Chapter VI · Śloka 26
यतो यतो निश्चरति मनश्चञ्चलमस्थिरम् ।
ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वशं नयेत् ॥
ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वशं नयेत् ॥
yato yato niścarati
manaś cañcalam asthiram |
tatas tato niyamyaitad
ātmany eva vaśaṃ nayet ||
manaś cañcalam asthiram |
tatas tato niyamyaitad
ātmany eva vaśaṃ nayet ||
Wherever the restless, unsteady mind wanders, from each such place let one restrain it and bring it back under the sole control of the Self.
The practitioner should not be discouraged by the mind's habitual wandering but should calmly and repeatedly draw it back — this very act of return is the practice. Persistence in restraint gradually reduces the mind's volatility.