A core teaching · reflective in mood · a little context helps
“Craving scatters the mind before wisdom can settle.”
For those whose minds are carried away by pleasure and power, steadfast determination in meditation does not arise.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallyof those attached to enjoyment and power · by that · whose minds have been stolen · one-pointed, resolute · intellect · not
People who are pulled toward pleasure and power lose clear judgment. Their mind cannot settle into steady focus on the supreme reality.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Sankhya Yoga" (The Yoga of Knowledge).
Verse 44 sits in Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita — Sankhya Yoga, "The Yoga of Knowledge". The chapter has 72 verses in total.
A man spends every evening on share prices and plans for a bigger flat. Ask him what he wants from life and his mind skips away within a minute; that restless pull is what Krishna says blocks steady resolve.
Did you like this verse?
Minds carried off by pleasure and power never settle long enough to hold firm resolve.
What this verse means
People who are pulled toward pleasure and power lose clear judgment. Their mind cannot settle into steady focus on the supreme reality.
Context & commentary
Krishna explains, with Arjuna frozen before war, why some people never reach firm understanding: their minds are stolen by pleasure and power, so they cannot rest in steady insight. This verse names the inner obstruction before the next instruction.
What it looks like today
A man spends every evening on share prices and plans for a bigger flat. Ask him what he wants from life and his mind skips away within a minute; that restless pull is what Krishna says blocks steady resolve.
“Clarity returns when craving stops steering the mind.”
Explore related themes: attachment (20 verses)