What the scriptures say about a restless mind

What do the scriptures say about a restless mind?

The texts call it cāñcalya (चाञ्चल्य). The mind that will not stay. Arjuna's own words: cañcalaṃ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa, as hard to hold as the wind. This is the inner state of cāñcalya, the restless mind. They set steadiness, letting go and discernment against it.

89 verses
6 stories
Weighs on the mind

Read the verses Find it on the map

Krishna

इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन्मनोऽनुविधीयते । तदस्य हरति प्रज्ञां वायुर्नावमिवाम्भसि ॥

indriyāṇāṃ hi caratāṃ yanmano’nuvidhīyate | tadasya harati prajñāṃ vāyurnāvamivāmbhasi ||

When the mind runs after the roving senses, it carries away one's understanding, as the wind carries a boat away on the water.

Bhagavad Gita 2.67

A restless mind in the texts' own words

Someone in the verse is in it, or the text names it outright. Many readers find their own day here.

Arjuna
चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद्दृढम् । तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम् ॥
cañcalaṃ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthi balavaddṛḍham | tasyāhaṃ nigrahaṃ manye vāyoriva suduṣkaram ||
For the mind is restless, Krishna, turbulent, powerful and stubborn. I think it is as hard to hold as the wind.
Bhagavad Gita 6.34
Arjuna says the mind is restless, stormy and stubborn. our reading
Bhartrihari
पातालमाविशसि यासि नभो विलङ्घ्य दिङ्मण्डलं भ्रमसि मानस चापलेन । भ्रान्त्यापि जातु विमलं कथमात्मनीनं न ब्रह्म संस्मरसि निर्वृतिमेषि येन ॥
pātālamāviśasi yāsi nabho vilaṅghya diṅmaṇḍalaṃ bhramasi mānasa cāpalena | bhrāntyāpi jātu vimalaṃ kathamātmanīnaṃ na brahma saṃsmarasi nirvṛtimeṣi yena ||
You plunge into the underworld, leap across the sky, wander round every direction, O mind, out of restlessness. Why do you never, even by mistake, remember that pure Brahman, your own Self, by which you would find peace?
Bhartrihari · Vairagya Shatakam
Depicts a mind that has been everywhere. our reading
Yudhishthira
किंस्विद्गुरुतरं भूमेः किंस्विदुच्चतरं च स्वात् / किंस्विच्छीघ्रतरं वायोः किंस्विद्बहुतरं तृणात् माता गुरुतरा भूमेः खात्पितोच्चतरस्तथा / मनः शीघ्रतरं वाताच्चिन्ता बहुतरी तृणात्
kiṃsvidgurutaraṃ bhūmeḥ kiṃsviduccataraṃ ca svāt / kiṃsvicchīghrataraṃ vāyoḥ kiṃsvidbahutaraṃ tṛṇāt mātā gurutarā bhūmeḥ khātpitoccatarastathā / manaḥ śīghrataraṃ vātāccintā bahutarī tṛṇāt
Yaksha: 'What is heavier than the earth? What is higher than the sky? What is faster than the wind? What is more numerous than blades of grass?' Yudhishthira: 'A mother is heavier than the earth; a father is higher than the sky; the mind is faster than the wind; worries are more numerous than blades of grass.'
Mahabharata · Vana Parva · Yaksha Prashna
Shows the mind outrunning the wind. our reading
Dhritarashtra asks; Vidura answers
नित्योद्विग्नमिदं सर्वं नित्योद्विग्रमिदं मनः / यत्तत्पदमनुद्विग्नं तन्मे वद महामते नान्यत्र विद्यातपसो नान्यत्रेन्द्रियनिग्रहात् / नान्यत्र लोभसन्त्यागाच्छान्तिं पश्यामि तेऽनघ
nityodvignamidaṃ sarvaṃ nityodvigramidaṃ manaḥ / yattatpadamanudvignaṃ tanme vada mahāmate nānyatra vidyātapaso nānyatrendriyanigrahāt / nānyatra lobhasantyāgācchāntiṃ paśyāmi te’nagha
Dhritarashtra: 'Everything is always unsettled, and this mind is always unsettled. Wise one, tell me of the state that is free from unrest.' Vidura: 'I see no peace for you apart from learning and discipline, apart from mastering the senses, apart from giving up greed.'
Mahabharata · Udyoga Parva · Vidura Niti
Surdas
मेरो मन अनत कहाँ सुख पावे । जैसे उड़ि जहाज को पच्छी, फिरि जहाज पर आये ॥
mero man anat kahāṁ sukh pāve | jaise uṛi jahāj ko pacchī, phiri jahāj par āye ||
Where else will my mind find happiness? Like the bird on a ship at sea that flies off and comes back to the ship again.
Sursagar vinay pada (Sur Vinay Patrika 300)
Shows the mind flies off and finds nowhere to land. our reading
Uddalaka Aruni
स यथा शकुनिः सूत्रेण प्रबद्धो दिशं दिशं पतित्वान्यत्रायतनमलब्ध्वा बन्धनमेवोपश्रयत एवमेव खलु सोम्य तन्मनो दिशं दिशं पतित्वान्यत्रायतनमलब्ध्वा प्राणमेवोपश्रयते प्राणबन्धनꣳ हि सोम्य मन इति ॥
sa yathā śakuniḥ sūtreṇa prabaddho diśaṃ diśaṃ patitvānyatrāyatanamalabdhvā bandhanamevopaśrayata evameva khalu somya tanmano diśaṃ diśaṃ patitvānyatrāyatanamalabdhvā prāṇamevopaśrayate prāṇabandhanaꣳ hi somya mana iti ||
As a bird tied by a string flies in every direction and, finding no resting place anywhere else, settles down at the very place it is tied, so, dear one, the mind flies in every direction and, finding no resting place anywhere else, settles down on the breath; for the mind is tied to the breath.
Chhandogya Upanishad 6.8.2
Shows a tethered bird flying every way and finding no perch. our reading
Nidagha
इतश्चेतश्च सुव्यग्रं व्यर्थमेवाभिधावति । मनो दूरतरं याति ग्रामे कौलेयको यथा ॥
itaścetaśca suvyagraṃ vyarthamevābhidhāvati | mano dūrataraṃ yāti grāme kauleyako yathā ||
The mind runs here and there, restless and pointless; it wanders far away, like a dog in a village.
Maha Upanishad 3.18
A seeker describes his own mind running everywhere for nothing. our reading
Nidagha
अप्यब्धिपानान्महतः सुमेरून्मूलनादपि । अपि वह्न्यशनाद्ब्रह्मन्विषमश्चित्तनिग्रहः ॥
apyabdhipānānmahataḥ sumerūnmūlanādapi | api vahnyaśanādbrahmanviṣamaścittanigrahaḥ ||
Harder than drinking up the ocean, harder than uprooting Mount Meru, harder even than swallowing fire, is the mastery of the mind.
Maha Upanishad 3.20
Depicts the speaker finding his mind harder than any feat. our reading
Krishna
इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन्मनोऽनुविधीयते । तदस्य हरति प्रज्ञां वायुर्नावमिवाम्भसि ॥
indriyāṇāṃ hi caratāṃ yanmano’nuvidhīyate | tadasya harati prajñāṃ vāyurnāvamivāmbhasi ||
When the mind runs after the roving senses, it carries away one's understanding, as the wind carries a boat away on the water.
Bhagavad Gita 2.67

What feeds it, step by step

Sequences the texts state outright, in their own order.

The mind is hard to hold, and can be trained

Bhagavad Gita 6.33-36; Bhagavad Gita 6.25-27

A restless mind
practice
Letting go
Steadiness
Peace
highest happiness

The mind is restless, strong, and stubborn, as hard to hold as the wind. Krishna agrees that by practice and letting go it is held. Little by little, with understanding held firm, the mind is brought back each time it wanders. To the one whose mind is calm, the highest happiness comes.

Arjuna
अर्जुन उवाच योऽयं योगस्त्वया प्रोक्तः साम्येन मधुसूदन । एतस्याहं न पश्यामि चञ्चलत्वात् स्थितिं स्थिराम् ॥
arjuna uvāca yo’yaṃ yogastvayā proktaḥ sāmyena madhusūdana | etasyāhaṃ na paśyāmi cañcalatvāt sthitiṃ sthirām ||
Arjuna said: This yoga of evenness that you have taught, Madhusudana, I do not see how it can last, because of restlessness.
Bhagavad Gita 6.33
Arjuna
चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद्दृढम् । तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम् ॥
cañcalaṃ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthi balavaddṛḍham | tasyāhaṃ nigrahaṃ manye vāyoriva suduṣkaram ||
For the mind is restless, Krishna, turbulent, powerful and stubborn. I think it is as hard to hold as the wind.
Bhagavad Gita 6.34
Krishna
श्री भगवानुवाच असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलं । अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते ॥
śrī bhagavānuvāca asaṃśayaṃ mahābāho mano durnigrahaṃ calaṃ | abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate ||
The Blessed Lord said: Undoubtedly, mighty-armed one, the mind is restless and hard to control. But it is held by practice and by detachment, Kaunteya.
Bhagavad Gita 6.35

The boat and the wind

Bhagavad Gita 2.60; Bhagavad Gita 2.67

wandering sense
A restless mind
loss of wisdom

A mind that follows a wandering sense has its wisdom carried off. As wind carries a boat on water, a striving, wise person is pulled this way.

Krishna
यततो ह्यपि कौन्तेय पुरुषस्य विपश्चितः । इन्द्रियाणि प्रमाथीनि हरन्ति प्रसभं मनः ॥
yatato hyapi kaunteya puruṣasya vipaścitaḥ | indriyāṇi pramāthīni haranti prasabhaṃ manaḥ ||
The turbulent senses forcibly carry away the mind even of a wise person who is striving, Arjuna.
Bhagavad Gita 2.60
Krishna
इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन्मनोऽनुविधीयते । तदस्य हरति प्रज्ञां वायुर्नावमिवाम्भसि ॥
indriyāṇāṃ hi caratāṃ yanmano’nuvidhīyate | tadasya harati prajñāṃ vāyurnāvamivāmbhasi ||
When the mind runs after the roving senses, it carries away one's understanding, as the wind carries a boat away on the water.
Bhagavad Gita 2.67

The chariot

Katha Upanishad 1.3.3-9

Self-knowledge
intellect
the mind
the senses
A restless mind
world cycle
Discernment
control of the senses
supreme state

The self is the rider, the body is the chariot, the intellect is the driver, the mind is the reins, and the senses are the horses. Without understanding and with the mind unyoked, the senses run like bad horses and the goal is missed. With understanding and a yoked mind, the senses obey and the journey's end is reached.

Yama
आत्मानँ रथितं विद्धि शरीरँ रथमेव तु । बुद्धिं तु सारथिं विद्धि मनः प्रग्रहमेव च ॥ इन्द्रियाणि हयानाहुर्विषयांस्तेषु गोचरान् । आत्मेन्द्रिय मनोयुक्त भोक्तेत्याहुर्मनीषिणः ॥
ātmānaṁ rathitaṃ viddhi śarīraṁ rathameva tu | buddhiṃ tu sārathiṃ viddhi manaḥ pragrahameva ca || indriyāṇi hayānāhurviṣayāṃsteṣu gocarān | ātmendriya manoyukta bhoktetyāhurmanīṣiṇaḥ ||
Know the self as the rider, the body as the chariot, the intellect as the charioteer and the mind as the reins. The senses, they say, are the horses, and the things of the world are the roads they run on.
Katha Upanishad 1.3.3-4
Yama
यस्त्वविज्ञानवान्भवत्ययुक्तेन मनसा सदा । तस्येन्द्रियाण्यवश्यानि दुष्टाश्वा इव सारथेः ॥ यस्तु विज्ञानवान्भवति युक्तेन मनसा सदा । तस्येन्द्रियाणि वश्यानि सदश्वा इव सारथेः ॥
yastvavijñānavānbhavatyayuktena manasā sadā | tasyendriyāṇyavaśyāni duṣṭāśvā iva sāratheḥ || yastu vijñānavānbhavati yuktena manasā sadā | tasyendriyāṇi vaśyāni sadaśvā iva sāratheḥ ||
For one who lacks understanding, whose mind is never held steady, the senses run out of control like a driver's wild horses. For one who has understanding, whose mind is always steady, the senses obey like good horses.
Katha Upanishad 1.3.5-6

The enemy and the illness

Mahabharata, Vana Parva (Yaksha Prashna)

Anger
Greed
Worry
A restless mind

Anger is the enemy hardest to defeat. Greed is the illness without end. The mind is faster than the wind. Worries outnumber the blades of grass.

Yudhishthira
कः शत्रुर्दुर्जयः पुंसां कश्चव्याधिरनन्तकः / कीदृशश्च स्मृतः साधुरसाधुः कीदृशः स्मृतः क्रोधः सुदुर्जयः शत्रुर्लोभोव्याधिरनन्तकः / सर्वभूतहितः साधुरसाधुर्निर्दयः स्मृतः
kaḥ śatrurdurjayaḥ puṃsāṃ kaścavyādhiranantakaḥ / kīdṛśaśca smṛtaḥ sādhurasādhuḥ kīdṛśaḥ smṛtaḥ krodhaḥ sudurjayaḥ śatrurlobhovyādhiranantakaḥ / sarvabhūtahitaḥ sādhurasādhurnirdayaḥ smṛtaḥ
Yaksha: 'Which enemy is hardest to conquer? Which disease has no end? Who is considered good, and who is not?' Yudhishthira: 'Anger is the enemy hardest to conquer; greed is the disease without end; one who wants the good of all beings is good; one without compassion is not.'
Mahabharata · Vana Parva · Yaksha Prashna
Yudhishthira
किंस्विद्गुरुतरं भूमेः किंस्विदुच्चतरं च स्वात् / किंस्विच्छीघ्रतरं वायोः किंस्विद्बहुतरं तृणात् माता गुरुतरा भूमेः खात्पितोच्चतरस्तथा / मनः शीघ्रतरं वाताच्चिन्ता बहुतरी तृणात्
kiṃsvidgurutaraṃ bhūmeḥ kiṃsviduccataraṃ ca svāt / kiṃsvicchīghrataraṃ vāyoḥ kiṃsvidbahutaraṃ tṛṇāt mātā gurutarā bhūmeḥ khātpitoccatarastathā / manaḥ śīghrataraṃ vātāccintā bahutarī tṛṇāt
Yaksha: 'What is heavier than the earth? What is higher than the sky? What is faster than the wind? What is more numerous than blades of grass?' Yudhishthira: 'A mother is heavier than the earth; a father is higher than the sky; the mind is faster than the wind; worries are more numerous than blades of grass.'
Mahabharata · Vana Parva · Yaksha Prashna

What heals it

What the texts set against it, and the verses that give footing.

Practiceabhyasa
Krishna's direct answer to Arjuna. stated in the text
Gita 6.35; 6.26; 12.9
Letting govairāgya
The second half of the same answer. stated in the text
Gita 6.35
Steadinessdhṛti
Little by little, with patience. stated in the text
Gita 6.25
Witness consciousnesssakshi
Let the monkey jump; wait and watch. stated in the text
Vivekananda Raja Yoga; Gita 14.23

Krishna
यतो यतो निश्चरति मनश्चञ्चलमस्थिरम् । ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वशं नयेत् ॥
yato yato niścarati manaścañcalamasthiram | tatastato niyamyaitadātmanyeva vaśaṃ nayet ||
Wherever the restless, unsteady mind wanders, from there one should draw it back and bring it under the control of the self.
Bhagavad Gita 6.26
Shows wandering is expected and the practice is only the returning. our reading
Krishna
श्री भगवानुवाच असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलं । अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते ॥
śrī bhagavānuvāca asaṃśayaṃ mahābāho mano durnigrahaṃ calaṃ | abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate ||
The Blessed Lord said: Undoubtedly, mighty-armed one, the mind is restless and hard to control. But it is held by practice and by detachment, Kaunteya.
Bhagavad Gita 6.35
The teacher names two things that hold the hard mind. our reading
Let the monkey jump as much as he can; you simply wait and watch.
Swami Vivekananda
Shows the monkey is allowed to jump and one's job is only to watch. our reading
Ashtavakra
यदि देहं पृथक् कृत्य चिति विश्राम्य तिष्ठसि । अधुनैव सुखी शान्तो बन्धमुक्तो भविष्यसि ॥
yadi dehaṃ pṛthak kṛtya citi viśrāmya tiṣṭhasi | adhunaiva sukhī śānto bandhamukto bhaviṣyasi ||
If you set the body apart and rest in awareness, then this very moment you will be happy, at peace and free of bondage.
Ashtavakra Gita 1.4
Shows resting in awareness offered as a place the restless mind can stop. our reading
Ashtavakra
मा सङ्कल्पविकल्पाभ्यां चित्तं क्षोभय चिन्मय । उपशाम्य सुखं तिष्ठ स्वात्मन्यानन्दविग्रहे ॥
mā saṅkalpavikalpābhyāṃ cittaṃ kṣobhaya cinmaya | upaśāmya sukhaṃ tiṣṭha svātmanyānandavigrahe ||
Do not stir your mind with yes and no, with plans and doubts. Be still, and rest happily in your own joyful Self.
Ashtavakra Gita 15.19
Shows sankalpa and vikalpa, the to and fro of the mind, are what is set down. our reading
Ashtavakra
न धावति जनाकीर्णं नारण्यमुपशान्तधीः । यथातथा यत्रतत्र सम एवावतिष्ठते ॥
na dhāvati janākīrṇaṃ nāraṇyamupaśāntadhīḥ | yathātathā yatratatra sama evāvatiṣṭhate ||
The calm mind does not run off to crowded places or to the forest. Whatever and wherever, it stays the same.
Ashtavakra Gita 18.100
Shows the urge to change place to feel better. our reading
Krishna
यदा संहरते चायं कूर्मोऽङ्गानीव सर्वशः । इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥
yadā saṃharate cāyaṃ kūrmo’ṅgānīva sarvaśaḥ | indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyastasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā ||
When, like a tortoise drawing in its limbs on every side, a person withdraws the senses from their objects, his wisdom is firmly set.
Bhagavad Gita 2.58
Shows a way to pull attention back from what scatters it. our reading
Bhartrihari
पातालमाविशसि यासि नभो विलङ्घ्य दिङ्मण्डलं भ्रमसि मानस चापलेन । भ्रान्त्यापि जातु विमलं कथमात्मनीनं न ब्रह्म संस्मरसि निर्वृतिमेषि येन ॥
pātālamāviśasi yāsi nabho vilaṅghya diṅmaṇḍalaṃ bhramasi mānasa cāpalena | bhrāntyāpi jātu vimalaṃ kathamātmanīnaṃ na brahma saṃsmarasi nirvṛtimeṣi yena ||
You plunge into the underworld, leap across the sky, wander round every direction, O mind, out of restlessness. Why do you never, even by mistake, remember that pure Brahman, your own Self, by which you would find peace?
Bhartrihari · Vairagya Shatakam
Locates rest in the one place it has not looked. our reading

Practices that grow letting go and steadiness

Verses that give something to do, today or in the hard moment.

Krishna
मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः । आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व भारत ॥
mātrāsparśāstu kaunteya śītoṣṇasukhaduḥkhadāḥ | āgamāpāyino’nityāstāṃstitikṣasva bhārata ||
Contact of the senses with their objects brings cold and heat, pleasure and pain. They come and go and do not last. Bear them patiently, Arjuna.
Bhagavad Gita 2.14
Bearing what passes without being moved. our reading
Krishna
यदा संहरते चायं कूर्मोऽङ्गानीव सर्वशः । इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥
yadā saṃharate cāyaṃ kūrmo’ṅgānīva sarvaśaḥ | indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyastasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā ||
When, like a tortoise drawing in its limbs on every side, a person withdraws the senses from their objects, his wisdom is firmly set.
Bhagavad Gita 2.58
Shows wisdom staying set when the senses are gathered. our reading
Krishna
शक्नोतीहैव यः सोढुं प्राक्शरीरविमोक्षणात् । कामक्रोधोद्भवं वेगं स युक्तः स सुखी नरः ॥
śaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṃ prākśarīravimokṣaṇāt | kāmakrodhodbhavaṃ vegaṃ sa yuktaḥ sa sukhī naraḥ ||
One who is able, here in this life, before leaving the body, to withstand the surge born of desire and anger, is disciplined; he is a happy person.
Bhagavad Gita 5.23
Cultivates the capacity to hold steady while the surge passes. our reading
Bhartrihari
प्रारभ्यते न खलु विघ्नभयेन नीचैः प्रारभ्य विघ्नविहता विरमन्ति मध्याः ॥ विघ्नैः पुनः पुनरपि प्रतिहन्यमानाः प्रारब्धमुत्तमगुणा न परित्यजन्ति ॥
prārabhyate na khalu vighnabhayena nīcaiḥ prārabhya vighnavihatā viramanti madhyāḥ || vighnaiḥ punaḥ punarapi pratihanyamānāḥ prārabdhamuttamaguṇā na parityajanti ||
The lowest do not begin at all, for fear of obstacles. The middling begin, but stop when obstacles strike. The best, struck by obstacles again and again, do not give up what they have begun.
Bhartrihari · Niti Shatakam
Shows persisting through repeated setbacks. our reading
Narada
भैषज्यमेतद्दुःखस्य यदेतन्नानुचिन्तयेत् / चिन्त्यमानं हि न व्येति भूयश्चापि प्रवर्धते दुःखोपघाते शारीरे मानसे चाप्युपस्थिते / यस्मिन्न शक्यते कर्तुं यत्नस्तन्नानुचिन्तयेत्
bhaiṣajyametadduḥkhasya yadetannānucintayet / cintyamānaṃ hi na vyeti bhūyaścāpi pravardhate duḥkhopaghāte śārīre mānase cāpyupasthite / yasminna śakyate kartuṃ yatnastannānucintayet
When pain of body or mind arrives and nothing can be done about it, do not keep thinking about it. Not dwelling on it is the medicine for sorrow; brooding does not make it leave, it only makes it grow.
Mahabharata · Shanti Parva · Bhishma, Mokshadharma
Shows withholding attention from the loop as the practice. our reading
Bhishma
विपन्ने च समारम्भे सन्तापं मा स्म वै कृथाः / घटेतैवं सदाऽऽत्मानं राज्ञामेष परो नयः
vipanne ca samārambhe santāpaṃ mā sma vai kṛthāḥ / ghaṭetaivaṃ sadā’’tmānaṃ rājñāmeṣa paro nayaḥ
If an undertaking fails, do not torment yourself over it. Keep applying yourself again and again; this is the highest rule for those who lead.
Mahabharata · Shanti Parva · Bhishma, Rajadharma
Shows keeping applying yourself. our reading
Dharmavyadha (the righteous meat-seller)
न च कामान्न संरम्भान्न द्वेषाद्धर्ममुत्सृजेत् / प्रिये नातिभृशं हृष्येदप्रिये न च संज्वरेत्
na ca kāmānna saṃrambhānna dveṣāddharmamutsṛjet / priye nātibhṛśaṃ hṛṣyedapriye na ca saṃjvaret
Never give up what is right out of desire, rage or hatred. Don't be overjoyed by what pleases you, nor burn with distress at what does not.
Mahabharata · Vana Parva · Vyadha Gita
Holding to dharma under pull is shown. our reading
Vasishtha
तात हृदयँ धीरजु धरहु करहु जो अवसर आजु। उठे भरत गुर बचन सुनि करन कहेउ सबु साजु ॥
tāt hṛdayaṁ dhīraju dharahu karahu jo avasar āju| uṭhe bharat gur bacan suni karan kaheu sabu sāju ||
"Child, keep courage in your heart, and do what this moment asks of you today." Hearing his teacher, Bharat rose and had everything made ready.
Ramcharitmanas · Ayodhya Kand
Shows courage held in the heart while the hands work. our reading

People who lived it

Someone in the scriptures went through this, and the story shows what turned.

From the Gita
Mastering the mind
Arjuna says the mind is restless, stormy and stubborn. Krishna agrees, and says practice and letting go can train it.
The mind is hard to hold, but practice and letting go train it.
From the Upanishads
The chariot of the self
Yama pictures a person as a chariot: the self is the rider, the body the chariot, the intellect the driver, the mind the reins and the senses the horses. With a steady mind the horses obey; without it they bolt. He ends with the call to arise and wake.
Hold the reins of your mind, or your senses will drive for you.
From the Upanishads
Shuka at Janaka's gate
Young Shuka, already wise, is sent by his father Vyasa to King Janaka. Janaka ignores him at the gate for seven days, then lets him wait in the courtyard seven more, then surrounds him with luxury for seven days. Shuka stays exactly the same throughout, and Janaka bows to him.
Steadiness is proved when neither neglect nor luxury moves you.
From the Ramayana
Sugriva's fear and Hanuman's first words
The exiled Sugriva sees two armed strangers and panics, sure his brother has sent assassins. Hanuman calms him and goes in disguise to find out. His speech to the brothers is so clear and gentle that Ram is moved and trusts him at once.
Fear jumps ahead of facts; calm, clear words build trust fast.

Is this where you are?

Write a line about today. Your words find their place on the map, with a verse for each.

Nearby on the map

See a restless mind on the whole map

Questions people ask

What is the Sanskrit word for a restless mind?

Cāñcalya (चाञ्चल्य). Restless mind, racing thoughts.

Which Bhagavad Gita verse speaks about a restless mind?

Bhagavad Gita 2.67: When the mind runs after the roving senses, it carries away one's understanding, as the wind carries a boat away on the water.

How do the scriptures say to overcome a restless mind?

They set steadiness, letting go and discernment against it. Krishna's direct answer to Arjuna. (Gita 6.35; 6.26; 12.9) The second half of the same answer. (Gita 6.35)

Verses, translations and stories come from the Wisdom library, read with the traditional commentaries. A line marked stated in the text is a link the verse or a named commentator makes; our reading is Wisdom's own reading of the verse.