Bhagavad Gita 6.18
Spoken by Krishna ☆ Key verse · Verse 18 of 47
यदा विनियतं चित्तमात्मन्येवावतिष्ठते | निःस्पृहः सर्वकामेभ्यो युक्त इत्युच्यते तदा ||१८||
yadā viniyataṃ cittam ātmany evāvatiṣṭhate | niḥspṛhaḥ sarvakāmebhyo yukta ityucyate tadā || 18 ||
When the completely controlled mind rests serenely in the Self alone, free from all desire-pull — that is called yoga.
Word by word (3)
- yadā viniyataṃ cittam ātmani eva avatiṣṭhate
- — when the completely controlled mind rests serenely in the Self alone · yadā = when. viniyata = completely controlled, thoroughly regulated (vi-ni-yata, triple prefix intensifying control). citta = mind-stuff. ātmani = in the Self. eva = alone, only. avatiṣṭhate = rests, stands, remains established (ava + √sthā = to stand still, to settle). The picture: after all the practice of V10-17, there comes a moment when the regulated mind simply rests — in the Self, only, without agitation or seeking.
- niḥspṛhaḥ sarvakāmebhyaḥ
- — without longing for all desires · niḥspṛha = without yearning (nis = without, spṛhā = longing, desire-pull). sarva-kāmebhyaḥ = from all desires. Not the forced suppression of desire (which leaves desires underground, not dissolved) — but the natural evaporation of desire-pull when the mind rests in the Self. Desires dissolve not because they are fought but because they are outshone. The Self is more satisfying than any object of desire.
- yukta iti ucyate tadā
- — then one is called yukta (yoked/in union) · The same formal declaration as V8: 'is called yukta.' V8 was the portrait; V18 is the process arriving at the same place. The moment the mind rests in the Self, free from all desire-pull — that is the moment of genuine yoga. Not a sustained achievement yet, but a verified arrival. When this moment becomes permanent, V15's nirvāṇa-peace is established.
When the mind — after all the practice — finally settles and rests in the Self alone, and the longing-pull of all desires has naturally evaporated, that moment is recognised as the genuine state of yoga (union). Not practice — arrival.
A modern analogy
Imagine you've been searching for your lost keys for an hour, increasingly anxious, looking everywhere. Then you find them. In that moment of finding, all the searching-mind (the anxiety, the movement, the longing to find) simply stops. This verse describes that moment — but the 'keys' are the Self, the 'finding' is the mind resting in what it was always looking for, and the 'anxiety' is all desire-pull.
What it does NOT mean
This verse does NOT mean desires are destroyed by willpower. Niḥspṛha (without longing) is the natural result of the mind resting in the Self — which is itself more satisfying than any desired object. You don't fight desire; you offer the mind something so satisfying that desire-pull simply ceases, the way hunger stops when you've eaten.
Take with you
- This is the goal-state described in process terms: the movement from practice to arrival. You can't force this state — you can only practise the conditions that lead to it (constant practice in solitude, the mind and body subdued, food and sleep and effort all regulated) and allow it.
- In meditation: there will be moments (maybe seconds) where the mind genuinely rests — not thinking about the breath, just resting. Notice those moments without grabbing at them. That noticing and not-grabbing IS this practice.
- Niḥspṛha (without longing) is the sign that the mind has found the Self. When you notice in a meditation that you're not longing for anything at all — that absence of longing is the verse's confirmation signal.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
When the completely controlled mind rests in the Self alone, free from longing for all desires — then one is called yukta. [1]
When the completely controlled mind rests serenely in the Self alone, free from longing after all desires, then is one called steadfast in the Self. [4]
When the controlled mind comes to rest within the Self, freed from all longing after desires — then is one said to be harmonised. [5]
When the mind, well controlled, is fixed upon the Self alone, without longing after desires, then is the man called concentrated. [6]
When the mind, quite dammed from wish and will, abides within the Self alone — then, careless of all else, they call that man Yoked. [7]
When the restrained mind remains fixed in the Self only, then is the man, without longing for all objects of desire, said to be in concentration. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Regulate food, recreation, effort and sleep — and yoga becomes the destroyer of all pain.
As a lamp in a windless place does not flicker — so is the mind of the yogi who practises the yoga of the Self.
Steady wisdom begins here: when all desires fall away and the Self finds fullness in itself alone.
When your mind — shaken by conflicting teachings — stands still in samādhi: that is yoga attained.
The yogi practises constantly in solitude — alone, mind and body subdued, free from craving and possessiveness.
For those freed from desire and anger, with controlled minds, knowing the Self — brahma-nirvāṇa exists on all sides.
Verse 18 of 47 · back to Chapter 6