|| 6.18 ||
यदा विनियतं चित्तमात्मन्येवावतिष्ठते। निःस्पृहः सर्वकामेभ्यो युक्त इत्युच्यते तदा।।
yadā viniyataṁ cittam ātmany evāvatiṣṭhate niḥspṛhaḥ sarva-kāmebhyo yukta ity ucyate tadā
Word by Word
yadā (when) viniyatam (perfectly disciplined) cittam (mental activities) ātmani (in the self) eva (only) avatiṣṭhate (become situated) niḥspṛhaḥ (devoid of desire) sarva (all kinds of) kāmebhyaḥ (from material desires) yuktaḥ (in yoga) iti (thus) ucyate (is said) tadā (at that time)
Translation
When the yogī, by practice of yoga, disciplines his mental activities and becomes situated in transcendence—devoid of all material desires— he is said to be well established in yoga.
Meaning
Kṛṣṇa defines the state of perfection in yoga. When a person’s mind is perfectly disciplined and remains fixed in the self, and when they are ‘niḥspṛhaḥ’—devoid of all material cravings—then they are said to be ‘yukta’, or well-established in yoga.
The mind usually lives in the past through memories or in the future through plans. But the yogī’s mind stays in the ‘Now’, anchored in the eternal soul. They have stopped looking for satisfaction in external objects because they have found a superior satisfaction within.
This is the goal of all the breathing and posture exercises: to reach this state of internal stillness. When you are no longer ‘haunted’ by your own desires, you are truly free. Kṛṣṇa is telling Arjuna that this state of desireless focus is the ultimate shield against the world’s pressures.