The Infallible Way to Control the Mind. Yamuna Bank Satsang (07-07-26)

The words of Pujya Maharaj Ji in Shri Dham Vrindavan - listen in the video above.

The Complete Discourse

Jai jai Shri Harivansh - this is why this world is called the realm of death: because here, objects, people, places, positions, prestige - everything will be destroyed. Just think for a moment: you have devoted your entire life to something, yet you will have to depart alone. Nothing will go with you, but your deeds will.

It is said that the fruit of karma multiplies so greatly that if one measure of wheat is thrown into the field, it becomes forty measures. This world is such a field - the field of karma. If you commit even a small sin, you will receive much in return. If you perform virtuous deeds, they too will return to you greatly.

The fruit of sinful deeds is suffering, disease, hell, and rebirth in lower species. The fruit of virtuous deeds is happiness, heaven, and rebirth in good families. But apart from these two types of actions is devotion to God, which is separate from both sin and virtue. This directly grants attainment of God. It grants liberation. It grants eternal bliss. Where there is not even the slightest suffering - no death, no birth, no disease, no suffering of any kind. Now the problem arises: the mind can become attached to performing sinful and virtuous deeds. Our mind can be attached to virtuous deeds too.

There is charity, there is feeding others, there is pilgrimage bathing. But attachment of the mind to devotion - which is separate from both sin and virtue - can only occur in human birth. Not in any other species. If this opportunity is missed and you have not performed devotion, then there will be great regret. Both regret and opportunity belong to the mind.

Now the discourse has come back to the mind. What is this mind? What is the mind? The mind is such that you cannot simply call it consciousness, because it is not the soul, nor can you call it inert matter. It is of dual nature. It has a form related to the senses and is also of divine nature. But this is both inert and conscious.

God has described His eight-fold material nature and energy, and in that description is also the description of the mind. It is connected to material nature, and the scriptures also describe it as the nature of the soul. It is also of divine nature. Therefore it is said: if your mind is brought under control, then you attain liberation. And if the mind is not subdued, if devotion does not engage it, then this is your ruin. Both downfall and uplift depend on your mind.

So some say: why should we control the mind? We should do whatever comes to our mind. Enjoy as people say. To this it is said: you will become entangled in suffering.

Look at all the prisons that are full - if you ask anyone there, it is the mind that brought them to prison. All the wrong conduct, dishonor, and insults that happen - it is because we do not restrain the mind. If we give freedom to the mind and act according to its whims, then ruin is certain. So it is said: this means the mind must definitely be controlled. Then the question arises: what is the way to control this mind? What is the method to control the mind?

This very question was asked by Arjun to God. God replied: practice and dispassion. Through practice and dispassion - these two things were spoken of. Practice is: Radha Radha Radha Radha Radha Radha - continuous chanting of the name. And dispassion is: making a complete effort to protect yourself from wrong conduct. If you cannot protect yourself, then weep, grieve, and pray to the Lord. When you cannot protect yourself, pray to the Lord. He alone can stop you by your weeping plea to Him. Our effort should be complete, our willful conduct should not happen.

If you want to control the mind, do not abandon the divine name while enjoying any pleasure. Then the mind will be controlled if the name continues. For example: if you have gulab jamun, samosa with chutney, delicious foods available, yet if Radha Radha is flowing at that time, then the taste of gulab jamun cannot captivate you.

Similarly, all worldly pleasures - whatever is enjoyed in household life or in renunciation - if this important thing is done: if the practice of chanting the name is flowing while you enjoy, then the taste of pleasure cannot entangle you. And secondly, dispassion means: what the scriptures forbid, what the saints forbid, we should not do. Then you will definitely not become entangled, no matter how clever you are. If you will become entangled. If you follow the commands of the scriptures to the letter, then maya will not entangle you. But if you transgress the scriptures' commands, then you are surely entangled and will be surrounded by worry, sorrow, suffering, and calamity.

Practice is: to chant the name while doing every action. While enjoying every lawful pleasure according to the scriptures, to chant the name. And dispassion is: to avoid what the scriptures forbid. What the saints forbid, we should not do. Then (the third way is) to continuously observe the mind at all times. Where is it going? Is it going wrong? Immediately condemn it and remove it. This birth was given for God. You are creating wrong thoughts. If it is going to the right place, then support it. Thank you. Great is your grace. You are engaging in devotion. Keep observing the tendencies of the mind.

The ways to control the mind: First is practice, second is dispassion. Third is to continuously inspect the mind. Observe the mind at all times. This often does not happen. We see what the mind shows us. We cannot see the mind itself. We do what the mind makes us do. We cannot rule over the mind. This is the difference between a practitioner and a non-practitioner. A practitioner continuously observes the mind. If it makes wrong efforts, wrong resolves, the practitioner cuts it off, condemns it, becomes troubled within. "No, no, this should not happen." Then the mind cannot succeed because the person is a practitioner. They perform devotion to God.

Fourth: when the mind tells us to do wrong conduct, we should not follow it at all. Regarding wrong conduct, no matter how insistently it speaks, it will keep urging you until you become distressed and do it. The mind's strategy: first it gradually ensnares you, then it overpowers you. It says: "Come on, let's just do this a little, let's just walk there." Then it gradually takes you there. Once it takes you there, it brings you under its control. So we should not follow the mind's commands.

Tasma shastram pramanam te karya akarya vyavasthita - Therefore the scripture is the authority; what should be done and what should not be done - what is proper conduct and what is improper conduct?

This must be done according to the scriptures. By repeatedly hearing the Lord's words, the mind will come under control. If you don't get such an opportunity, but there is an opportunity anyway—there is God through mobile. Listen to the words of saints, the Lord's sacred discourses, sacred satsang; listen to satsang repeatedly, even for short periods. Your mind will come under control. And observe the name—as we are reciting Radha, by seeing the name Radha, through Radha, the mind comes under control very quickly. But it doesn't attach; if it attaches, then the boat is crossed. To concentrate the mind on the counting—as now we are reciting the name, we have recited five names—make the mind count that five names were recited, now when you drop the counting, five names were recited—make the mind count this. And when the mind attaches to this, it will come under control. All these are methods to bring the mind under control. And when absolutely no method works, then raise your hands and speak to the Lord like this: "O Protector of the surrendered, O Ocean of Compassion, now save us from this mind. This mind torments us so much, we cannot bear it anymore."

We cannot bear it anymore. It torments us so much. Look, you all see this. So at that time, taking refuge in the Lord, call out to the Lord. Sing the Lord's name with love. Pray to Him, then the mind will come under control. To control the mind, following disciplines is essential. Once in satsang by the bank of Yamuna, it was said: "Take a daily discipline of reciting ten thousand names. After that, see how the Lord takes care of you. Raise your hands." Nearly everyone raised their hands. But how many of those people actually do ten thousand names daily? There is such power in discipline itself that it brings the mind under control.

That discipline—that discipline through death and life, through sorrow and happiness, through loss and gain, without worrying about any of it. The mind comes under control through discipline. The discipline of waking up, the discipline of eating, the discipline of reciting names—all the daily routines that constitute the daily schedule—most householders find it very difficult to maintain. For the renunciate, it is absolutely necessary to follow discipline, and whoever as a renunciate does not follow discipline is not a true seeker. But even as a householder, if you follow discipline, the mind will come under control. To control the mind, it is essential to take up a discipline. "I will take this discipline." Now if you keep eating repeatedly, keep doing this repeatedly, your mind will remain restless.

Take a discipline. Eat once between eleven and twelve. Eat once between seven and eight. In between, nothing but water. Take some discipline. If you don't have too much trouble eating just once a day, work can be managed. Eat breakfast once. Eat your meal once. Skip snacks and recite the naam. See, in the evening take some milk. Keep some discipline. The mind will come under control. Sattvic food, regular meals, a regular daily routine. When we make an effort to control the mind, then a mighty force overpowers us.

Therefore, be careful. Like if you want to throw down a wrestler—the mind is a wrestler. Then it will use all its tricks to make you fall, it will knock you down completely. So when you go to control the mind, at that time pray for the grace of the guru. "O Guru, O Lord, by your order alone I want to apply this mind to your path of worship. Grant your grace—guru's grace alone is everything." Through guru's grace alone you will get the strength by which you will be able to bring the mind under your control. Don't be afraid, don't be discouraged, don't be despondent, and don't give up.

What does this worldly person know? How does he know defeat? The one who has fallen, what does he know of falling? There was a saint who had fallen a hundred times. He thought, "Now we won't be able to do worship." He sat under a tree. He thought he would do it there. Then he saw an ant climbing. It fell. Then he saw it climbing again. It fell. Many times it climbed and fell. Once it climbed all the way up. Then he said, "We should also make an effort." Just then he engaged in sadhana and attained the Lord. Don't be discouraged, don't be afraid, don't lose hope, and don't give up.

Keep moving forward in your sadhana. Even if you fall, even if you slip, even if your discipline breaks, even if you take a step on the wrong path—if we don't give up effort, we will win. Once you give up effort, then everything becomes worthless. Recite the naam, repeatedly turn the mind away from worldly pleasures and attach it to the Lord. Even if we lose, we must not stop. We must keep making the effort. To attach the mind to the Lord, it is necessary to stay away from worldly people. They coax and flatter you so sweetly, drawing you to wrong paths or wrong conversation or wrong everything. Whatever the mind hears, it covers like a CCTV camera, recording that matter along with its details, and when you sit for worship, it presents it. But if you keep doing the worship correctly, it will be deleted.

That's why we get disturbed. Not that there's any problem ordinarily, but when you sit for worship, whatever worldly complication or account that hasn't been resolved will suddenly resolve itself. When you sit for worship, whatever work you've left undone will come to mind. Meaning—the solution to all problems: if you want to do worship, sit in worship—then the mind will start doing everything, while at that time we should only attach the mind to worship. At that time the mind creates complications. So to control the mind, it is absolutely necessary to stay away from worldly people.

And there is distraction of many kinds. Like distraction with people, distraction with TV, distraction with mobile. These create great obstacles in our bhajan. Grace and faith. These words hold great significance in spirituality, in the spiritual path. God's grace and faith in God. Whoever has God's grace and faith in God and is devoted to practice and effort, will master the mind.

मन को वश कर रहो नित राग द्वेष विहीन। विषयों में बिचरो उचित हो कभी न लीन। यू भगवत सेवा करो पाओ महाप्रसाद, सब दुखों का अंत हो मिटे सभी अपवाद।

Master the mind, remain free from attachment and aversion. Move among worldly things when it is right, never be immersed. Serve God like this, attain the great grace, and all sufferings come to an end, all obstacles vanish.

If, taking shelter in God, eating food offered to God, practicing naam jap, with no distraction and no attachment or aversion, then your mind will come under your control.

Now when you begin to master the mind, power will accumulate within you. This is a matter of great caution. If you begin to make resolutions and those resolutions start being fulfilled, then having made resolutions, the mind will slip away again. Like, if such a thing happens, that's fine, and it comes to pass quickly. When such a thing happens, it's because you've accumulated power by concentrating the mind. Now you've spent that power in fulfilling resolutions.

So it is said that those who practice bhajan should not quickly make resolutions about worldly matters. The mind's power comes from concentrating the mind, so if a resolution you make begins to be fulfilled, if that thing begins to come, then your power begins to leave.

Your mind will become weak again. That is why it is said: if any desire arises in the mind, offer that desire to God. "Lord, a desire has arisen in my mind." Now you see—if You want to fulfill it, that is fine, and if You don't, that is also fine. If it does get fulfilled, we will not take credit for our mind's power or our resolution. We attribute it to God's grace alone. If we keep on fulfilling desires on the path of God, we won't be able to progress further on God's path.

This text is taken from the video's auto-generated captions — there may be errors in the words. For authentic words, please listen to the video.

Original video: Bhajan Marg (YouTube)