Mind & Senses

Taming the restless mind and pulling senses inward — 96 verses, starred ones first.

1. 2.62 ★ Thinking → clinging → craving → anger. The chain of suffering begins in where you let your mind dwell.
2. 6.6 ★ Your own mind is your best friend when mastered; your worst enemy when not.
3. 6.19 ★ As a lamp in a windless place does not flicker — so is the mind of the yogi who practises the yoga of the Self.
4. 6.35 ★ Yes, the mind is restless and hard to restrain — but through abhyāsa and vairāgya, it is governed.
5. 8.7 ★ Therefore remember Me at all times and fight — mind and intellect fixed on Me, you will come to Me without doubt.
6. 9.34 ★ Fix mind on Me, be My devotee, worship Me, bow to Me — thus, with Me as supreme goal, you shall come to Me.
7. 18.65 ★ Mind-in-Me, devotee, worshiper, bow to Me — you will come to Me; truly I promise, you are dear to Me.
8. 1.28 ☆ Arjuna sees his own people ready to die — and his body breaks before his mind can argue.
9. 2.7 ☆ I am your student. My mind is bewildered about what is right. Teach me.
10. 6.8 ☆ Satisfied by knowledge and realisation, senses mastered, gold and mud equally seen — this is the true steadfast yogi.
11. 6.10 ☆ The yogi practises constantly in solitude — alone, mind and body subdued, free from craving and possessiveness.
12. 6.14 ☆ Peaceful, fearless, vowed to brahmacharya, mind on Krishna — yoked in practice, with the Supreme as the final goal.
13. 6.15 ☆ Practising thus always, with a controlled mind — the yogi reaches the supreme peace of nirvāṇa, abiding in the Supreme.
14. 6.18 ☆ When the completely controlled mind rests serenely in the Self alone, free from all desire-pull — that is called yoga.
15. 6.20 ☆ Where the mind ceases, stilled by yoga — where the Self sees itself and rests content in itself: this is samādhi.
16. 6.21 ☆ Boundless joy beyond the senses, grasped by the purified intellect — once known, one never moves from the Reality.
17. 6.23 ☆ Yoga is the disconnection from suffering — practise it with firm resolve and a mind that does not despond.
18. 6.24 ☆ Abandon all desires born of mental planning — without remainder — and restrain the senses completely, by the mind alone.
19. 6.26 ☆ Wherever the restless, unsteady mind wanders — from there and there, bring it back under the Self's control. Every time.
20. 6.27 ☆ Supreme bliss comes naturally to the yogi whose mind is fully at peace, passion quieted, stainless — Brahman-become.
21. 6.33 ☆ O Madhusūdana — I see no stable foundation for this yoga: the mind's restlessness defeats all steadiness.
22. 6.34 ☆ Restless, turbulent, strong, unyielding — O Krishna, restraining the mind is as hard as restraining the wind.
23. 6.37 ☆ O Krishna — the faithful yogi who fell short of yoga's perfection through wandering mind: what is their destination?
24. 7.1 ☆ With mind attached, practising yoga, taking refuge in Me — hear how you shall know Me fully, without doubt.
25. 7.4 ☆ Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect, ego — these eight are the divisions of My lower nature.
26. 7.18 ☆ Noble are all — but the jñānī I regard as My very Self; with united mind, resting in Me alone as the supreme goal.
27. 7.30 ☆ Those who know Me as Adhibhūta, Adhidaiva, and Adhiyajña — they know Me even at death, with unified minds.
28. 8.14 ☆ I am easily attained by the ever-steadfast yogi who constantly remembers Me daily with single-pointed mind.
29. 18.73 ☆ Destroyed is my delusion, memory restored by Your grace — I stand firm, free of doubt, and will do Your word.
30. 1.3 Duryodhana points to the enemy army and subtly reminds his teacher of a painful irony.
31. 1.23 Arjuna calls Duryodhana evil-minded — the last moment of moral clarity before grief clouds everything.
32. 1.30 He cannot stand. His mind spins. He sees only bad signs ahead.
33. 2.41 The resolved mind is one. The unresolved mind branches endlessly — and arrives nowhere.
34. 2.44 Minds absorbed in pleasure and power cannot settle into the resolute intelligence — they are carried away.
35. 2.52 When your mind crosses the fog of delusion, you'll outgrow both past teachings and future ones.
36. 2.53 When your mind — shaken by conflicting teachings — stands still in samādhi: that is yoga attained.
37. 2.58 Like a tortoise draws in its limbs, the wise one withdraws senses from objects. Wisdom stands firm.
38. 2.60 Even the striving wise man's mind is forcibly stolen by turbulent senses. This is honest — not shameful.
39. 2.61 Control all senses, sit in yoga focused on the Supreme — that one's wisdom stands unshakable.
40. 2.64 Move through the world with senses free from attraction and aversion — that clarity is the natural reward.
41. 2.65 In prasāda (inner clarity), all suffering falls away. The serene mind's wisdom becomes swiftly established.
42. 2.67 When mind follows the wandering senses, wisdom is carried away — like wind sweeps a ship off course.
43. 2.68 Therefore: completely withdraw the senses from their objects in all directions. That is established wisdom.
44. 3.6 Sitting still while the mind craves sense-objects is not discipline — the Gita calls it hypocrisy.
45. 3.30 Surrender all action to Me, mind on the Self, free from hope and possessiveness — then fight, free from fever.
46. 3.40 Desire operates at all three levels — senses, mind, intellect. It covers knowledge at each and deludes completely.
47. 3.41 Therefore: control the senses first. Then slay this sinful destroyer of both knowledge and direct wisdom.
48. 3.42 Senses < mind < intellect < Self. Know the hierarchy — the Self is highest, and from there desire can be defeated.
49. 4.21 No longing, controlled mind, no possessions — acting only through the body, one incurs no sin at all.
50. 4.23 For the liberated one — attachment gone, mind settled in knowledge, acting for yajna — all karma completely dissolves.
51. 4.26 Some offer the senses into restraint's fire. Others offer sense-objects into the senses' fire. Both are valid yajna.
52. 5.9 'I do nothing' — continued: speaking, releasing, grasping, blinking: senses move among sense-objects, not I.
53. 5.11 Yogis act with body, mind, intellect, and bare senses — abandoning attachment — solely for self-purification.
54. 5.19 Equanimous minds conquer birth here itself — Brahman is flawless and equal, thus they rest in Brahman.
55. 5.26 For those freed from desire and anger, with controlled minds, knowing the Self — brahma-nirvāṇa exists on all sides.
56. 5.28 With senses, mind and buddhi controlled, free of desire, fear and anger — the liberation-oriented muni is ever-free.
57. 6.12 There on the seat — mind made one-pointed, senses restrained — practise yoga for the purification of the self.
58. 6.25 Gradually, gradually — with patience gripping the intellect — settle the mind into the Self and think of nothing at all.
59. 6.38 Fallen from both worlds, without support — does the wandering yogi simply perish, like a torn cloud, O mighty-armed?
60. 8.8 Whoever meditates on the supreme divine Puruṣa with undivided mind — through practice-yoga — goes to Him.
61. 8.10 At the hour of death — mind fixed in yoga, devotion, prāṇa between the eyebrows — one attains the supreme divine Puruṣa.
62. 8.12 Close all nine gates, hold mind in heart, fix prāṇa in the head — the body's yoga posture for final departure.
63. 9.13 The mahātmās of divine nature worship Me with undivided mind, knowing Me as the immutable origin of all beings.
64. 10.6 The seven great sages and ancient Manus were born of My mind — from them arose all creatures in the world.
65. 10.9 Mind on Me, life surrendered to Me — awakening each other, always speaking of Me — they are content and rejoice.
66. 10.22 Among Vedas I am Sāma Veda; among gods, Indra; among senses, the mind; in living beings, consciousness.
67. 11.51 Beholding Your gentle human form, O Janārdana — now I am composed; my mind restored, I have come back to my own nature!
68. 12.2 Those who fix their mind in Me and worship with supreme śraddhā — these I consider the most perfectly yoked!
69. 12.4 Restraining the senses, equal-minded everywhere, devoted to the welfare of all beings — they also attain Me!
70. 12.5 The trouble of those whose minds cling to the Unmanifest is GREATER — that viewless path is very hard for the embodied!
71. 12.8 Fix your mind in Me alone, enter your intellect in Me — you shall dwell in Me hereafter, without doubt!
72. 12.9 If you can't fix the mind steadily in Me — through abhyāsa-yoga (repeated practice), aspire to reach Me!
73. 12.14 Ever-content, ever-yoked, self-controlled, firm in resolve, mind-intellect offered to Me — he is My dear devotee!
74. 12.19 Equal in blame and praise, silent, content with anything, homeless, steady-minded, devoted — that man is dear to Me!
75. 13.6 Five elements, ego, intellect, unmanifest — plus ten senses, mind, five sense-objects: the kṣetra enumerated.
76. 13.15 Brahman: seems to have all senses yet has none; unattached yet upholds all; nirguṇa yet the enjoyer of guṇas.
77. 14.8 Tamas — born of ignorance — deludes all beings and binds through carelessness, laziness, and sleep.
78. 14.10 Sattva, rajas, or tamas — each can become dominant over the others, alternating in every mind.
79. 14.22 The guṇātīta neither hates light, activity, or delusion when present — nor yearns for them when absent.
80. 14.23 Sitting as a neutral — unmoved by guṇas, knowing 'guṇas act' — firm, unshaken, the pure witness.
81. 15.2 Guṇa-fed branches spread everywhere; in the human world, karma-roots grow downward entangling further.
82. 15.3 The tree of saṃsāra has no graspable form, end, or origin — cut it with the firm axe of non-attachment.
83. 15.7 The jīva is an eternal fragment of Me — drawing the 6-sense apparatus (5 senses + mind) toward itself in Prakṛti.
84. 15.9 Presiding over ear, eye, touch, taste, smell and mind, the jīva experiences sense-objects — saṃsāra's basic mechanism.
85. 16.9 Holding that nihilistic view, ruined selves of limited mind and fierce action, they rise as enemies of the world.
86. 17.14 Bodily tapas: honouring Devas/dvija/guru/wise; purity, straightforwardness, brahmacarya, non-injury.
87. 17.17 Sāttvic tapas: the three-fold tapas practiced with supreme śraddhā, without fruit-desire, by the disciplined.
88. 18.19 Knowledge, action, and agent are each three-fold by guṇa-distinction — as declared in the guṇa-science. Hear them.
89. 18.33 Sāttvic dhṛti: unswerving through yoga, holds fast the activities of mind, prāṇa, and senses.
90. 18.35 Tāmasic dhṛti: the dull-witted one does not give up sleep, fear, grief, despondency, and pride.
91. 18.38 Rājasic sukha: arises from sense-object contact — nectar-like at first, poison-like at the end.
92. 18.57 Mentally offering all actions to Me, with Me as highest — resorting to buddhi-yoga, always be mind-in-Me.
93. 18.58 With mind in Me, by My grace you will cross all obstacles; but from egotism if you will not hear, you will perish.
94. 18.60 Bound by your svabhāva-born karma, what from delusion you don't wish to do — you will do even helplessly.
95. 18.67 This teaching is never to be given to the non-ascetic, non-devotee, non-service-minded, or one who criticizes Me.
96. 18.72 O Pārtha, was this heard with one-pointed mind? O Dhanañjaya, has the delusion of ignorance been completely destroyed?