Chapter 6, Verse 19
यथा दीपो निवातस्थो नेङ्गते सोपमा स्मृता | योगिनो यतचित्तस्य युञ्जतो योगमात्मनः ||६-१९||
yathā dīpo nivātastho neṅgate sopamā smṛtā . yogino yatacittasya yuñjato yogamātmanaḥ ||6-19||
Meaning
6.19 As a lamp placed in a windless spot does not flicker to such is compared the Yogi of controlled mind, practising Yoga in the Self (or absorbed in the Yoga of the Self).
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna offers one of the Gita's most beloved and luminous images. A lamp set in a windless place burns perfectly still, its flame unwavering, casting a steady light. So too is the mind of the yogi whose chitta is controlled and who is absorbed in the yoga of the Self — utterly still, unflickering, radiant.
The metaphor reveals what meditation accomplishes. Ordinarily the mind is a flame buffeted by the winds of desire, fear, and sensory impression, never holding steady, its light scattered and trembling. But when those winds are stilled through practice, the same flame stands motionless and bright. The light was always there; only the wind disturbed it. This is the goal of all the discipline described in this chapter: not to create some new brilliance, but to shelter the mind's natural light from the gusts that make it shake. A steady inner flame illumines reality as it is.
💡 Key Takeaway
A disciplined mind grows as steady as a lamp flame in a windless place — unwavering, clear, and bright.
Related Verses
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.
योगी युञ्जीत सततमात्मानं रहसि स्थितः | एकाकी यतचित्तात्मा निराशीरपरिग्रहः ||६-१०||
yogī yuñjīta satatamātmānaṃ rahasi sthitaḥ . ekākī yatacittātmā nirāśīraparigrahaḥ ||6-10||
6.10 Let the Yogi try constantly to keep the mind steady, remaining in solitude, alone, with the mind and the body controlled, and free from hope and covetousness.