sa niścayena yoktavyo yogo nirviṇṇa-cetasā saṅkalpa-prabhavān kāmāṁs tyaktvā sarvān aśeṣataḥ manasaivendriya-grāmaṁ viniyamya samantata ḥ śanaiḥ śanair uparamed buddhyā dhṛti-gṛhītayā ātma-saṁsthaṁ mana ḥ kṛtvā na kiñcid api cintayet yato yato niścalati manaś cañcalam asthiram tatas tato niyamyaitad ātmany eva vaśaṁ nayet One should engage oneself in the practice of yoga with undeviating determination and faith. One should abandon, without exception, all material desires born of false ego and thus control all the senses on all sides by the mind. Gradually, step by step, with full conviction, one should become situated in trance by means of intelligence, and thus the mind should be fixed on the Self alone and should think of nothing else. From whatever and wherever the mind wanders due to its flickering and unsteady nature, one must certainly withdraw it and bring it back under the control of the Self. (Bg. 6.24-26) The mind is always disturbed. It is going sometimes this way and sometimes that way. By yoga practice we literally drag the mind to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The mind strays from Kṛṣṇa consciousness to so many exterior objects because from time immemorial, life after life, that has been our practice. Due to this, there may be great difficulty in the beginning when one tries to fix his mind in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but these difficulties can all be overcome. It is because the mind is agitated and not fixed on Kṛṣṇa that it goes from one thought to another. For instance, when we are engaged in work, memories of events that happened ten, twenty, thirty or forty years ago may suddenly come to our mind for no apparent reason. These thoughts come from our subconscious, and because they are always rising, the mind is always agitated. If we agitate a lake or a pond, all the mud from the bottom comes to the surface. Similarly, when the mind is agitated so many thoughts arise from the subconscious that have been stored there over the years. If we do not disturb a pond, the mud will settle to the bottom. This yoga process is the means to quiet the mind and allow all these thoughts to settle. For this reason there are so many rules and regulations to follow in order to keep the mind from becoming agitated. If we follow the rules and regulations, gradually the mind will come under control. There are so many donts and so many dos, and if one is serious about training the mind, he has to follow them. If he acts whimsically, what is the possibility of the mind being controlled? When the mind is finally trained to the point where it will think of nothing but Kṛṣṇa, it will attain peace and will become very tranquil. praśānta-manasaṁ hy enaṁ yoginaṁ sukham uttamam upaiti śānta-rajasaṁ brahma-bhūtam akalmaṣam The yogī whose mind is fixed on Me verily attains the highest happiness. By virtue of his identity with Brahman, he is liberated; his mind is peaceful, his passions are quieted, and he is freed from sin. (Bg. 6.27) The mind is always concocting objects for happiness. I am always thinking, This will make me happy, or That will make me happy. Happiness is here. Happiness is there. In this way the mind is taking us anywhere and everywhere. It is as though we are riding on a chariot behind an unbridled horse. We have no power over where we are going but can only sit in horror and watch helplessly. As soon as the mind is engaged in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness process—specifically by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare—then the wild horses of the mind will gradually come under our control. We must engage in Kṛṣṇas service every moment of our lives in order to keep the restless and turbulent mind from dragging us from one object to another in a vain search for happiness in the temporary material world. yuñjann evaṁ sadātmānaṁ yogī vigata-kalmaṣaḥ sukhe na brahma-saṁsparśam atyantaṁ sukham aśnute Steady in the Self, being freed from all material contamination, the yogī achieves the highest perfectional stage of happiness in touch with the supreme consciousness. (Bg. 6.28) Krishnaṛṣserves as a patron for one who is devoted to Him. When one is in difficulty, his patron saves him. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa is the real friend of every living entity, and we have to revive our friendship with Him. The method for reviving this friendship is the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. By practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, mundane passionate hankering will come to a stop. This passionate hankering keeps us divorced from Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is within us and is waiting for us to turn to Him, but we are too busy passionately eating the fruits of the tree of material desire. This passionate compulsion to enjoy these fruits must stop, and we must situate ourselves in our real identity as Brahman— pure spirit.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 02:57:01 +0000
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