Verse 2.61

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.61:

तानि सर्वाणि संयम्य युक्त आसीत मत्-परः ।
वशे हि यस्येन्द्रियाणि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥ ६१ ॥

tāni sarvāṇi saṃyamya yukta āsīta mat-paraḥ |
vaśe hi yasyendriyāṇi tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā || 61 ||

tāni sarvāṇi–all these (senses); saṃyamya–keeping under control; yuktaḥ–the devotee, or bhakti-yogī; āsīta–he should be situated; mat-paraḥ–dedicated to Me; vaśe–are controlled; hi–because; yasya–whose; indriyāṇi–senses; tasya–his; prajñā–intelligence; pratiṣṭhitā–is completely fixed.

Therefore, one should subdue the senses by surrendering to Me in bhakti-yoga and remain under My shelter, because only one whose senses are controlled is fixed in intelligence. He alone is sthita-prajña.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

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

“Here, the word mat-paraḥ means ‘My devotee’, because there is no other way to conquer the senses other than to perform bhakti to Me.” This fact is apparent everywhere in the later sections of Bhagavad-gītā.

As Uddhava says in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.29.2–3):

prāyaśaḥ puṇdarīkākṣa yuñjanto yogino manaḥ
viṣīdanty asamādhānān mano-nigraha-karśitāḥ

athāta ānanda-dughaṃ padāmbujaṃ haṃsāḥ śrayerann aravinda-locana
sukhaṃ nu viśveśvara yoga-karmabhis tvan-māyayāmī vihatā na māninaḥ

O lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa, yogīs are generally unsuccessful in controlling their minds, and after endeavouring for a short time, they become tired and frustrated. Therefore, those who are expert in discerning between what is substantial and what is insubstantial take exclusive shelter of Your lotus feet, which give unlimited pleasure to everyone, as the very foundation of their happiness.

To show the difference between one in the stage of practice (a sādhaka) and one whose intelligence is fixed (sthita-prajña), Śrī Kṛṣṇa says vaśe hi, which indicates that only the senses of one who is sthita-prajña are under control.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

One can escape the disturb-ance caused by a gang of dacoits by taking shelter of a valiant king. When the dacoits become aware of the shelter this person has taken, they become subordinate to him. Similarly, the senses of a jīvātmā are compared to a gang of dacoits, and they automatically become controlled when he accepts the shelter of Bhagavān Śrī Hṛṣīkeśa, who is the indwelling witness of everyone and everything. Therefore, one should control one’s senses in a simple and natural way by bhakti alone.

It is said in scripture:

hṛṣīkeśe hṛṣīkāṇi yasya sthairya-gatāni hi
sa eva dhairyam āpnoti saṃsāre jīva-cañcale

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 24.184)

It is very difficult to control the agitated senses in this world, but for those who engage all their senses in the service of Bhagavān Śrī Hṛṣīkeśa, the master of the senses, their senses naturally become stable and controlled.