2.67 — Give the mind a reliable direction

Sanskrit · Teaching film · Everyday practice

Speaker: Krishna, addressing Arjuna.

The shloka

इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन्मनोऽनुविधीयते ।
तदस्य हरति प्रज्ञां वायुर्नावमिवाम्भसि ॥ ६७ ॥

Brief meaning

A mind following wandering senses can have its discernment carried away, as a strong wind drives a boat across water.

In the conversation

Krishna links disciplined integration, contemplation, peace and happiness, and compares the wandering mind to a boat carried off by wind. The image explains vulnerability to distraction. It does not mean that thought must be forcibly silenced or that ordinary emotion makes a person spiritually worthless.

Everyday reflection

You intend to speak with a family member, but each notification pulls your attention away. Place the device out of reach for the conversation and make a simple agreement about the time you can give. When the mind wanders, return to the words being spoken. The boundary serves a relationship, rather than becoming a performance of self-control. What is the boat you are trying to steer today, and which manageable interruption is repeatedly taking it off course?

Consider today: Notice what repeatedly carries your attention away.