Sanskrit
यदा विनियतं चित्तमात्मन्येवावतिष्ठते । निःस्पृहः सर्वकामेभ्यो युक्त इत्युच्यते तदा ॥
yadā viniyataṃ cittam ātmany evāvatiṣṭhate niḥspṛhaḥ sarvakāmebhyo yukta ity ucyate tadā
Translation
When his subdued thought is fixed on the Self, free from longing after all desirable things, then it is said, "he is harmonised."
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
This restates the yogarudha condition from verse 4 — freedom from sankalpa, non-attachment — in the vocabulary of this section: subdued thought resting in the Self, free from desire. Verse 19 gives the chapter’s most memorable image for this exact state. Ātmany eva avatiṣṭhate — “stands still in the Self alone” — is the yoked state stated as a location: the mind has stopped going out.
Study deeper
Word by word
- yadā viniyataṃ cittamयदा विनियतं चित्तं
- when the disciplined mind (yadā + viniyatam + cittam)
- ātmany evāvatiṣṭhateआत्मन्य् एवावतिष्ठते
- rests in the Self alone (ātmani + eva + avatiṣṭhate)
- niḥspṛhaḥ sarvakāmebhyoनिःस्पृहः सर्वकामेभ्यो
- free of longing for all desires (niḥspṛhaḥ + sarva-kāmebhyaḥ)
- yukta ity ucyate tadāयुक्त इत्य् उच्यते तदा
- then he is called yoked (yuktaḥ + iti + ucyate + tadā)
Commentary
Site Commentary
This is the third time the chapter has described the same interior state in different words — non-attachment in verse 4, the friend/enemy resolution in verses 5-6, now “subdued thought fixed on the Self, free from longing.” The repetition isn’t padding; each pass adds a vocabulary the next image (verse 19’s lamp) needs in place before it can land.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
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Lessons
Personal
- If you keep circling back to describe the same personal insight in slightly different words, that's not repetition wasted — each new framing might be the one that finally makes the idea usable. Let yourself restate before expecting the idea to fully land.
Professional
- When explaining a hard concept to your team for the third time in different language, that's not a sign you're failing to communicate — different framings land for different people, and the repetition is often what makes the eventual click possible.
Family & Social
- If you've explained the same boundary or need to a family member multiple times in different words, don't read that as failure — sometimes it takes several framings before the same point actually registers, and that's a normal part of being heard.
Ask yourself
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