Mind Control

-Srila Gurudeva

 

29 July: Our minds are preoccupied with thoughts of the world. We cannot totally eradicate these worldly unholy ideas all of a sudden. It will take time. It depends upon the intensity of sadhana. Even Maha-Bhagwat Ambarish Maharaja could not remove worldly ideas in a day; he also could remove these ideas gradually. The more you will imbibe in your mind divine ideas, the more worldly ideas will be purged out. This is the only way, applicable to all. You are not to be disheartened; with enthusiasm you are to do sadhana. You are to remember the teachings of Srila Rüpa Goswami in Upadesamrita -

 utsahan niscayad dhairyat

tat-tat-Karma-pravartanat

sanga-tyagat sato vrtteh

sadbhir bhaktih prasidhyati

 

(These six principles assure the complete success of pure devotional service: (1) being enthusiastic, (2) endeavouring with confidence, (3) being patient, (4) acting according to regulative principles, (5) abandoning the association of non-devotees and (6) following in the footsteps of the previous acharyas.) We have imported to our minds ideas of the material world through our sense organs, which are like cameras snapping photos of the world through eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. The worldly ideas of millions of births have occupied our minds. We have taken those ideas in our minds with adoration. Now when we want them to go out from our minds, they will not go. For example, you cannot vacate a tenant if you allow him to occupy a portion of your house. Nobody wants to leave the place when once he is allowed to occupy it. We have embraced the material thoughts, now when we want to concentrate our minds to the object of worship; those thoughts in our minds come up and disturb us. It is our fault or mistake that we have imbibed material thoughts in our minds, so it is our duty now to remove those thoughts.

 

Mind is very restless, how to quiet it or control it? Lord Sri Krishna advises us to practice Abhyasyoga' and 'Vairagya'. 'Abhyasyoga' means to try repeatedly. Vairagya has two implications - detachment to worldly non-eternal objects and attachment to Eternal Entity Sri Krishna. We should not become disheartened under any circumstance and stop performing Bhajana. Worldly thoughts, which are light, will be purged out to the extent we shall imbibe divine thoughts, which are heavy and sublime, to our minds. We get some sort of temporary pleasure in fulfilling the demands of the senses. That delusion of sense-pleasure drags us forcibly to the sinful acts whose ultimate result is suffering. When we shall actually realize the harmful result of sense-gratification, we shall refrain ourselves from doing so.

 

If we pour 'Ghee' (purified butter) into the fire, the fire will increase. In like manner if we fulfill the desire of lust, the lust-fire will increase, it will not be extinguished. That is not the procedure of getting deliverance from our propensity to fulfill lust-desires. If we can pour huge quantity of Ghee at a time to the fire, the fire will be extinguished. In the like manner if we have craving for the Absolute-Whole -Sri Krishna, that craving will extinguish the fire of worldly desires - sense-gratification desires.