Bhagavad Gita 6.20
Spoken by Krishna ☆ Key verse · Verse 20 of 47
यत्रोपरमते चित्तं निरुद्धं योगसेवया | यत्र चैवात्मनात्मानं पश्यन्नात्मनि तुष्यति ||२०||
yatroparamate cittaṃ niruddhaṃ yogasevayā | yatra caivātmanātmānaṃ paśyann ātmani tuṣyati || 20 ||
Where the mind ceases, stilled by yoga — where the Self sees itself and rests content in itself: this is samādhi.
Word by word (3)
- yatra uparamate cittaṃ niruddhaṃ yoga-sevayā
- — where the mind ceases (its activity), restrained by the practice of yoga · yatra = where (the state in which). uparamate = comes to rest, ceases (upa + √ram, to stop, to be still — also implies delight in the stopping). cittaṃ = mind-stuff. niruddha = fully restrained, held back (from ni + √rudh — the same root as Patañjali's 'nirodha' in Yoga Sūtra 1.2). yoga-sevayā = by the practice/service of yoga (sevā = dedicated practice, service).
- yatra ca eva ātmanā ātmānaṃ paśyan
- — and where, seeing the Self by the Self · ātmanā = by the Self (instrumental case). ātmānaṃ = the Self (accusative). paśyan = seeing (present participle). The profound phrase: the Self is seen BY the Self. Not by any external instrument — not the senses, not the intellect functioning as a separate observer — but by the Self directly knowing itself. This is the Advaita svarūpa-darśana: consciousness becoming transparent to itself, subject and object collapsing.
- ātmani tuṣyati
- — is content/satisfied in the Self · tuṣyati = is satisfied, is content (from √tuṣ, to be satisfied). ātmani = in the Self. The culminating phrase: in the state of the Self seeing the Self, there is contentment — not ecstasy, not dramatic experience, but a deep, stable satisfaction that needs nothing added. This is the Gita's clearest description of ātmānanda (the bliss of the Self) — and it is described as contentment, not excitement.
When the mind comes to rest, reined in by the practice of yoga; and when, beholding the Self by the self, he is content within the Self —
A modern analogy
Imagine spending your whole life searching for home — moving from city to city, relationship to relationship, achievement to achievement, never quite feeling at home. Then one day you stop moving. And in that stopping, you recognise: home is what you are carrying with you everywhere. The Self is home. This verse's contentment is that recognition. The searching was always looking in the wrong direction.
What it does NOT mean
This contentment is NOT the contentment of pleasure-satisfaction (where you got what you wanted). It is the contentment of the mirror fully reflecting itself — where there is nothing to long for because you have discovered that you ARE what you were longing for.
Take with you
- This verse describes the state AFTER the long arc of practice — from solitary discipline all the way to the lamp burning steady in a windless place — has done its work. You cannot rush here. But knowing what the destination looks like (contentment, not ecstasy; ceasing, not achievement) prevents misidentifying lesser states.
- The phrase 'ātmanā ātmānaṃ paśyan' (Self seeing Self) is the key marker. In ordinary states, there is always a seer and a seen. Here, this duality collapses. When in meditation you notice that the watcher and the watched have become one field — that is the approach to this state.
- Tuṣyati (contentment in the Self) is the practical test: after a genuinely deep practice session, there is a quality of completion — nothing to add, nothing to seek. That quality, however brief, is this verse touching your experience.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
Where the mind, restrained by yoga-practice, comes to cessation — where seeing the Self by the Self, one is satisfied in the Self. [1]
Where the mind, restrained by the practice of Yoga, attains quietude — where seeing the Self by the Self, one is satisfied in the Self. [4]
Where the mind, restrained by the practice of Yoga, finds rest; where, seeing the Self by the Self, one is content in the Self. [5]
Where the mind quitted from the practice of Yoga finds rest, and where contemplating the Self, by the Self, one is satisfied in the Self. [6]
When mind broods placid, soothed with holy wont — when Self contemplates self, and in itself hath comfort. [7]
When the mind, checked by the practice of concentration, becomes quiescent; when, seeing the Self by the Self, one is satisfied in one's own Self. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
As a lamp in a windless place does not flicker — so is the mind of the yogi who practises the yoga of the Self.
Boundless joy beyond the senses, grasped by the purified intellect — once known, one never moves from the Reality.
Steady wisdom begins here: when all desires fall away and the Self finds fullness in itself alone.
Your own mind is your best friend when mastered; your worst enemy when not.
The self-conquered yogi finds the Supreme Self equally present through cold, heat, joy, pain, honour and dishonour.
Satisfied by knowledge and realisation, senses mastered, gold and mud equally seen — this is the true steadfast yogi.
Verse 20 of 47 · back to Chapter 6