Chapter 6Verse 34 of 47

Bhagavad Gita 6.34

चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद्दृढम् | तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम् ||

cañcalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthi balavad dṛḍham | tasyāhaṁ nigrahaṁ manye vāyor iva su-duṣkaram ||

Translation

For, O Kṛṣṇa! the mind is fickle, boisterous, strong, and obstinate; and I think that to restrain it is as difficult as to restrain the wind.

He names what he is up against. The mind is unstill, it stirs up everything it touches, it is strong, it is unyielding. And the image he reaches for is the wind. He thinks holding it down is at least that hard. Anyone who has tried to sit and meet his own mind for ten minutes knows the picture exactly. The breath of air that cannot be grabbed. The thought that arrives without anyone calling it. The plan that starts running while the eyes are still closed. Arjuna is not exaggerating for effect. He is reporting what the inside of his head feels like, and his report stands.

Reflection

When you sat last, what was the wind in your mind actually made of?

Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Six

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