Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan

Below 12.8 is12.9, practice Sadhan Bhakti to fix mind on Krishna

Bg 12.9

atha cittaṁ samādhātuṁ
na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram
abhyāsa-yogena tato
mām icchāptuṁ dhanañ-jaya

Synonyms: 

atha — if, therefore; cittam — mind; samādhātum — to fix; na — not; śaknoṣi — you are able; mayi — upon Me; sthiram — steadily; abhyāsa–yogena — by the practice of devotional service; tataḥ — then; mām — Me; icchā — desire; āptum — to get; dhanam–jaya — O winner of wealth, Arjuna.

Translation: 

My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develop a desire to attain Me.

Krishna is saying 

atha, if, 

cittaṁ samādhātuṁ na śaknoṣi, if however it is not possible for you to be satisfied of thinking of Krishna, if you cannot think of Me constantly, 

mayi sthiram, sthiram means steadily 

then abhyāsa-yogena tato, abhyāsa-yoga means practice yoga like we do chanting we try to fix the mind, the mind goes here and there but we bring it back, like mind may stray away (means go here and there) but let us not make it stay away. Like child goes here and there so mother gets them back gently but firmly. 

So similarly  abhyāsa-yogena tato, what will happen by abhyasa? 

mām icchāptuṁ dhanañ-jaya, Obtain the desire to attain Me. 

The word dhanañ-jaya is used because Arjuna conquered wealth but the supreme wealth is the attraction for Krishna. None of the wealth of this world can help us at the time of death. But the wealth of attraction to Krishna the wealth of remembrance to Krishna can take us back to the spiritual world where we will be eternally happy. 

Supreme wealth is the desire to attain Me. 

We have many desires but we don’t have desire to attain Krishna. Once we get that desire it is supreme perfection of life. 

We are dressed up as devotee and we perform devotional service but how strong is the desire to attain Krishna? Not very strong. But if we keep fixing mind on Krishna gradually at subconscious level we start seeing yes fixing mind on Krishna is so joyful and doing other things are so agitating so entangling let me try to fix mind on Krishna more and more. And then we move to next level.

End of transcription.