Gita : Ch-6. Slo-35.

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita :



Chapter-6. ( Dhyana-yogam )



Slokam- 35. (  Lord Sri Krishna,  accepting the opinion of Arjuna, said    the way to   control  the  mind : "O mighty-armed son of Kuntī, it is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind, but it is possible by constant practice and by detachment" )



Sri-bhagavan uvaca :

asamsayam     mahabaho    mano     durnigraham    calam,



abhyasena    tu    kaunteya    vairagyena     ca     grhyate.



Sri-bhagavan uvaca :   =   Lord   Krishna    replied;

mahabaho!   =   O  brave    Arjuna!

manah    durnigraham   =    it   is   difficult    to   curb    (  control  )    the   mind;

calam     asamsayam    =    movement, / oscilation, /  flickering,  is    its   ( mind's )    nature,   no    doubt    at   all;

tu    kaunteya!   =    however,   hey    Kunti-putra ( son  of  Kunti );

abhyasena   =   by    practice   ( training  );

ragyena     ca   =    and   by   detachment;

grhyate   =   controlling    the    mind    is    possible.



The difficulty of controlling the obstinate mind, as expressed by Arjuna, is accepted by the Personality of Godhead. But at the same time He suggests that by practice and detachment it is possible. What is that practice? In the present age no one can observe strict rules and regulations, such as placing oneself in a sacred place, focusing the mind on the Supersoul, restraining the senses and mind, observing celibacy, remaining alone, etc. By the practice of Lord consciousness, however, one engages in nine types of devotional service to the Lord.

The first and foremost of such devotional engagements is hearing about Lord. This is a very powerful transcendental method for purging the mind of all misgivings. The more one hears about the Lord, the more one becomes enlightened and detached from everything that draws the mind away.  By detaching the mind from activities not devoted to the Lord, one can very easily learn vairagya. Vairagya means detachment from matter and engagement of the mind in spirit. Impersonal spiritual detachment is more difficult than attaching the mind to the divotional activities This is practical because by hearing about Lord one becomes automatically attached to the Supreme Spirit.

This attachment is called paresanubhuti spiritual satisfaction. It is just like the feeling of satisfaction a hungry man has for every morsel of food he eats. Similarly, by discharge of devotional service, one feels transcendental satisfaction as the mind becomes detached from material objectives. It is something like curing a disease by expert treatment and appropriate diet. Hearing of the transcendental activities of Lord  is therefore expert treatment for the mad mind, and eating the foodstuff offered to Lord is the appropriate diet for the suffering patient.

Then Lord Krishna responding to Arjuna's queries concurs that without a doubt the mind is extremely difficult to control and similar to confining a cyclone in a pot; but Arjuna should shake off his trepidation and make the effort, for the mind can be brought under control by the repeated practice of meditation. One should first withdraw the mind from the influence of sense objects and then focus the mind in concentration internally on the atma or soul. By practising indifference towards sense objects, dispassion will arise in the senses and the mind will show no interest and will not gravitate to anything else other than the atma. This is accomplished by reflecting on the transient nature of anything other than the atma and contemplating on the inherent defects in such transient objectives. The vocative words maha-bahu meaning mighty armed one indicates in a general sense that only a superior person trained in such practice will meet with success whereas a normal person will not be able to. In the specific sense maha-bahu means one whose arms are mighty enough to control an enemy should be mighty enough to control the enemy knows as the turbulent mind. The particle tu meaning but denotes there should be no lethargy in effort.

Responding in regard to Arjuna's queries about control of the mind, Lord Krishna states that the mind is almost impossible to control; yet by constant practice, abdication from sense objects by dispassion and repeated meditation on the atma or soul it is possible to restrain and control the mind. With the senses withdrawn, being free from the obstacles of lethargy and distractions by means of incessant practice and dispassion, the mind remains immersed in the Supreme Self. It is stated in the Vedic scriptures that the tranquil mind in equanimity resides in the Brahman or spiritual substratum pervading all existence. Free from all conceptions and modifications is what is known as samadhi.

To be continued  ....