Bhagavad Gita 12.9
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 9 of 20
अथ चित्तं समाधातुं न शक्नोषि मयि स्थिरम्।अभ्यासयोगेन ततो मामिच्छाप्तुं धनञ्जय ॥
atha cittaṃ samādhātuṃ na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram|abhyāsayogena tato māmicchāptuṃ dhanañjaya ||
If you can't fix the mind steadily in Me — through abhyāsa-yoga (repeated practice), aspire to reach Me!
Word by word (3)
- atha cittaṃ samādhātuṃ na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram
- — if, however, you are unable to place the mind steadily in Me · atha = now, if however (a conditional pivot — signals the first step down the staircase from V8's ideal; atha here means 'if it happens that...', acknowledging the real possibility of struggle). cittam = mind-stuff, the total mental field (citta from √cit = to know; citta is the total field of mental experience including manas, buddhi, and ahaṃkāra; broader than manas alone). samādhātum = to place completely/fully (infinitive of sam + ā + √dhā = to place completely; the sam prefix indicates totality and wholeness — samādhāna literally means 'complete placement'; it's the same root as samādhi = the deepest state of meditative absorption; to 'samādhātum the citta in Me' is to bring all mental activity to rest in Krishna). na śaknoṣi = you are not able (na = not; śaknoṣi = 2nd person singular of √śak = to be able, to have power; the combination acknowledges limitation without judgment — 'if you are NOT ABLE,' not 'if you REFUSE' or 'if you are lazy'). mayi sthiram = steadily in Me (sthiram = steady, firm, stable; from √sthā = to stand; sthira = that which stands firm; the adverb modifies the placing: not occasional or partial, but sthiram — continuously stable).
- abhyāsa-yogena tato māṃ icchāptum dhanañjaya
- — then aspire to reach Me through abhyāsa-yoga, O Dhanañjaya · abhyāsa = practice, repetition (from abhi + √as = to practice toward; abhyāsa = the repeated return to an object of attention; in Yoga-Sūtra 1.13, abhyāsa is defined as 'the effort to remain in the steady state' — the practice of keeping the mind at its chosen anchor and returning when it wanders; here it is the lower-intensity form of what V8 describes as full mind-in-Me). yogena = through the yoga of (instrumental; abhyāsa-yoga = the yoga that uses practice/repetition as its primary method). tato = then (from tat = that; tataḥ = from that, therefore, then; marks the consequence: THEN — once V8's ideal proves too steep — use this). māṃ icchāptum = to aspire to reach Me (māṃ = Me, accusative; icchāptum = from icchā = wish/aspiration + āptum = to reach/obtain; the compound means 'wish-to-reach' = 'aspire to attain'; the downgrade from V8 is notable: V8 said 'you shall dwell in Me' (certainty); V9 says 'aspire/seek to reach Me' — the goal is the same but the certainty of arrival is given more gently). dhanañjaya = O Dhanañjaya (winner of wealth = Arjuna's epithet from the Kuru wars; the address keeps the teaching intimate — this is practical counsel for THIS person).
- abhyāsa
- — repeated practice / the discipline of return · Abhyāsa is one of the twin pillars of yoga alongside vairāgya (dispassion) in Patañjali's Yoga-Sūtra (1.12: abhyāsa-vairāgyābhyāṃ tan-nirodhaḥ — through practice and dispassion comes the cessation of the mind's fluctuations). The Gita's abhyāsa is similar but theistic: the repeated return of the mind to Krishna when it wanders. It is NOT about forcing the mind to stay — that is impossible. It is about the faithful repetition of return. Every time the mind wanders (which it will), one gently returns to Krishna. The accumulation of these returns is abhyāsa-yoga. In 6.35, when Arjuna complains the mind is as hard to control as the wind, Krishna says: 'abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate — it is controlled through practice and dispassion.' So V9 actually refers back to that earlier teaching.
But if you cannot fix your mind steadily on Me, then seek to reach Me through the practice of repeated effort, O Dhanañjaya.
A modern analogy
Like learning an instrument: the ideal is to play fluently without thinking. But if you can't yet, you practice — deliberately, repeatedly, every day. You don't play the final piece on day one. You practice scales. Over time, the practice becomes fluency. Abhyāsa-yoga is the scales-practice of the spiritual life.
Sit with this: This verse prescribes abhyāsa (repeated practice) as the path when steady focus isn't possible. In your own life, what is the equivalent of 'returning the mind' when it wanders? Have you found a specific moment or trigger that works as your return-cue?
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
[V9 missing from SH indexed] [1]
If thou art unable to fix thy mind steadily on Me, then by Abhyasa-Yoga do thou seek to reach Me, O Dhananjaya. [4]
But if thy thought / Droops from such height; if thou be'st weak to set / Body and soul upon Me constantly, / Despair not! give Me lower service! seek / To reach Me, worshipping with steadfast will [7]
But if you are unable to fix your mind steadily on me, then, O Dhanañjaya! endeavour to obtain me by the abstraction of mind (resulting) from continuous meditation [9]
If thou beest unequal to even (this) continuous application, then let actions performed for me be thy highest aim. Even performing all thy acts for my sake, thou wilt obtain perfection. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Yes, the mind is restless and hard to restrain — but through abhyāsa and vairāgya, it is governed.
Whoever meditates on the supreme divine Puruṣa with undivided mind — through practice-yoga — goes to Him.
If even abhyāsa is beyond you — hold My work as supreme; performing actions for My sake, you will attain perfection!
Arjuna sees his own people ready to die — and his body breaks before his mind can argue.
I am your student. My mind is bewildered about what is right. Teach me.
Thinking → clinging → craving → anger. The chain of suffering begins in where you let your mind dwell.
Verse 9 of 20 · back to Chapter 12