Bhagavad Gita 8.12 · Krishna
Closing the doors, coming home
सर्वद्वाराणि संयम्य मनो हृदि निरुध्य च।
मूध्न्यार्धायात्मनः प्राणमास्थितो योगधारणाम्॥
sarvadvārāṇi saṃyamya mano hṛdi nirudhya camūdhnyā^^rdhāyātmanaḥ prāṇamāsthito yogadhāraṇām
Closing all the gates of the body, holding the mind in the heart, drawing the breath upward, one rests firm in yoga.
Words
- yoga
What it means
Krishna describes how a yogi withdraws at the end. The senses are like doors, each opening onto the world. One by one they are closed. The mind settles into the heart. The breath rises. It is yoga, steady union, as a homecoming rather than a struggle.
The story
Picture a house at the end of a long party. The host walks through, closing each window, dimming each lamp. Then sits by the fire in the quiet. Nothing has been lost. Everything has come inside.
In your life
Picture an office worker in an open-plan room, putting on headphones, silencing her phone and closing every tab but one. This evening, close the doors for ten minutes, and let your attention rest in your heart.
Close the doors gently, and rest within.