Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 11
Avadhūta’s Further Teachers: Detachment, Solitude, One-Pointed Meditation, and the Lord as Āśraya
मन एकत्र संयुञ्ज्याज्जितश्वासो जितासन: । वैराग्याभ्यासयोगेन ध्रियमाणमतन्द्रित: ॥ ११ ॥
mana ekatra saṁyuñjyāj jita-śvāso jitāsanaḥ vairāgyābhyāsa-yogena dhriyamāṇam atandritaḥ
既已精熟坐式并调伏呼吸，当令其心专注于一处。以离欲之修与有规之瑜伽练习，不懈怠地令心安住稳固。
One should develop vairāgya, or detachment, by observing that all material things are doomed. Thus one should take to the regulated practice of yoga, which in this age means the process of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, the avadhūta brāhmaṇa is recommending bhakti-miśra aṣṭāṅga-yoga, or the eightfold mystic yoga process performed as an offering to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
FAQs
This verse teaches to fix the mind on one point and steady it through two supports—abhyāsa (consistent practice) and vairāgya (detachment)—along with disciplined breath and posture.
In the Uddhava-gītā, Kṛṣṇa prepares Uddhava for spiritual steadiness and renunciation; He presents the Avadhūta’s method to show how inner discipline leads to freedom from material distraction.
Practice daily focused sādhana (japa, reading, meditation) at a fixed time, and cultivate detachment by reducing avoidable distractions and cravings—so the mind learns to remain steady and purposeful.