A mind that follows the senses is a boat in the wind

Where we are

In the previous reading Krishna traced the slide from dwelling on something down to anger and ruin, then pointed to the other path: moving among the same things with the senses in hand, which brings prasāda, a clear calm. Now he says what that calm does, gives one of the Gita's best-known images, a boat in the wind, and closes his portrait of the person of steady wisdom.

The verses

1. 2.65

   Once that clear calm arrives, every sorrow falls away. And when the mind is clear like this, understanding quickly settles and holds steady.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.65

   प्रसादे सर्वदुःखानां हानिरस्योपजायते ।
   प्रसन्नचेतसो ह्याशु बुद्धिः पर्यवतिष्ठते ॥ ६५ ॥

   Hear it

   prasāde sarvaduḥkhānāṃ hānir asyopajāyate
   prasannacetaso hy āśu buddhiḥ paryavatiṣṭhate

   Say it

   pruh-saa-day sur-vuh-doo-khaa-naam haa-nir uh-syo-puh-jaa-yuh-tay
   pruh-sun-nuh-chay-tuh-so hyaa-shoo bood-dhih pur-yuh-vuh-tish-thuh-tay

   Word by word

   prasāde

   in that clarity and calm

   sarva-duḥkhānām hāniḥ

   the end of all sorrows

   asya upajāyate

   comes about for him

   prasanna-cetasaḥ

   of one whose mind is clear

   hi āśu

   indeed, quickly

   buddhiḥ paryavatiṣṭhate

   understanding settles and becomes steady

2. 2.66

   A scattered mind has no steady understanding and no inner focus. Without focus there is no peace, and without peace, where could happiness come from?

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.66

   नास्ति बुद्धिरयुक्तस्य न चायुक्तस्य भावना ।
   न चाभावयतः शान्तिरशान्तस्य कुतः सुखम् ॥ ६६ ॥

   Hear it

   nāsti buddhir ayuktasya na cāyuktasya bhāvanā
   na cābhāvayataḥ śāntir aśāntasya kutaḥ sukham

   Say it

   naas-ti bood-dhir uh-yook-tuh-syuh nuh chaa-yook-tuh-syuh bhaa-vuh-naa
   nuh chaa-bhaa-vuh-yuh-tuh shaan-tir uh-shaan-tuh-syuh koo-tuh soo-khum

   Word by word

   na asti buddhiḥ

   there is no (steady) understanding

   ayuktasya

   for one who is undisciplined, not collected

   na ca bhāvanā

   nor is there contemplation / inner focus

   na ca abhāvayataḥ śāntiḥ

   and for one without that focus, no peace

   aśāntasya kutaḥ sukham

   for one without peace, where is happiness?

3. 2.67

   When the mind trails after whichever sense is roaming, that one sense is enough to carry wisdom away, like a gust of wind driving a boat off course on open water.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.67

   इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन्मनोऽनुविधीयते ।
   तदस्य हरति प्रज्ञां वायुर्नावमिवाम्भसि ॥ ६७ ॥

   Hear it

   indriyāṇāṃ hi caratāṃ yan mano 'nuvidhīyate
   tad asya harati prajñāṃ vāyur nāvam ivāmbhasi

   Say it

   in-dri-yaa-naam hi chuh-ruh-taam yun-muh-no noo-vi-dhee-yuh-tay
   tuh-duh-syuh huh-ruh-ti pruj-nyaam vaa-yur naa-vuh-mi-vaam-bhuh-si

   Word by word

   indriyāṇām hi caratām

   of the senses as they roam

   yat manaḥ anuvidhīyate

   the one the mind is made to follow

   tat asya harati prajñām

   that carries off his wisdom

   vāyuḥ nāvam iva ambhasi

   as the wind carries off a boat on the water

4. 2.68

   So, mighty-armed Arjuna, the person whose senses are fully held back from their objects is the one whose wisdom stands firm.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.68

   तस्माद्यस्य महाबाहो निगृहीतानि सर्वशः ।
   इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥ ६८ ॥

   Hear it

   tasmād yasya mahābāho nigṛhītāni sarvaśaḥ
   indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyas tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā

   Say it

   tuh-smaad yuh-syuh muh-haa-baa-ho ni-gri-hee-taa-ni sur-vuh-shuh
   in-dri-yaa-neen-dri-yaar-thay-bhyus tuh-syuh pruj-nyaa pruh-tish-thi-taa

   Word by word

   tasmāt

   therefore

   mahā-bāho

   O mighty-armed one (Arjuna)

   yasya nigṛhītāni sarvaśaḥ

   one whose (senses) are fully held in check

   indriyāṇi indriya-arthebhyaḥ

   the senses, from their objects

   tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā

   his wisdom is firmly established

Context and commentary

These verses wrap up Krishna's answer to Arjuna's question in 2.54: what does a person of steady wisdom look like? The refrain tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā, "their wisdom stands firm", returns in 2.68 like a chorus. Verse 2.66 is a ladder running upward, the mirror of the previous reading's downward one: collectedness, understanding, bhāvanā, peace (śānti), happiness (sukha). Śaṅkara reads bhāvanā as absorption in knowledge of the Self; others take it as meditation or steady focus, and Rāmānuja links "collected" back to 2.61's "with me as the aim". Interpretation: in 2.67 neither boat nor wind is the problem; the trouble is no one at the helm.