Sanskrit
प्रशान्तात्मा विगतभीर्ब्रह्मचारिव्रते स्थितः । मनः संयम्य मच्चित्तो युक्त आसीत मत्परः ॥
praśāntātmā vigatabhīr brahmacārivrate sthitaḥ manaḥ saṃyamya maccitto yukta āsīta matparaḥ
Translation
The self serene, fearless, firm in the vow of the Brahmachari, the mind controlled, thinking on Me, harmonised, let him sit aspiring after Me.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The instruction shifts from posture to object: the mind is to be fixed on Krishna specifically (mac-cittah, mat-parah — “Me”-minded, “Me”-devoted). This is the first point in the meditation sequence where the practice stops being generic self-discipline and becomes explicitly theistic, anticipating the devotional turn the Gita takes more fully from chapter 7 onward. Mac-citta, mat-para — the mind on Me, the aim being Me — is the same anchor BG 2.61 slipped in once; here it becomes the meditation’s actual object, and the seed of bhakti as a full path.
Study deeper
Word by word
- praśāntātmāप्रशान्तात्मा
- self serene (praśānta-ātmā)
- vigatabhīrविगतभीः
- fear gone (vigata-bhīḥ)
- brahmacārivrate sthitaḥब्रह्मचारिव्रते स्थितः
- firm in the vow of continence (brahmacāri-vrate + sthitaḥ)
- manaḥ saṃyamya maccittoमनः संयंय मच्चित्तो
- restraining the mind, thinking of Me (manaḥ + saṃyamya + mat-cittaḥ)
- yukta āsīta matparaḥयुक्त आसीत मत्परः
- let him sit yoked, intent on Me (yuktaḥ + āsīta + mat-paraḥ)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Every instruction up to this point has been about the practitioner’s own internal state — posture, gaze, restrained mind. This verse is the hinge: for the first time the object of focus is specified as something outside the self entirely. Self-discipline alone, the verse implies, needs somewhere to point once it’s achieved — an object, not just an emptied mind.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
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Lessons
Personal
- A quiet, disciplined mind is necessary but not sufficient — once you've settled it, give it something worth pointing at, whether that's a value, a person, or a purpose. Stillness without an object tends not to hold.
Professional
- Once you've built the discipline to focus deeply, don't leave that capacity aimless — direct it at something worth the investment, a mission or a craft you actually care about, rather than just admiring your own ability to concentrate.
Family & Social
- Building emotional steadiness in yourself is only half the work — once you have it, direct it toward the people who need your calm attention, rather than treating the steadiness itself as the finish line.
Ask yourself
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