Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6, Verse 37

Chapter 6 – Dhyana Yoga · Speaker: Arjuna

Sanskrit verse

अर्जुन उवाच ।
अयतिः श्रद्धयोपेतो योगाच्चलितमानसः ।
अप्राप्य योगसंसिद्धिं कां गतिं कृष्ण गच्छति ॥

Transliteration

arjuna uvāca .
ayatiḥ śraddhayopeto yogāccalitamānasaḥ .
aprāpya yogasaṃsiddhiṃ kāṃ gatiṃ kṛṣṇa gacchati ॥

Meaning

Arjuna said: O Krishna, what becomes of one who has faith but lacks sufficient effort, whose mind wanders away from yoga, and who fails to reach perfection in yoga — what destiny does he meet?

Word meanings

अयतिः – one whose effort is weak
श्रद्धया – with faith
उपेतः – endowed
योगात् – from yoga
चलितमानसः – one whose mind has strayed
अप्राप्य – not having attained
योगसंसिद्धिम् – perfection in yoga
काम् – which
गतिम् – destiny, goal
कृष्ण – O Krishna
गच्छति – goes to

Anvaya (word order)

अर्जुनः उवाच — कृष्ण, श्रद्धया उपेतः (किन्तु) अयतिः योगात् चलितमानसः (पुरुषः) योगसंसिद्धिम् अप्राप्य कां गतिं गच्छति ?

Explanation

Krishna had said that one who is self-controlled and strives can attain yoga by the right means. Now a deep anxiety rises in Arjuna's mind — an anxiety that arises in almost every seeker at some point. If someone begins spiritual practice with sincere faith but, through some weakness, cannot make the full effort, and life ends before he reaches perfection, what happens to him?

The seeker Arjuna describes has three features. First, shraddhayopetah — he has faith; he is no hypocrite or cynic. Second, ayatih — his effort is weak; the will is there, but the full exertion is not. Third, yogach chalita-manasah — his mind strays from yoga. Shankara says that at the time of death the memory of such a person slips away from yoga.

Arjuna's question is not merely theoretical; it is intensely personal. He has just admitted that the mind is as restless as the wind. Naturally he wonders: if I walk this path and fail, will all my effort be wasted? The question gives Krishna the opportunity to explain the continuity of spiritual progress and the mystery of rebirth.

Context

In 6.36 Krishna said that the self-controlled, striving person can attain yoga. Here Arjuna asks what becomes of one who falls short. He develops the question in 6.38–39, and Krishna answers in 6.40–45.

Life lesson

The fear 'what if I fail?' keeps us from beginning good undertakings. Like Arjuna, put your fear into clear words; very often the answer frees us from it.

Key terms

Ayati: a seeker whose effort is weak
Chalita-manasa: one whose mind has strayed from yoga
Yoga-samsiddhi: perfection in yoga; realisation
Gati: destiny, the state after death