Bhagavad Gita 6.25
शनैः शनैरुपरमेद्बुद्ध्या धृतिगृहीतया | आत्मसंस्थं मनः कृत्वा न किञ्चिदपि चिन्तयेत् ||
śanaiḥ śanair uparamed buddhyā dhṛti-gṛhītayā | ātma-saṁsthaṁ manaḥ kṛtvā na kiñcid api cintayet ||
Translation
one should slowly form a calm by the understanding restrained by steadiness; and concentrating the mind on the self, should not think of anything.
Reflection
Where in your practice have you been trying to wrench yourself into a state that only patience could give?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Six
Slowly, slowly. The first words of the verse set the pace, and the whole instruction depends on them. The man who tries to wrench himself into stillness fails the same week. The man who proceeds by small increments, with the understanding held by patience, arrives. The mind is brought to rest on the self. From there it is told to think of nothing further. This is not the suppression of thought by force. It is what happens when the inner motor has been turned down low enough that thinking is no longer the default activity. Stillness is not added. It surfaces when the noise has been removed.