September 6, 2026
ātha cittaṁ samādhātuṁ na śaknoṣi mayi sthiraṁ
abhyāsayogena tato mām icchā ’ptuṁ dhanaṁjaya (XII-9)
XII/9. If thou art unable to fix thy mind steadily on me, then,
by the yoga of constant practice, do thou seek to reach me, O Arjuna.
Swamiji's Commentary
A great truth was expressed in a simple manner in the previous verse: ‘If you place your mind and intellect in me, you will live in me’. We live where our mind is; life is governed by our scale of values, which in turn creates an inner world. A greedy man of insatiable desires finds his millions insufficient to give him happiness. A jealous minister of a great nation spends sleepless nights at the injustice that keeps him pinned to a position lower than the highest. These frustrations are not the fault of the outer world such people live in (the world in which they occupy enviable positions), but of the inner world of all- consuming desire. One who is able to create a stable inner world of spiritual values will live for ever in God. Your stable value must be remembrance of God, all the rest being added to your life as secondary adjuncts.
However, all are not privileged to enter this mansion of desirelessness and renunciation of false values. It is for a microscopic minority. The others are haunted by a perverse scale of values, their minds and intellects constantly wandering into the by-lanes of sense-enjoyment, material acquisition, and a competitive desire to have ‘more than my neighbour’. Krishna does not condemn them; he condemns none! He has to reach out to them. They have to be redeemed, to be saved from themselves.
In pleading tone, he says: “Please desire to attain me through abhyāsa yoga.” Mahatma Gandhi felt that abhyāsa yoga included all such practices as yoga āsana, prāṇāyāma, concentration, meditation, etc. The mind does wander; well, then, at least endeavour to contemplate the stable value of God several times a day. Gradually the intervals between these periods of contemplation will diminish and eventually vanish. Abhyāsa yoga is like knocking at the door: ‘Knock and it shall be opened unto you’. Then it will be possible for you to enter and rest in God.