Gita 06.18 – Self-control leads to real self-awareness

Audio Link: https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/gita-06-18-self-control-leads-to-real-self-awareness/

yadā viniyataṁ cittam
ātmany evāvatiṣṭhate
nispṛhaḥ sarva-kāmebhyo
yukta ity ucyate tadā (Bg 6.18)

Word-for-word:
yadā — when; viniyatam — particularly disciplined; cittam — the mind and its activities; ātmani — in the transcendence; eva — certainly; avatiṣṭhate — becomes situated; nispṛhaḥ — devoid of desire; sarva — for all kinds of; kāmebhyaḥ — material sense gratification; yuktaḥ — well situated in yoga; iti — thus; ucyate — is said to be; tadā — at that time.

Translation:
When the yogī, by practice of yoga, disciplines his mental activities and becomes situated in transcendence – devoid of all material desires – he is said to be well established in yoga.

Explanation:
yadā viniyataṁ cittam: When one’s consciousness is brought under control,
ātmany evāvatiṣṭhate: one becomes firmly established in the self,
niṣpṛhaḥ sarva-kāmebhyo: one becomes free from all kinds of desires.
yukta ity ucyate tadā: At that point, one is said to be truly well situated in yoga.

The word ‘yukta’ is used repeatedly throughout the Bhagavad-gītā. In the previous verse, we studied that one should be yukta. In this verse, Kṛṣṇa explains when one can truly be said to be yukta. Such a person is described as harmonized. Kṛṣṇa has used the same quarter verse—yukta ity ucyate tadā —in 6.8:
jñāna-vijñāna-tṛptātmā
kūṭa-stho vijitendriyaḥ
yukta ity ucyate yogī
sama-loṣṭrāśma-kāñcanaḥ

Though the wording is not exactly the same—yukta ity ucyate yogī in 6.8 and yukta ity ucyate tadā here—the meaning is largely similar. In 6.8, the emphasis is on how the yogī remains equipoised toward everything, and at that point, he is said to be yukta. In 6.18, however, the focus shifts to the cessation or termination of material existence—yadā viniyataṁ cittam.

Citta refers to the soul’s consciousness, which, being rooted through matter, wanders in various directions seeking pleasure in different ways. When this consciousness is brought under control (vinīyataṁ), one becomes situated in the self—ātmany evāvatiṣṭhate—essentially becoming self-aware.

The term ‘self-awareness’ is often used nowadays, but it usually refers to being conscious of one’s thoughts and actions—for instance, being aware of what one is thinking, doing, or even how and where one is sitting. This is certainly one level of self-awareness, and many of us are not fully attentive even at this stage. While such awareness is valuable, true self-awareness goes deeper.

It is not merely awareness of what we are doing at the bodily level, but awareness of who we truly are as the self. As long as we are entangled in material desires, we cannot be ātmany evāvatiṣṭhate, because those desires propel our consciousness outward, directing our awareness toward objects whose attainment seems to promise the fulfillment of our material longings.

For example, when a person desires a particular delicacy, their awareness becomes centered on that object—“When will I get a gulab jamun? How will it taste? How many will I have?” In this way, the mind’s focus moves outward to the sense object, and awareness no longer rests on the self. However, when one has given up all such desires (niṣpṛhaḥ sarva-kāmebhyo), one can remain properly situated in yoga—yukta ity ucyate tadā.

In this process, Kṛṣṇa emphasizes being firmly situated in a state of detachment from material entanglement. The previous verse explained that yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā—through the practice of yoga, one becomes free from misery.

It can be compared to a person afflicted by an infection in the body. As long as the infection persists, the person suffers from illness. When medication eliminates the infection, the person no longer experiences the discomfort of the disease and can be said to be in a state of health. Although health is an ongoing journey and can always be further improved, once the illness and its symptoms have disappeared—when the infection is cleared internally and the associated pain or discomfort is no longer felt externally—one can be said to be truly situated in health.

Similarly, Kṛṣṇa explains that material desires act like a disease, keeping the soul agitated with anxiety and craving for temporary material pleasures. When the soul is freed from this agitation and anxiety, its consciousness is no longer obsessed with material things. The soul then becomes free to focus on, contemplate, and relish the spiritual reality.

The aspect of relishing the spiritual reality will be discussed by Kṛṣṇa from verse 20 onwards, when He explains the stage of samādhi in yoga. In this verse, Kṛṣṇa primarily emphasizes the regulation of consciousness and being situated in the self—that is, cultivating self-awareness and freeing oneself from factors that disturb it.

Just as we silence a phone while concentrating on studying to maintain focus, desires act like irritating, distracting beeps that pull our attention away from what we truly want to do and what requires our full absorption. Similarly, maintaining focus on the practice of yoga, while renouncing material desires, allows us to direct our attention toward the higher spiritual purpose we seek to achieve. In this way, we can realize and relish being established in the higher spiritual reality.

There is also a symmetry in the words ‘yadā’ and ‘tadā’ in the verse. When the yogī brings the mind under control, becomes firmly situated in self-awareness, and overcomes the desires that disturb that awareness, then the yogī can truly be said to be well situated and properly engaged in yoga.

Thank you.