How Do I Control My Mind According to the Bhagavad Gita?

November 19, 2025 | By Madhura Samarth and Layla Nathwani

TL;DR

The Bhagavad Gita teaches us that we can control the mind through abhyāsa, repeated practice and vairāgya, detachment. Krishna also asks Arjuna to bring his mind back each time it wanders. The deeper work lies in seeing what keeps pulling our mind away, because repeated thoughts often point to attachment, unfinished action or an unresolved decision.

We can decide to stop thinking about something and find ourselves thinking about it again ten minutes later. A conversation keeps replaying. A future problem keeps taking our attention or one person stays in our thoughts long after we want to move on.

In The Bhagavad Gita Arjuna tells Krishna that the mind is restless and difficult to control. Krishna gives him two methods to steady the mind: practice and detachment.

These teachings give us a practical way to work with unwanted thoughts. We train our mind into  where we want to place our attention and examine what keeps pulling it back. Over time, repeated direction gives us greater control over what we think about and how we act.

Why is the mind so difficult to control?

Arjuna raises this problem directly with Krishna. In Bhagavad Gita 6.34, he describes the mind as restless, turbulent, strong and difficult to restrain. He compares controlling the mind to controlling the wind.

Arjuna was a trained warrior with years of discipline and practice, and he too, found the mind difficult to control. In Bhagavad Gita 6.35, Krishna acknowledges that controlling the restless mind is difficult and explains how it can be done.

Krishna gives us two methods:

• Abhyāsa — practice: repeatedly bringing the mind back when it wanders.
• Vairāgya — detachment: loosening our attachment to that which keeps pulling the mind back.

Bhagavad Gita 6.26 tells us to bring the wandering mind back each time it moves away. Control develops by practicing this method again and again.

Detachment supports that practice. Strong attachment to a person, result or desire gives the mind a direction to keep moving towards. Krishna therefore combines practice and detachment in the same instruction.

What Krishna says about controlling the mind

Bhagavad Gita 6.35 gives Krishna’s direct answer: practice and detachment. Practice trains us to bring the mind back. Detachment reduces the pull that takes it away. The two methods work together. We can keep redirecting the mind while still feeding the desire or expectation that distracts it. Vairāgya reduces that attachment so abhyāsa becomes easier.

Detachment allows us to care, work and act without making our inner peace conditional on the result. For example, we can value a relationship without trying to control another person’s choices. MEG’s guide on how to overcome greed and attachment explores this teaching further.

Can you actually stop unwanted thoughts?

Bhagavad Gita 6.26 describes what to do when the mind wanders. Krishna tells Arjuna to bring it back whenever it moves away. We can use the same principle when an unwanted thought returns. First, identify the thought and decide whether we need to act on it. Then act or redirect the mind.

This simple process helps:

1. Notice the thought. See where the mind has gone.
2. Check for action. Decide whether something still needs to be done.
3. Take the action. Make the call, decision or correction.
4. Redirect the mind. Return to the task ahead of you.
5. Repeat. Use the same process when the thought returns.

Some thoughts point to unfinished action. Others continue because we keep giving them attention. Knowing which of these issues we face makes the next step clearer.

How attachment keeps certain thoughts alive

Bhagavad Gita 2.62 describes a clear sequence. Repeated contemplation leads to attachment, attachment gives rise to desire and frustrated desire can lead to anger. Verse 2.63 continues the sequence as anger weakens clear judgement.

We can see the beginning of this process when the mind keeps returning to a person or outcome. Repeated attention strengthens our investment in how we want the situation to end. Greater attachment then gives the mind more reason to keep checking, imagining and replaying.

The cycle can look like this:

1. We keep thinking about something.
2. Attachment grows.
3. We want one result.
4. We monitor the situation more closely.
5. The mind returns to it more often.

Vairāgya interrupts this cycle by weakening our deep desire for a particular result. We still take the actions available to us but we also accept that we cannot control the outcome. For relationship-specific situations, read How to Know When It’s Time to Let Go and Why You Feel Insecure Even When Life Looks Stable.

What does Bhagavad Gita 6.5 mean?

In Bhagavad Gita 6.5, Krishna teaches us that we should elevate ourselves through ourselves. The verse describes the mind as capable of acting as a friend or an enemy. Verse 6.6 continues by saying that a controlled mind is a friend and an uncontrolled one is an enemy. 

The Sanskrit word ātman has different meanings depending on context, which leads translators to phrase this verse differently. Vedabase explains the verse through the relationship between the self and mind. The practical instruction centres on gaining control over the mind so it supports our higher judgement.

We often know what action is the correct one to take but the mind starts coming up with fears, clinging to desires and thinking about possible outcomes. Training the mind helps us make clear judgements. MEG’s guide on how to know the right decision to make in life explores this problem in more detail.

How to train your mind according to the Gita

Bhagavad Gita 6.26 gives us the practice and 6.35 gives us the two principles behind it. We need to bring the mind back to the present repeatedly and loosen the grip of the attachments that pull it away. Training comes through repetition.

We can turn this into five steps:

1. Catch the wandering. Notice when our attention has gone back to the thought.
2. Identify the pull. Name the person, outcome, fear, desire or memory involved.
3. Deal with what needs action. Make the call, have the conversation or make the decision.
4. Release the result. Focus on the action we can control and don’t think about the outcome.
5. Return. Bring attention back to your work, prayer, meditation or present responsibility.

Our habits can either support this practice or keep feeding the same thought. Rechecking messages, rereading conversations and searching repeatedly for reassurance give the mind more material to revisit. Reducing those habits supports detachment. Abhyāsa grows each time we bring the mind back. Vairāgya grows each time we release our grip on an outcome. Both become stronger through practice.

What to do when your mind keeps returning to the same thought

A repeated thought can point to an unfinished action, unresolved decision or attachment. Identifying the cause tells us what to do next. Each problem needs a different response.

Ask these questions:

• Can I still do something about this? If so, take the next useful action.
• Am I delaying a decision? If so, base the decision on facts, your responsibilities and your values.
• Am I replaying a mistake? If so, correct what can still be corrected and change your behaviour going forward.
• Am I waiting for another person to change? If so, decide what your plan of action is based on their present behaviour.
• Am I attached to one outcome? If so, separate your effort from the result.

One question can simplify the process: Is there still an action available to us? When there is an action that needs to be taken, take it. When there is no possibility of acting anymore, learn from your mistake and make a better choice the next time..

Regret often works this way. We may have made a mistake in the past for which we may still need to to make amends. Once we have done what we can, mental replays only serve to make us miserable. MEG’s guide on how to stop feeling guilty about the past explains what to do after we have taken responsibility.

How Krishna distinguishes the mind from the Self

Bhagavad Gita 3.42 gives a clear hierarchy. Krishna places the mind above the senses, the intellect above the mind and the Self beyond the intellect. The verse therefore distinguishes the mind from both the intellect and the Self.

The mind can produce a desire, fear or memory while the intellect examines it. Clear judgement via the intellect can then decide what deserves action. Training the mind means learning to guide it rather than allowing each thought to decide our next move.

A simple way to use these teachings

When the mind keeps returning to a thought, identify what is drawing it. The cause may be an action we still need to take, a decision we have been avoiding or an outcome we are attached to. Once we identify the cause, we can respond to the actual problem.

Use these five questions:

1. What am I thinking about?
2. What am I attached to?
3. What can I control?
4. What actions are available for me to take?
5. Where will I direct my attention next?

This process gives abhyāsa and vairāgya a practical form. Abhyāsa becomes the repeated act of bringing our attention back to the present. Vairāgya becomes the willingness to release results we cannot control.

Practice and detachment show us how to train the mind. A general teaching cannot decide whether one repeated thought calls for action, acceptance, an apology, a boundary or a difficult choice. If one situation keeps returning to your mind, chat.myeternalguide.com can help you examine that specific decision through relevant Vedic teachings and work out what to do next.

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