Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Taming the mind: your biggest friend and your biggest enemy



For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy. One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.  There are three gates leading to this hell – lust, anger and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the self.


So how does one control the mind? How does one free the mind from lust, fear, anger, greed, pride and jealousy?  The following important principles can be followed.

 - The nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.  A person firmly fixed in perfect knowledge is is unaffected by whatever good or evil he may obtain.  Such a person should be able to withdraw his senses from sense object, like a tortoise withdrawing its limbs to its shell. But, even if one restricts sense enjoyment, the taste for sense objects remains. The real solution is to purify the senses via Yoga to experience a higher taste. After all, the senses are so strong and impetuous that they forcibly carry away the mind of even a man of discrimination endeavouring to control them. 


It is important to control senses through regulation and free oneself from all attachment and aversion. As one contemplates on the objects on the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises. From anger, delusion arises, leading to bewilderment of memory, leading to loss of intelligence.

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The remedy to all eliminating all inauspicious things within the heart is association of saintly persons and reading Srimad Bhagavatam.
As soon as irrevocable loving service is established in the heart, the effects of nature’s modes of passion and ignorance, such as lust, desire and hankering, disappear from the heart. Then the person is established in goodness, and he becomes completely happy.
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Sometimes, all the above instructions fails to help in taming the mind.  It is said the Lord Aniruddha is the God controlling the mind.  In these cases, just pray to Him and chant "om aniruddhaya namah" for about 20 minutes to get ride of my anger etc.

 This post is inspired by chapters 2, 6 and 16 of Bhagavadgita; and chapter 2 of canto 1 of Srimad Bhagavatam.
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2 comments:

  1. Unknown6/6/14

    Well it's talks a lot about controlling about the mind and the five senses but how, I mean the implementation to control is mot clear can you be more specific and post it back

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  2. Vilasa Manjari Devi Dasi12/6/14

    Dear Samyuktha ,

    Implementation to control mind is well stated in the post where it says "The real solution is to purify the senses via Yoga to experience a higher taste." By higher taste it refers to pleasure due to self realization which is spiritual identity in relation to god. Bhakti yoga, process of devotional service is the solution to mind control. According to scriptures there are 9 processes of devotional service . They are
    1. hearing the name and glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead

      2. chanting His glories

      3. remembering the Lord

      4. serving the Lord’s feet

      5. worshiping the Deity

      6. offering obeisances unto the Lord

      7. acting as the Lord’s servant

      8. making friends with the Lord

      9. surrendering oneself fully to the Lord

    Best results are obtained when these are done in association of devotees . Mind is automatically controlled when it is engaged in above activities of devotional service in association .

    Hope it helps.

    Your Servant,
    Vilasa Manjari Devi Dasi

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