Chapter 18: Mokṣa-sannyāsa-yoga: – Liberation, Renunciation and the Supreme SecretVerse 33
धृत्या यया धारयते मन:प्राणेन्द्रियक्रिया: ।
योगेनाव्यभिचारिण्या धृति: सा पार्थ सात्त्विकी ॥
dhṛtyā yayā dhārayate
mana:-prāṇendriya-kriyā:
yogenāvyabhicāriṇyā
dhṛti: sā pārtha sāttvikī – 18.33
The will and drive by which one holds the activities of the mind, life forces and senses in unswerving yoga, O Pārtha, is sāttvika dhṛti.
Chapter 18: Mokṣa-sannyāsa-yoga: – Liberation, Renunciation and the Supreme Secret - Verse 33
Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha
Krishna treats ‘will’ as an independent aspect of personality. Generally, ‘will’ is regarded as part of the mind-intelligence function. Krishna here strikes a distinction, making the seeker culture his will to embellish the inner personality.
People generally apply their will to perform unusual physical feats with their limbs, as in circus, gymnastics, etc. or to practise silence, fasting, āsanas, mudras and the like. Krishna says sāttvika will is employed to restrain and regulate sensory functions, breathing, and mental functions to remain anchored in yoga.
One has to penetrate into his inner being and instil purity, refinement and sublimation, ending up with spiritual absorption, as detailed in the 6th chapter. There Krishna speaks of inner restraint and regulation to such an extent that the seeker must be able to sit thinking nothing, and be absorbed into the Self – the highest use of will (6.25).
