The English translation of this work of Shankara, will be of help to beginners in understanding the fundamental teachings of Advaita. References to quotations and explanations are given in the notes.
Those who have succeeded in attaching or detaching their minds at will have succeeded in Pratyahara, which means gathering towards, checking the outgoing powers of the mind, freeing it from the thralldom of the senses. When we can do this, we shall really possess character; then alone we shall have taken a long step towards freedom. Before that, we are mere machines.
-Swami Vivekananda