6:1: The Blessed One said: One who performs his obligatory activities without taking refuge in them is the true renouncer and yogi, not someone who lives without fire and performs no actions.
6:2: O Arjuna [son of Pandu], know that what they call renunciation is not yoga at all, for truly one who has not renounced desire cannot become a yogi.
6:3: For one who wishes to become a sage, karma-yoga is said to be the best means. For one who has ascended to this plateau, tranquility is said to be the means.
6:4: A person detached from sense objects and activities and who has renounced all desires is considered to have achieved yoga.
6:5: One must elevate one’s consciousness, otherwise the person will surely sink. Indeed, the Self is one’s only friend, but the self is also one’s only enemy.
6:6: For one who has conquered the self, the Self is a friend. However, for one whose mind is unbridled, the self is the greatest enemy.
6:7: Being entrusted to the Supreme Self, for one who has conquered the individual self, the mind is tranquil in cold, heat, happiness, pain, honor, or dishonor.
6:8, 9: One who is satisfied with the knowledge one has both learned and realized, and who stands firm within it, whose senses are subdued and yoked, and to whom a lump of earth, a stone, and gold are the same, is said to be a yogi. Such a person equally regards well-wishers, friends, enemies, and those who are neutral and those who mediate between them, as well as those who are envious, relatives, the righteous and the unrighteous, and thus surpasses all others.
6:10: One who is a yogi must constantly keep the mind steady, abide in solitude, restrain the mind, be devoid of expectations, and be free from greed.
6:11, 12: Such a person should choose a clean place and there establish a firm meditation seat - composed of a cloth, and deerskin covering kusa-grass — which is neither too high nor too low. There, with the mind focused on one point, one who has controlled the mind, senses, and actions, sitting on the seat, should practice yoga for self-purification. [Kusa-grass is the Sanskrit term for Desmostachya bipinnata grass, aka halfa grass, big cordgrass, and salt reed-grass. This grass has ritual significance in Hinduism. The purpose seems to be simply that one should establish a firm, comfortable seat].
6:13, 14: Holding the body, head, and neck straight, maintaining a still and steady gaze on the tip of the nose, without looking around, the Self, being tranquil, having cast off all fear, one who is a brahmachari [a devoted student of enlightenment] of steadfast mind, who completely controls the thinking processes and who is yoked to Me [God], should sit and meditate upon Me as the ultimate goal.
6:15: Thus, always practicing that which leads to nirvana, one who is a yogi, whose mind is always controlled, abides in Me and attains peace.
6:16, 17: Yoga is very difficult for one who eats too much or eats too little, by one who sleeps too much or too little, O Arjuna. Yoga becomes the destroyer of pain for one who practices [self] control in eating, recreation, exertion, activities, sleeping, and wakefulness.
6:18: When one perfectly controls the mind, is free from material longings, and is devoid of all desire, only then is that person said to be well-established in yoga.
6:19: “As a lamp in a windless place does not flicker,” so is this comparison considered by the yogi whose mind is likewise controlled by the practice of yoga.
6:20-23: Where mental activities are restrained in the quietude of yogic service or practice, the living entity, through yoga, realizes the Supreme Being and is thus satisfied. The Infinite Bliss conceived through this consciousness is transcendental. Established in this higher reality or consciousness, one knows what is and is not. By understanding this, one knows what is gained and what is lost. Being so established, one understands that there is nothing greater [than spiritual realization] and is not disturbed by even the weightiest material sufferings. One must realize what suffering is through yoga, and then enter yogic equanimity. This yoga should be practiced without deviation.
6:24, 25: Mentally renouncing all material desires which are born of mental resolve without exception, and restraining the senses from all sides, step by step, with the intellect held in great conviction, by the power of the mind, one attains repose in the self.
6:26: From wherever the restless and unsteady mind wanders, restrain it and bring it back under the control of the Self.
6:27: A yogi whose mind is peaceful, whose passions are pacified, and who is free from all sins attains the greatest happiness and becomes one with Brahman.
6:28: Thus, by practicing this yoga, the person is freed from all material contamination and relishes the highest happiness by being in contact with Brahman [God within].
6:29: Know that the Self abides within all beings. One who understands that the yoga systems yoke the Self and who sees impartially sees Me everywhere.
6:30: One who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, from such a one I do not disappear, nor is that person ever lost from Me.
6:31: One who worships Me as abiding within all beings attains unity. Such a person is a true yogi and always abides in Me.
6:32: One who sees that the Self is manifested everywhere, who regards happiness and suffering equally, O Arjuna, is considered an accomplished yogi.
6:33: Arjuna said: I do not consider this yoga of equanimity expounded by You viable, O Slayer of the demon Madhu, because of the restless condition [of the mind which is not] steady.
6:34: The mind is restless, O Krishna, turbulent, strong, and obstinate. I think that restraining it must be more difficult than restraining the wind.
6:35: The Blessed One replied: Without a doubt, O Arjuna [mighty-armed one], the restless mind is very hard to control. However, O child of Kunti, the mind can be restrained by detachment.
6:36: For one who is unbridled [the fruit of] yoga is very difficult to achieve. However, in My opinion, it is possible for one who is Self-controlled and who endeavors by the proper means.
6:37-39: Arjuna inquired: What is the destination of one who has faith in the yoga process but whose mind wanders and is uncontrolled and who, therefore, cannot attain perfection in yoga?
O Mighty armed, does such a person not, fallen from both material and spiritual success like a torn cloud, perish without support, being deluded concerning the path of Brahman?
This is my doubt, O Krishna. Kindly dispel it completely, for no one who can other than You.
6:40: The Blessed One said: O child of Partha, neither in this world nor in the next does destruction exist for one whose activities are good. Such a person never ends up impoverished.
6:41, 42: Having achieved the planets of the righteous, one who has fallen from yogic perfection dwells there for countless years. Eventually, such a person is born into a wealthy and/or pious family or else is born into a family of wise yogis. Such a birth is extremely rare and cherished.
6:43: Then the person remembers the knowledge gained in the previous life and resumes the endeavors for perfection from that point, O Arjuna [Child of Kuru].
6:44: Because of the previous practice, the person is captivated and instinctively becomes inquisitive about yoga. Such a person transcends the ritual observances and scriptural edits.
6:45: By determined practice, a yogi whose sins have been washed away by constant endeavors, after many births, eventually attains the highest refuge.
6:46,47: The yogis are superior to those who undergo austerities [the ascetics], to the followers of wisdom [jnana-yogis], and to the devotees of action [karma-yogis]; therefore, O Arjuna, be a yogi. And of all the different yogis, one who is situated in Me with his full being [through Bhakti-Yoga — devotion], in absolute faith, who worships Me [God], such a devotee is considered the most devout by Me.
Here Ends Chapter Six