Chapter 3 · Verse 6 · Karma Yoga
Bhagavad Gita 3.6
Sanskrit
कर्मेन्द्रियाणि संयम्य य आस्ते मनसा स्मरन्। इन्द्रियार्थान्विमूढात्मा मिथ्याचारः स उच्यते।।3.6।।
Transliteration
karmendriyāṇi sanyamya ya āste manasā smaran indriyārthān vimūḍhātmā mithyāchāraḥ sa uchyate
In plain words
You know the feeling: you're white-knuckling your way through the day, saying no to what you want, but inside your mind is screaming for it—replaying old conversations, imagining what you're refusing, feeding the very hunger you're trying to starve. Krishna says: this split between what you do and what you secretly crave is a torture you're creating. Real freedom doesn't come from gritting your teeth; it comes when your mind itself turns away because you've tasted something truer.
Word by Word
Krishna cuts through the deepest human delusion here—the lie we tell ourselves that we can suppress desire while secretly nurturing it in thought. The person who chains their hands but feeds their mind with craving is a hypocrite wearing virtue's mask, fooling no one but themselves.
Real restraint is not violent suppression of the senses; it is the natural quieting that comes when the mind tastes something truer than sense-objects. In our age of curated social feeds and performed morality, this verse asks: are you actually transforming, or just performing abstinence while your inner life burns with wanting?
Listen
Bhagavad Gita 3.6 — BG 3.6
Your Mantra Prescription
This mantra is prescribed for clarity and purpose. Is that what you're going through?
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