Bhagavad Gita 6.12
तत्रैकाग्रं मनः कृत्वा यतचित्तेन्द्रियक्रियः | उपविश्यासने युञ्ज्याद्योगमात्मविशुद्धये ||
tatraikāgraṁ manaḥ kṛtvā yata-cittendriya-kriyaḥ | upaviśyāsane yuñjyād yogam ātma-viśuddhaye ||
Translation
and sitting on that seat, he should apply himself to devotion for the purification of the self, restraining his mind and the operations of his senses and making his mind one-pointed.
Reflection
If today's practice were only a washing of the bowl, what stain would you want lifted first?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Six
He sits. The mind, which has been scattering all day across a hundred half-finished things, is gathered to one point. The senses, which have been running out the windows, are pulled back inside. The purpose is named so the work does not lose its bearing: purification of the self. Not relaxation, not pleasant feeling, not even insight first. The first job is to wash. Every other gift the practice gives is downstream of this. The verse is calm about it, almost matter of fact, the tone of a teacher saying that the bowl has to be cleaned before anything good can be served in it.