaḥ na iṅgate
- — as a lamp placed in a windless spot does not flicker · yathā = as, just as. dīpa = lamp (oil lamp in ancient context, tallow or ghee). nivāta = without wind (ni-vāta, wind-free). sthaḥ = placed. na iṅgate = does not flicker, does not waver (iṅg = to move, to stir). The lamp flame in a windless room burns perfectly still — not rigid (it is still a living flame) but undisturbed. This is the simile: alive but still, present but unmoved.
- sā upamā smṛtā
- — that is the comparison that has been remembered / handed down · upamā = comparison, simile. smṛtā = has been remembered, is traditionally known (from √smṛ, to remember — the same root as 'smṛti', remembered tradition). The phrase 'smṛtā' suggests this was a traditional, widely-known simile before the Gita used it. Krishna is citing a pre-existing teaching, giving it scriptural authority by including it here.
- yoginaḥ yata-cittasya yuñjataḥ yogam ātmanaḥ
- — of the yogi with controlled mind, practising yoga of the Self · yoginaḥ = of the yogi (genitive). yata-citta = with controlled mind (the same compound as V12's yatacittendriyakriyaḥ). yuñjataḥ = practising (present participle). ātmanaḥ = of/for the Self. The lamp simile applies specifically to the yogi who is actively practising (yuñjataḥ) — not the accomplished saint in permanent samādhi, but the practitioner in the midst of practice. The lamp flickers only when wind comes; it rests naturally still in calm. The yogi's mind is naturally still when practice conditions are maintained.
The traditional simile: a lamp placed in a room with no wind burns perfectly still — not because it is not alive (it is still a flame), but because nothing disturbs its environment. So the mind of the yogi in deep practice — alive, present, luminous — rests without flickering.
A modern analogy
Think of a concert violinist in the deepest moment of performance — completely absorbed in the music, the bow moving with perfect precision, every cell of awareness active but not scattered. There is no wind of distraction, no flickering of random thought — just the flame of pure, focused presence. That is V19's lamp. The flame is the most alive it has ever been precisely because it is undisturbed.
What it does NOT mean
V19 does NOT describe a dead, blank, or suppressed mind. The lamp is still burning — fully alive. What is absent is DISTURBANCE, not life. The yogi's mind in V19 is maximally alive and aware — just undisturbed.
Take with you
- The 'windless place' (nivāta) is why external environment matters: phones, notifications, noise, and social demands are winds. V11's śucau deśe (clean place), V10's rahasi (solitude) — these create the windless conditions.
- The lamp simile gives permission for a quality of practice that is alive and warm, not cold and forced. You are not trying to become stone — you are trying to become a still flame: present, warm, luminous, undisturbed.
- Notice when your mind flickers: what are the 'winds' in your life? Each wind is a source of disturbance that V10-17 is progressively removing.
V19 is one of the most celebrated similes in all of Indian philosophical literature. It appears at the precise point between the description of the practice (V10-17) and the description of the samādhi state (V20-23). The lamp simile bridges these two: it is not yet samādhi, but it is the immediate approach — the moment of deep practice just before absorption. The phrase 'smṛtā' (has been remembered, traditionally handed down) marks V19 as a citation of established wisdom rather than new teaching. Krishna is using the authority of the tradition to validate the description.
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya uses V19 to describe the state of nirvikalpaka dhyāna (non-differentiated meditation) — the mind resting in undifferentiated awareness, before the final collapse of subject-object distinction that is nirvikalpaka samādhi. The lamp is still a lamp (subject), the Self is still 'the Self' (object) — but the boundary between them is thinning. When the boundary dissolves completely, the lamp and the light are revealed as one.
Bhakti lens
For the bhakta, V19's lamp burns with the love of the Divine. The 'windless place' is the heart devoted entirely to Krishna — where no competing desire can disturb the devotion. The lamp is devotion itself: alive, warm, luminous, undisturbed.
Karma-Yoga lens
The karma yogi's mind in action, at its best, resembles V19's lamp: alive, fully present in the work, unmoved by outcome-anxiety or ego-performance. The athlete who describes being 'in the zone' — that is V19 in action, not in meditation. The still flame applies to any state of complete, absorbed, undisturbed engagement.
Modern parallels
The lamp simile maps precisely onto Daniel Goleman's concept of 'focused attention' in meditation — a mode of awareness that is stable, object-focused, and undisturbed by internal or external noise. Research shows that long-term meditators demonstrate exactly this: EEG studies show reduced neural 'flickering' (alpha wave instability) and increased sustained gamma wave activity — the neural signature of the V19 lamp-state.
Practice
Begin your session by visualising the lamp: a single flame in a windless room, burning perfectly still. Let this image settle your nervous system for 60 seconds. Then, when you shift to your practice object (breath, mantra), carry the quality of the lamp — alive but still. Each time you notice the mind flickering, return to the lamp-quality: 'I am the flame. I find my windless place.'
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
As a lamp standing in a windless place does not flicker — that is the famous simile for the yogi with controlled mind, practising yoga of the Self. [1]
As a lamp in a spot sheltered from the wind does not flicker — even such has been the simile used for a Yogi of subdued mind, practising concentration in the Self. [4]
As a lamp standing in a windless spot does not flicker — such is the comparison for a Yogi of controlled mind, who practises the Yoga of the Self. [5]
As a lamp in a place sheltered from the wind does not flicker — this has been declared to be the illustration of a Yogi whose mind is subdued and who practises mental concentration. [6]
'As a lamp burns sheltered from the wind, and does not flicker' — so the comparison runs for a Yogi of subdued thought who meditates upon the Soul. [7]
As a lamp in a sheltered spot does not flicker — that is the figure used for a Yogi of subdued mind who practises the Yoga of the Self. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
When the completely controlled mind rests serenely in the Self alone, free from all desire-pull — that is called yoga.
Where the mind ceases, stilled by yoga — where the Self sees itself and rests content in itself: this is samādhi.
Arjuna asks: what does the truly wise person look like? How do they speak, sit, and move?
Your own mind is your best friend when mastered; your worst enemy when not.
Satisfied by knowledge and realisation, senses mastered, gold and mud equally seen — this is the true steadfast yogi.
Wherever the restless, unsteady mind wanders — from there and there, bring it back under the Self's control. Every time.