Bhagavad Gita · Dhyana Yoga (Atma-samyama Yoga)Chapter 6, Shloka 25 (6.25)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
शनैः शनैरुपरमेद् बुद्ध्या धृतिगृहीतया
आत्मसंस्थं मनः कृत्वा न किञ्चिदपि चिन्तयेत्
॥ 6.25 ॥
śanaiḥ śanairuparamed buddhyā dhṛtigṛhītayā
ātmasaṃsthaṃ manaḥ kṛtvā na kiñcidapi cintayet
Translation
"(After 6.24) — let one come to rest little by little, with an intellect held firm by patience; fixing the mind in the self, let one think of nothing else."
Interpretation
"Little by little" — the Gita's gentle instruction.
Shankaracharya. Śanaiḥ śanaiḥ na sahasā uparamet — let one come to rest little by little, not suddenly; dhṛti-gṛhītayā … dhairyeṇa yuktayā — with an intellect joined with patience; ātma-saṃstham … ātmaiva sarvaṃ na tato'nyat kiñcid asti ity evam — fixing it in the self thus: "the self alone is everything, there is nothing apart from it"; na kiñcid api cintayet, eṣa yogasya paramo vidhiḥ — let one think of nothing at all; this is the supreme method of yoga.
Acharya Ramanuja (6.24–6.25 combined). Śanaiḥ śanaiḥ dhṛti-gṛhītayā viveka-viṣayayā buddhyā sarvasmād ātma-vyatiriktād uparamya — little by little, with a discerning intellect held firm by patience, coming to rest from everything other than the self; ātma-saṃsthaṃ manaḥ kṛtvā na kiñcid api cintayet — fixing the mind in the self, let one think of nothing else.
The difference: "Ātma-saṃstha" — Shankara: everything is the self (the non-dual sense); Ramanuja: turning away from everything other than the self, into one's own self. "Na kiñcid api cintayet" — for both, it means thinking of nothing other than the self, not an empty mind.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.