​Four animal metaphors for managing the mind – horse, wolf, dog and sheep

​Congregation Program at ISKCON, San Jose, USA

I thank all of you for coming today evening for this discussion and I'll speak on the topic of the mind and how we can understand the mind and by understanding the mind we can learn to channel it for our use, so I'll use depending on how time flows I have six metaphors for understanding the mind. I'm able to take three, four, five, six depending on how the time flows and I'll take these are six metaphors from the animal kingdom. Now when we there's a lot of increased interest nowadays in animals.

Now people like to have pets, people like to have animal stories, they're popular. So we'll look at the natural world specifically the animal kingdom and see how by observing the mind we can find parallels and we can learn how to better deal with the mind. So the first point in understanding how to deal with the mind is to recognise that the mind is indispensable.

We need the mind. I often write articles in the Bhagavad Gita. I have a website gita.in.com where I did a reflection on the Bhagavad Gita.

So one article I wrote over there was that your mind is the only mind you have. Train it. You know I cannot get anyone else's mind.

This is the only mind I have and this is the only mind I'm going to have. So we have to just live, first of all live with it. Yes the mind may sometimes trouble us, may trouble us terribly, but we can't get rid of the mind.

Maybe to give a current affairs example, India has a troublesome neighbour Pakistan. But India has to live with Pakistan. Some people may say oh just drop a nuclear bomb and destroy Pakistan.

Oh that's not practical. Pakistan also has nuclear weapons that they may use against us. But even if conceivably India might be able to eliminate Pakistan.

But we can't eliminate the mind. Why? Because the mind is a part of the essential interface that the soul needs for functioning in this world. The soul is spiritual.

The world around us is material, is physical we could say. In material we can have two levels. There is physical and there is mental.

Gross matter and subtle matter. So just like if I somebody uses a brand new computer with no software installed on it. I can't do anything with the computer.

The software is essential for me to interact with the computer, to use the computer for any constructive purpose. Even if I have the hardware I'll have to go and find out okay where can I get an installable CD, instal some OS, instal some programmes. Then I'll be able to use the hardware.

So similarly the physical body is something which we as souls can use only when there is the interface, the software of the mind. So in that sense the mind is indispensable. So we need the mind for functioning in this world.

We could use another example for this. Suppose a person has a ranch. Ranch is a big farm where they are maybe growing crops or doing various kinds of activity, many animal husbandry or whatever.

Now it's a big ranch and say they are in a primitive society where they don't have cars or trucks or tractors. The only means for locomotion is a horse. And suppose the horse is wild, is untamed.

Now if that owner gets on the horse there's the danger that the horse may knock him off, may stampede and crush him. There's a danger. But if the owner is to manage the ranch, there is no way to cover all that territory without a horse.

So just as the ranch owner needs the horse for managing the ranch, similarly we souls while functioning in the world need the mind. The mind is the essential interface which enables us to take in the stimulus from the world and to convey our intentions to our body and to act accordingly. So now when a horse is newly brought, at that time there is a process called breaking the horse.

Now breaking the horse is the name, you take a stick and break its back. Breaking the horse means its stubbornness. The horse is also a proud creature.

The horse doesn't want to be ridden by anyone. And if the horse has not been ridden by anyone before and somebody tries to climb on that horse, that horse will just rear up and knock down that person. So then there are trained horse trainers, expert horse trainers and they are expert at what is called breaking the horse.

So if there is a wild horse, they approach very carefully. They know how to penetrate the defences of the horse, earn the trust of the horse, express their affection to the horse and eventually climb on the horse, master the horse and ride it. So if the horse is not broken, it is very dangerous.

But over a period of time after it is broken, after it has been repeatedly ridden, then gradually it comes under control. And then usually it is the horse trainer who breaks the horse and then hands over the horse to the horse owner. And then the horse owner uses the horse for moving around.

So similarly we consider the mind. The mind is Pramadhi. Krishna describes in the Bhagavad Gita, Chanchalam Himanakrishna Pramadhi Balavad Dhrudham Tasyaham Nigraham Manye Vayoriva Sudhushkaram.

So we are talking about the mind, 6.35 says that it is restless, it is mad, Pramadhi, it is strong, fearsomely strong and Dhrudham, it is obstinate. So Krishna describes all these characteristics. So one of them is it is wild.

So the mind is like a wild horse and it needs to be broken. So now for people who do not know, all horses seem similar. But for people who are aware of horses, every horse is different.

And each horse has its own personality, each horse has its own likes. And some horses like certain things, some horses do not like certain things. So an expert horse trainer is able to discern all this and trains the horse accordingly.

So like that, we recognise the horse, the mind is like a horse, it is indispensable for us. And we need to, we need to train the mind. So we could say once in the spiritual master is like the person who breaks the horse for us.

But in this case, the horse of the mind is inside us. So the spiritual master actually gives us the intelligence, gives us the guidance. It is we who have to deal with our mind.

And we actually learn by practise, okay, how should this, okay, this thing works, if I do this, my mind gets very agitated. I do this, my mind stays calm. So Krishna when he tells Arjuna how to deal with the mind, first of all, in 6.34, when Arjuna says that the mind is very difficult to control, Krishna acknowledges that.

In 6.35 and 36, he responds. And 6.35, he states that. So this was 6.34, which was earlier discussed.

Now we go to 6.35. That abhyasa and vairagya. Next, next page. It's not on this page.

It's a good example of using software. Nice that you are, Silicon Valley, we are having this. So Krishna acknowledges the mind is difficult to control.

Asamchaya mahabhava. And he tells two things which you have to do, abhyasa and vairagya. Practise and detachment.

Now this can be understood in different ways. One way is, going back to the horse example, that the horse rider has to keep trying. Sometimes the horse rider goes towards the horse and the horse just rears, rears violently.

The horse rider, horse trainer cannot say, no, I am not going near the horse. He has to keep trying. Sometimes they get on the, the horse trainer gets on top of the horse, rides a little distance and the horse rears up.

They may fall off, but again he has to climb. So abhyasa means practise. So just as the horse trainer has to repeatedly keep practising, keep practising, keep practising, and then gradually learn to train the horse.

Similarly, we also have to keep practising. And the diligent practise involves keeping the mind constructively engaged. So keeping the mind constructively engaged.

It can be devotionally engaged, it can be professionally engaged, it can be socially engaged, whatever it is. Ultimately the devotional intention can permeate all engagements. But the mind has to be constructively engaged.

That is abhyasa. And vairagya, what is the detachment here? Detachment can be two aspects. One is when the horse trainer is trying to train the horse.

If sometimes the horse trainer is thrown off, that is the horse trainer, if they get detached, they get frustrated, discouraged. I'll never be able to train this horse. So they should be detached from the expectation of immediate success.

It's not that I decide to train the horse and immediately the horse obeys. So one has to be detached from the expectation of immediate success. So the mind has been untrained for a very long time and for it to become trained will take time.

So quite often we become depressed, not because we are unsuccessful, but because we have unrealistic expectations. So the cure for depression, sometimes if we are depressed, we just give up things. But the way out of depression is don't depress yourself, depress your expectations of yourself.

When I have too high expectations and that doesn't happen, then I think what is the use of doing this? But Krishna himself tells us realistically, 6.26, 6.27 he says, he is telling Arjuna you have to control the mind. But then he tells what is the process? Yato yato nishchalati manas chanchalam asthiram tatas tato niyam yaitad atman ye vasam nahi yaitad. So he says, wherever and whenever the mind wanders, yato yato nishchalati manas chanchalam asthiram, that mind is, you can keep it in Sanskrit, you can keep it in Sanskrit, manas chanchalam asthiram, that mind is restless, it is unsteady, tatas tato niyam yaitad, discipline it, atman ye vasam nahi yaitad, bring it under control.

So Krishna is not telling Arjuna that you should be so focused that your mind doesn't wander only. He is very realistic because Krishna is saying mind will wander, but bring it back, wanders bring it back. So the detachment at one level can be from the expectation of immediate success.

So I said quite often we become, you can depress not because we are unsuccessful, but because we had unrealistic expectations from ourselves. So don't depress yourself, depress your expectations and then we will move onwards gradually. Another attachment, vairagya which we talked about in 6.35 is that, that if the horse is going along and the horse suddenly says, oh I want to go here, I want to eat this grass, I want to eat this fruit, I want to go there, then the horse trainer has to pull back.

So similarly our mind has many fantasies. I want to do this, I want to do that, I want to do that. So we have to be detached from the mind's fantasies.

We should not get carried away by the mind's fantasies. That is also detachment. So detachment means I don't expect the mind to behave immediately, but detachment also doesn't mean that I don't get carried away by the mind.

Okay, the mind gets some idea, it has come. It is not that I have to act on it immediately. So this is a horse, it is slowly but systematically trained by which the horse becomes rideable, manageable.

Like that the mind also will be slowly trained. And the earlier example of say India-Pakistan when I gave that, that is more an example of prolonged hostility. The long time hostility has been going on.

But when we talk about the horse and the rider, there is hostility to some extent, but that hostility is not permanent. The hostility can be changed. There can be amicability that comes and that's how Krishna tells that ultimately the mind can also become your friend.

He says the mind can be your enemy, the mind can also be your friend. So many times in wars, when there is a trained horse and the warrior gets injured, the trained horse takes the warrior away and rescues the warrior and saves the life of the warrior. So the horse can also be the friend of the warrior or the chariot rider who is there.

Like that the mind can also act as our friend. So the point is that we need to train the mind. And this also conveys an important point that actually nobody else can train my mind for me.

That it is my mind, I will only have to train it. Others can guide me, unlike the horse, I can have some expert train the horse and then I'll ride it. Because the mind is inside us, so nobody else can train the mind for us.

It is I only have to train it. And so we have to take responsibility for training the mind. And just as nobody else can eat food for us.

I can't say, oh my digestion is poor, so you eat the food and I'll get energy. It doesn't work like that. Others can go to a party for us, others can go to a programme for us, but the food that they eat goes to them, it doesn't come to us.

So like that, nobody else can train our mind for us. They can guide us how to train our mind, but it's up to us. So this is the first example, first metaphor for understanding the mind that the mind, our mind is the only mind we have.

Sometimes we think my mind is so troublesome, my mind is so irritating, my mind is so frustrated, it frustrates me so much. I wish I had never had this mind. No, but there's no way out like that.

This is the only mind I have. So I have to train it. Now, this is the first example.

The second example, the second and third examples will be related. One is the example of a wolf. Wolf, many of you have heard the story of the boy who cried wolf.

There was a village in which, nearby there's a wolf which would come and attack their livestock, eat their chicken or whatever, and plunder the village. So then they had appointed a guard. The villagers had appointed a guard who would go on whenever the wolf is coming.

So this boy, whenever he would stand as a guard, he would suddenly start screaming, wolf has come, wolf has come, wolf has come. And when this would happen, everybody would become panicky. They would run, they would try to get their weapons and they would try to take their children to safety.

And then they would come out and they would say, there's nobody there, just joking. And when this happened, once, twice, they warned him, should not do like this, this is not a matter for joking. But he just thought, oh, just you know, I can make a call and I can make everyone run like to my tune.

So he was just having some fun. But eventually, the wolf actually came. And when the wolf came, the wolf has come, the wolf has come, wolf has come.

He's screaming frantically. But nobody paid attention. Why? Because they thought, oh, he's just, he's done this so many times, he's just tricking.

And then the wolf came and the guard is going to be at the outskirts of the village. So the first victim of the wolf was this boy who had cried wolf. So actually, our mind is like that wolf, like that boy who cries wolf.

Quite often if we see, our mind makes our problems much bigger than what they need to be. We all have problems in our life. But the mind makes the problem much, much bigger.

So, you know, we often worry about things. Now worry is the interest that we pay on loans that we have not yet taken. Worry is the interest that we pay on loans that we have not yet taken.

So usually, I have a particular problem. Say, I may have a problem that, okay, now the economy is going down, recession is coming, I may lose my job. This is a worry I have.

Now this is a problem which is real, and I can do certain things to deal with it. But then from here, the mind goes on a hyper imagination drive. Oh, if you lose your job, then that will be a blot on your profile.

Then if you don't get any other job, what will you do then? You won't be able to earn so much. Then you'll have to get some other low-paying job. What if you don't get a low-paying job also? Then I won't be able to pay my mortgage.

Now here, see, from you, it becomes I. First the mind is saying, this will happen to you, this will happen to you. After all this will happen to me, we take up the thoughts of the mind. I'll come to this subtle change a little later.

But then, oh, I won't get a job. If I'm not able to pay on the mortgage, then what will happen to me? Oh, then I'll be on the streets. If I have to live on the streets, how will I live? Actually, I'm sitting right now in an AC room comfortably, and I'm worried if I go on the streets, what is going to happen? No, it's a long, long way away.

So what happens is, we get worked up, worried and scared by problems that have not yet come only. It may come in future, but it's a long, long way away right now. So it's like a loan that I have not yet taken only, but worry is the interest that I am paying on it.

I'm burdening myself by it. So just like the boy cries wolf, when there is no problem, the boy makes it appear that there's a big problem. So like that, the mind is like that boy.

The mind keeps saying, this problem, this problem, this problem, this problem, this problem. But if you actually look at it, the problem is not all that big. And there is the real problem, and there is the mind's imagination over the problem.

If we separate the two, the real problem is manageable. But in the mind imagines, it's such a big problem. It's just an imagination.

It's like if there's a porter, a coolie who has to carry 10 kg weight. 10 kg weight is carryable. But if that porter has to carry 50 kg weight, it is much more difficult.

So if we look at our life, the problems that we have are like a 10 kg weight. They are problems, but they are manageable. But when the mind adds a burden to it, hey what about this, what about that, what about that, all that dystopian imagination of the mind, that is like a 40 kg weight added on top of it.

Then the same problem which is manageable, it actually becomes unmanageable. So utopia is imagining a very wonderful future fantasy. Dystopia is imagining a dreadful future.

So the mind goes into a dystopian imagination drive and makes a small problem into a very big problem. In this way, the mind acts like a wolf. Sorry, acts like the boy who cries wolf.

But it is not just this. The mind also acts like the wolf. How is that? What does that mean? See, when the wolf comes, the wolf devours people in the village.

So like that, at one side, the mind comes and tells, this is the problem, this is the problem, this is the problem. It just makes us panicky. But after we have become panicky, after we have become paralysed, then when we can't do anything, the mind then makes us do all kinds of nonsense, all kinds of wrong things.

And it consumes our intelligence, it consumes our consciousness, and it consumes our life. So the mind is like the devouring wolf also. So first the mind distracts us, paralyses us, and then afterwards, then the mind takes control.

When we have felt, I can't do anything about this, it's become panicky, this may happen, that may happen, that may happen, that may happen. So what happens is, if we just give the mind control, the mind shows us a free horror movie. But in this horror movie, we are not the spectator, we are the victim.

So we are the victim in the horror movie. And we feel victimised, we feel paralysed, we feel overwhelmed completely. And thus, we get lost.

So the mind acts like a wolf, like the boy who cries wolf, and the mind also acts like the wolf. Because ultimately, whatever we are to do, there is a past, there is a present, and there is a future. So whatever I am to do, I can only do in the present.

Whatever I have to do, the present, the present is all that we have, and the present is all that we will ever have. Right now, I only have the present moment. Yes, I may have made some mistakes in the past, but if they are to be corrected, I can correct them only in the present.

There may be some dangers for me in the future, but if I have to prepare for them, I can prepare for them only in the present. So the present is all that we have, and the present is all that we will ever have for doing anything. So first, the mind distracts us.

Hey, what about this problem, what about that problem, what about that problem, what about that problem? And when we become paralysed, then whatever we could have done to deal with the problem, we can't do that also. So the mind in that sense, first acts like the boy who cries wolf, it distracts us towards the future, towards the past, and paralyses us. And then it comes, you comes and consumes the present.

The present is the time when I can do something to solve the problem. Just like a student is, say, preparing for an exam, and the student starts thinking, tomorrow I will take the exam, what if a very difficult paper comes? If a difficult paper comes, then what if I am not even going to remember anything? If I can't remember anything, I'll fail. If I fail, then what face will I show to my parents, my friends, my relatives? I'll be disgraced.

Not only I'll be disgraced, you know, who will give me a job? If I don't get a job, what should I do? And then, like that, the person just becomes paralysed, and can't do anything. They're so stressed out, freaked out, can't do anything at all. So what has happened? Okay, tomorrow is the exam, and I have time right now.

I have 24 hours. I can study right now. But by worrying and dystopian fantasy of what all may go wrong in future, I don't do anything in the present.

In worrying about what all may go wrong, we go wrong. So, like that, the mind consumes our present. The mind consumes the present.

Now, at this point, see the boy who was appointed to guard the village, there is a real danger of the wolf coming also. And the boy is meant to warn about the real danger. So similarly, there are real problems, and we have to deal with the real problems.

But, so there can be things which may go wrong in the future, and we need to prepare for the future. So, the difference between worrying and preparing for the future is who is in control. Now, when I am worrying, the mind is in control, and the mind is taking my thought here, thought here, thought, my thought there, my thought there, my thought there.

And we go everywhere, and each situation that we imagine, that's like a horror scene. And each horror scene, you know, makes us more intimidated, makes us feel more powerless, and we can't do anything. But on the other hand, when we are in control, we take our thoughts of the future.

Okay, this problem comes up, I can do this, plan A, plan B, plan C. If this problem comes up, I can do this, I can do this, I can do this. If this problem comes up, maybe I can do this, I can do this, I can do this. So, when we are preparing for the future, we are in control, we look at the problem, and we look at the solutions also.

So, in a sense, anxiety and intensity are two sides of the same coin. Anxiety and intensity are two sides of the same coin. Just a few days ago, I gave a class on how to transform anxiety into intensity by spirituality.

So, what does this mean? How are they two the same, the two? Anxiety and intensity, two sides of the same coin. See, in every situation, there are certain things which are in our control, and there are many things which are not in our control. So, when I obsess over all the things that are not in my control, I sentence myself to anxiety.

So, student who is studying for an exam tomorrow, the student starts worrying, what kind of paper will come in the exam tomorrow? What kind of questions will come? How much will I be able to remember? What if I get a blackout? What is this? What is that? So, if I think about all the things that are not in my control, I sentence myself to anxiety. But if I focus on what is in my control, I have 24 hours now. This much time I have.

So, whatever I have studied, let me revise. Let me revise wholeheartedly. Okay, this is the notes I had made, this is the formulas I have to memorise, this is a summary point that I have of this class.

So, let me revise it. So, actually the awareness that I have 24 hours for preparing all this, that gives me intensity. So, focussing on that which is in our control, that brings intensity.

Obsessing over that which is not in our control, that causes anxiety. So, in that sense, the same situation can cause anxiety, or the same situation can bring intensity. And it all depends on where my attention is.

So, when the mind is uncontrolled and the mind acts like a wolf, it takes my attention to all that is not in my control. And then it makes me paralysed. But if the mind is controlled with discipline, I focus on that which is in my control.

And by focussing on that which is in my control, I move onwards. Move onwards and we actually can deal with the problem more effectively. So, whenever we start getting worried, whenever we start getting paralysed, when you start getting overwhelmed by fear of what the future will bring, we need to immediately shift our thoughts to what is in my control right now.

There are many things not in my control, but no matter how bad a situation is, there are always some things which are in our control. If we focus on that which is in our control, then we can deal with the problems properly, as well as is possible. And this is where bhakti comes into the picture, because bhakti helps us to understand that even if things are not in my control, they are not out of control.

Even if things are not in my control, they are still in Krishna's control. So, they are not out of control. So, when we chant Hare Krishna, when we develop our faith in Krishna, then we understand that Krishna is the supreme controller.

And Krishna is the supreme controller, he will take care of the things which are not in my control. So, we usually, if we do not have God as an important part of our worldview, not just, oh I believe in God, that's fine if you believe in God, but God has to be an important part of our worldview. If God is not an important part of our worldview, then our worldview basically oscillates between two possibilities.

Things are in control, things are out of control. If things are in control, I feel very powerful. Things are out of control, I feel very powerless.

But bhakti actually brings us to a third perspective. When Krishna becomes an integral part of our inner landscape, then we understand that things may not be in my control, but things are still not out of control. They are in Krishna's control.

And thus, we can leave what is not in our control to Krishna and focus on that which is in our control. Okay, what questions will come in the exam tomorrow, I don't know, I leave it to Krishna. Let me focus on studying right now.

So, I do what is in my control and I leave what is beyond my control to Krishna. And thus, bhakti is a very powerful way to combat the mind's tendency to become like a wolf, which runs here and there, which gets obsessed over things. The mind which first warns that wolf is coming and then becomes like the wolf is divorced.

So, both this tendency of creating false problems and magnifying those problems that can be countered by the practise of bhakti. Now, this will bring us to a third metaphor. The mind is like a dog.

It is a dog that can bark, but can't bite, unless we let it bite. What does this mean? That actually, the mind cannot force us to do anything. The mind can bark, come on, do this, do this, do this, do this, but it can't force us to do it.

So, suppose we are going to a particular place, we are going to meet a friend or going to meet some client and they are outside their house, they have got a big, dangerous looking doberman dog, big teeth, it looks giant and the dog is barking, they will be afraid to go there only. And we are just waiting outside, should I go in, should I not go in, should I go in, oh, this dog barks loudly, but this dog has no teeth. Dog has no teeth, then most of our fear goes away.

I can bark loudly, but it can't bite me. Then we just go straight and the dog will keep barking, keep barking, until it is not afraid of me only, the dog will become silent. So, what happens, the mind is like that.

The mind is like a dog that barks, but it can't bite. Now, what do I mean by it can't bite? That, I will give you another example to illustrate this. So, suppose, suppose you are driving a car and you have a child sitting next to you, and the child says, mummy, look at that, papa, look at that, whoever is driving, look at that, look at that.

Now, if the parent pays attention, what is that, look at that, look at that, look at that. Now, the parents are looking everywhere, there in the car will be an accident. But the parent doesn't have to look, the child is small, the child cannot push the parent off and take the wheel in control.

The wheel is always in the hands of the parents. So, the mind is like the child, we are like the parent. So, it is the mind can propose, look at this, do this, touch this, eat this, watch this.

But it is we who choose, it is we who choose, okay, look at that, yes, yes, look at that, let us go there, let us see it. So, it is when we accept what the mind says, that the mind gains control. So, if we don't accept what the mind says, the mind cannot control us, the mind cannot take control of us.

So, it is for us to decide. So, the mind can only propose, it cannot impose. It can propose and can propose very persuasively, very forcefully, but it cannot impose.

It is just like a child, you want to go and get some toy, child will start screaming, crying, yelling. And then the mother will say, no, no, I cannot tolerate all this first, let us go and get it. So, what has happened? The mother has chosen, the child will be very forceful and demanding, but that is the mother who has chosen.

So, like that, for us, the mind is like that. So, mind can, like a dog that can bark very loudly, but the mind cannot bite us itself, it does not have the teeth. But curiously, what happens is that when we start listening to the mind, then the mind gains power and the mind starts taking control of us.

It is like, the more we become afraid of the dog, you can imagine a dog whose teeth develop when the person becomes fearful. The person is fearful, there are no teeth. The person becomes fearful, the dog also has teeth coming out.

So, like that, the dog bites when we let it bite. The mind is a dog that bites when we let it bite. I will give a couple of examples to illustrate this, that this is more, earlier I talked about worries, where the mind makes us imagine, you know, what about this problem, what about this problem, what about this problem.

But the mind, we are basically distracted in two ways. One is by desires and the other is by fears. If I am going on a particular journey, say, if you are driving from here to San Francisco.

Now, we are driving along, how may we get distracted from the drive? One is, somebody may tell us, oh, there is a very nice movie over there, or there is a good shopping mall over there, you can go, there is a sale over there. Then we get the desire. And we are on the road, but we go off the road, somewhere else.

So, when we are going on a particular journey, desires may distract us from the journey. The other is fears. Somebody tells you that actually, there are some riots going along the road, you better not go in that direction.

Or maybe there is, somebody tells us, the fuel in your car is very low, or there is a bomb under your car, immediately we will get off. So, now, there are basically, if you are going on a path, there are two main ways in which we may get distracted. One is desires and the other is fears.

So, I gave the earlier example of the wolf to illustrate how the mind may distract us by fear. I am giving the example of a dog to illustrate how the mind may distract through desire. So, the mind, it is like going back to a child example, I said, oh, mummy, I want that toy, I want that toy, I want that toy.

Now, when the child starts saying that, the mother, naturally, because the child is right next to the mother, the mother cannot neglect it, neglect the child. But whether to listen to that child or not, that is up to the mother. So, similarly, the mind can propose, come on, do this, come on, get this, enjoy this, eat this, watch this.

It can be very forceful in its propositions. But it cannot take control of the wheels. It is we who accept its proposal.

And when we accept its proposal, that is when we start acting accordingly. And then the mind basically takes control of us. So, the, now in this stage, how does it move? Krishna talks about this in 2.62 and 63, the psychological process by which the mind gains control over us.

dhyāyato viśayān puṁsaha saṅgas teṣv upajāyate saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodho vijāyate krodhād bhavati sammoha sammohaṁ smṛti vibhramaḥ smṛti brahmaśād buddhi nāśo buddhi nāśād praṇāśyati. So, 2.62 and 63, yeah. So, dhyāyato, yeah, you can keep the Sanskrit, dhyāyato is contemplation.

So, that means we observe something. Now, actually, Krishna uses the word dhyāyato, not drishyato. So, it can, that contemplation can happen, not just, we may see things and we may not contemplate on them also.

You see it and just go ahead. Or sometimes, we are not, there is nothing to see, but in the mind's eye we see, internally we remember something that we have seen in the past, some memory comes up. So, essentially, the problem is contemplation.

So, from contemplation comes saṅgha. Saṅgha is infatuation. Hey, that's nice.

Saṅgha, we could say, is attraction. No, that's nice. And then, that saṅgha, as I keep watching it, looking at it, thinking about it, that's nice.

Then, from that's nice, goes to kāma. I want it. I want it.

And then, kāma. At that time, the desire has become very, very strong. I want it.

And then, it goes to krodha. So, kāma at the level of just attraction, that's nice. From there, it's gone to infatuation.

I want it. And then, from there, it goes to krodha, irritation. Who says I can't get it? Who says I can't get it? So, at this stage, you can go to the next verse, krodhād bhavati saṅmoha.

It's point 63. So, krodhād bhavati saṅmoha. Saṅmoha means delusion.

So, at that time, when the mind gets, that irritation comes, who says I can't get it? Then, delusion means, I actually get confused about what is worth getting, what is important, what is not important, all that is forgotten. So, and from that point, there is oblivion. Oblivion is forgetfulness.

Smriti vibhrama saṅmoha smriti vibhrama. That means, say, a student is maybe studying, maybe reading some study material, say, on some website. And there, while they are studying, at that time, they see a link pops up.

Maybe some news about some cricket or soccer or baseball. Hey, that's interesting. That's dayato vishayan puṁsā saṅgas teṣhu bhajāyate.

That's nice. And then, saṅgāt sañjāyate kāma. I want to read it right now.

Kāma. And then, suppose the mother has said, this is your study time, not your sports watching time. So, not your sports news watching time.

This is your study time. Afterwards, you can do that. Who says I can't do it? Krodhād.

Then, krodhād bhavati saṅmoha. Now, the child has forgotten. Okay.

Yes, it's nice to have children. Children are children. They'll also want to play sports, watch sports, read about sports.

That's fine. But there's a time for everything. So, smriti vibhrama.

So, krodhād bhavati saṅmoha. Saṅmoha means what is important, what is not important, what is urgent, what is not urgent. All that, we get confused.

Basically, saṅmoha means we lose our sense of priority. Illusion means, first is we lose our sense of priority. What is important, what is not important.

And saṅmohat smriti vibhrama. Smriti vibhrama means there is oblivion. So, in the past, last time there was an exam and just before the exam, I spent three hours reading some sports news and then I flunked in that exam.

But now, when I see this news and start reading, I forget it all. Smriti vibhrama. And smriti vibhrama, then actually, our intelligence is largely based on our memory.

Our intelligence is largely based on our memory. If we don't remember, then we really don't have much intelligence. It is like, say, I am speaking right now.

Now, when I am speaking to you, it is all based on my memory of the English language. My memory about how words are formed, how words are joined together, how words convey ideas. Now, all this is in the background.

I may not be able to consciously think that I am thinking about English, that I am using language skills, but I am using that. So, if I lose my memory about how English sentences are formed, what word means what, which word is appropriate where, then what will happen? I will not be able to communicate. So, our intelligence is based on our memory.

This applies in day-to-day life also and it also applies in spiritual life. So, when our memory is lost, then what happens? Now, memory can come from two sources. Memory can be from our own experiences of the consequences.

I did that and I got into big trouble. Therefore, I will not do it again. Our memory can also be our own learning from others.

Now, if the parents say, no, no, if you get into this, you will get into a lot of trouble. You know, you will waste your time, you will lose your grades, you will not have a good career. The parents may say, don't get too much into this.

So, the memory can be either way. The memory can be one's own experience of consequences or the memory can be one's remembrance of the instruction, the counsel that others have given us, either way. But when the memory is lost, Smriti Bhramashad, Buddhi Nashod.

And the intelligence is the last defence against illusion. So, against temptation, against Buddhi Nashod, Pranajyoti. When the intelligence is lost, then everything is lost.

We fall back. So, here, this is how the mind acts like a dog. I am giving all this analysis for the example of how the mind acts like a dog, which barks.

It barks, but it can't bite unless we let it. And the mind is the dog that barks means, hey, come on, that's nice. The dog is barking.

Come on, that's nice. Look at that, touch that, eat that, enjoy that. And at this point, if you see first contemplation, look at that.

That's nice. Sangha. I want it.

That is karma. Now, here, if you see the change that has happened, in the first and the second case, look at that. That's nice.

Here, the mind is here, I am here, and the mind is telling me, look at that, that's nice. But when it comes to karma, you know, I have accepted the mind's proposal. I want it.

So, what has happened is that we accept the mind's desire as our desire. So, for example, you know, the child says, mommy, I want that toy. And the mother thinks, you know, we don't have so much money right now.

We have a lot of toys. You don't have to spend so much on toys right now. But suppose the mother starts thinking, who says we can't spend money? We'll arrange money somehow.

Let's go and buy a toy. So, when the mother takes up the desire of the child as her own desire, then the mother is supposed to be the voice of prudence. But if the mother or the father is not the voice of prudence, then what happens is, then basically the child's desire has been accepted by the mother.

So, like that, initially, the mind is a voice inside us. Come on, why don't you do that? That's nice. Look at that.

But from a voice inside us, the mind becomes our voice. Or rather, we accept the mind's voice as our voice. I just gave another class a few days ago.

It was don't identify with the mind, identify the mind. Don't identify with the mind. That means when the mind is saying, hey, I want this, I want that, I want that.

Oh, we shouldn't think I want it. Rather, hey, this is the mind speaking. This is the mind speaking.

So, when we do that, identify the mind instead of identifying with the mind. So, then we won't get carried away by its ideas. So, but when we don't identify with the mind, when we identify the mind.

So, we don't identify the mind. Hey, this is the mind speaking. This is not really my desire.

This is not really important for me. So, for example, right now, we are sitting and hearing a class. And I may think, you know, maybe some urgent messages come for me on WhatsApp.

Let me just open my phone and look at it. And this is a voice inside me. Now, this is the mind's voice.

You know, what if we were doing something important, the mind says, you know, look at this. There is a whole new genre of addiction. It's called as device addiction.

Now, screen addiction. People just, you know, they just can't, can't live. If I don't have a device, oh, I'm feeling separation.

How will I live? What's going to happen to me? People can't tolerate that. So, what has happened over here with the voice inside? Come on, why don't you look at your notification? Something urgent may have come. Now, this is the voice inside.

If I listen to that voice, yeah, you know, something urgent could have come. So, then I accept it. Then I open my device and start looking at the device.

So, here how it is happening? We, instead of identifying the mind, this is the mind saying, you know, it's not very important. Even if something has happened, it can wait for half an hour. I can look at it afterwards.

So, don't identify. If we identify the mind, it is the mind speaking. Then we won't succumb to it.

But if we identify with the mind, then we succumb to it. So, the mind is like a dog that barks, but can't bite. That is the situation as long as we are not identifying with the mind.

So, as long as this is the voice inside me, then we can say, okay, this voice inside me, it is growing, it is screaming, it may be yelling, it may be whispering, whatever it is, but it is a voice inside. But as soon as this is my voice, then the dog bites. So, we let the dog bite.

So, that is why we have to be actually very alert in dealing with the mind. And when we are looking at the mind and are trying to manage the mind, there are many more animal metaphors. I will just take one more metaphor.

The mind is like a sheep. What is the characteristic of sheep? One sheep goes in a particular direction, everyone starts going in that direction. So, there are people who are like sheep.

So, there is a word for them, they are called a sheeple. It is a portmanteau. Portmanteau is a combination of two words, like we have smoke plus fog is called a smog.

So, like that sheep plus people is called a sheeple. People, they do not think at all. Whatever others are doing, they start doing it.

And actually, this is how fashions work. One slogan in advertising of fashions, in general advertising is that growth is a function of visibility. Growth is a function of visibility.

The more visible something is, the more it will grow. Now in reality, how it should be is, visibility is a function of growth. The bigger you are, then you will be seen.

The more you have grown, then more you will be seen by others. But the advertising industry functions entirely opposite. It is that the more noise you can make, the bigger splash you can create, the bigger you become.

The greater your visibility, the more you will grow. So, people often, especially in the field of, especially under the influence of advertising, they often get infatuated by things. Now, if something is glamorised, this is good, this is good, this is good, then we just get captivated by it.

Oh, everybody is taking it, I must also take it. And in this way, actually, if we look at, now, advertisements are so common in today's world, that often we may not even think that, we may not even realise that a few hundred years ago, there were no advertisements at all. 300, 400 years ago, before the industrial revolution came up, the only advertisement was usually a person's own voice.

If a person was selling some product, then the person would call out, who does anyone, somebody is selling, a fruit vendor, I have got sweet apples, succulent apples, delicious apples, take my apples. That's all the advertisement that they could do. In Krishna Leela, we have the fruit vendor who comes along, and she calls out, and Krishna goes out, oh, I want to have these fruits.

So, that's what the advertisement was. But when the industrialisation came up, then there was mass production of goods. And mass production of goods means there are far, far more goods than what we naturally sold.

So, then they have to be marketed. And that's how advertisements came up. And even initially when the advertisements came, the advertisements, till the turn of the 20th century, till around 1905, 1910, the advertisements were based on telling about how good the product is, the virtues of the product.

And based on that, people are attracted to purchase it. But psychologists around the turn of the last century found that people are influenced not so much by their intelligence as by their emotions. So, somehow we can trigger people's emotions.

Then people will do things far more enthusiastically than they would if they are just activated by their intelligence. So, that means, if we want to get people to buy our product, just telling them how good the product is, that is appealing to their intelligence. But if we tell them how good this product will make you feel, then that will trigger their emotions.

And once it triggers their emotions, then people will be hooked, people will just take whatever we want them to take. So, if you see most advertisements today, there is the description of the virtue of the product also. But that is not the primary thing.

It's all more a matter of image than a matter of substance. So, I saw once, I was at the airport and I saw about, on the TV advertisement, this was of a young man who was walking on the street. And then suddenly a Bollywood star comes over there.

And the Bollywood star comes over, there's a bevvy of young, good-looking girls. They all run to him and they squeal out his name and they hug him and kiss him. And this boy is looking, nobody notices me, nobody cares for me.

And then this Bollywood star comes to this young man, you know my secret? What is your secret? He says, you know, there is some fair and handsome shampoo. And then this boy goes and wears that shampoo and comes out. And as he's walking on the street, again a group of young beautiful girls, they run towards him and they start hugging him and kissing him and oohing and aahing over about him.

And now, you know, such an advertisement is actually an insult to both male intelligence and female intelligence. You know, that a woman will fall for a man just because he applied a shampoo. That's an insult to female intelligence.

And that men will believe such fairy tales, that is an insult to male intelligence. But actually, it's all about feelings. It's all about feelings.

Now, I want to feel good. So, if anything promises to make me feel good, then I am ready to do that, no matter how irrational it may be. So, these are, people often accuse religionists, you know, you people believe fairy tales.

You know, some Krishna, somebody lifted a mountain or somebody flew to the sky, all the fairy tales. Well, actually materialistic people also believe fairy tales. Now, most advertisements are actually the fairy tales of materialism.

They are fairy tales of materialism. And actually, people believe them. You don't just believe them, they put their money in it.

They spend so much money on it. So, what happens is that the mind is like a sheep. The sheep means, if the sheep sees one sheep is going in this direction, everybody else starts going in that direction.

So, like that, when something is portrayed as fashionable, portrayed as something as cool, something as attractive. Actually, you see, there is, you know, even the irrationality is such that if you see in English, in terms of meaning, cool and hot, they are opposite. But in terms of fashion, cool and hot mean the same thing.

That's cool. That's hot. It's the same thing people say.

So, actually, when the mind gets captivated by something, then it becomes like a sheep and it is like a sheep. Now, one person purchases something, second person purchases, third person purchases. Everybody says, if I don't have it, you know, I'm old fashioned.

I can't be old fashioned. I have to be up to date. And then I go out and purchase it.

So, there is a whole genre of addiction, which is called as shopaholism. Like with alcoholism, there is shopaholism. So, alcoholism, people can't live without drinking alcohol.

Shopaholism is, people can't live without shopping. I have to shop, shop, shop, shop, shop till you drop. So, you know, I purchase this, I purchase that, purchase this.

Why? Because it's all, oh, this looks good. This looks good. They have got that.

I've got to get this. So, the mind is like a sheep goes irrationally along the flow. Like that, when the mind gets captivated by something, something is portrayed as fashionable by the society, the mind gets captivated, the mind just goes in that direction and drags.

And when this happens, we waste a lot of our time, our energy and our money on non-essentials. Things are important and things are not all that important. So, when we waste our time on non-essentials, then after that, we don't have time for the essentials.

We waste our money on non-essentials and we don't have money for essentials. So, the mind is, that's why it is one of the characteristics of personal knowledge. Krishna says, Vivekta desha sevitvam aratir janasamsadhi.

Vivekta desha sevitvam. It's a person stays in a secluded place and aratir janasamsadhi. It's not caught up with the general mass of people.

It is not that a spiritual seeker has to necessarily do everything that is fashionable. It's not that we have to reject everything that is fashionable. Now, even in fashion, there can be certain things which make people look respectable, which make people take us seriously.

And we may do certain things, certain dresses, certain ways of conducting ourselves. That's fine. But fashion means, you know, there is just, you know, I have to get this, I have to get that, I have to get that.

Why? Because I just want to, I want to feel good. Then that becomes, we actually squander our time, squander our energy. And even when we are practising bhakti, if the whole business of advertising runs on showing us all the things we don't have, isn't it? Even if I have an iPhone, the Apple will run when I purchase the next iPhone.

So what happens is, I have an iPhone, but I have to get the latest iPhone. So that is, that way the whole advertising industry, it runs, the consumer industry largely, its fuel is consumer dissatisfaction. Unless the consumer is dissatisfied, the consumer will not take the latest product.

If the consumer doesn't take the latest product, then how will that particular advertising campaign be successful? So even as devotees, we connect with Krishna, we can experience higher satisfaction by practising bhakti, by becoming absorbed in Krishna. But if we, in an unfiltered way, expose ourselves to materialistic propaganda, then we will be practising bhakti, but while practising bhakti, we will be dissatisfied. I don't have this.

I don't have that. I don't have that. I don't have that.

And now this dissatisfaction is coming, not because there's anything wrong in the practise of bhakti. It's rather because we are exposing ourselves too much to materialistic things. So in the, I'll conclude with this point, in the austerity of the mind, which Krishna talks about in 17th chapter, 17.14, 15, 16, 17.16 when he talks about austerity of the mind, he says that, manah prasada saumyatvam maunam atmanigrahah bhava samshuddhir tyetas tapo maanasamukshati.

So manah prasada, Prabhupada translates this as satisfaction of the mind. Can you go down in the purport? Prabhupada writes, go down below further. Yeah, very good.

Yeah, the more we think of, satisfaction of the mind can be obtained only by taking the mind away from thoughts of sense enjoyment. The more we think of sense enjoyment, the more the mind becomes dissatisfied. That means, what Prabhupada is telling here is that satisfaction is not just an emotion.

Satisfaction is a decision. Sometimes I feel satisfied, sometimes I don't feel satisfied. It is just an emotion that sometimes comes upon me, sometimes doesn't come upon me.

Yeah, satisfaction has one aspect which is like that, but satisfaction is also a decision. That means, there are, if I look at all the things that I don't have, then I will naturally feel dissatisfied. If I decide that, okay, I'm not going to go in this direction, then why look in that direction? So if we look at all the objects that the media is going to portray towards us, then we'll get captivated by that, we'll want it, and if I don't have it, we'll be dissatisfied.

But if we don't expose ourselves to that propaganda, then we will not feel dissatisfied. So satisfaction is a decision, that means, in our life, we know certain things if we think about, they will cause dissatisfaction. So then I'll not think about those things, I'll not dwell on those things.

So in that sense, knowing what are the things which will trigger, inflame our desires, and we avoid exposing ourselves to this, exposing ourselves to them, then that's how we'll get satisfaction. So satisfaction is a decision. And when we take the decision, okay, this is not, I've decided with my intelligence, with my long-term planning, I don't want to go in this direction, I'm not going to purchase this thing.

If I'm not going to purchase this thing, then, you know, why go and look at it? Why look at its reviews? Why look at its pictures? Why look at it? I look at all the people who have it, I'm not going in that direction. So satisfaction is also a decision. And the mind, this is a beautiful thing about the mind is that, I said the mind is like a sheep.

Now the sheep follows more or less whatever is the trend. And if we come in the devotee association, and if we start following devotees, then the mind also becomes inclined towards bhakti gradually. If you come in the association of devotees, the mind has a nature to follow whatever is the trend it will follow.

So if we come in the devotee association and we find that the devotees are eager to practise bhakti, eager to serve Krishna, eager to study scripture, then we'll also want to and that way, the same tendency of the mind to follow if we can to follow. Now, of course, here, we don't follow blindly, use our intelligence to understand. But broadly speaking, the mind is like a sheep.

And in that sense, if we place ourselves in non devotee association, and try to practise bhakti, it's very difficult, because the whole current is in the opposite direction. And the mind's default tendency is to go along with the current. But if we are placed ourselves in devotee association, then to a large extent, practising bhakti becomes much easier.

The mind can always rebel, that is possible. But overall, it is easier to practise bhakti when there's an association of devotees. So that's how this tendency of the mind to go along with the flow, that can also be channelled by placing ourselves amidst devotional flow.

So when we place ourselves in the current of the association of devotees, then the mind moves to a longer association, and it takes us towards Krishna. I'll summarise, and then we can have some questions. I started by talking about how the mind, and for understanding the mind, we discussed four metaphors.

Anyone remember the first metaphor? Horse, yeah. The point of that metaphor is, breaking the horse. Train your mind.

The mind is indispensable. Your mind is the only mind that you have. You have to train it.

So, in that we discussed about abhyasa and vairagya, that it's a horse trainer, who goes repeatedly and tries to mount the horse, train the horse to move in a particular direction, like that we have to practise to focus the mind. And vairagya has two aspects. One is, that we don't expect instant success, that often we get depressed, not because we are unsuccessful, but because we have unrealistic expectations.

So we, expectations, we won't feel depressed. So like that, be detached. Even if success doesn't come immediately, the mind wanders, expect it to wander, get it back.

Don't expect that immediately you become focused. And second aspect of detachment is, whatever the mind gets excited about, don't go along with it. The horse wants to go there, it's not the mind goes over, that we also go over there.

It's not, it's just that the rider won't go away along with the horse. Similarly, we didn't go along, we didn't go with the mind. And then after the second example was? Wolf, the boy who cried wolf.

So actually the mind is both like the boy who cries wolf, and then the mind is also the wolf. So, the mind, just the boy imagines problems and there is no problem. Like that the mind magnifies the problem.

Worry is the interest that we pay on loans that we have not yet taken. This is a 10 kg problem, but the mind adds a 40 kg dystopia about it, negative fantasy about it, and then we feel crushed, we feel overwhelmed. So, now, the mind, in this way, it distracts us towards worry about the future, and that's why it acts like the boy who cries wolf.

But then it acts like the wolf, swoops down and consumes. What does it consume? It consumes the present. The present is the only time that I have to deal with issues really, whether it is correcting mistakes of the past, or whether it is preparing for dangers in the future.

And the mind consumes the present by its dystopian fantasies. So, mind makes us, gives us a free ticket to a horror movie. But in that horror movie, we are not the spectators, we are the victims.

So, we get overwhelmed. And then to deal with worry, to avoid that, we have to just, when the boy starts calling out, the villagers don't believe them, the intelligent villagers don't believe, like that. And the mind starts, it's a big problem, big problem, big problem.

So, what we need to do is, okay, in the future many things can go wrong, but what is in my control? So, worrying about things not in our control causes anxiety. So, obsessing over things not in our control causes anxiety. Focussing on the things in our control brings intensity.

So, intensity and anxiety are two sides of the same coin. And one way we can bring intensity is beyond intellectual. Intellectually, okay, this is my control, let me do it, but beyond that, devotional is, okay, what is not in my control is not out of control.

It is in Krishna's control. So, let Krishna take care of that, let me take care of this. That way bhakti can help us to neglect the voice of the, neglect the voice of the mind when it is, when it is making us unnecessarily worried.

And third example was, third metaphor? Dog. It is like a dog that barks, but cannot bite unless we let it. So, that means, just like a child who is sitting next to a parent and, oh, come on, mummy, I want this, mummy, papa, I want that.

The child cannot push the parent and take charge of the wheels. So, like that, the mind can propose, it cannot impose. So, when it is, we discussed 2.62 and 63, when there is contemplation and there is attraction, at that time, there is a voice inside me, look at that, that is nice.

But from that point, I accept its voice as my voice, I identify, I want that. Who can stop me from getting that? So, kama, krodha. So, once we accept the mind's proposal, it is that time that this dog, which is barking, starts biting.

It makes us do undesirable things. So, don't identify with the mind. What should we do? Identify the mind.

Oh, this is the mind speaking. So, this is the mind's voice, I don't have to listen to it. And that was the example of the dog.

And the fourth was? Sheep. So, sheep is, I discussed that, sheep follows blindly. Similarly, the mind follows blindly whatever is the common trend, whatever is the fashion.

So, it just makes us do what everyone else is doing. And that connection I discussed about how advertising industry, it actually triggers our emotions, makes us think that it's not just about how good the product is, how good the product will make me feel. And by triggering our feelings, they make us do irrational things.

So, the way to avoid this is to recognise that if we keep our intelligence strong, and Prabhupada talks about satisfaction. So, satisfaction is not just an emotion, it is also a decision. So, if I decided that I'm not going to go in this direction, then don't dwell on it.

Don't think about it. Don't dwell on it, especially. That way, if we don't think of the things that we don't have, we don't feel dissatisfied.

And we will be able to cultivate satisfaction. And the practise of bhakti, to the extent we avoid distracting material stimuli, to that extent dissatisfaction is avoided. And when you're focussing on Krishna, satisfaction also comes.

And that way we can joyfully practise bhakti and move onwards towards Krishna. Thank you very much. Are there any questions or comments? I have a question.

I realise that many times, maybe even before, I was asked by my dog family how to keep the mind, and identify the mind, and keep the mind as me. So, in the recent past, I've been trying to, you know, suffering because of the mind. Because I did it earlier, I identified with the mind.

I mean, not earlier, I didn't find the mind, I identified myself with the mind, and I suffered because of it. So then, you know, chanting has helped enormously. So if I, if any kind of anxiety or even fear comes in, I just sit down and let everything put me on a channel.

I can see a huge difference. I just feel that I can control the situation. So I was just thinking though, is there, I know chanting is the thing, but it's mantra, right? Mind, sound, mind, experience, try to reach to the system and express.

Is there anything, any specific things you'd like to give as well as anything more? Anything more about chanting or anything more about controlling the mind? Okay. So when we are troubled by the mind, how can we practically, what can we do to practically control it? We have, we say we have a circle of things that we like to do. And there's a circle of things that comprises bhakti, that comprises bhakti.

So now, there is some intersection between them. Say, I like music, and music is also a part of bhakti. So now, when I say I like music, what does it mean? That means my mind and my body are geared in such a way that they're attracted to music.

Yesterday I was talking about, we all have a particular machine to understand our body-mind machine. So now, if I can find out the things that fall in the intersection between what I like to do and what is in the scope of bhakti, then that can be something in which I can naturally engage myself. And to some extent, bhakti in the sadhaka stage is an effortful process.

It is not an effortless process. Now, I have to make an effort to focus on Krishna. I have to make an effort to detach the mind from worldly pleasures.

So it is an effortful process. But if we can find out what lies in this intersection of what I like to do and what is in the scope of bhakti, then we can do that quite effortlessly or relatively much with far lesser effort. So if somebody likes to, as I said, somebody likes music and they learn some musical tunes of Hare Krishna or some bhajans and then whenever the mind gets agitated, either by desire or by fear, I just start singing that.

I feel very calm, very uplifted. So for me, I find that memorising and reciting verses helps me a lot. When I am looking at the deities, unless I recite some verses, I don't feel any connection.

Now, this is actually quite individual. Once in a class, I told you that we can recite verses and then we can meditate on Krishna. After a couple of days, one devotee came to me and he said, Prabhu, you told me that we should recite verses, but now whenever I go in front of deities and I have to remember a verse, that causes so much tension that all bhakti goes away.

So, memorising and reciting verses is favourable for me, but that may not be favourable for someone else. So in Bhakti Samhita, the word that is used is uddipan. Uddipan means spiritual stimulus.

So what will be a uddipan for me may not be a uddipan for you and what is a uddipan for you may not be a uddipan for someone else. So while doing the activities of bhakti, we can try to find out what is our uddipan and try to make that uddipan as accessible as possible for us. So if, say, I like certain pictures of the deities, then I keep them in my phone or keep them in my pocket and whenever I feel a little fearful, feel agitated by anything, just look at the picture and pray.

So for people who are very visual, then some pictures of the deities may help. People who are very verbal, for them quotes may help or verses may help. For people who are very musical, some musical kirtans may help, musical tunes or musical kirtans or bhajans, they may help.

So we can find out what is the uddipan for us. And there is a standard process of bhakti which we definitely need to follow, chanting Hare Krishna, studying scriptures, worshipping the deity, we talk about ABCD, so studying the books, all those things, they are important. At the same time, while doing all this, we can find out where we can be naturally attracted to Krishna and then try to do that more.

So usually our mind has some default activity that is determined largely by its attachments. Now as soon as I have nothing to do, I can see what do I do. The mind may go towards money, the mind may go towards sense gratification, the mind, whatever, we have certain default thoughts to which the mind goes.

So if we can find out this intersection between what we like to do and what is in the scope of bhakti, then we can make that as our default thought. And when that happens, then we can be actually quite Krishna conscious most of the time. So that default thought which we have, that cannot be entirely given up.

You cannot say, I won't think about this. I have to think about something. So if I replace that with something which is both what I like to do and which is scope of bhakti, then staying Krishna conscious and staying happy is relatively easy.

I am currently writing a book on anxiety and bhakti. So I found that it is very interesting that the time when people have for enjoyment, that is the time when people have anxiety. If you are in office, you are working, you are busy.

But after you come back home and now we have leisure. But it is leisure, that is the time when the mind starts worrying. What if that happens? So when I have some work to do, then I don't have time to worry.

But after my work is done, when I have nothing to do, then the mind starts worrying. So actually the time which bh, people want for enjoyment, that is the time when the mind makes them worry. So if worry is the default state of our mind, when we find out something which we can do as a default within the scope of bhakti, then we can avoid this unnecessary worrying or unnecessary dissipation of our mental energies.

So chanting or the standard process of bhakti is important and we follow that. Along with that, we find out our uddhipan and try to make that as accessible as possible. Does that answer your question? So usually people say that Krishna Consciousness is the present moment.

They say you are going to feel my presence as Krishna Consciousness. But the mind is what takes you to the past and the future. So don't keep all the joy in the past and future.

Remain in the present. Because as a human we can hear the mantra, we try to hear the mantra so that we can be in the present. How do we try to be more in the present rather than in the future? So how can we live in the present rather than going into the past or the future? Now when Krishna says, in 6.5 he says, elevate yourself with the mind and don't degrade yourself.

The mind is a friend as well as the mind is enemy. So what Krishna is doing is basically you know creating a conceptual, it is a thought exercise where we are creating within ourselves the difference of a subject and object. Like say right now you are looking at me, I am looking at you.

So if I am looking at you, I am the subject and you are the object. Or you are looking at me, then you are the subject, I am the object. So when Krishna says elevate yourself, elevate oneself with the self, what it means is we are the subject but we make ourselves the object.

Let me say I am sitting right now, I am sitting here. Now we can conceptually think, okay I am sitting here, how do I look? Am I sitting properly or am I sitting twisted? Or what am I doing? We have the capacity for self-awareness. So like that if we make this a periodic exercise, that means while we are going through our life, just while we are rushing through things, it is like, suppose there is a TV.

Now this rarely happens but suppose you imagine this happens that there are two channels which are next to each other, channel 5 and channel 6. So suppose somehow there is some technological mess up and the visual is shown of channel 5 and the audio is coming of channel 6. No, it will make no sense. So like that we are doing one thing physically but the mind is doing something else mentally. So there is a mismatch.

That is how we become absent-minded, we become inattentive. And so just when we are doing things, just taking a break, maybe a few words, what am I doing? Just ask yourself, what am I doing right now? I am sitting in a class, I am trying to understand the Bhagavad Gita. What am I doing right now? What am I doing right now? Just asking this question, normally we are caught in looking at the world and not only we are caught in looking at the world, actually we are caught in looking at the world or looking at whatever the mind is showing us.

We are asking the question, what am I doing right now? That forces us to look at ourselves and we look at ourselves then, oh okay, I am supposed to be doing this but I am doing this. Or sometimes we are doing something but we are half-hearted about doing it. So what am I doing right now? Why am I doing this? Say something is worthless, if I ask the why question, there is no point in doing this, I should not be doing this, let me not do it.

Why am I doing this? Oh, this is important for me. Even if it does not feel good, actually it will bring good in future. So let me focus and do it.

So basically what question, what am I doing, makes us aware and then the why question makes us discriminated. This is what I will do, this is what I will not do. And the third is, how am I doing it? I am doing this, I am chanting right now but I am half-hearted.

Let me focus, let me become whole-hearted. So basically, to live in the present, it is good to become a periodic observer of oneself. So and the way to become observers of oneself is to ask this question, what am I doing, why am I doing, how am I doing? So if you ask these three questions, then we turn the focus on ourselves.

If we turn the focus on ourselves, then we can correct ourselves. But if the focus is just going wherever the mind is going, then we cannot correct ourselves. So Krishna talks about this actually, he points to this in the 14th chapter when he says, he is talking about how to transcend the moods.

So he says, 14.22, 23, he says that, 14.22, 23. So, no, 22, 23 are one verse, so put a dash and put 23 next to it. So, or maybe is it a slash? Let us go to 14.21 and go to the next page from there.

Next, next. Oh, 25 are together. Okay, fine.

So, are the shorthands Krishna uses to refer to goodness, passion, ignorance. In 14.11, 12 and 13, he has used this word prakasha for goodness, pravrtti for passion and moha for ignorance. And what is he saying over here? So when these influence of the mores come, don't be resentful of them or don't hanker for them.

When they go, rather what should one do? Be situated like detached. Don't be shaken by the mores. Know that this is happening because of the mores.

One who stays without being agitated, without being disturbed. That means, okay, what am I doing right now? I am supposed to be studying, but I am feeling sleepy. Why am I doing this? It's because of the mode of ignorance.

Let me shake it off. Maybe I can just stand up. Maybe I can do some physical activity, stretch myself a little bit, put some water on my face or whatever.

How am I doing it? So basically, rather than certain emotions may just come upon us. Now, the influence of passion may come, influence of ignorance may come. So, we don't have to get agitated by that.

Okay, it has come. Let me try to avoid it. Let me try to get rid of it.

So, if we can observe ourselves, then it is a very good way of living in the present. And actually, our purpose ultimately is not just to live in the present. Our purpose is to live in Krishna.

But the present is our channel to Krishna. So, if you see, the perfection is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, when He goes into a trance, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is just walking along the street, His associates are there next to Him and suddenly they say, Mahaprabhu has disappeared. He has gone.

Mahaprabhu has seen Krishna behind a tree and is running over there to see Krishna. So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu many times is not aware of the external circumstances at all. That is a state of very great absorption in Krishna.

And that is a perfection. So, for us, the perfection is not just to live in the present. Our perfection is to live in Krishna.

And advanced devotees, they may actually live in Krishna and for that, they may live in the past also. The Gopis, when Krishna had left them and gone away, at that time, they were constantly thinking about Krishna. When Krishna was with us, Krishna was… They are remembering how charming was the voice of Krishna, how endearing was the words that He spoke with His voice.

How meaningful, how sweet was the import of what He spoke. When will this Krishna come back? So, the Gopis were actually not living in the present. The Gopis were living in the past.

But they were living in Krishna. So, in the sadhaka stage, we do need to live in the present. But living in the present is not the ultimate perfection.

The ultimate perfection is to live in Krishna. And for us, to live in the present, sorry, to live in Krishna, the channel is to live in the present. And that's how we live in Krishna.

Did I answer your question? Thank you. Yes. You were mentioning about that advertisement, how the emotions are kind of either used or abused, because they want to see.

But then you also mentioned that mind is very dispensable and it automatically lets the energy of Aniruddha or the energy of Krishna, basically. So, my question was, there is this struggle for the sadhaka that one is neglecting the mind and kind of not writing a lot of divine simran. Another is that mind is such a powerful emotional vehicle with energy of Krishna also.

So, how do you balance both these things so that you use divine simran? Correct. Good question. So, on one level, I said the mind is like a, like a distracting child who may neglect.

On the other hand, say the mind is like a horse, which is indispensable for motion. So, what is it? How do we neglect the mind at the same time channel its energy? Yeah. See, the mind also is not monolithic.

Monolithic means it's not that there's only one thing in the mind. In the mind also, we can say there are, there could be devotional desires. Some devotional desires are also there.

There can be non-devotional desires, there can be anti-devotional desires. So, when we say neglect the mind, we are talking about the mind has anti-devotional desires and they are to be neglected. But the mind can also have devotional desires and they should be nourished.

And then there can be just non-devotional things. If we are working in our profession, then in our profession we may find, okay, this is what I like to do. This is the kind of job I can do well.

That's fine. So, and we can do that. So, broadly speaking, when we talk about sometimes neglecting the mind and sometimes using the mind, it is basically talking about different, we are dealing with different behavioural features of the mind.

So, when the mind is behaving non-devotionally, at that time we need to neglect it. But for other things, the mind can be channelled. In fact, we say, let's say there are the four varanas, Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra.

These varanas, they are not by birth. We say they are by guna karma, by the qualities and activities. Now, this quality, the Brahminical tendency of being intellectual.

Now, where is this situated? It is situated in the subtle body. It is not that it is situated in the gross body. And it is not situated in the soul.

The soul is beyond. Narapati naapi vaisho na shudra. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says that actually, I as a soul is a devotee of the Lord and beyond all this.

So, the varana that we have, that is situated in the mind. We can use the word mind as a shorthand for the whole subtle body. So, it is not that everything in the mind is to be rejected.

There is the sabhav, that is the deep-rooted nature that we have, that is something just to be channelled. So, we could say that the feelings which are there in the mind can be of three things. One is the sensual feelings, the sensual emotions that are there, which are often gross materialistic and they need to be gradually eliminated.

The second is the sabhava, the feelings that come from, say, if I am a musician, I like music. Now, music is not necessarily anti-devotional. It can be, but it does not have to be.

So, it is something to be channelled. If I am an intellectual, I like to study. That is something that is also there in the mind only.

So, there is a non-devotional component, which is, we could call as, it is often called as vasana. So, the vasana has to be given up. Then there is what is called vritti.

Vritti is basically our nature, you know, intellectual nature or kshatriya, martial nature, managerial nature, whatever it may be. So, that is something which needs to be channelled, that cannot be suppressed. And then beyond that, among the feelings that we have, there are some spiritual feelings also.

Sometimes we may get some special spiritual experiences where we experience some deep fulfilment in the relationship with Krishna. And we can have spiritual feelings, but at the present stage, the spiritual feelings are very nascent. They are very tender right now.

So, we need the mind in the sense that the mind is a channel for our consciousness to go to the body and to function. Again, this is something, going back to the software example, I need the software to use the hardware. But the software has come with some undesirable preloaded programmes.

Then either I have to delete those programmes or I have to regulate those programmes. Sometimes you turn on the mobile and then it just gets discharged so fast. I wonder, I just charge it and in 5 hours it got discharged.

And you go and look at the battery usage. In fact, there are so many apps going on in the background which are consuming the power. So, then we may have to consciously go and turn off those apps or disable those apps or just remove those apps, whatever it is.

So, like that, also in our own mind, we are doing one thing, but there are so many thoughts going on in the background. What about this? What about that? What about that? And let us say the background apps, they dissipate our mobile energy like that. There is a background thought, background desire, they dissipate our energy, mental energy.

So, if we can identify them and avoid them, curb them, then we can conserve our mental energy also. So, that way, we need to, so basically, the software is needed for using the hardware of the device. But if the software has come with preloaded, unwanted preloaded apps, then I have to delete those apps or deactivate those apps.

So, like that, the mind is the software, I need it. But within the mind, there are many vasanas, which are like the unwanted preloaded apps. Then they will always be consuming my energy and I need to, I need to check it, check it and prevent it from consuming that energy.

Does it address your question? Any other questions? So, what is the purified mind? Is it that in the non-devotional, anti-devotional, are not there at all in the pure mind? See, even when we are completely pure, we have a body and the body has its needs. There is hunger, there is thirst. So, now is this material? You could say at level it is material.

And I feel hungry, I feel thirsty, even a pure devotee will feel hungry, will feel thirsty. So, it is not that as long as we are in the material world, the material is important for us. We do not identify with it, but we recognise its importance.

The pure mind means the mind which is not controlled by the body's desires. So, the body has some genuine needs, which need to be fulfilled. But beyond that, the body has so many desires, which are basically pampering the body.

And they need to be fulfilled. So, the pure mind means the pure mind is focused on service for Krishna. And for serving Krishna, the body also needs to be taken care of.

And taking care of that body is not outside the ambit of service. So, it is not that a pure devotee will transcend hunger and thirst entirely. Sometimes in great phases of absorption, they may transcend hunger and thirst.

But for functioning with the body, food is needed, water is needed. So, those needs are integrated with the purpose of serving Krishna. The pure mind means the pure mind is simply concerned with serving Krishna.

And the body is seen as a tool for serving Krishna. So, the body is also taken due care of for the purpose of serving Krishna. How? The analogy that you gave about how we gradually lose our memories and intelligence.

First, we are attacked by contemplation, one sense of which then becomes lust, then anger, then we lose our memory, then we lose our intelligence. And intelligence is the last guard after which one just succumbs. So, can you please explain step by step, how if we drop the guard at one step, then we can still protect ourselves at the next step.

But even if that gets dropped, then how do we protect at the next step? And what is the guard? Good question, yeah. So, from the journey from contemplation to degradation, there are various stages. So, how can we protect ourselves at different stages? See, broadly for us when we fall, there are, there is, it's like from internal to external, and then again back to internal.

What does that mean? That if I see something, and I desire it, then I go out to get it. And then I indulge in it. So, in that sense, that's the process.

So, from there is desire, or first there is perception, we could say contemplation, I observe something in contemplation. From contemplation comes emotion, I like it, I want it. So, thought becomes emotion.

And from emotion comes intention, I want to do it, I will do it. And from intention comes action. So, broadly, instead of the eight stages, analysing them step by step will take a long time, but let's divide into these boxes.

The mind has three functions, thinking, feeling, willing. So, there is contemplation, emotion, intention, and action. So, now, in these stages, actually, internally, we have the protection of two things, there is a conscience and there is the intelligence.

The conscience is our innate sense of what is right and what is wrong. We all have a sense of conscience. So, based on what our parents have taught us, based on what our culture has taught us, I should not be doing this.

So, if I go to a shopping mall, and I see nobody is watching, I can just shoplift. I can do that and maybe nobody will notice. But then I have my conscience which tells me don't do this.

So, this is just a voice that comes from within. So, to some extent, our conscience is like our instinctive inner guard. We don't consciously think, no, just immediately, this should not be done, we cannot be doing this.

It's instinctively the voice comes. So, conscience is like a inner protective reflex action. Like say, if I sit on this chair, and I find there's a thorn or a nail over there, immediately I get up.

It's not that I don't think, oh, this is hurting me, I don't get up. Immediately I get up, it's instinctive, it's like a reflex action. So, conscience is like that, like our internal reflexive protector.

And beyond that, there is the intelligence. Intelligence means, it's by deliberation. This is right, this is wrong.

This is what, if I do this, this will have harmful consequences. If I do this, this will have beneficial consequences. So, then I either avoid a particular course of action or I persevere in a particular course of action.

So, intelligence is also another internal protector. So, conscience and intelligence, both of them are inner protectors. And then externally, the culture often acts as a protector also.

And if you are in a pious culture, if you are in a spiritual culture, then certain things are frowned upon. And just to not earn the disapproval, just to avoid getting the disapproval of people, we may avoid certain things. So, if we are in a materialistic, if we are in a devotional culture and we engage in sensual activities, then we disapprove.

So, the devotional culture itself acts like a protector. No, I should not be doing this. So, that is the culture itself can be a protector.

And that means, at this stage, we are talking about, see, there is thought, there is for contemplation, there is emotion, there is intention, there is action. So, when there is contemplation, emotion, action, emotion, intention, at this stage, there is the protection. Through conscience, there is protection at the level of contemplation itself.

Don't think about this. Don't even entertain this. But intelligence can act at the level of emotion, it can act at the level of intention also.

Srila Prabhupada says in one letter that intelligence means to kill the thought before it becomes an action. To kill the thought before it becomes an action. Thought is coming, from that it will go to emotion, from that it will go to intention, it will go to action, stop it, somewhere in between.

That is intelligence. But beyond that, if we know that there are certain things which are my weak points, there are certain things which I am vulnerable to, then we can, to protect ourselves, we can create obstacles between us and that object. So, for example, if somebody has been alcoholic and is now recovering alcoholic, then they are told, don't keep any bottles of alcohol in your house.

Don't keep, if you are staying, if your house is next to a bar, it is going to be very difficult. So, you may have to take a measure of shifting your house. Basically, don't make that object very easily accessible.

Create some obstacle between oneself and the object. So, suppose somebody is a shopaholic, just shop too much, then a practical guideline that is given is that don't take your credit card with you, just take cash. So, what happens, there is an upper limit to how much I will purchase.

So, even if I have something, even if I feel I want to purchase this, what happens is when the impulse comes, the impulse takes away our rationality, takes away our intelligence. So, even if I find something good, it is not that it is going to disappear overnight. I can go back, I can evaluate it, tomorrow I can go and purchase it also.

So, if we find that we have certain weaknesses, then we can create some obstacles between ourselves and that particular object. So, if I find that, say, on the internet, I tend to waste a lot of time looking at this, looking at that, looking at that, then I might put some net filters where the internet will be accessible only at particular times of the day or internet only certain sites will be accessible or whatever. There is almost all devices now come with parallel control functions.

So, basically, this is important. If there is no distance between us and the object to which we are tempted, then it is very difficult to protect ourselves. Because if you see, when that temptation comes, when the desire starts going strong, it is not that the desire stays strong 24 hours a day.

If we consider our consciousness level to be like this, we have spikes of desires. The desire shoots up at that time, I just have to do this. How can I not do this? I must do it, I must get it.

But that spike, it does not last for long. After some time, the spike goes away, the desire comes down. So, if when the spike has come, at that time, the spike of desire overrides our conscience, it overrides our intelligence, it makes us do that thing.

So, when the spike is there, if during that time, somehow we have created some obstacle by which the object is not available to us, then by that time, we make the arrangement to get that object. See, ultimately, if I want to do something wrong, nobody can stop it. Now, I may go and get a house in the opposite end of the town from where a bar is.

But if I really decide I am going to drink, then I will go across the town and go to the bar. So, if I have parallel control software on my computer, and if I am just determined to do something, I will find some way around, I will delete the programme, I will reset the machine, I can do anything. But the point is, all this takes time.

Now, to remove the obstacle between us and the object, that takes time. And quite often, during that time, the spike goes down. Our intelligence comes, hey, why am I doing this? There is no need for me to do this.

So, we can find out what our temptations are and create spikes for ourselves, sorry, create obstacles between us and that object. So, if somebody finds that, they tend to overeat. And they also feel hungry.

If you are hungry, it is not possible that I cannot eat. I have to eat when I am hungry. But then what I can do is, I can make sure that I will keep healthy food with me.

And maybe I will keep some salads, some fruits, some healthy snacks, not some unhealthy snacks. So, that way, we can create some obstacles between us and the object. And that way, we can avoid, we can protect ourselves from succumbing when the desires come.

And most important thing is, that even if we succumb, we can rise and move on. Actually, see, when the spike comes, sometimes it is almost unmanageable. And we just, we just, we may fall at that time.

But we may fall down, but we do not have to fall away. Fall down means I am up to a particular standard. I fall back, fall down from that standard.

But fall away means I give up the practise of bhakti. So, we fall down, but we do not have to fall away. Okay, the spike came and I did something wrong.

But then now the spike is not there. Now, let me do the right thing. The mind is so devious, that the mind first makes us a criminal.

The mind is like a criminal, which makes us a criminal. And then the mind becomes a judge who beats the criminal. So, first the mind says, come on, do this, do this, do this.

And after I do this, you are so dumb. When will you learn? So many times you did the same mistake, you are hopeless. And either way, what is happening? In both cases, when we are doing the wrong, and then when we are beating ourselves up for doing the wrong.

In both cases, we are mind conscious. We are not Krishna conscious. And when we are mind conscious, next time when the spike comes, we are no better prepared, again we will suck up.

So, even if something happens when the spike goes up, just put it behind. Now the spike is not there, let me focus on doing constructive activities. Let me focus on practising bhakti.

And if during the period between the spikes, I am doing constructive activities, I am practising bhakti, then during that time, I am getting purified. I am getting spiritually strengthened. And over a period of time, I'll become strong enough that even the spike comes, I'll be able to resist it.

So, we don't have to become discouraged by anything in bhakti. Even if we fall down, from some standard, we don't have to become discouraged. Because falling down is maya.

Falling down is the first attack of the mind. Discouraging us because of having fallen down is the second attack of the mind. So, we may not be able to resist the first attack, but we can resist the second attack.

So, what do we need to do? Associate with devotees who will encourage us. Know that Krishna has still given me the opportunity to practise bhakti. So, let me practise bhakti.

And that way, no matter whether it is at the level of contemplation, emotion, intention, there is a conscience or the intelligence which protects us. Between intention and action, there is the external guard, external culture, or the personally designed obstacle between us and the object that protects us. And even if none of these protections work, still, we can always rise.

We shouldn't become discouraged and rise and start practising bhakti in between the spikes. And gradually, the spikes will become more manageable and controllable. Did I answer your question? Thank you.

Any other questions? Yes, there are two mics. Nice. One mic can go here.

Thank you, Shankarji. Thank you for a wonderful class. It was so timely because I just finished my horror movie with the mic.

And then I just learned how all that from a horror movie and wow. So, I just want to learn a little bit more about how can we, you know, I'm trying to play in the horse. It's so difficult.

What gives me hope is wow, Arjuna was having such a tough time. I am just a killer. Chanting right now, I am definitely doing it.

The mind always finds me. It's going to take me 12 minutes to do a round multiplied by how many I'm deciding to do. Gives me the sum total of the time.

You have that much time. So, I know I can identify and start observing when my mind is playing tricks with me. Still chanting feels like in middle school here they teach students how to run several minute miles.

So, it seems like a pretty arduous task. Can you give us some practical, simpler, practical tips? How do we train our mind? Specifically for chanting or in general? Yeah, no. I'm chanting, yes.

I know heretically, but applying sometimes gets difficult. So, how can we train the mind practically? Even chanting seems to be like a more like a workout which has to get done. And how can we learn to more identify the mind or deal with the mind better? See, when a war is happening, at that time, if the defending army knows the kind of weapons that the opposing army uses, knows the kind of strategies the opposing army uses for attacking, then the defending army is better prepared to deal with it.

And all this is the function of the intelligence. There is a spy who goes inside and they find out the weapons and the strategy is planned. And then the defending army can defend better.

So, like that, it's not that the mind troubles us in unlimited ways. We could say specifically they can be unlimited, but there are broad patterns. So, for some of us, the mind may worry too much.

For some, I may desire something too much. The mind may become very judgemental about someone. The mind may become very depressed about things going wrong.

If we look at our mind, we can find out maybe three, four standard ways in which the mind troubles us. And then if you find that, we can prepare our own responses to the mind. That means that if I start worrying about something, the mind starts showing a horror mood.

At that time, I may not remember the philosophy that I heard in the class. But that is the time when I need to remember it. So, what I can do is, this is a particular situation, I have financial insecurities or I have some relational insecurity, whatever it is.

If something is repeatedly troubling me, then it's worth it to invest some time to deal with it. That means I just write down my fears. Okay, this may happen, this may happen, this may happen.

Now, quite often, writing down our fears itself shows many of the fears to be insubstantial. Sometimes, you know, we feel very worried about someone and then we want to talk with someone, we want to tell them the problem. And we tell them the problem, that seems so trivial, you know.

It's not such a big problem. But then now we have told them, I have a problem. Then what we do is, when we are speaking, we realise it's a small problem.

But how can I tell a small problem to others? So, then I exaggerate the problem. That's how we try to do it, try to save face at that time. But if we just verbalise our problem, write it down, when we have a journal or something, write it down.

And that itself deflates, that itself decreases the temperature of the mind. The mind is becoming feverish. Just writing down, we say, this is not likely to happen.

At one level, anything can happen in life. But we can't lead our life worrying and fearing anything and everything that can happen. Some things are possibility.

Actually, almost everything can be a possibility. But some things are probabilities. If I am driving in a car which has a defective brake, then an accident is not just a possibility, it is a probability.

Probability means something which is very likely to happen. If I start worrying about possibilities, I will not be able to do anything. If I am sitting in this room, the roof can collapse.

That is also a possibility. We do not have to worry about it. So, just once we start verbalising what the mind is worried about, that itself helps us to differentiate.

This is a possibility, this is a probability. Possibility, I do not have to worry about. So, many of our fears are exposed as insubstantial when we write them down.

Just get it out. And once we have got it down, the mind feels I have got a vent now. And then it is in trouble of so much.

Then afterwards, when we have calmed down, we go back and look at what are the fears of the mind. And then use our intelligence to address them. And okay, if this happens, then I can do this, this, this.

If this happens, I can do this, this, this. And then using our intelligence, we write down our own plan of how to address that fear. And then whenever next time the fear attacks, you know, we can go back.

Just read back. Okay, if this happens, I can do this, this. If this happens, I can do this, this.

And each time when we refer to it, we can keep refining it. So, this becomes like our customised weapon for dealing with the mind. And while talking about how to deal with the mind, it is not just practical steps.

We can write philosophical insights also. So, you know, what we have heard from scriptures, what we have heard from classes. You can write down those points also.

Okay, this is a big problem. Let me not be, let me not get into anxiety. Let me get into intensity.

We focus on what can I do in this situation. So, we basically, I call this as, you know, journaling is the way we make our intelligence the counsellor of our mind. The mind first points out.

So, imagine sometimes we have a senior devotee or senior friend who may go for counselling. So, if we envision, you know, ourselves as there are two chairs, once I sit on this chair of the counselling, then I sit on the chair of a counsellor. So, first I went out whatever is my problem.

So, speak it out, that is the counselling speaking. Then after the mind is calmed down because of having went it, then I go back and look at it and counsel oneself. So, actually, you know, if we could just do this, create this difference of subject and object in ourselves, there is one thing which we all are expert at doing.

There is nothing that we give as freely as advice. You know, the same worry, which is paralysing me right now, if somebody else came with that same worry, I would give a very good class of why you should not be worried. So, it is not that we do not know how to deal with it, but it is just that the mind does not allow us to apply it at that time.

So, if we can create that distance, okay, this is the mind, this is the intelligence. So, let the mind vent itself out. And then I direct my tendency to give advice, to give advice to myself.

That means I become the intelligence and give advice to the mind and write this down. So, next time, whenever the mind starts troubling, then we can go and refer to that. And similarly, now this is actually intellectual.

This is not necessarily transformational. The mind still has the habit to worry, but I know how to deal with it. But when we practise bhakti, connect with Krishna, the mind becomes purified of the tendency to worry.

So, worry is actually a function of tamo guna, the mode of ignorance. But by practising bhakti, we rise from, our consciousness rises from the lower modes to the higher modes, towards sattva guna and above. So, by the practise of bhakti, the tendency to worry itself will decrease.

So, through our intelligence, through intellectual analysis, when the mind worries, we have some tools to deal with it. But the practise of bhakti, it actually decreases the tendency of the mind to worry itself. And so, when we are chanting, and we find chanting to be a burden, it's a task to be done.

So, what we could do is, we can prepare something similar. Why am I chanting? Why is chanting important for me? So, write down some points. And then, if we are chanting and we feel that this is such a big burden, these are the reasons why I am doing this.

So, in every activity, there is a price, and there is a prize, you know, P-R-I-C-E prize and P-R-I-Z-E prize. So, what I have to pay and what I am going to get. So, usually, if we feel that what I have to pay is more than what I have to get, what I will get, I feel why am I doing it.

But if I remember, okay, I am going to get all this by this, then this prize is worth it. So, like that, when we are chanting at that time, what the result is, we often don't remember. I had to put in so much effort.

That seems to be a big burden. But if you have it written down, you know, why is chanting important for me? Why am I doing this? Then, that intelligence shifts, intelligence corrects the distortion that the mind has created in the perception. So, actually, the prize from chanting is far, far greater than the prize.

But at the moment, the prize almost is invisible and the prize seems too much. So, if we have our intelligence, if we have written down our own reasons, why am I doing this activity? Then that perception distortion that has happened, that can be corrected. And then we can get the intellectual impetus to practise bhakti.

That is, so basically, using our intelligence to counsel the mind, that is one way in which we can correct the mind's undesirable tendencies. Does it address your question? Just to add on, can you suggest like a very simple prayer that sometimes I, it could be, you know, a habit of running 10 minutes late or something and I am struggling and I am dying and forecasting it, you know, something. So, sometimes I just give up and I say, Krishna, you created me and you got to fix me.

I am somehow not able to do this project by myself. So, is there a simple prayer that we can kind of direct? Okay. So, if you find that there are some things which we try to do, maybe we procrastinate things and we are trying and trying to correct that, but we cannot correct it.

So, is there some prayer or something which we can do practically? See, firstly, you know, we all have to learn to choose our battles. There are many things wrong inside me also. But if I try to correct all those things, I will get paralysed.

I will get overwhelmed. So, initially, when we are starting our journey for self-improvement, we also need self-confidence that I can do this. So, if you have found a habit that has been buried there for a very long time, it is very difficult to give up, then we have to see how things work for us.

Sometimes it may be advisable to choose a smaller battle. And some habit which I know, I can do this if I just put in some effort, but I am not putting that effort. And then we put in that effort, we change ourselves, we improve ourselves, that gives us confidence, you know, yes, I can do this.

Then we can take a bigger battle. So, if some habit is repeatedly troubling us, then don't invest yourself emotionally too much in conquering that bad habit, that undesirable habit only. Find out something else which you can do that gives us confidence and then we move on, then we can deal with a bigger habit.

That's from the practical point of view. Of course, we have to see what inspires us. Sometimes, you know, taking up a big challenge may inspire us also.

But then we have to see realistically whether I am improving by this or not. As far as praying is concerned, there are many Sanskrit prayers and there are many Vaishnav songs. Vaishnav songs are often very simple.

So, if we find within the Vaishnav song some prayer, which we can connect with very easily, then that is something which we can recite. Or sometimes we may hear a verse and the prayer for ourselves. That means the verse is Sanskrit, Krishna giving an instruction, but I can convert Krishna, this is what you told me to do, please help me to do it.

So, Krishna tells, you know, if you become conscious of me, you will pass over all obstacles by my grace. So, Krishna can say, Krishna, please, you will help me to cross all obstacles, but I need to become conscious of you, please help me to become conscious of you. So, we have to find out whichever prayer works for us.

As I said that each mind is an individual mind. And it's not that the prayer that works for me will work for you. So, you can look at, when you hear classes, read prayers, find out whichever works for you.

And even the language also, we can verbalise the prayer in English, we can verbalise in Sanskrit, we can verbalise it in Bengali, whatever language it is. It can be our traditional, our native language also, that's fine. The important thing is, we have to find out what is the path by which our consciousness can go towards Krishna, our emotion can go towards Krishna.

So, once we find that, then we can tap that more and more. So, when we are memorising prayers or memorising songs or memorising verses, we don't even need to memorise a full verse or a full song. Just one line may calm us down.

So, this is more pragmatic. We find what works for us and do that. Does that answer your question? Thank you.

Jai Krishna. Yes, any last question here? Jai Krishna. Thank you very much for the insightful lecture and for the insightful answer.

So, my question relates to one of the questions that Mateji asked about being in the present. You mentioned that it's more important to be in Krishna. Be Krishna conscious than just present conscious.

I didn't say that. I said that is our ultimate purpose. I said for us, to a large extent, we have to be in the present to be in Krishna.

I am not saying that. Being in the present and being in Krishna are not competitors at our stage. At our stage, both of them go together.

If I am being in the present, I can be in Krishna. But ultimately, we want to be in Krishna more than just being in the present. So, related to this, in Dravida Samhita, there is this verse, Shriya Kanchal Kanchana.

There is no passage of time at all. Is that the question? Rather than exist in the present time, who is ever present and without past or future, and hence is not subject to the quality of passing away, even so in the case of past and future. Yeah.

So, what does it mean to not be there in the present, to not have any past or future, when we are being in the present? Okay. Nimeshara dhakyo avarjati nahi atraapi samaya, bhajeshvetu nipam tamaham imandam. So, Nimeshara… Okay, repeat.

What is the Brahma Samhita statement about time? He said that there is not the passage of even one moment. Eternal time exists. What does that actually mean? So, it is basically time, does it exist in the spiritual world? Definitely it exists.

So, in fact, there is a whole smarana paddhati, Govinda Leela smarana paddhati, Govinda Leela Amrit talks about it, where it describes that which pastimes Krishna performs in which times of the day. So, in the morning, Krishna wakes up, he performs pastimes with his mother, the time when he goes out with the Gopas, evening again with his mother. Then like that, at different times, he performs different pastimes.

And what the sadhaka does is, sadhaka meditates on the activities that Krishna is performing in the spiritual world at the time corresponding. That means, in the morning, the sadhaka maintains on Krishna's Vatsalaya's pastimes. In the daytime, the sadhaka meditates on Krishna's Sakhira's pastimes, like that.

So, definitely there is time in the spiritual world. So, what does it mean when it says that there is no passage of time? See, what it means is that in this world, time does two things. It controls and it deteriorates.

It controls means I am able to do something very enjoyable. But this time gets over. I have to go now.

Now, when Krishna is performing Rashtrila with the Gopis, he doesn't say, oh, I have to catch a local now. You know, Krishna is performing Rashtrila, what happens? It's for one night, but Krishna makes that one night into a Brahma's night. He expands it unlimitedly so that Krishna can perform pastimes to his heart's content.

The Gopis can perform pastimes to their heart's content. So, essentially, the time is not the controller. Time is controlled by Krishna.

And secondly, in this world, time deteriorates. I may be young and healthy right now, but 20, 30 years down the line, I'll be decrepit. I'll be old.

I may become sickly. Everything is deteriorated by time. But in the spiritual world, there is no deterioration by time.

There is just the circling of time that happens, but there is no deterioration. So, when Nanda Maharaj is elderly, he is eternally elderly. And he doesn't grow further old than what he is.

So, like that, whoever is there, they are basically the same. Basically, the Krishna Leela goes on cycling again and again, new pastimes, new reciprocations, but there is no passage of time in the sense of there's no deterioration that happens because of time. So, it is in this sense, if you see, when Krishna defines in the Bhagavad Gita also, specifically, how does he define it in 11.32? Kaalosmi lokak shayakrut pravartho.

Time I am, Kaalosmi lokak shayakrut, the destroyer of the world. I have come for that purpose. So, Krishna talks about time primarily in terms of its destroying capacity, its deteriorating and destroying potency.

And that destroying and deteriorating potency is not there in the spiritual world. So, in that sense, there is no passing away of time. That means, it's not that, at that time, we had good old times and now the good old times are gone.

No. All times are good times in the spiritual world because nothing is lost. All the facilities for Leela, they are eternally available.

They are eternally relishable. And Krishna performs pastimes accordingly. So, when we talk about living in the present here, it is talking more in terms of our focus of our consciousness.

Whereas, where there is an eternal present, when it is talked about, that means that whatever is, when that is talked about in spiritual world about things being eternally present or eternal present, what it means is that whatever is required for Krishna's pastimes is eternally present. And nothing passes away. Nothing gets deteriorated.

Everything stays eternally fresh, available and relishable for being engaged in Krishna's pastimes. Does that answer your question? So, this means that devotees in the spiritual world, they don't feel like, so yesterday there was a pastime. So, there is not also a pastime like yesterday or today.

Oh, no, no. Definitely there is. See, remember, you know, the Gopas come back and they tell, okay, I understood.

And does it mean that Krishna doesn't, there is no recollection of past pastimes in the spiritual world? No, there is definitely. Because the Gopas every night come back and they tell at home, you know, what did Krishna do during the day? What did we all do during the day? And they discuss. So, it's definitely the past, present and future in the sense of as a memory of the past and the preparation for the future.

That is definitely there. So, sometimes when Krishna goes out further, sometimes when Krishna goes out in the morning for herding, you know, he comes back for lunch. So, if the grass is available, close by, the cows are available, close by, Madheshwara does come back for lunch.

That day he doesn't carry lunch with him. Some other days when he is going far away, then he cannot come back by lunchtime. Then Madheshwara packs lunch and gives him.

So, if he is coming back by lunch, Madheshwara just gives him some snacks. For that she gives him full lunch and he goes out. This is also what is it, it's preparing for the future.

So, definitely past, present and future are there. So, what is not there is, that it is not that the passage of time causes deterioration of things. So, it is simply in the sense of deterioration that there is no passage of time.

But in terms of experience, yes, there is clear recollection, there is clear anticipation. Okay, we are going to do this today. Krishna is going to come here today.

It's definitely. That's what makes the.