SB 5.11.17 – We can’t neglect the mind by being mind-conscious; we need to be conscious of a reality higher than the mind

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Thank you. This is the last among the instructions of Jada Bharat.
And here he is describing Prathravya Menam. Prathravya means enemy. Prabhupada translates it as formidable enemy.
Adabravirya. So virya is strength and adabravirya means immeasurable strength. So the mind is an enemy that has immeasurable strength.
And upekshaya the best way to deal with this mind is by neglect. Upekshaya dheditam apramattah. So actually the mind if it is not an upekshaya it has already become very increased in its power because in the past we have not neglected it.
It is already very very powerful and apramattah. It is not having it is actually apramattah is when we become apramattah. So we become un-intoxicated.
How can we do that? How can we neglect the mind? Often it is said we neglect the mind. But the only way to neglect the mind is by connecting with Krishna. Because the whole focus is if we try to say no to the mind we will still say we will still be mind conscious.
And when we are mind conscious it is very difficult to battle with the mind. We have to rise to a level of consciousness above the mind. Mind’s level, above the mental level.
And that comes by Guru Harer Charanopasanaastra. So the service Upasana means worship. That means a reverential attitude of service towards Guru and Hari.
What will it do? That will act like a weapon. If there is a formidable enemy we need a weapon to fight with it. And the service to Guru and Krishna is the weapon by which Jaihi Velikam we will be able to conquer.
The mind is actually false. Jaihi Velikam. Whatever it tells us is not the reality.
And it’s emotions are not our actual emotions. But we feel them as real because we in illusion misidentify with them. So I am Atma Mosham.
So this mind Atma Mosham. Our real identity it covers over. Instead of allowing us to act at the level of the soul it forces us to act at the level of the body as per our specific designations and illusions.
So it is said that we should neglect the mind but we have to remember that neglecting is not possible by staying at the level of the mind. To neglect the mind we really have to be unconscious of the mind. Not unconscious in an ignorant way where the mind carries us away and we are not even conscious the mind is carrying us away.
Rather this is unconscious in opposite way in which we focus more on being conscious of Krishna and therefore in that absorbed consciousness of Krishna we become unconscious. If a movie is going on in TV then there are two ways one can become unconscious of the TV. One is we become so conscious of the illusion going on in the TV that we forget that I am a person and I am watching the movie.
We completely enter into the illusion. The other is that maybe we are reading some book we are engaged in some very absorbing conversation with a close friend and then we also become unaware of the TV. So the second is the kind of neglect that we want of the mind.
We don’t want to be neglectful of the mind in the sense that we are not aware that the mind is dangerous and then we let the mind carry us away. Rather our neglectfulness of the mind is in terms of being negligent of the high of the illusions of the mind because of a higher engagement. That higher engagement in Guru Harosh, Charanopasanastro.
So the more we become absorbed in the remembrance of Krishna, the more we will be able to become free from the illusions and misconceptions and desires that the mind comes up with. So we shouldn’t become attentive to the mind to be neglectful of the mind. We need to become attentive to Krishna to become neglectful of the mind.
And yes, we want to be aware that the mind is dangerous and the mind is attacking and misleading us. We want to be aware so that we can fight it off. But we can’t be conscious of the mind because when we stay at the mental level the mind will overpower us.
But when we are conscious of Krishna and we strive to be conscious of Krishna and if the mind starts dragging us away we will become conscious, oh my connection with Krishna is going down and then we will fight back. And so in that way we will be able to deal with the mind also. So we neglect the mind by becoming conscious of Krishna, not just by becoming, striving to be unconscious of the mind.
And that opportunity to be conscious of Krishna is available to us through the chanting of the holy names and through the prayerful connection with Krishna that the process of bhakti yoga offers.