TeachmysoulBlog · 7 min read
Mental wellbeing · Guide
How to Control the Mind: Bhagavad Gita's Two-Part Method
Arjuna, one of the greatest warriors of his age, admits something most of us feel but rarely say out loud: the mind is restless, turbulent, and stubborn, and trying to hold it steady feels like trying to grip the wind. If a hero on a battlefield struggles with a wandering mind, your 2 a.m. spiral of worries is not a personal failure. It is just what an untrained mind does.
The Bhagavad Gita does not tell you to force the mind quiet or shame it into silence. Instead Krishna gives Arjuna a surprisingly modern answer built on two moves: steady practice and letting go. Below are the actual verses, in plain English, plus small things you can do today to put them to work.
1. Gita 6.34, Chapter 6 · Dhyana Yoga
chanchalam hi manah krishna pramathi balavad dridham
“Arjuna says: the mind is truly restless, turbulent, strong, and unyielding. Controlling it seems as hard as controlling the wind.”
What it means today. Notice that this is Arjuna talking, not a beginner. Naming the problem honestly is the first step, so drop the idea that a calm person never has a busy mind. When your thoughts race, try saying to yourself, 'This is just the mind being the mind,' and you take away half its power to distress you.
2. Gita 6.35, Chapter 6 · Dhyana Yoga
abhyasena tu kaunteya vairagyena cha grihyate
“Krishna replies: without doubt the mind is hard to restrain and restless, but it can be controlled by steady practice and by dispassion.”
What it means today. This is the heart of the whole teaching. Abhyasa means showing up again and again, and vairagya means loosening your grip on outcomes you cannot control. You do not need a breakthrough, you need repetition plus a little detachment. Pick one two-minute practice, like watching your breath, and do it daily even when it feels pointless.
3. Gita 6.26, Chapter 6 · Dhyana Yoga
yato yato nishcharati manash chanchalam asthiram
“Wherever the restless, unsteady mind wanders off, gently draw it back under the control of the Self.”
What it means today. Krishna does not say keep the mind from wandering, he says bring it back when it does. The whole skill is the returning, not the staying. Each time you catch your mind drifting during meditation, work, or a conversation, that noticing is a rep. Return without scolding yourself, a hundred times if needed.
4. Gita 2.62-63, Chapter 2 · Sankhya Yoga
dhyayato vishayan pumsah sangas teshupajayate
“Dwelling on objects of the senses breeds attachment, attachment breeds craving, craving breeds anger, and from anger comes confusion, lost memory, and a ruined mind.”
What it means today. This maps the exact chain reaction of a spiral, and it starts small, with just dwelling. The escape point is early, at the dwelling stage, long before anger. When you catch yourself replaying a craving or a grievance on loop, interrupt the loop at the start by physically changing your input: stand up, take three slow breaths, or step outside.
5. Gita 2.14, Chapter 2 · Sankhya Yoga
matra-sparshas tu kaunteya shitoshna-sukha-duhkha-dah
“Contact with the world brings heat and cold, pleasure and pain. These come and go, they are impermanent, so learn to endure them, Arjuna.”
What it means today. A restless mind treats every uncomfortable feeling as an emergency demanding action right now. This verse trains dispassion by reminding you the feeling will pass on its own. Next time anxiety or a strong urge hits, set a timer for ten minutes and simply let the sensation be there without reacting. It almost always softens.
6. Gita 6.5, Chapter 6 · Dhyana Yoga
uddhared atmanatmanam natmanam avasadayet
“Lift yourself up by your own effort, and do not drag yourself down. For the mind alone is your friend, and the mind alone is your enemy.”
What it means today. The same mind that torments you can become your ally, and which one it is depends on how you train it. This is empowering, not preachy: no one is coming to fix your mind for you, and no one can. Treat mind training like tending a friendship, with patient, consistent, kind attention rather than harsh force.
The two wings: practice and dispassion
Think of practice and dispassion as two wings of the same bird. Practice alone, without letting go, turns into white-knuckle striving that burns you out. Dispassion alone, without practice, becomes a nice idea you never actually live. You need both to fly.
Practice, or abhyasa, is simply returning to your chosen anchor again and again. It could be the breath, a mantra, a single verse, or the felt sensation of your feet on the floor. What matters is not the length of the session but the consistency. Two minutes every day beats an hour once a month.
Dispassion, or vairagya, is often misunderstood as coldness or not caring. It is not. It is caring deeply about your effort while loosening your grip on the result, which you never fully controlled anyway. When you stop demanding that a meditation feel peaceful or that a worry resolve on your timeline, the mind has far less to fight about.
A simple daily routine to start
Morning, two minutes: sit, close your eyes, and follow your breath. Every time the mind wanders, gently bring it back, as in verse 6.26. That returning is the entire exercise.
Midday, one catch: once during the day, notice the desire-to-anger chain from 2.62 starting up, a craving replayed or a grievance chewed over, and interrupt it early with three slow breaths.
Evening, one verse: read a single Gita verse and sit with it for a minute. Over time you are doing exactly what Krishna prescribes, replacing restless input with steadier input, one small deposit at a time.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Bhagavad Gita say is the best way to control the mind?
In verse 6.35 Krishna gives a two-part method: abhyasa (steady, repeated practice) and vairagya (dispassion or letting go). The mind is controlled not by force or suppression but by consistently returning to a chosen anchor while loosening your grip on outcomes you cannot control.
Which chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is about controlling the mind?
Chapter 6, Dhyana Yoga (the Yoga of Meditation), is the central chapter on this topic. It includes Arjuna admitting the mind is as hard to control as the wind (6.34), Krishna's answer of practice and dispassion (6.35), the instruction to gently bring the mind back whenever it wanders (6.26), and the idea that the mind can be your best friend or worst enemy (6.5-6).
Does the Gita say to suppress or silence the mind?
No. The Gita's approach is training, not suppression. Verse 6.26 says to gently draw the mind back each time it wanders, which assumes it will wander. The goal is a patient, repeated return, not forcing a permanent blank silence, which usually backfires and creates more tension.
How long does it take to control the mind using these teachings?
The Gita frames it as a gradual practice, not a one-time achievement. In 6.35 Krishna acknowledges the mind is genuinely hard to restrain, and the emphasis on repeated practice implies it takes time. The encouraging part is that progress comes from small, daily consistency rather than rare, dramatic effort.
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