Bhagavad Gita 2.61

[Paramananda das]

tani sarvani samyamya yukta asita mat-parah vase hi yasyendriyani tasya prajna pratisthita

SYNONYMS

tani--those senses; sarvani--all; samyamya--keeping under control; yuktah--being engaged; asita--being so situated; mat-parah--in relationship with Me; vase--in full subjugation; hi--certainly; yasya--one whose; indriyani--senses; tasya--his; prajna--consciousness; pratisthita--fixed.

TRANSLATION

One who restrains his senses  and fixes his consciousness upon Me, is known as a man of steady  intelligence.

PURPORT

That the highest conception of yoga perfection is Krsna consciousness is clearly explained in this  verse. And, unless one is Krsna conscious, it is not at all possible to control  the senses. As cited above, the great sage Durvasa Muni picked a quarrel with  Maharaja Ambarisa, and Durvasa Muni unnecessarily became angry out of pride and  therefore could not check his senses. On the other hand, the king, although not  as powerful a yogi as the sage, but a devotee of the Lord, silently  tolerated all the sage's injustices and thereby emerged victorious. The king was  able to control his senses because of the following qualifications, as mentioned  in the Srimad-Bhagavatam:

sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayor vacamsi  vaikuntha-gunanuvarnane karau harer mandira-marjanadisu srutim cakaracyuta-sat-kathodaye

mukunda-lingalaya-darsane drsau tad-bhrtya-gatra-sparse 'nga-sangamam ghranam ca  tat-pada-saroja-saurabhe srimat-tulasya rasanam tad-arpite

padau hareh ksetra-padanusarpane siro  hrsikesa-padabhivandane kamam ca dasye na tu kama-kamyaya yathottama-sloka-janasraya ratih

"King Ambarisa fixed his mind on the  lotus feet of Lord Krsna, engaged his words in describing of the Lord, his  hands in cleansing the temple of the Lord, his ears in hearing the pastimes of  the Lord, his eyes in seeing the form of the Lord, his body in touching the body  of the devotee, his nostrils in smelling the flavor of the flowers offered to  the lotus feet of the Lord, his tongue in tasting the tulasi leaves  offered to Him, his legs in traveling to the holy place where His temple is  situated, his head in offering obeisances unto the Lord, and his desires in  fulfilling the desires of the Lord... and all these qualifications made him fit  to become a mat-parah devotee of the Lord." (Bhag. 9.4.18-20) The word mat-parah is most  significant in this connection. How one can become a mat-parah is  described in the life of Maharaja Ambarisa. Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana, a great  scholar and acarya in the line of the mat-parah, remarks: "mad-bhakti-prabhavena sarvendriya-vijaya-purvika svatma-drstih sulabheti  bhavah." "The senses can be completely controlled only by the strength of  devotional service to Krsna." Also, the example of fire is sometimes given: "As  the small flames within burn everything within the room, similarly Lord Visnu,  situated in the heart of the yogi, burns up all kinds of impurities." The Yoga-sutra also prescribes meditation on Visnu, and not meditation on the  void. The so-called yogis who meditate on something which is not the  Visnu form simply waste their time in a vain search after some phantasmagoria.  We have to be Krsna conscious--devoted to the Personality of Godhead. This is  the aim of the real yoga. 

Commentary by Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur

Mat parah means my devotee. Without devotion to me, one cannot conquer the senses. This will be seen everywhere in later verses of the Gita. Uddhava has also said:

prayasah pundarikaksa yunjanto yogino manah visidanty asamadhanan mano-nigraha-karsitah athata ananda-dugham padambujam hamsah srayeran

O lotus-eyed Lord, generally those yogis who try to steady the mind experience frustration because of their inability to perfect the state of trance. Thus they weary in their attempt to bring the mind under control. Therefore, O lotus-eyed Lord of the universe, swanlike men happily take shelter of Your lotus feet, the source of all transcendental ecstasy. SB 11.29.2-3

The person whose senses have been brought under control (vase hi) is the sthita prajna. This distinguishes him from the sadhaka, the person attempting to do so

http://www.prabhupadavani.org/main/Bhagavad-gita/GT108.html There is no lecture to Bhagavad Gita 2.61 by Srila Prabhupada this is for 2.58-59

see also http://bookchanges.com/iskcon-%e2%80%9coriginal-manuscript%e2%80%9d...

Rudra Vaisnava Sampradaya: Visnuswami Sridhara Swami's Commentary Since it has been prescribed to be in control of the senses, one who is  self-controlled should sit in a and meditate on the Supreme Lord. If it were  to be asked how does one sit? The right answer is that with the senses under  control the mind should be free from any mental activity.

Brahma Vaisnava Sampradaya: Madhvacarya Madhvacarya's Commentary In the previous verses Lord Krishna has stated that the senses are too  powerful to subdue by our own efforts. Yet effort should be made repeatedly  regardless. Now here he suggests that we subdue our senses by devotion to Him.  The word yuktah denotes devotion to Lord Krishna, one whose mind is attuned to  Him. Otherwise it is not possible to overcome the senses in any way and maintain  it. Mat-parah means one devoted to Lord Krishna. The benefits of one  surrendered, attuned and devoted to the Supreme Lord Krishna will be well  documented later.

Sri Vaisnava Sampradaya: Ramanuja Ramanuja's Commentary Whosoever would wish to succeed in overcoming the dichotomous difficulty by  the mutual inter-relating dependence of sense control and soul cognition as  delineated previously, must certainly master the senses. Which due to their  constant craving for pleasure are extremely troublesome to govern. Lord Krishna  as the Supreme Lord is instructing to make Him the sole object of ones  meditation and thus become established in undisturbed serenity in the ultimate  reality. When our minds have been evolved to realising Lord Krishna as the  supreme absolute reality all impurities are eradicated and the mind is purified  and clear, free from all desires. Now at this stage for the first time the mind  is free from all desires. The mind along with the senses completely under  control is then capable of achieving cognition of the eternal soul. In the  Vishnu Purana XI.VII.LXXIV beginning yatha adniruddhata-sikhah it  is written that as a blazing fire fanned by blowing wind burns up dry wood; in  the same way Lord Krishna enthroned in the up all sins of those who link their individual  consciousness with the ultimate consciousness in soul cognition. Spiritual  intelligence is confirmed in those whose senses are under control. But it must  be noted that unless devotion has developed for the Supreme Lord Krishna,  whosoever attempts to master the senses by their own might and self effort are  all destined to failure.

Kumara Vaisnava Sampradaya: Nimbaditya Kesava Kasmiri's Commentary Because the uncontrolled senses are the cause of all disturbance, one with  spiritual intelligence seeking transcendence should make their first priority to  control ones senses. Then having duly controlled the senses which are  troublesome one should be seated or situated in the meditation of maintaining  this control. Here the word asita or seated does not refer to literally being  seated but rather to being established or situated. This verse concludes on how  such a one is seated. If one were to question how is it possible to control the  restless senses which are turbulent by nature. Lord Krishna reveals that by  devotion of mind and heart unto the Supreme Lord one will surely be able to  control the senses. Lord Krishna is present within the heart of all living  entities. As Hrisikesa the lord of the senses he is the ultimate object of all  meditation. Without meditating on Lord Krishna it is not possible to master the  senses. This is absolutely sure and thus the aspirant who follows these has success and  none other. So in conclusion one cannot be in transcendent meditation without  controlling the senses. And that controlling the senses is not possible without  devotion to Lord Krishna. Thus devotion to Lord Krishna can be seen as the  essential ingredient assuring all success.