Chapter 6, Verse 25
शनैः शनैरुपरमेद् बुद्ध्या धृतिगृहीतया | आत्मसंस्थं मनः कृत्वा न किञ्चिदपि चिन्तयेत् ||६-२५||
śanaiḥ śanairuparamed buddhyā dhṛtigṛhītayā . ātmasaṃsthaṃ manaḥ kṛtvā na kiñcidapi cintayet ||6-25||
Meaning
6.25 Little by little let him attain to ietude by the intellect held firmly; having made the mind establish itself in the Self, let him not think of anything.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna offers tender, realistic counsel on how the mind is actually stilled: shanaih shanaih — little by little, gradually. There is no violent shortcut. The mind cannot be forced into silence by sheer suppression; it must be coaxed to quiet through patient, repeated practice, guided by a buddhi — an intellect — held firm with dhriti, steady resolve. Each small withdrawal builds on the last.
The aim is to make the mind atma-samstha, established in the Self, and then 'not to think of anything at all.' This pointing toward thoughtless absorption is not a blank dullness but the supreme alertness in which the mind, having let go of every object, rests in pure being. The word shanaih shanaih is full of compassion for the struggling seeker. Krishna does not demand instant mastery; he asks only for gentle, persistent, intelligent effort, trusting that gradual practice will accomplish what force never could.
💡 Key Takeaway
Still the mind gradually and gently, with patient resolve, until it rests in the Self beyond all thought.
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.