Wherever the restless and unsteady mind wanders, one should bring it back and place it under the control of the Self.

Essential practical instruction for meditation:

Yataḥ yataḥ niścarati manaḥ — wherever the mind wanders, goes out, scatters. Kṛṣṇa accepts as fact that the mind will wander.

Cañcalam asthiram — restless, unsteady. It’s not the meditator’s defect but the nature of the ordinary mind.

Tataḥ tataḥ niyamya — from there, from each place, restraining it, containing it.

Etat ātmani eva vaśaṃ nayet — should bring it under the control of the Self.

The technique is simple but requires infinite patience:

1. Notice that the mind has gone
2. Without judging, bring it back
3. Repeat

There is no failure in the mind wandering — the failure would be abandoning practice. Each return is a small strengthening of the muscle of attention.

The phrase ātmani eva (in the Self itself) indicates that the return point is not an object but consciousness itself.