When the mind treats worldly objects, not Krishna, as its home, how to respond?
Answer Podcast
Transcript
This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So in the condition stage, the tendency is to go towards various other objects. The mind goes towards other objects. It doesn’t really come back to Krishna as a home.
So what to do at that time? We have to expect that and prepare for it. Just like a mother may tell her child, you know, sit here peacefully. A child is not going to stay peaceful, is it? But the mother knows and knowing that she prepares for it.
She may tell the child to sit here and play peacefully. Give some toys to play. The child may go here and explore that.
The child may go here and explore that. So what the mother… the mother, she may not always be able to sit next to the child and watch. She has other household work, other work to do also.
But while doing other work also, she keeps an eye on the child. It’s gone. Come back here.
Sit here only. She warns, don’t go there. So basically, the mother cannot expect that I told the child sit here, the child is going to sit here.
So the mother has to keep an eye. And when the child goes off track, bring the child back. So actually, we have to treat the mind like a child.
And we have to become like the parent. But unfortunately, we become like the child of the child. That means we become like a child with the childlike mind.
And wherever the mind starts going, we go there. But if we have this unrealistic expectation that I tell the mind to focus, it will focus. It’s not going to work.
So the mind has been habituated to restlessness. So in 6.34 in the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna tells Krishna that the mind is restless. He gives various other describers also for telling how the mind is.
But pertinent for us is that it is restless. So anticipation is the foundation of preparation. How do we prepare for something? We anticipate what is going to come next.
If I am going on a road and I see that I know there is going to be a speed breaker here, then I slow down. How does that happen? Because I anticipate. I know this is going to come and I prepare for it.
So like that, we need to anticipate. The mind is not going to stay peaceful all the time. So rather than just getting discouraged why the mind is going here and there, we prepare for it.
It goes away, bring it back. यतो यतो निष्चलति मनष्चन्चलमस्थिरम् ततस्ततोन्यम् यथ आत्मन् येवोषंने यथ In 6.27-28, when he talks about this, he says, wherever and whenever the mind wanders, bring it back under the control. So we keep doing this.
Initially, it may seem very laborious. Oh, the mind is going to bring it back. Mind is going to bring it back.
But that is the normal process of training. And as we keep doing it, the mind will also start understanding. I’m getting so excited about that thing.
But you know, there’s not so much pleasure. There’s much more peace, much more joy here. Once the mind gets that, then it will become less restless.
It will become more focused. But during that time, yes, we have to exert ourselves. See, when we are purified, bhakti is effortless.
When we are yet to be purified, bhakti is effortful. Sadhana bhakti is effortful bhakti. चततं कीर्तयं तोमां यतन्तस्य दुड़व्रदः In 9.4, Krishna says, we have to endeavor with determination.
So by anticipating that the mind is going to be restless, we can prepare for its restlessness and count and restrict it whenever it goes on.