श्रीभगवानुवाच |
असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम् |
अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते || 35||
śhrī bhagavān uvācha
asanśhayaṁ mahā-bāho mano durnigrahaṁ chalam
abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa cha gṛihyate
śhrī-bhagavān uvācha—Lord Krishna said; asanśhayam—undoubtedly; mahā-bāho—mighty-armed one; manaḥ—the mind; durnigraham—difficult to restrain; chalam—restless; abhyāsena—by practice; tu—but; kaunteya—Arjun, the son of Kunti; vairāgyeṇa—by detachment; cha—and; gṛihyate—can be controlled
Translation:
The Lord said: Doubtless, O mighty Arjuna, the mind is restless and hard to control; but by practice and by detachment, O son of Kunti, it can be restrained.
Commentary:
The Lord accepts here that the task of restraining the mind is very difficult because of its restless nature. But there is no need to despair. It can be controlled by practice and dispassion. The great teachers point out that there are ways and means of overcoming the difficulties in the control of the mind. The Lord while admitting the mind’s restlessness, encourages Arjuna that there is a way to control it, and the way is practice and dispassion. One need not fear the strength of an enemy, provided he arms himself with a mightier weapon. What if the elephant is strong, it is enough if one holds the iron rod. Lions and tigers are strong, but what of it? A powerful gun is enough to overpower them. Thus the Lord wants his disciple not to become panicky and submit to the tyranny of the mind. Though difficult, it is not impossible. Is it not difficult to conquer Mount Everest? And yet man has set his foot on the snowy peak. Is it not difficult to land on the moon? And yet man stepped on the moon. The achievements of man prove that things difficult are not things impossible of attainment. So the nature of the mind, be it what it is, is not impossible to overcome.
This part of the Gita is of the greatest importance for all those who wish to tread the spiritual path. Enslaved by which man from time immemorial is undergoing torments of earthly existence, that which has been the cause of the endless series of births and deaths, that which stands as the mighty barrier between man and the realisation of his real Self- the mind and its conquest are explained here by the Lord. The inspiring message of the Lord should encourage every seeker to gird up his loins and pull himself together for the conquest of the apparently impossible obstacle on his way to spiritual glory.
The Lord answers that the mind can be controlled by 1. practice (abhyasa), and 2. dispassion(vairagya). Patanjali also expressed the same view.
Dispassion (Vairagya) means a loathful attitude to the objective world arising out of a knowledge of its short-lived, painful, and foul nature. Why should man seek illusory painful pleasures, when there is eternal Brahmananda awaiting him as his birthright? Human life is short and splits like a bubble. Why should man undergo all the ills and pains of life when perennial joy is his divine inheritance? Why should he yield to the temptations of wealth and luxury, when he knows that they are the very source of fear and suffering? All men long for peace. All men know that peace is not to be found anywhere in the outside world and cannot be purchased by the weight of gold or height of position. Man really seeks a purer joy and higher peace. To give up the lower pleasures is easy enough if the aim of the higher life is strong and convincing.
In the world everything causes fear, and in dispassion alone is fearlessness. When dispassion develops, the mind immediately stops thinking of the external world and it is immediately drawn into the Self. The joy of vairagya is real, unobstructed, and perennial because it is the joy of the Self, pure and uncontaminated.
Practice (Abhyasa) is the keynote of the Lord’s message for all spiritual aspirants. The baby learns to walk by practice, the child learns to read and write by practice, the architect, the painter, the poet, the musician, the sportsman, the athlete-men of all professions acquire perfection by practice. Where the practice is less, the achievement is also less. Idleness wins nothing, and on the spiritual path idleness is the greatest enemy. All worldly gains have been acquired by hard work and constant application. The man who feels shy of labour remains where he is. Men of ordinary talents have risen in life by systematic practice in their professions of skill. That being so, is not practice necessary for attaining the highest Brahmananda? Therefore ‘practice’ says the Lord.
Dispassion aids spiritual sadhana, and practice aids to strengthen dispassion. The body and the mind function by habit. If the habits are bad, man ruins himself, if the habits are good, man saves himself. So one should practise and develop good habits. If a man is accustomed to visit a wine bar at a particular time in the day, at that exact hour, the body and mind run for the bottle and nothing can stop him. In the same way, if a man practises meditation at a particular time for a particular period, the body and mind run for it, and nothing can stop him. It is practice. When it is performed systematically and regularly, it becomes automatic, and afterward, no effort is needed to coax the mind and body to do it. As meditation becomes deeper and deeper, the joy felt at that time is so precious that man does not care to think of anything else. He is absorbed in it. So ‘practise’ says the Lord.
Arjuna is here addressed as mighty-armed (Mahabaho). Arjuna is a mighty warrior, a great hero and the Lord suggests that he should be able to control the mind without fear and despondency.
Swami Vivekananda Says —
“Only by practice and non-attachment can we conquer mind.”[Source]
To restrain the indriyas (organs) from going towards the objects of the senses, to control them and bring them under the guidance of the will, is the very central virtue in religious culture. Then comes the practice of self-restraint and self-denial. All the immense possibilities of divine realization in the soul cannot get actualized without struggle and without such practice on the part of the aspiring devotee. “The mind must always think of the Lord.” It is very hard at first to compel the mind to think of the Lord always, but with every new effort the power to do so grows stronger in us. “By practice, O son of Kunti, and by non-attachment is it attained”, says Shri Krishna in the Gita.[Source]
Disciple: Sir, it is so difficult to direct this uncontrolled mind towards Brahman.
Swamiji: Is there anything difficult for the hero? Only men of faint hearts speak so. “वीराणामेव करतलगता मुक्ति: न पुन: कापुरुषाणाम् — Mukti is easy of attainment only to the hero — but not to cowards.” Says the Gita, “By renunciation and by practice is the mind brought under control, O Arjuna.” The chitta or mind-stuff is like a transparent lake, and the waves which rise in it by the impact of sense-impressions constitute manas or the mind. Therefore the mind consists of a succession of thought-waves. From these mental waves arises desire. Then that desire transforms itself into will and works through its gross instrument, the body. Again, as work is endless, so its fruits also are endless. Hence the mind is always being tossed by countless myriads of waves — the fruits of work. This mind has to be divested of all modifications (vrittis) and reconverted into the transparent lake, so that there remains not a single wave of modification in it. Then will Brahman manifest Itself.[Source]
It is very easy to talk. From my childhood I have heard of seeing God everywhere and in everything, and then I can really enjoy the world, but as soon as I mix with the world, and get a few blows from it, the idea vanishes. I am walking in the street thinking that God is in every man, and a strong man comes along and gives me a push and I fall flat on the footpath. Then I rise up quickly with clenched fist, the blood has rushed to my head, and the reflection goes. Immediately I have become mad. Everything is forgotten; instead of encountering God I see the devil. Ever since we were born we have been told to see God in all. Every religion teaches that — see God in everything and everywhere. Do you not remember in the New Testament how Christ says so? We have all been taught that; but it is when we come to the practical side, that the difficulty begins. You all remember how in Æesop’s Fables a fine stag is looking at his form reflected in a lake and is saying to his young one, “How powerful I am, look at my splendid head, look at my limbs, how strong and muscular they are; and how swiftly I can run.” In the meantime he hears the barking of dogs in the distance, and immediately takes to his heels, and after he has run several miles, he comes back panting. The young one says, “You just told me how strong you were, how was it that when the dog barked, you ran away?” “Yes, my son; but when the dogs bark all my confidence vanishes.” Such is the case with us. We think highly of humanity, we feel ourselves strong and valiant, we make grand resolves; but when the “dogs” of trial and temptation bark, we are like the stag in the fable. Then, if such is the case, what is the use of teaching all these things? There is the greatest use. The use is this, that perseverance will finally conquer. Nothing can be done in a day.[Source]
Sri Ramakrishna Says —
“Discrimination and renunciation. Discrimination means to know the distinction between the Real and the unreal. Renunciation means to have dispassion for the things of the world. One cannot acquire them all of a sudden. They must be practised every day. One should renounce ‘woman and gold’ mentally at first. Then, by the will of God, one can renounce it both mentally and outwardly. It is impossible to ask the people of Calcutta to renounce all for the sake of God. One has to tell them to renounce mentally.
“Through the discipline of constant practice one is able to give up attachment to ‘woman and gold’. That is what the Gita says. By practice one acquires uncommon power of mind. Then one doesn’t find it difficult to subdue the sense-organs and to bring anger, lust, and the like under control. Such a man behaves like a tortoise, which, once it has tucked in its limbs, never puts them out. You cannot make the tortoise put its limbs out again, though you chop it to pieces with an axe.”
Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
Question: What is the nature of the mind?
Answer: It is unsteady and difficult to control.
Question: What is the way to control it?
Answer: Practice and dispassion.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 6 🔻 (47 Verses)
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