Bhagavad Gita Shlokas on Self-Control and Mind Control

Below are the shlokas from the Bhagavad Gita that emphasize self-control (discipline over senses, desires, or ego) and mind control (steadying the mind through focus or meditation), listed with their shloka numbers and one-line English descriptions.

• 2.58: The sage controls senses like a tortoise retracting its limbs.
• 2.59: Senses may withdraw, but desire persists without divine realization.
• 2.60: Even the wise struggle to control turbulent senses.
• 2.61: Controlling senses by focusing on Krishna leads to stability.
• 2.62: Attachment to sense objects breeds desire, anger, and delusion.
• 2.63: Delusion clouds wisdom, leading to spiritual ruin.
• 2.64: Freedom from attachment and aversion brings inner clarity.
• 2.65: A clear mind finds joy, dissolving all sorrows.
• 2.66: Without divine connection, the unsteady mind lacks peace.
• 2.67: Senses swayed by desire carry away wisdom like wind on a boat.
• 2.68: The sage with controlled senses enjoys steady wisdom.
• 3.6: Pretending to control senses while craving them is hypocrisy.
• 3.7: Controlling senses and acting selflessly is the superior path.
• 3.34: Attachment to senses binds; one must overcome them.
• 3.40: Desire resides in senses, mind, and intellect, clouding knowledge.
• 3.41: Control senses first to conquer desire’s destructive force.
• 3.42: Senses are superior to the body, mind over senses, intellect over mind, and soul above all.
• 3.43: Knowing the soul’s supremacy, conquer desire with disciplined intellect.
• 5.13: Renouncing mental attachment, the embodied find freedom.
• 5.21: Detached from external pleasures, the yogi finds inner joy.
• 5.22: Sense pleasures are fleeting and lead to suffering.
• 5.23: Enduring desires with discipline brings true happiness.
• 5.26: The self-controlled, desire-free yogi quickly finds peace.
• 5.27-28: Meditating, free from desire, the yogi attains liberation.
• 6.4: The yogi, free from desire, attains true renunciation.
• 6.5: Elevate the self through discipline, not degradation.
• 6.6: The controlled mind is a friend; the uncontrolled is a foe.
• 6.8: The yogi, content in knowledge, is steady like a rock.
• 6.10: The yogi should meditate alone, focused, without possessions.
• 6.11-12: Meditate on a clean seat, focusing the mind on one point.
• 6.13-14: Sit upright, gaze steady, meditating on Krishna with discipline.
• 6.15: Constant meditation leads to supreme peace in Krishna.
• 6.16: Balance in eating and sleeping aids successful yoga.
• 6.17: Moderation in all actions brings freedom from suffering.
• 6.18: The disciplined mind, fixed on the self, is free from desire.
• 6.19: The yogi’s mind, like a steady lamp, remains unshaken.
• 6.24: Abandon all desires, controlling senses with the mind.
• 6.25: Gradually steady the mind, focusing on the self alone.
• 6.26: Bring the wandering mind back to the self with discipline.
• 6.33: Arjuna doubts the mind’s control, likening it to wind.
• 6.34: Arjuna says the restless mind is harder to tame than wind.
• 6.35: Krishna agrees but says discipline and detachment can control it.
• 6.36: The disciplined mind achieves yoga; the uncontrolled fails.

Total: 43 shlokas

Notes

• Selection Criteria: The 43 shlokas were chosen for their direct focus on self-control (senses, desires, ego) and mind control (meditation, focus), primarily from Chapters 2 (12 shlokas), 3 (7 shlokas), 5 (5 shlokas), and 6 (19 shlokas), under Dhyana Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Three Gunas themes.