This śloka gives a practical method for the yoga described in the previous verses. In 6.23, Bhagavān defined yoga as duḥkha-saṁyoga-viyoga — disconnection from association with sorrow — and said it must be practiced with firm conviction and an undespairing mind. Now He begins to explain how the seeker should practice.

The first instruction is: saṅkalpa-prabhavān kāmān tyaktvā — giving up desires born of saṅkalpa.

Kāma means desire. But this verse is not talking about every simple functional desire. Hunger produces a desire for food. Thirst produces a desire for water. A student may desire to study well. A parent may desire the well-being of children. Such desires may be natural and dharmic.

Here Bhagavān is speaking of binding desires that are saṅkalpa-prabhavān — born of saṅkalpa. Saṅkalpa here means mental projection, fantasy, dwelling, inner story-making, and repeated imagination around an object. The mind first thinks of something. Then it decorates the thought. Then it imagines pleasure, status, security, or completion through that object. Then the desire becomes stronger. Finally, the mind says, “I cannot be happy without this.”

This is how many desires grow. The object may be small at first. But repeated mental entertainment makes it powerful. A person sees a thing once. Then the mind revisits it. It imagines owning it, enjoying it, being admired for it, being secure because of it, or becoming complete through it. That repeated saṅkalpa gives birth to kāma.

Therefore, giving up desire does not begin only when the object is in front of us. It begins much earlier, at the level of mental feeding. If the mind keeps rehearsing the object, desire becomes strong. If the saṅkalpa is withdrawn early, the desire weakens.

Bhagavān says sarvān aśeṣataḥ — all of them, without remainder. This does not mean suppressing every practical thought needed for living. It means not allowing any binding desire born of fantasy to remain secretly nourished. A seeker may outwardly say, “I am detached,” but inwardly continue to enjoy desire through imagination. This hidden saṅkalpa must be recognized.

The second instruction is: manasā eva indriya-grāmaṁ viniyamya samantataḥ — restraining the entire group of sense-organs from all sides by the mind.

Indriya-grāma means the group of sense organs: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, and also the organs of action in a broader sense. The senses naturally move outward. The eye wants forms. The ear wants sounds. The tongue wants tastes. The skin wants touch. The mind then follows them and gets entangled.

But the senses cannot be restrained merely by physical force. The mind must participate. A person may close the eyes but continue seeing objects mentally. A person may fast but mentally feast on imagined food. A person may sit silently but mentally argue, enjoy praise, or replay insult. Therefore, Bhagavān says manasā eva — by the mind itself.

The mind must become the guide of the senses. It must understand the goal and say, “This is not the time to run outward. This is not worth feeding. This thought will become bondage if entertained.” Without the mind’s cooperation, sense restraint becomes artificial and temporary.

Samantataḥ means from all sides, completely, in every direction. The senses are clever. If one door is closed, they may enter through another. If the eyes are restrained, the mind may seek sound. If food is restrained, the mind may seek praise. If entertainment is reduced, the mind may seek gossip. Therefore, the seeker must be alert from all sides.

This śloka gives a very practical spiritual psychology:

First, desire grows through repeated mental projection.

Second, sense organs follow desire and strengthen it.

Third, the mind must stop feeding saṅkalpa and restrain the senses.

Fourth, this must be done consistently and from all sides.

This is not hatred of the world. It is freedom from slavery to mental projection. The world can be used wisely, but the mind should not convert objects into imagined sources of completion. The seeker’s goal is to make the mind available for ātma-dhyānam. A mind busy feeding desires cannot abide in the Self.

Thus, 6.24 teaches the first practical step in meditation discipline: stop building desire through fantasy, and use the mind to gather the senses from every direction.