यतो यतो निश्चरति मनश्चञ्चलमस्थिरम् ।
ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वशं नयेत् ॥६- २६॥
yato yato niścarati manaścañcalamasthiram ।
tatastato niyamyaitadātmanyeva vaśaṃ nayet ॥6- 26॥
Wherever the unsteady mind moving to and fro arises, from that place having restrained this [mind], indeed, in the self, should lead one to tameness.
yatas yatas (adverb) (indeclinable) = wherever
niścarati (present tense, 3rd person, singular) = it arises
manas (neuter, nominative, singular) = mind
cañcalam (intensive verbal noun, neuter, nominative, singular) = moving to and fro
asthiram (neuter, nominative, singular) = unsteady
tatas tatas (adverb) (indeclinable) = from that place
niyamya (gerund) (indeclinable) = having restrained
etad (neuter, accusative, singular) = this
ātmani (masculine, locative, singular) = in the self
eva (adverb) (indeclinable) = indeed
vaśam (masculine, accusative, singular) = tameness
nayet (optative, 3rd person, singular) = should lead one
context - verse 25 esp line 3; atmasamsthammanahakrtva
ReplyDeletemind together with atma having made
or; having absorbed mind within atma..
with line4 na kimchid api chintayet
not anything whatsoever should be think of
or; let him think of nothing whatsoever..
the idea of v26 based on yatasyatas and tatastatas
correlates, to whencesoever and from whencesoever..
absorbed in atman, should mind or attention be
distracted from that state, thus be unsteady,
thereby wander to and fro,, the meditating yogi
should redirect attention [those mind aspects]
back to, from whence it has come, ie, to atma..
specifically here to the control and will of
atma..
translations possible are based on that context..
it is wrong to assume mind is 'unsteady' which
in western parlance indicates weakness or fault
of mind.. unsteady here means departure from
that steady state within atma..
mind when within atma is within turya, 4th state
of consciousness, or pure consciousness..
[which might be described as 'steady' etc]
when distracted and arising from or coming out of
that state, then there is lack of that steadiness..
it is the state which has been made unsteady..
mind wandering to and fro indicates mind has not
found or become involved with some idea or thought,
otherwise it would not wander to and fro..
'tameness' ie, under dominance of, to the will
and pleasure of, atma, does not mean such a
condition of atma or the self,, rather it is
the wandering to and fro, that is to be brought
under control of atma..
these verses are critical for understanding
real meditation, regardless of anyones line
of transmission or belief system etc...
context is everything for sanskrit meaning..
there are hints thru verses leading up to 24/5/6
as to critical words/ideas/concepts, which
is of course no accident in this special work..
namaste carl
of the self of atma