In Chap­ter VI of the Bha­gavad-Gita, enti­tled “Atmasanya­mayog,” or “The Book of Reli­gion by Self-Restraint,” Krish­na imparts the pro­found teach­ing that the true Sanyasi (renounc­er) and Yogi is one who per­forms right­ful duties with­out seek­ing per­son­al gain from the work. He empha­sizes the impor­tance of self-con­trol and the cul­ti­va­tion of a soul-cen­tered life, free from the attach­ments and aver­sions that bind indi­vid­u­als to the cycle of birth and rebirth. Krish­na advis­es the impor­tance of med­i­ta­tive prac­tice in soli­tude to achieve spir­i­tu­al puri­ty and the state of Yoga, which leads to peace and Nirvana—Krishna’s peace, beyond all under­stand­ing.

Krish­na urges that mod­er­a­tion in all aspects of life, includ­ing eat­ing, rest­ing, and exer­tion, is the key to true reli­gios­i­ty and the path to spir­i­tu­al equi­lib­ri­um. A Yogi, or one who is devot­ed to this path, achieves an unwa­ver­ing mind, likened to a lamp undis­turbed by wind. Such tran­quil­i­ty of mind leads to bliss and an unwa­ver­ing focus on the soul’s union with the divine (Brah­ma).

The dia­logue high­lights the dif­fi­cul­ty of con­trol­ling the rest­less heart but assures that with per­sis­tent effort and self-com­mand, Yoga is achiev­able. Krish­na acknowl­edges the chal­lenges faced by those who strive for spir­i­tu­al progress but assures Arju­na that no effort on the path of right­eous­ness goes wast­ed. Even if indi­vid­u­als fall short, they are nei­ther lost nor for­sak­en; they are reborn in con­di­tions con­ducive to their spir­i­tu­al growth, enabling them to con­tin­ue their pur­suit of per­fec­tion.

Krish­na con­cludes the chap­ter by exalt­ing the virtue of devo­tion to God, which sur­pass­es all oth­er forms of spir­i­tu­al prac­tice. He holds that those who med­i­tate upon the divine with sin­cere devo­tion are the high­est among Yogis.

This chap­ter thus encap­su­lates the essence of self-dis­ci­pline, med­i­ta­tion, and devo­tion as the core prac­tices lead­ing to spir­i­tu­al lib­er­a­tion, empha­siz­ing the uni­ty of all beings with­in the divine essence and the ulti­mate goal of uni­ty with Brah­ma.