Verse 17.16

Verse 17.16: “Serenity of mind, gentility, taciturnity, self-control, and purity of disposition: these are designated austerity of the mind. (225)

Commentary called Jnaneshwari by Jnaneshwar:

His mind remains steady in the Supreme Self,—getting freed from the webs of diverse ideas and fancies (leaving him), in the way the waves leave a lake, or the cloud leaves the sky, or snakes leave the sandal-tree forest, or the uneven phases leave the moon, or mental worry leaves a king, or the churning rod in the form of Mountain Mandara leaves the sea of milk. He attains the blissful self and rids himself of his temper, like the light without heat or food-flavour without density or the sky without cavity, or in the way the (already) benumbed limbs are not affected by cold. His mind then becomes clean and beautiful like the firm, unspotted and perfect moon.

In such a state the hardship of asceticism is no more felt, the toilsome quest ceases and the trepidation of the mind is gone and there remains only in perfect form the realization of the self. The mouth, which was (formerly) always used as an instrument and vehicle for the faculty of speech in order to ponder over and expound the Scriptures—the same mouth now absolutely refuses to make use of the faculty of speech. Having secured the realisation of the Supreme Self the mind loses its nature—it is devitalized—and remains merged in the self in the way salt becomes one with water and gets itself extinguished in it.

In such a state, whence could arise the emotions that rush along the road of the senses to the town of the sense-objects and reach it? Thus the mind rids itself of feelings and gets pure in the way the palm of the hand is pure (free) from hair. No need to say further, Oh Arjuna. When the mind attains such a stage it becomes eligible to the name “austerity of mind”. Suffice this sermon: the aspects of the austerity of the mind have been preached to you in their entirety.” God said. (God further said), “You have been made to hear what are ordinarily the three classes of austerities viz. of body, speech and mind. Now will be explained to you how this '(division into) three-fold austerity gets formed through its association with the three Gunas, and hear it (and digest it) with your powerful intellect.