Bhagavad Gita — Dhyana Yoga, Shloka 33
Atma Samyama Yoga
अर्जुन उवाच । योऽयं योगस्त्वया प्रोक्तः साम्येन मधुसूदन एतस्याहं न पश्यामि चञ्चलत्वात्स्थितिं स्थि...
arjuna uvāca | yo 'yaṁ yogas tvayā proktaḥ sāmyena madhusūdana etasyāhaṁ na paśyāmi cañcalatvāt sthitiṁ sthirām ...
Arjuna said: O Madhusūdana, this yoga of equanimity taught by You—I do not see its steady continuance, because of the mind’s restlessness.
Arjuna said: O Madhusūdana, this yoga of equanimity taught by You—I do not see its steady continuance, because of restlessness (of the mind).
Arjuna said: This yoga you have described as equanimity, O Madhusūdana—I do not perceive for it a stable continuance, due to (the mind’s) fickleness.
The input verse is truncated; standard recensions complete the line with ‘sthitiṁ sthirām’ (‘firm stability’). The sense is consistent across editions: Arjuna raises a practical objection about mental instability.
FAQs
Arjuna articulates a common meditative problem: sustaining attention and emotional balance is difficult because the mind tends to fluctuate and seek novelty.
The verse is primarily methodological rather than metaphysical: it questions how an ideal state (equanimity) can be stably embodied given ordinary mental dynamics.
This initiates a key exchange in Chapter 6, prompting Krishna to explain discipline through practice and dispassion as remedies for instability.
It validates beginner difficulty in meditation and self-regulation, encouraging realistic, method-focused approaches rather than perfectionism.