Arjuna
Devotee & WarriorThe great Pandava warrior and skilled archer. Overwhelmed by moral dilemma on the battlefield, he seeks guidance from Krishna, becoming the ideal disciple.
Speaking: Chapter 6, Verse 34
Verse 34
Hard VerseThe Yoga of Meditation
For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krishna, and to subdue it, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind.
Context & Meaning
One of the most human moments in the entire Gita: Arjuna says what every meditator has felt. The mind is restless, stormy, powerful, and stubborn — taming it seems as impossible as catching the wind. Krishna's response to this honest admission is the heart of Chapter 6.
Scholar Commentaries
1 commentary · Public domainSwami Vivekananda
VedanticVivekananda always appreciated Arjuna's honesty here. He observed that most people have the same experience but are afraid to admit it. The mind's restlessness is not a personal failing — it is the natural condition of an untrained instrument. Vivekananda compared the mind to a drunken monkey stung by a scorpion: endlessly agitated. But the same energy that drives the restlessness, when turned inward by practice, becomes the power of concentration. The wind that cannot be caught can be made to fill a sail.