Chapter 6, Verse 12
तत्रैकाग्रं मनः कृत्वा यतचित्तेन्द्रियक्रियः | उपविश्यासने युञ्ज्याद्योगमात्मविशुद्धये ||६-१२||
tatraikāgraṃ manaḥ kṛtvā yatacittendriyakriyaḥ . upaviśyāsane yuñjyādyogamātmaviśuddhaye ||6-12||
Meaning
6.12 There, having made the mind one-pointed, with the actions of the mind and the senses controlled, let him, seated on the seat, practise Yoga for the purification of the self.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
With the seat prepared, Krishna turns to the inner posture. The mind is to be made ekagra — one-pointed, gathered from its scattered wandering into a single focus. The restless activities of chitta (the thinking mind) and the indriyas (the senses) are reined in, no longer leaking attention outward toward a hundred objects.
The purpose given is precise and clarifying: atma-vishuddhaye — for the purification of the self. Meditation here is not pursued for powers, visions, or even bliss as a prize, but to cleanse the mind of its accumulated impurities — the cravings, agitations, and false identifications that cloud the inner light. A one-pointed mind acts like a polishing of the inner mirror. As the dust of distraction settles, the Self begins to shine through of its own accord. The aim is purity, and from purity, clear seeing follows.
💡 Key Takeaway
Gather your scattered mind into a single point — focused practice purifies the heart and clears the way to the Self.
Related Verses
यं संन्यासमिति प्राहुर्योगं तं विद्धि पाण्डव | न ह्यसंन्यस्तसङ्कल्पो योगी भवति कश्चन ||६-२||
yaṃ saṃnyāsamiti prāhuryogaṃ taṃ viddhi pāṇḍava . na hyasaṃnyastasaṅkalpo yogī bhavati kaścana ||6-2||
6.2 Do thou, O Arjuna, know Yoga to be that which they call renunciation; no one verily becomes a Yogi who has not renounced thoughts.
आरुरुक्षोर्मुनेर्योगं कर्म कारणमुच्यते | योगारूढस्य तस्यैव शमः कारणमुच्यते ||६-३||
ārurukṣormuneryogaṃ karma kāraṇamucyate . yogārūḍhasya tasyaiva śamaḥ kāraṇamucyate ||6-3||
6.3 For a sage who wishes to attain to Yoga, action is said to be the means; for the same sage who has attained to Yoga, inaction (iescence) is said to be the means.
बन्धुरात्मात्मनस्तस्य येनात्मैवात्मना जितः | अनात्मनस्तु शत्रुत्वे वर्तेतात्मैव शत्रुवत् ||६-६||
bandhurātmātmanastasya yenātmaivātmanā jitaḥ . anātmanastu śatrutve vartetātmaiva śatruvat ||6-6||
6.6 The Self is the friend of the self of him by whom the self has been conered by the Self, but to the unconered self, this Self stands in the position of an enemy, like an (external) foe.