Gita 02.61 – Use existing mind control to give control to the supreme controller

Thank you and by this control what will you do make me the goal fix them on me in this way I will be able to conquer them and one who has done so is steady in intelligence now the verse can be seen as talking about stages though our senses are not controlled right now but we can't say that they are uncontrolled either in the sense that it's not that we have absolutely no control over them we have some measure of control and sometimes the senses go completely out of control so the whole process of purification and self mastery rests on using what we have to increase what we have so here the verse starts with as seekers our goal is control senses but our process is also to control the senses so when we are chanting we want to control the mind but chanting requires us to control the mind so whatever little control we have we use that but that alone is not enough what makes the big difference is we use whatever control we have to connect with Krishna the supreme controller and that is what purifies us that is what elevates us that is what disinfects the senses of the infection of lust, anger, greed and sthanarthas and by that from sanyamya one goes to vasha, sanyamya means control, vasha actually means conquest one is able to gain mastery over the senses and one who has gained such mastery one who adopts this process by which one gets this mastery that person is prajna pratishtita this person's intelligence or prajna is well situated now in the process of chanting we all need to work on purifying ourselves and that purification requires using whatever control we have at present to secede control of our consciousness to Krishna when we does surrender to Krishna surrender doesn't have to be passive in terms of just raising our hands although raising our hearts and calling can also be surrender surrender means that we use the control we have to come under the control of the supreme controller and by that he makes us safe he makes us pure hearted he makes us safe actually the presence of the anarthas in our heart makes us insane and when we connect with Krishna that connection with him makes us sane it enables us to see things for what they are to see the futility of the minds dreams and schemes and to see the glory of absorption in Krishna we need to control our mind for doing various things, for doing our studies, doing our job for doing our family responsibilities or whatever but these in and of itself don't grant us further control over the mind we just have to make do with whatever control we have it's like people use their muscles, use their body for various purposes, they need the body but using that body in that way normally doesn't necessarily improve the body but then there are special exercises say people do body building with different kinds of exercises that also uses the existing body but that builds the body that sort of exercise is specially meant for building the body similarly whatever routine we do, activities they require mind control and we do use whatever mind control we have for doing those activities but our devotional activities where we fix the mind in Krishna they are like special body building activities they are what build our control and just as a healthy body helps a person to do other activities also better similarly a healthy mind, a controlled mind enables us to do everything better so knowing this pervasive effect, pervasive positive effect of chanting we can become determined to use fully whatever control we have on the mind and fix it on Krishna and call out to him and pray to him Krishna you please take control of my mind you please make it attracted to you and make it act for your service in fact that is the mood with which we chant Krishna please engage me in your service, thank you.