During chanting should we try to control the mind or should we pray to Krishna that he control the mind?
So is it that in chanting we should be trying to control the mind or should we be trying to pray to Krishna to help us control the mind because we realize that I can't control the mind yes see before we can pray to Krishna that please help me control the mind we should be convinced that the mind needs to be controlled the mind is so cunning that it actually makes us believe that it is going to take us on a joy ride so if our if we are not philosophically alert if we are not introspective we don't realize the need for mind control also for controlling the mind and that's why our effort is also important if we think I'll just call out to Krishna and I'll not try to control the mind just try to call out to Krishna but we may not even have the conviction to call out to Krishna it's only when we our intelligence is aware of how dangerous the mind can be then we feel the need to call out so yes ultimately it is not our effort that that converts the mind I usually differentiate between controlling the mind and converting the mind controlling the mind means the mind wants to go off this this controlling the mind means mind wants to go off in this direction and I bring it under control but converting the mind means the mind doesn't go off in that direction itself so converting the mind will be done by Krishna but during that process controlling the mind is something which I need to do myself so to give an example for this consider that there is a mother and there is a child and the child is sick and the mother has to give some medicine to the child and say we have the standard example of jaundice and when a person is jaundiced that person can't taste sugarcane juice also as sweet they feel sugarcane juice is bitter so the mother is trying to give sugarcane juice to a jaundiced child so now the child doesn't taste the sugarcane juice as sweet, the child doesn't want to take the sugarcane juice now what does the mother have to do? the mother has to hold the child in her mouth make sure that the child takes the medicine so like that our intelligence is what is required so our intelligence is like the mother mind is like the child the intelligence has to to some extent endeavour and focus and control the mind so that it takes the medicine the medicine is the holy name the medicine is remembrance of Krishna the medicine is service to Krishna now when we do that as the medicinal sugarcane juice is taken more and more internally a healing happens as the healing happens the natural capacity to taste the sweetness of the sugarcane juice which was covered over by jaundice that gets removed so controlling the child means that making sure the child takes the medicine but curing the child means the child regains the taste for the sugarcane juice so the mother cannot herself cure the child it's the medicine when it has effect it will cure the child but what the mother can do is control the child so the child takes the medicine so like that for us the intelligence has to control the mind so that the mind focuses on Krishna and this focus on Krishna then there is transformation of the heart and the transformation of the heart is there natural attraction to Krishna is there and even before natural attraction to Krishna there is a dependence on Krishna there is a need for Krishna none of these are felt if we are too much under the sway of the mind so there are certain moments in our sadhana practice when we realize that oh the mind is so powerful and so helpless I just need Krishna and those times we can fervently call out to Krishna but those times are not regular we can't imagine that they will suddenly become regular yes we definitely want to call out whole hearted to Krishna but what if I can't feel like I don't feel like calling out to Krishna what do I do at that time? I can't suddenly create that feeling that I have to call out to Krishna so at that time I need my buddhi and Jiva Goswami explains in the Sandarbhas that actually for the pure devotees it is their priti it is their affection for Krishna that keeps them close to Krishna but for the sadhakas it is their buddhi that keeps them at the spiritual level it is their buddhi which keeps us close to Krishna so now that's why our intelligence is important so intelligence does three things intelligence reminds us of the need for mind control intelligence forces us to focus on the process by which the mind will be controlled and the intelligence ultimately enables us to connect with Krishna by which our mind will become converted so controlling the mind adopting the process to control the mind and connecting so that the mind gets converted the conversion of the mind from an enemy to a friend that will happen by Krishna's mercy but for that to happen I have to connect with Krishna for that I have to recognize that I need to connect with Krishna for that I have to understand that the way to change the mind is by connecting with Krishna for all that I need intelligence and that's why conscriptural study conscriptural study, conscious intellectual deliberation they are valuable I would say invaluable in the process of bhakti if we can call out to Krishna that's wonderful but how often can we honestly call out to Krishna so when we can't call out that doesn't mean that we let our mind, we stop chanting or we let our mind go here and there at that time we use our buddhi does that answer your question? thank you.