Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6, Verse 33

English Translation

Arjuna said O Madhusudana (Krsna), this Yoga that has been spoken of by You as sameness, I do not see its steady continuance, owing to the restlessness (of the mind).

Detailed Commentary

6.33. Explanation—The Lord explained in the Gita that the mind should remain equanimous regarding the attainment and non-attainment of worldly things. Through this *samatā* (equanimity), human welfare is achieved. When Arjuna feared sin, the Lord said, 'Considering victory and defeat, gain and loss, pleasure and pain as equal, fight the battle, then you will incur no sin' (Gita 2.38). Just as many sins occur in the world, yet they do not affect us because our intellect is not *viṣama-buddhi* (unequal-minded) towards them, but *sama-buddhi* (equal-minded). Similarly, performing worldly actions with an equal intellect does not lead to bondage from *karma*. With this understanding, the Lord has stated that one who performs their duty without desire for the fruits of action is indeed a *sannyāsī* and a *yogī*. This perfection of renunciation of fruits, the Lord has called '*samatā*' (6.9). For the attainment of this *samatā*, the Lord described *Dhyāna Yoga* from the tenth to the thirty-second verse. Addressing this very point, Arjuna expresses his thoughts here. 'This *Yoga* which You have declared, based on equanimity'—Here, Arjuna refers to the practice of *Dhyāna*. Because the thirty-second verse pertains to a *siddha puruṣa* (perfected being) whose *samatā* is inherent. Here, 'yaḥ' (which) indicates this, and the term 'ayam' (this) points to the means of *Dhyāna Yoga* described from the tenth to the twenty-eighth verse. 'I do not perceive its lasting stability, due to restlessness'—By these words, Arjuna implies that it is easier to attain *samatā* through *Karma Yoga*, but in *Dhyāna Yoga*, due to the mind's restlessness (*chañcalatā*), attaining stability seems difficult. The implication is that until the mind's restlessness is eradicated, *Dhyāna Yoga* will not be perfected, and without perfected *Dhyāna Yoga*, *samatā* will not be achieved. Connection—Further on, Arjuna clarifies this by giving an example of the mind's restlessness.