atha cittam samadhatum
na saknosi mayi sthiram
abhyasa-yogena tato
mam icchaptum dhananjaya

"My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develop a desire to attain Me."

Dhananjaya =Arjuna! Mayi = in Me [Sri Krishna], sthiram = determined, chittam = mind, samadhatum = involvement, atha = if, na saknosi = not possible [by Arjuna]. In sloka 8, the Lord advised to have determined buddhi in Him. But if that was not possible, due to various factors including past janmas' karmas and present surroundings, alternative is suggested. Iccha = desire, aptum = to reach, mam = Me [Sri Krishna], abhyasa- yogena = meditating on the various auspicious qualities of the Lord. This type of meditation daily would bring in the determination needed. When Prahalada was rolled down from the tip of a cliff, he had the determination that the Lord would take care of him. He did not try a bit even to save himself. We will never have such determination, if we are to face a similar situation! Because, all these days we have rolled down and got hurt! So, suddenly we would not get that determination, easily. But to get that resolute buddhi, we have to practice to remember the Lord's quality of rakshakatvam or protecting the devotees, He never tolerates devotees' sufferings, etc. This continuous thought is abhyasa yogam. By repeatedly rememebering His auspicious and magnificent qualities, slowly determination will set in. With that determination if we show Bhakti, we can reach the Lord. Swami Ramanuja in his Gita Bhashyam lists some of the great qualities of the Lord such as: soundaryam, souseelyam, souhardam, vatsalyam, ghambeeryam, audaryam, paratvam, souryam, veeryam, parakramam, saarvagyatvam, satyasankalpam, sathyakamatvam, sarvajagat karanatvam, sarvesvaratvam, etc. He has great qualities like Most Eminent, Simple, tolerant of devotees' mistakes, embodiment of mercy, Cause of entire Universe, Most Handsome, bravest, unperturbed by enemies, capacity to complete the task undertaken, Propreitor of Universe, etc. It is not difficult to pick any quality and ponder over it. Every act of Him and every quality exhibited, are pleasant to meditate upon. Therefore, we have to practice thinking on various qualities of the Lord and train our mind. Every quality of the Lord, would reveal the Lord to us. By this we will get the necessary determination and then Bhakti yoga can be performed. If this is also not possible? Let us wait and see!