Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6: Dhyana Yoga — Summary, Key Verses & Meaning

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 — Dhyana Yoga (The Yoga of Meditation)

Practical guidance on meditation — the seat, the posture, moderation in food and sleep — and the assurance that no sincere effort is ever lost.

Chapter 6 · Dhyana Yoga (The Yoga of Meditation) · 47 verses

What happens in Chapter 6

Krishna describes the yogi who has mastered the mind: lift yourself by your own effort and do not let yourself sink, for the mind is both your friend and your enemy. He gives practical instructions — a clean, quiet place, a seat neither too high nor too low, the body and head held straight, the gaze steady — and stresses moderation: yoga is not for one who eats too much or too little, sleeps too much or too little.

Arjuna says honestly that the mind is restless, as hard to control as the wind. Krishna agrees, and gives the answer: practice (abhyasa) and detachment (vairagya). Arjuna then asks what happens to someone who fails in yoga. Krishna's reassurance is one of the most comforting passages of the Gita: no one who does good ever comes to a bad end; the effort continues in the next life.

Main themes

The mind as friend and enemy
How to sit for meditation
Moderation (yukta)
Abhyasa and vairagya
No sincere effort is wasted

Key verses

उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत्।
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः॥

uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ nātmānam avasādayet
ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ

6.5 — Lift yourself by your own self; do not let yourself sink. The self alone is your friend, and the self alone is your enemy.

युक्ताहारविहारस्य युक्तचेष्टस्य कर्मसु।
युक्तस्वप्नावबोधस्य योगो भवति दुःखहा॥

yuktāhāra-vihārasya yukta-ceṣṭasya karmasu
yukta-svapnāvabodhasya yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā

6.17 — For one who is moderate in eating and recreation, balanced in work, and regular in sleep and waking, yoga removes all sorrow.

असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम्।
अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते॥

asaṁśayaṁ mahā-bāho mano durnigrahaṁ calam
abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate

6.35 — Without doubt, mighty-armed one, the mind is restless and hard to control. But it is mastered by practice and by detachment.

For daily life

A few minutes of quiet sitting each day, regular sleep and moderate food are the Gita's own prescription for a calmer mind.

Sanskrit text: traditional (Gita Press numbering). English translation and explanation: MyPujaWorld.

Frequently asked questions

How many verses are in Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6?

Chapter 6, Dhyana Yoga, has 47 verses in the standard (Gita Press) text.

What is Chapter 6 of the Bhagavad Gita about?