SB 5.11.1 Working on purifying the mind requires going beyond the superficial to the substantial

Transcript

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Srimad Bhagavatam 5.11.1 This is the instructions of Jadbharat to Maharaj Raghuguna PAKOVIDHA KOVID VADAN VADASYA THONATI VIDAM VARISHTHAH NISURAYOHI VYABHARAMENA TAKTHOHA MARISHESAH AMARANTHI In the holy name till now I have been taking prayers, but several devotees have requested that I speak a little bit more about the mind, which is the only obstacle in taking shelter of the holy name. This section of the Bhagavatam speaks quite a bit about the mind, and that’s why I’ll be speaking on this section although it’s not a prayer but it’s an instruction.
Even the instructions of the scriptures can be converted into prayers as a appeal to the Lord to give the strength to apply what is being taught over there, instructed over there in the scriptures. The setting of this situation is that Jadbharat and Maharaj Raghuguna are meeting in the forest. Jadbharat was forced to carry the palanquin and then due to repeated bumps Maharaj Raghuguna chastised him, threatened him and Jadbharat spoke about how he is not the body and he is not small or big and he is entirely different from the body.
Maharaj Raghuguna replied by first offering obeisances seeking forgiveness for the offences and then said that what you are saying doesn’t seem to make sense to me because I have heard differently. His point is that as long as we are inside the body we will be affected by the body. So now we will talk more about how there is a difference between the Vedic knowledge that is superficial and the Vedic knowledge that is deep.
Vedic knowledge that is superficial refers to knowledge of Karmakand and Vedic knowledge that is deep refers to knowledge that pertains to liberation. So Kovidah means one who is truly wise, one who has experience, one who has learned not just in a theoretical but in a realized sense. Although you are not experienced, you are speaking words as if you are experienced.
This is exactly the same instruction that Krishna gives to Arjuna at the start in 2.11 in the Bhagavad Gita. But such is not the way that those who are Vidham truly will speak. Because the surayas they do not engage in such mundane social behavior.
Avamarshena means absorption in deep discussion, fine judgment by intelligence So that involves absorption and then further discussion and the deep judgment that underlies both. So here it’s talking about taking the discussion from superficial religious level to substantial spiritual level. And that same elevation is essential for us when we chant the holy names.
Generally speaking, when we think about is everything alright, we talk at the superficial material level. Is my health okay? Is my job okay? Is my family okay? All these may be okay. But if my mind is not okay, if my desires are misdirected and impure, then all these okay things will not keep me okay for very long.
And if internally my mind is focused, even if external things are not okay, still I will be able to stay peaceful and focused and go about setting things right in the most effective way. So, in the process of chanting, we focus on the internal. Ultimately we want to liberate the soul from material existence by developing love for Krishna.
But we also want to purify the mind so that that liberation will eventually take place. So for that purification, consistent contact with the holy name is important. And we focus not on getting material results, whether it is by karmakanda through some rituals or whether it is karma just by our hard work.
A Kovida understands that just by physical hard work or external work, things will not become okay or stay okay. For them to stay okay, the mind has to be purified. The mind’s desires have to be aligned with the will of the Lord.
And that is essentially what we do when we chant the holy names. That’s why this is the activity that is considered most important by the Kovidas. And by philosophically remembering that ultimately this alone will make us truly and sustainably happy, we put aside the mind’s infatuation with other activities and focus on the chanting of the holy names at least during the time of japa.