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By Chaitanya Charan das<\/strong><\/p>\n Short Answer<\/strong>: If we start by saying no to the gentle prods of the mind, then we can over time say no to its fierce pushes.<\/p>\n Detailed Answer:<\/strong> All of us undergo times when our mind just doesn\u2019t let us do what we need to and want to do. We try to study, but the mind goes blank. We try to work, but the mind doesn\u2019t focus. The mind\u2019s obstinacy that troubles us when we are meeting our worldly obligations often rises to scary heights when we engage in devotional activities like chanting.<\/p>\n At such times when the mind is blocking us in doing what we need to do and pushing us towards things that we know we should not do, we may become overcome by a sense of despair: \u201cIs there anything that I can do against such a fierce, irresistible force?\u201d<\/p>\n Gita wisdom reassuringly answers that there is indeed much that we can do. When Arjuna presents to Krishna this same problem of the forceful obstinacy (6.34: balavad dridham<\/em>) of the mind, Krishna first empathizes with his predicament (6.35: asamshayam maha-baho<\/em>). Then he goes on to recommend a practical yet powerful two-point formula of persistent practice (abhyasa<\/em>) and consistent detachment (vairagya)<\/em>. Abhyasa<\/em> essentially means saying yes to devotional activities that are outlined in the scriptures and vairagya<\/em> basically means saying no to non-devotional or immoral activities that are induced by the mind.<\/p>\n When the mind is at its worst and wildest, we may have to take a defensive role: pray to Krishna and connect with him as best as we can and tolerate, waiting for that phase to pass \u2013 as it surely will. But we can and should take a more assertive role when the mind prods us gently: \u201cGossip a bit; you may learn something interesting\u201d, \u201cJust surf around on the net; you might find something useful\u201d, \u201cJust take it easy now in your chanting; you can concentrate later.\u201d<\/p>\n The specifics may vary, but most of us can probably recall dozens of such suggestions that the mind whispers daily. We do have the power to reject these gentle prods, but we often give in, thinking, \u201cI am not doing anything seriously wrong; these are trivial and inconsequential things.\u201d The external consequences of these actions may, indeed, be inconsequential, but their internal consequences aren\u2019t. Every time we give in to the mind, we feed and strengthen it. These small boosts accumulate and eventually burst out as the mind\u2019s fierce pushes that we find agonizingly irresistible.<\/p>\n Once we understand the genesis of the mind\u2019s fearsome force, we can start by disempowering it at its source: not saying yes to its gentle prods.<\/p>\n Saying no to the gentle prods of the mind may seem inconsequential externally, but it is consequential internally. Every time we say no to the mind, we not only stop feeding the mind, but also start starving and weakening it. Additionally, we start feeding and strengthening our own willpower muscles. A practicing weightlifter by starting with lifting small weights can move on to lifting big weights. Similarly, we can by lifting small internal weights \u2013 saying no to the mind\u2019s gentle prods \u2013 move on gradually to lifting big internal weights \u2013 saying no to its fierce pushes.<\/p>\n Saying no to the mind\u2019s prods is much easier and much more joyful when we start saying yes to Krishna\u2019s prods. Krishna prods us through his external representatives: guru-sadhu-shastra (spiritual master-saintly teachers-scriptures). These representatives guide, inspire and facilitate us to engage in devotional activities. When we busy ourselves externally in devotional service, then we leave the mind no time in which to prod us in undesirable directions. Our busy-ness makes out task of resisting the mind much easier. Additionally, if also absorb ourselves internally in Krishna consciousness, then positive internal fulfillment pervades our inner space, leaving no room for the mind\u2019s foolish frets and fantasies. Once we have truly tasted internal fulfillment, we don\u2019t want to ever lose it again. And we understand that giving in to the mind will mean losing that fulfillment. So we reject the mind vigorously \u2013 not for the sake of duty but for the sake of joy. At this stage, the struggle with the mind may still continue, but it is no longer a painful struggle; it is a joyful struggle.<\/p>\n Thus, by resisting the mind when its force is resistible and strengthening ourselves by connecting with Krishna, we will become empowered to resist and repel even the mind\u2019s irresistible-seeming onslaughts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" All of us undergo times when our mind just doesn\u2019t let us do what we need to and want to do. We try to study, but the mind goes blank. We try to work, but the mind doesn\u2019t focus. The mind\u2019s obstinacy that troubles us when we are meeting our worldly obligations often rises to scary heights when we engage in devotional activities like chanting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12389\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"http:\/\/dandavats.com\/wp-content\/uploads2\/572014-02-28-09-5057.jpg\"\/)
By Chaitanya Charan das<\/strong><\/p>\n