Shloka

यतो यतो निश्चरति मनश्चञ्चलमस्थिरम् |
ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वशं नयेत् ||६-२६||

Transliteration

yato yato niścarati manaścañcalamasthiram .
tatastato niyamyaitadātmanyeva vaśaṃ nayet ||6-26||

Translations

Dr.S.Sankaranarayan

6.26. By whatever things the shaky and unsteady mind goes astray, from those things let him restrain it and bring it back to the control of the Self alone.

Shri Purohit Swami

6.26 When the volatile and wavering mind would wander, let him restrain it and bring it again to its allegiance to the Self.

Sri Abhinav Gupta

6.26 See Comment under 6.28

Sri Ramanuja

6.26 Wherever the mind, on account of its fickle and unsteady nature, wanders, because of its proclivity to sense-objects, he should, subduing the mind everywhere with effort, bring it under control in order to remain in the self alone by contemplating on the incomparable bliss therein.

Sri Shankaracharya

6.26 In the beginning, the yogi who is thus engaged in making the mind established in the Self, etat vasamnayet, should bring this (mind) under the subjugation; atmani eva, of the Self Itself; niyamya, by restraining; etat. it; tatah tatah, from all those causes whatever, viz sound etc.; yatah yatah, due to which, doe to whatever objects like sound etc.; the cancalam, restless, very restless; and therefore asthiram, unsteady; manah, mind; niscarati, wanders away, goes out due to its inherent defects. (It should be restrained) by ascertaining through discrimination those causes to be mere appearances, and with an attitude of detachment. Thus, through the power of practice of Yoga, the mind of the yogi merges in the Self Itself.

Swami Adidevananda

6.26 Wherever the fickle and unsteady mind wanders, he should subdue it then and there bring it back under the control of the self alone.

Swami Gambirananda

6.26 (The yogi) should bring (this mind) under the subjugation of the Self Itself, by restraining it from all those causes whatever due to which the restless, unsteady mind wanders away.

Swami Sivananda

6.26 From whatever cause the restless and unsteady mind wanders away, from that let him restrain it and bring it under the control of the Self alone.

Commentaries

Swami Sivananda

6.26 यतःयतः from whatever cause? निश्चरति wanders away? मनः mind? चञ्चलम् restless? अस्थिरम् unsteady? ततःततः from that? नियम्य having restrained? एतत् this? आत्मनि in the Self? एव alone? वशम् (under) control? नयेत् let (him) bring.Commentary In this verse the Lord gives the method to control the mind. Just as you drag the bull again and again to your house when it runs out? so also you will have to drag the mind to your point or centre or Lakshya again and again when it runs towards the external objects. If you give good cotton seed extract? sugar? plantains? etc.? to the bull? it will not turn away but will remain in your house. Even so if you make the mind taste the eternal bliss of the Self within little by little by the practice of concentration? it will gradually abide in the Self only and will not run towards the external objects of the senses. Sound and the other objects only make the mind restless and unsteady. By knowing the defects of the objects of sensual pleasure? by understanding their illusory nature? by the cultivation of discrimination between the Real and the unreal and also dispassion? and by making the mind understand the glory and the splendour of the Self you can wean the mind entirely away from sensual objects and fix it firmly on the Self.