Mind - the best friend or the worst enemy | Rus- split | BG 6.6 | 22 Dec 1988 |Gopal Krishna Goswami

Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya! Oh no— om nomoh bahaguathe vassudevayam... oh nah mo bha-gwa-teh va-su-de-va-yah? Oom na moh ba-kwaa teh wa-su de-va ya. Home now mah guante pas su devayahya yahaha?! Homnamobaha karte wasudewahyaiyaaaum namo bakratiwasuddewayaanm. I'm just selecting a verse. Is there any verse or should I just select any verse? So we're going to discuss a very important verse from the 6th chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā. So if I read the shloka, how will everybody follow me? Will they be able to follow me? Bandho, bandho, ātmātmanās, ātmātmanās, tasyā Bandhu Ratma Admanastasya. Bandhu Ratma Admanastasya. Inar Mai Vatmana Jitaha. Inar Mai Vatmana Jitaha. Anathmanastu Shatru Tvay. Anathmanastu Shatru Tvay. Vartitat Mai Vashatru Vat. Vartitat Mai Vashatru Vat. Bandho, friend, atma, the mind, atmanaham, of the living entity, tasyam, of him, yena, by whom, atma, the mind, eva, certainly, atmanaham, By the living entity, jitahā, conquered, anātmānāha, of one who has failed to control the mind, kyu, but śatrutve, because of enmity, vārtetā, remains. Ātmā eva, the very mind, śātro-vāt, śātro-vāt, as an enemy. For one 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. Purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Prabhupāda. The purpose of practicing Eightfold Yoga is to control the mind in order to make it a friend in discharging the human mission. Om Ajñānātimrandasya jñānānjanāśalakya, jakṣvanmilitanyena tasmai Śrīgurave namah. Śrīcetanyam anovistam sāpitam yenabhūtale, swayam rūpakadāmayam dadāti svāpadaṇḍikam. Bande ham Śrīguru Śrīyutāpada-kamlaṇ Śrīgurunvaishnava-nāśraya. Hare Kṛṣṇa! Hare Kṛṣṇa! Hare Rādhā! Hare Rāma! Hare Rāma! Sankaraḍham! Jai Śrī Kṛṣṇa Chaitanya Prabhu Nityānanda Ṛgūnata Gada-dhāra Śivashuddhi Gol Bhakta Vrinda. Hare Kṛṣṇa! Hare Kṛṣṇa! Hare Ramā! Hare Rāmā! Saṅkāramā! Hare, hare! Before I start my commentary, I just want to tell all of you that Śrīla Prabhupāda would be very pleased seeing that the Russians are taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Caitanya Mahāprabhu had predicted, priti-vidyācya-jātān-nagarādi-grāma, that in every town and village of the world His holy name would be sung. And today we can see that in every corner of the world people are chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. In India, the development in Russia is getting wide newspaper publicity. The Indian people were very happy that the Russian government has given recognition to the ISKCON Society. One very big newspaper had a front-page article the day that Mr. Gorbachev arrived in India saying, "Gorbachev becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious." This was on the front page. I was bringing all these articles for all of you, but I was told by Kṛṣṇadāsa it is risky to take. Then when the Festival of India was inaugurated in Moscow, Gorbachev did the inauguration with one shloka from the Bhagavad-gītā. So the next day on the front page of the biggest paper of India, Hindustan Times, there was a very nice cartoon. The cartoon showed that Gorbachev was sitting down as a Brahmin with a dhoti and a sikha. And he had the Vedas all around him. He had all the Vedic books around and he was studying the Vedas. This was not put by us. It was put by the newspaper itself. So it is very wonderful to see that so many of you are taking to the spiritual path in spite of atheistic propaganda by the forces in power. So now we can go to the Bhagavad-gītā. So in the 6th chapter we see that Kṛṣṇa tells us the importance of controlling the mind. Prabhupāda used to say that one may conquer over the whole world, but if he has not conquered over the mind, he has conquered nothing. The difference between the spiritualist and the materialist is this: the spiritualist understands the importance of controlling the mind. But the materialist does not understand the importance of controlling the mind. Therefore, he lets the mind dictate whatever it may desire, and then he works to fulfill the desires of the mind. So all of you who have come to this program today have come because You are interested in spiritual life. We must understand that no level of sense enjoyment can give pleasure to the living entity. Just like, for example, if you were to take a fish out of water, if you take a fish out of water and keep the fish on the golden plate, still the fish will not be satisfied. Similarly, the living entity is spiritual by nature, and he can only be satisfied if he engages in spiritual activities. The materialist is thinking that by drinking vodka and getting money by hook or crook, he will buy happiness. Rūpa Gosvāmī, Rūpa Gosvāmī was One of the great devotees of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He was working as a prime minister of a Mohammedan ruler. So Jirupa Gosvāmī and his brother Sanātan Gosvāmī were holding very, very important position in this government of this Muslim ruler. But after they met Caitanya Mahāprabhu in Allābhāda, They could understand that there is something else that needs to be cultivated. So Rūpa Gosvāmī renounced everything and became a great devotee of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So Rūpa Gosvāmī was instructed by Caitanya Mahāprabhu to travel to Vrindāvana and to write volumes of books on devotional service. So Rūpa Gosvāmī studied all the Vedic literature and he compiled them in various scriptures. So Rupa Gosvāmī has stated: Kāmadīnam kathinā palita dūrṇī deṣa. The translation is that I have been trying to satisfy my senses since times immemorial, but still they're not being satisfied. So therefore Rūpa Gosvāmī has concluded that to pursue the path of sense enjoyment after obtaining this human life is simply a waste of time. We must understand that this human body is not easily obtained. Therefore, once we get this human body, we must use it for achieving the goal of human life. So Kṛṣṇa is telling us in the Bhāgavad-gītā how this human life can be made successful. Just like when you buy some expensive equipment, say if you buy a very expensive television set, then along with the television set you get a manual that tells you how to use that television set. Similarly, the Bhagavad-gītā is a manual for the human body. It tells you what you should do and what you should not do. Just like when you take up a job with the government, they also tell you what are your rights and what you should not do. So the Bhagavad-gītā is telling us that if you want to succeed on the spiritual path, "You must control the mind." So Kṛṣṇa is telling us in this verse that one who has conquered his mind, for him the mind is the best of friends. And one who has not been able to control his mind, for him the mind is the worst enemy. In the material world, everybody believes that this person is my enemy and this person is my friend. Just like in the capitalistic countries, they were taught that communism is the biggest enemy, and in the communist countries they are taught that capitalism is the biggest enemy. In India, they are taught that Pakistan is the enemy. In Pakistan, they are taught that India is the enemy. But actually, the enemy is not the other person next to you, but the enemy or friend is your own mind. Instead of blaming somebody else to be our enemy, We must understand that when the mind is not in control, it is our worst enemy. So we must learn how to control the mind. Kṛṣṇa says, by constant practice it is possible to control the mind. Very often in our preaching we are told by disciples and friends, "Swamiji, Guruji, my mind is troubling me all the time. What to do with this turbulent mind?" Prabhupāda's spiritual master Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī used to say, "Every morning when you get up, you must take your slippers and beat your mind 100 times. And every night when you go to sleep, again do it 100 times." Of course, this technique is a little dangerous because you may end up fracturing your mind or hurting your head. So we can take advantage of the spiritual process that is recommended. Therefore, Krishna says, "Wherever the mind may wander, bring it back." Just like the mother sees that the child is running on the other side of the road, the mother runs behind the child and pulls the child behind. So we must Prasad RAVAL, understand that if we let the mind meditate on sense enjoyment, sex life, and so on, then the mind will just increase our attachment for these objects. So when the mind is thinking of some sense enjoyment, you must say to yourself, "Oh, I have done all these things a million times, and I was never satisfied. Why should I listen to this?" dangerous friend, the mind. In the material world, if somebody cheats you once, you don't trust him again. Suppose I borrow money from you, rubles and kopecks, and I don't return it. The next time I come to you and say, "Please give me another loan," you'll say no. But the mind is cheating you every minute. Still you trust him. The mind is cheating you from morning to night. Today you like something, tomorrow you hate it. Still we want to trust this mind even though we can prove that the mind has been cheating us every second. Today the mind is in love with someone, tomorrow the mind is ready to kill that person. So we must understand that this mind, the contaminated mind, can never give us clear direction. So therefore the Vedic scriptures explain that one must listen to the purified mind. Therefore we follow the purified mind of Vyāsadeva. We, in this Vedic scripture, there is absolutely no shortcoming or discrepancy. This is the word of the Supreme Lord. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, mataḥ pārtanam nanyat kiñci daṣṭhi dhānanjayaḥ. So Kṛṣṇa's word is the highest word. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatām, there are some very nice stories that tell us how if a devotee has his mind fixed on the Lord, he's always protected by the Lord. Have all of you heard of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatām? I hear there's no Russian version, therefore I will— Yes, we have no Russian version, but we sometimes translate it ourselves. So I will tell you two very nice stories from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatām now. In his previous life, he was— in one of his previous lives, he was known as King Bharat. Another name for India is Bharat, as some of you may know. At one time, the whole planet was called Bharatvarsha. Even Russia was Bharatvarsha. And this planet was named after Bharat, after King Bharat. So this King Bharat, at a very young age, He renounced his kingdom and he renounced his beautiful wife, children, and he went to the forest. When he went to the forest, he saw that a she-deer was running and she gave birth to a child and she died. So King Bharat started bringing up this child, this deer. He got very, very attached to this, dear. Just like these days, at least in America and Western countries, you hear that rich people who have dogs and cats, they keep the dog and cats on the same dining table and eat together with them. Does this happen in Russia also? Yeah, sometimes. Yes, sometimes. So anyway, in Russia it is sometimes, but in America it is very common. People care more for the dogs and cats than they care for God. So King Bharat also had developed great attachment for this baby deer. When he would eat food, he would keep the baby deer next to him. He would sometimes embrace the deer and so on. So anyway, one day the deer was lost and King Bharat was looking, looking, looking for the deer., and ultimately he died. So in the Bhagavad-gītā it says, yam yam bhābhi smaranaṁ bhavām. Wherever your mind is at the moment of death, that is where you will be transported to. So because King Bharata's mind was on the deer, his next birth was as a deer. But in the Bhagavad-gītā there is also a statement that my devotee never goes, is never vanquished. Kṛṣṇa says, kāndya-prati-jāne nama bhakta-pranāśati. "Hey Arjuna," "Go and tell the whole world, but My devotee will never be perished." And Kṛṣṇa also says that devotional service that is rendered will never go in vain, even if one falls down. So King Bharata did not have to stay very long as a deer because he had done so much devotional service in his previous life. So very soon King Bharata took his birth in the family of a brahmana. When he took his birth in the family of a Brahmana, he was known as Jadbharata. And when he took his birth as Jadbharata, he made up his mind that now he's not going to repeat the same mistake that he made before. He said that, "Now I'm going to pretend as if I'm deaf." So when it came to hearing material sound, he was deaf. And when it came to material talk, He was dumb, he could not speak. Just like those of you who do not smoke, drink, and don't do any of these sinful activities, I'm sure if you have friends in school or college or at work, they must be making fun of you or joking about you sometimes. So similarly, Jadh Bharat also had to face a lot of criticism from his friends, from other members of the society, because he was not interested in anything mundane. So anyway, one day Jādabārata was guarding a paddy field. So he was kidnapped by the Dakkhoits. He was kidnapped by the Dakkhoits and the plan of the Dakkhoits was, was to offer Jādabārata to Goddess Kali. There are foolish people in India who even sometimes now will sacrifice their son or daughter to Goddess Kali. So, these Dakkoids, they wanted their leader to have a son. So they were thinking that they will offer this Brahmin boy that they have found to Goddess Kali, and she will be very pleased, and their chief will have a son. Those who are materialistic have no mercy. They are ready to kill anyone or do anything as long as their own quota of sense gratification is not cut. Just like we see, including in your country, so many abortions are being done, so many innocent cows are being slaughtered, all for giving pleasure to our so-called tongue. So these dakshoids were getting ready to offer Jatbhart to Goddess Kali. But Jādabhārta did not protest at all. And when they, when they were getting ready to cut Jādabhārta, then the Goddess, Goddess Kali came out from the Deity and with the same knife she cut open, she cut the dacoits and saved Jādabhārta. So the story is Jādabhārta was completely fixed in his meditation on the Lord. And even when they were getting ready to kill him, he still did not get scared. He was just thinking about his sweet Lord. There was a song by George Harrison called "My Sweet Lord." So anyway, to the devotee, the Lord is very sweet. For the devotee, the Lord is the object of worship. Therefore, he dedicates his mind to think about the Lord. But for the materialist, The word God is a word of fear because he wants to be God's competitor. He says, "How can there be somebody more powerful than me?" "How dare you say that there is God?" Actually, the materialist wants to be God's competitor. Because Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Enjoyer, he says, "No, I'm the Supreme Enjoyer." So just like the story of Jat Baharta shows how because he was absorbed in meditation on the Lord, the Lord protected him, there's another story also, that is the story of King Amresh. King Amresh was also a very great devotee of the Lord. In prior days, if one was a leader of the government, he would instruct all the citizens about the way of— about the teachings of devotional service. It is not like today where the head of state has no time to go to the church or the temple. He has all the time to bluff people but no time to worship the Lord. So Amrish Maharaj was a great devotee of the Lord. But when you become a devotee of the Lord, others who are not devotees become envious of you. So Amrish Maharaj also had somebody who was envious of him and his name was Durvasa Muni. So the rāsa-muni actually was trying to harm the Lord. Actually, it's a very long story, but the summary is this, that once Amṛśma Rāja had fasted for a long time, and he was about to break his fast when the rāsa-muni appeared on the scene. So Amṛśma Rāja invited the rāsa-muni to eat with him. But Durvasa Muni said, "Okay, let me go and have a bath, and then I'll have my bath and then come back and eat with you." So Durvasa Muni went to have his bath, but he fell into meditation and he forgot that he had told Amrish that he was coming back in one minute. So Amrish Maharaj had a big problem because in order to break the fast before a certain— the fast has to be broken before a certain time. So he said, "Now I've invited the Rasa to eat with me, but he's not here. What should I do?" So Amresh Maharaj was told by his Brahmin advisors that he can drink a glass of water because water drinking is breaking a fast and not drinking both at the same time. So when Amresh, when the Rasa Muni found out that Amresh Maharaj had drunk the water while he was still in meditation, He wanted to take out his anger at him. So he produced from his hair, because he was a very powerful yogi, a demon. It looked like a demon. But Amresh Maharaj, he said, "Sabe mana Krishna padaara bandayo." He said his mind was fixed at the lotus feet of the Lord, and he was not at all fearful of the demon that Durvasa had created from his head. Because Amresh was absorbed in thinking of the Lord, the Lord protected his devotee by releasing his Sudarshan Chakra. And that Sudarshan Chakra was producing so much heat that that Durvasa had to run for his life. So the point is that if one fixes his mind at the lotus feet of the Lord, then the Lord will definitely come to his relief. So practically speaking, how should we control the mind? You may say, "I'm not of the quality of Amresh or Jat Bharata, so what use is my listening to this great story?" In the material world, everybody has some hero. Like in most of the other countries, either some big rock star or movie star or sports star or a politician becomes one's hero. So I'm sure in your country also this habit of worshipping the hero is there. To some the hero may be Stalin, and to some it may be Lenin, and to some it may be Gorbachev. So in spiritual life we also have our heroes. We have Amrish Maharaj as one of our heroes, and Jat Bhart as another hero, and Arjuna as another hero, Parikshit Maharaj as another hero. And by always meditating on what our heroes did We can also become like them. So please do not think that will be what we are saying is just some theoretical talk. So practically speaking, Prabhupada said this in numerous letters to his disciples, is by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, you can actually bring the mind under control. If you chant the Hare Krishna mantra loudly and clearly, then this mind will automatically come in control, and the controlled mind will help you in following the instructions of Self-realization. Otherwise, when it is time to do japa, your mind will distract you into activities of sense enjoyment or making money. When it is time to get up for Mangala-Arati, the mind will tell you, "Sleep a little more, you've been working so hard." The mind is an expert lawyer. It can make the worst of things appear to be the best of things. When you want to fall into Maya, it will give you 100 reasons how Maya is not Maya. So we must know that the mind which is not going according to Guru, Sadhu, Shastra is our enemy. So we can control the mind by chanting, or 16 rounds very attentively. Kṛṣṇa says, "Māṇa māṇa māṇa māṇa māṇa bhāva mādh-bhakto mādh-vejayī māṇmāskuro." "Always think of Me, bow down to Me, offer your homage unto Me." So we should think of Kṛṣṇa, we should meditate on His instructions, we should meditate on His beautiful form, and then we will always come back to life. Then we will come back to life. Just like After Lord Krishna had left the planet, Arjuna was feeling very sad. But then Arjuna started meditating on Krishna's instructions of the Bhagavad-gītā, and then he came back to life. So give your mind to Krishna instead of giving it to sense enjoyment, and you'll always be happy. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hale Krishna! Hale Krishna! Krishna Krishna Hare Hare! Hare Rama Hare Ramana Maharshi! Lama Lama Hare Hare!