A core teaching · grounding in mood · a little context helps
“Wisdom becomes steady only when the senses are no longer in charge.”
Having restrained all the senses, the disciplined one should sit devoted to Me. For one whose senses are under control, wisdom is firmly established.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallythose · all · having restrained · disciplined, aligned · should sit · devoted to Me · under control · indeed · whose · senses · of that one · wisdom · firmly established
Hold the senses in check and stay focused on the divine. When the senses are controlled, clear wisdom becomes steady.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Sankhya Yoga" (The Yoga of Knowledge).
Verse 61 sits in Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita — Sankhya Yoga, "The Yoga of Knowledge". The chapter has 72 verses in total.
A mother caring for a newborn has every sense pulled in a dozen directions at once. Five minutes each morning with her prayer, senses gathered in, keeps her judgment clear for the day.
Did you like this verse?
Restrain the senses and sit devoted to Krishna; wisdom becomes firm in the one who does.
What this verse means
Hold the senses in check and stay focused on the divine. When the senses are controlled, clear wisdom becomes steady.
Context & commentary
Krishna answers his confusion by pointing to inner discipline: control the senses, turn the mind toward the divine, and wisdom will stop wavering.
What it looks like today
A mother caring for a newborn has every sense pulled in a dozen directions at once. Five minutes each morning with her prayer, senses gathered in, keeps her judgment clear for the day.
“Self-control is not repression; it creates the inner steadiness needed for clear judgment.”