यतो यतो निश्चलति मनश्चंचलमस्थिरम् ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वशं नयेत्
yato yato niścalati manaś cañcalam asthiram tatas tato niyamyaitad ātmany eva vaśaṁ nayet
Synonyms
yataḥ—whatever; yataḥ—wherever; niścalati—verily agitated; manaḥ—the mind; cañcalam—flickering; asthiram—unsteady; tataḥ—from there; tataḥ—and thereafter; niyamya—regulating; etat—this; ātmani—in the self; eva—certainly; vaśam—control; nayet—must bring in..
Translation
From whatever and wherever the mind wanders due to its flickering and unsteady nature, one must certainly withdraw it and bring it back under the control of the Self.
Purport
The nature of the mind is flickering and unsteady. But a self-realized yogī has to control the mind; the mind should not control him. One who controls the mind (and therefore the senses as well) is called gosvāmī, or svāmī, and one who is controlled by the mind is called godāsa, or the servant of the senses. A gosvāmī knows the standard of sense happiness. In transcendental sense happiness, the senses are engaged in the service of Hṛṣīkeśa or the supreme owner of the senses-Kṛṣṇa. Serving Kṛṣṇa with purified senses is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the way of bringing the senses under full control. What is more, that is the highest perfection of yoga practice.