March Gītā: 6.26 (Copy)

yato yato niśhcharati
manaśh chañchalam asthiram
tatas tato niyamyaitad
ātmanyeva vaśhaṁ nayet

‘Whenever and wherever the restless and unsteady mind wanders, one should bring it back and continuously focus it on God.’
Bhagavad Gītā 6.26

The word used for a God in this verse is Atman, the same supreme consciousness that Patanjali talks about in the Yoga Sutras. This verse has echoes of sutra 1:13 

tatra sthitau yatno-‘bhyāsaḥ

This is where Patanjali reminds us that to get closer to atman we need to make a constant effort. He describes that continuous effort as Abhyasa, or practice. Because the Gita is a song, the language is a lot more poetic, with the mind described as restless and forever wandering… and yato yato repeated, to emphasise that this effort is a forever thing. 

To the uninitiated, that idea of a lifetime of effort might seem daunting, more like a life sentence! But the joy of a yoga practice is of course down to its unending nature. There’s no point in a life of practice where you have to stop and walk away from it. Because it’s never done, it’s always there for you. 

– Tom Norrington-Davies