Sanskrit
यतो यतो निश्चरति मनश्चञ्चलमस्थिरम् । ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वशं नयेत् ॥
yato yato niścarati manaś cañcalam asthiram tatas tato niyamyaitad ātmany eva vaśaṃ nayet
Translation
As often as the wavering and unsteady mind goeth forth, so often reining it in, let him bring it under the control of the Self.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The most practical, least mystical instruction in the whole meditation section — an explicit acknowledgment that the mind will wander repeatedly, and the discipline isn’t preventing that but the repeated act of reining it back in (“from wherever… from there”). It’s the same instruction nearly every meditation teacher gives today, almost word for word.
Concepts