Verse 6.37

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 6.37:

अर्जुन उवाच–
अयतिः श्रद्धयोपेतो योगाच् चलित-मानसः ।
अप्राप्य योग-संसिद्धिं कां गतिं कृष्ण गच्छति ॥ ३७ ॥

arjuna uvāca–
ayatiḥ śraddhayopeto yogāc calita-mānasaḥ |
aprāpya yoga-saṃsiddhiṃ kāṃ gatiṃ kṛṣṇa gacchati || 37 ||

arjuna uvāca–Arjuna said; ayatiḥ–a person with an uncontrolled mind; śraddhayā–with faith; upetaḥ–engaged (in yoga); yogāt–from the practice of yoga; calita-mānasaḥ–upon the mind becoming deviated; aprāpya–without attaining; yoga-saṃsiddhim–complete perfection in yoga; kām–to which?; gatim–destination; kṛṣṇa–O Kṛṣṇa; gacchati–does he go.

Arjuna asked: O Kṛṣṇa, what is the destination of one who begins the yoga process with faith but later, due to an uncontrolled mind, falls from the path of yoga practice and thus fails to attain perfection?

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

Arjuna raises the question, “You said that through disciplined practice and renunciation, those who are persistent attain perfection in yoga, but what is the destination of one in whom these three things–namely discipline, renunciation and perseverance–are absent?”

He who is faithful because of theistic intelligence based on yoga scriptures practises yoga without hypocrisy. However, due to a lack of proper practice and detachment, his mind may deviate from yoga and become absorbed in sense objects. He does not fully perfect his yoga practice, but he does make some progress. What is the destination of such a yogī, who has gone beyond the stage of desiring to practise yoga (yoga-ārurukṣu) and has situated himself on the first step of yoga?