Our mind, an aspect of Krishna’s material energy, can be a helpful ally or a hindering foe.
Some five hundred and ten years ago, after Sri Chaitanya had taken sannyasa and was intending to travel by foot from Bengal to Vrindavan, Sri Nrisimhananda Brahmacari decided to serve Sri Chaitanya by creating a broad road for Him to walk on. What Sri Nrisimhananda created was by no means an ordinary road. In his Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya 1.156–159), Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami describes it:
As long as we are in this world, we have to work and interact with it. It’s hardly practical, or desirable, to ignore the world or the loving relationships we have with the people in it. Nor is it possible to completely avoid environments fraught with negativity and lower vibrations. So how does one fortify oneself from being influenced by these energies?
Those who daily engage in spiritual practice are content because they enjoy pleasure from within. They understand that everything has a r
From Back to Godhead
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
Lecture given in Vrindavan, India on October 26, 1972
Any contact with Krishna purifies our consciousness and gradually qualifies us for eternal loving exchanges with Him.
Pradyumna Dasa, Srila Prabhupada’s Sanskrit editor, begins reading The Nectar of Devotion, Introduction: “Invoking auspiciousness: Lord Sri Krishna is the Supreme Per
The Story of Puranjana
King Puranjana had unlimited desires for sense enjoyment. Consequently he traveled all over the world to find a place where all his desires could be fulfilled. Unfortunately he found a feeling of insufficiency everywhere. 27.12.
Once, while wandering I this way, he saw on the southern side of the Himalayas, in a place named Bharata Varsa a city that had nine gates all about and was characterized by all auspicious facilities. 27.13
While wandering here and there in th
By Vaisesika Dasa
In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, finding focus and maintaining it can be quite a challenge. Our minds tend to wander, distractions abound, and the demands of modern life can easily pull us in various directions. But fear not, for within the depths of Vedic wisdom and ancient scriptures lie valuable insights on how to hone the lens of your mind, enabling you to direct your attention and remain steadfast on your goals.
1. The Power of Focus in Vedic Teachings:
The con
As long as we are in this world, we have to work and interact with it. It’s hardly practical, or desirable, to ignore the world or the loving relationships we have with the people in it. Nor is it possible to completely avoid environments fraught with negativity and lower vibrations. So how does one fortify oneself from being influenced by these energies?
Those who daily engage in spiritual practice are content because they enjoy pleasure from within. They understand that everything has a rela
Being our closest companion, the mind needs to be constantly monitored, under the lens of divine intelligence
The word mind, as used in common parlance, connotes many things including awareness, intellect, memory, attention, intention and determination. Despite its familiar connotations, what the mind actually denotes remains vague and elusive. This is evident in logical positivist philosopher A. J. Ayer’s refusal to study the mind because “it has no locus.” Translated to nonjargon, he essent
Have you ever seen this little sentence on your phone: “Searching for network?” I remember looking at that one day and thinking how the mind is always searching for a network, too. Especially when traveling, I look at the phone and it’s going back and forth: “Where’s the network? I need a network!” It wants to hook up to some network somewhere.
If I don’t take charge of which network my phone connects to–if I just walk out the door–my phone will hook on to somebody else’s network. And for some
Yoga is often misunderstood as merely breath control, asanas or exercises; for some it is about practising some rules and regulations based on morality and for others it is cultivation of scriputral knowledge. But the real purpose of Yoga is to fix our mind on the Supreme.
According to Bhagavad-gita, yoga can not be practiced unless we practice mind control. An uncontrolled mind restricts the soul from reaching its natural blissful state, which a practioner is trying to acheive through yoga.
Ou
Some days you are a friend
Some days you are foe
You swing moods up
You swing them low
I can’t always trust
You’re not in one place
You respond well to lust
Big dose or a trace
You lead me to greed
It’s not what I want
You convinced it’s a need
In truth it’s a taunt
When there is anger
Pent up inside
You then do hanker
To push it outside
I don’t know why
You are so cruel
Cunning and sly
And wanting to rule
You’re some kind of clown
Silly and joking
A laugh or a frown
Nabbing and poking
Yet you
Dear mind,
Some days you are a friend
Some days you are foe
You swing moods up
You swing them low
I can’t always trust
You’re not in one place
You respond well to lust
Big dose or a trace
You lead me to greed
It’s not what I want
And convince it’s a need
In truth it’s a taunt
When there is anger
Pent up inside
You then do hanker
To push it outside
I don’t know why
You are so cruel
Cunning and sly
And wanting to rule
You’re some kind of clown
Silly and joking
A laugh or a frown
Nabbing and pokin
A lot of people think that in chanting 16 rounds, it is all about sincerity. And they come to me and ask, “I am lacking. What can I do to get more serious about chanting 16 rounds?” In other words, how to become more sincere? But it is not about sincerity, it is about organisation. Organise your life! Become regulated! Do not let the mind and the senses just drag you according to their dictations. The ‘manoratha’, the chariot of the mind, is taking us here and there and everywhere. Whatever we s
