समतासान्त्वनेनाऽऽशु न द्रागिति शनैः शनैः । पौरुषेणैव यत्नेन पालयेच्चित्तबालकम् ॥ ३३ ॥
samatāsāntvanēnā’’śu na drāgiti śanaiḥ śanaiḥ | pauruṣēṇaiva yatnēna pālayēccittabālakam || 33 ||
Translation
By soothing it with evenness, quickly and yet not all at once, little by little, by effort alone, one should look after the child that is the mind.
Word by word
- samatā
- with evenness
- sāntvanēna
- by soothing
- āśu
- quickly
- na
- not
- drāg
- (drāk) all at once
- iti
- and yet
- śanaiḥ
- little by little
- pauruṣēṇa
- by effort
- ēva
- alone
- yatnēna
- by striving
- pālayēc
- (pālayet) one should look after
- citta
- that is the mind
- bālakam
- the child
Meaning
A beautiful correction to the talk of force. Balāt, "by force", was the word of the last verse; now śanaiḥ śanaiḥ, "little by little". The word sāntvana is what one does with a crying child: soothe it. The commentary warns against suppressing the mind abruptly and by violence, since the agitation breaks concentration, and quotes the Gītā: "little by little let one withdraw, with an understanding held firm". So the strength needed is the strength of a good parent, patient and not to be moved. Pālayet means to tend and protect. Those who wage war on their own minds tend to lose. Those who bring them up do better.