How can we improve our intelligence to control our mind?
Transcription: Sudha Mehta Mataji
Question: How can we improve our intelligence to control our mind?
Answer: By education culture and devotion, by education when we study the philosophy as given in the scriptures we understand that the things to which mind attracts us are temporary and illusory and that enables us to see through those temptations the false promises of the mind and that’s why we have regular classes. Srila Prabhupada has given us so many books and we need to take this education seriously, then there is culture. Education alone is difficult to sustain as a matter of application if it’s not accompanied by proper culture. So we may say that we should not get unduly sexually agitated but if expose ourselves to culture that is providing us with endless sexual stimulation then it will be difficult to apply that principle. Therefore although the main stream culture is endlessly titillating and provoking but as devotees we can cultivate or establish devotional sub culture within the broader culture that’s why we have temples, youth centres, even our home we can try to make more of a spiritual culture over there and that will protect us. So culture means not only the external environment. It also involves our behaviour. So when we cultivate a life style in the mode of goodness then that also enables us to live according to the education that we have got and that also strengthens our intelligence. Krishna says Sattva sanjyate gyanam In the Bhagwad Gita 14th chapter he describes knowledge comes from the mode of goodness it does not come just from studies. He doesn’t say abhyasat sanjayate. Studies are important but life style in the mode of goodness that engenders knowledge. We can try as much as possible to have a culture of goodness around us and we will find that if we adopt proper life style like waking up early in the morning, doing sadhana, staying as much as possible in good association, then it will be much easier to control the mind and then there is devotion. Along with education and culture we need to strongly connect ourselves with Krishna so that we get a higher taste so that we experience spiritual happiness. So culture in and of itself is helpful but devotion is something which we have to cultivate by the practice of devotional activities within the culture. For example referring to women other than one’s own wife as mothers that is a matter of culture and that culture also creates a proper respect between the relationships of the sexes Even using the culture doesn’t necessarily free us from the enjoying mentality. But when we cultivate devotion when we chant hare Krishna that find out the activities within the devotional ambit that give us higher happiness and that enables us to move away from the lower pleasures because we don’t feel that we are constantly missing something as we are experiencing something higher in place of something lower param dristwa nivartathi as 2.51 Bhagwad Gita says so in this way by culture education and devotion we can strengthen our intelligence and thereby control the mind. Thank you.